New York Times – During the final two months of this year’s legislative session in Albany, more than three dozen companies, Indian tribes and trade groups with an interest in gambling or horse racing lobbied New York’s state government. There were more lobbyists representing the gambling industry than there are members of the Legislature. The industry’s backers got what they wanted, and in three weeks, the state’s voters will go to the polls, deciding whether to amend the State Constitution to allow up to seven new casinos. The proposed constitutional amendment, backed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and approved twice…

iGaming Business – Canadian lottery games operator Atlantic Lottery Cooperation has become the latest gambling regulator in the country to express an interest in launching a licensed online casino. According to Onlinecasinos.org, support is high for regulated online gambling in the country, although some governments in the Maritimes provinces do not fully back the plan. Maritimes gambling is collaborated under the Atlantic Lottery Corporations. The operator argued that the provinces are losing out on money due to the lack of a regulated online casino. Michelle Carinci, chief executive officer of Atlantic Lottery Corporation, said that an online casino for the…

iGaming Business – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has announced a number of new appointments following the resignation of several members from its board of directors. Panagiotis Koliopanos, Epameinonda Lekea, Theofanis Moustakatou, Grigorios Felonis, Georgios Simeonidis, Despoina Laskaridou and Efthimia Halatsi all opted to step down from the board. In response, OPAP has elected a number of replacements for the remainder of the term. Kamil Ziegler has been appointed chairmen and chief executive officer, while Spyros Fokas and Pavel Horak will become non-executive directors and take the A and B vice-chairman roles respectively. Meanwhile Michal Houst has been named an executive…

When it comes to casino gaming, Italy has the highest number of gamblers in Europe. The figure is growing, as Italians are increasingly unable to do without slot machines, video poker, scratch cards, lotto and betting. The Ministry of Health estimates that between 1.3% and 3.8% of the population have some problems with gambling, while between 0.5% and 2.2% are serious gambling addicts. Last year, the ‘Balduzzi’ decree was brought in to tackle the phenomenon by making casino gaming addiction one of the disorders recognized and treated in Italy’s basic local healthcare centers. But the measure has had mixed success,…

It’s Viva BrisVegas as Queensland unveils plans for up to three new mega casinos in a bid to rake in high-rolling Asian players. Premier Campbell Newman has called for expressions of interest for a second Brisbane casino as part of a redevelopment of the government precinct. He says Macau’s gambling houses and Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands casino wowed him on a recent tour of Asia. Mr Newman is convinced that building a mega resort style-casino, and potentially another two in other parts of the state, is the best way to compete with other destinations fighting for Asian players. “Our…

International Business Times – The glitzy casinos of Macau, a gambler’s paradise just off mainland China, saw a surge in gambling revenue over the week-long Chinese national holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 known as Golden Week, according to a Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) research note. Daily gross gambling revenues for the first six days of October were up 30 percent from the year before. In total, gamblers spent about 10.6 billion Macau patacas ($1.32 billion) in one week. On a daily basis, that’s 85 percent higher than daily revenues during the first nine months of the year. Revenue is…