While online gaming – including online poker – is not currently legal in Russia, it hasn’t stopped most online gaming operators from offering services to country’s 144 million residents. However, it may become more difficult for online gaming companies to operate within Russia due to a new Finance Bill introduced by the country’s Finance Ministry, which if passed would prohibit banks from processing any online gaming transactions. The bill has strong support, including that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is believed to have pushed for the bill to be presented to the country’s legislators. While this bill, if passed,…

Russian authorities have started blocking websites operated by a host of major gambling operators, keeping to a pledge it made earlier this year. In February, the Roskomnadzor media regulator said it would agree to a request from the government for stronger control over access to unauthorised gambling sites in the country. Having commenced this blocking process last month, the Bookamersrating.ru website has reported that the agency has now started to block sites operated by some of the more major brands in the industry. Over the past few days, the likes of bwin.party, Ladbrokes, Unibet, 888 Poker and Betway have all…

Net Entertainment (NetEnt) has launched a new mobile and desktop video slot in the form of ‘Pyramid: Quest for Immortality’. The Ancient Egypt-themed slot title features wild symbols as well as NetEnt’s Avalanche re-spin feature. Re-spins will occur if there are any win of three symbols and above in any way. Simon Hammon, chief product officer at NetEnt, said: “With Pyramid: Quest for Immortality, NetEnt will immerse players in the exotic world of Ancient Egypt. More at iGaming Business

Today, Campaign for Liberty issued the following statement from C4L Chairman Ron Paul strongly opposing the “Restoration of America’s Wire Act” (H.R. 707), which would institute a federal ban on online gambling thus trampling on the United States Constitution which gives the state’s sole respecting authority to regulate Internet gambling. “Under our Constitutional system, the regulation of Internet gambling is solely under the jurisdiction of state and local authorities,” said Ron Paul. “Modern technology makes it possible to prevent minors and residents of states that do not allow online gambling from accessing online casinos. In a free society, those who have moral objections…

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have delayed a vote on a bill that could eventually lead to the legalisation of online gaming in the US state. As reported by iGaming Business, a Pennsylvania House Committee was due to meet yesterday to discuss a bill put forward by State Representative John Payne. Bill HB649 pushes for the legalisation of online gambling to existing licence holders in the state – similar to the current regulatory framework in New Jersey. However, the House Committee opted to delay a vote on the bill due to ongoing budget negotiations.

Amaya has stepped into the DFS ‘data leak scandal’ by calling on regulators in the US to take a tougher stance on daily fantasy sports (DFS) in order to better protect consumers and players. DFS has come under fire in the US this week after it was revealed that a DraftKings manager inadvertently released data showing he knew which players were most picked prior as part of American football fantasy teams. He then went on to win US$350,000 (€312,800) betting on NFL games through rival operator FanDuel. DraftKings and FanDuel in a statement defended the integrity of their businesses and…