Las Vegas Review Journal – A bill to restore a ban on online gaming was introduced Wednesday in Congress, adding another layer to the big-money battle over whether gambling should be allowed on the Internet. The bill by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah., seeks to reinstate federal law to prohibit “all forms of Internet gambling.” It comes in the wake of a December 2011 Justice Department opinion that the relevant law, the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, covers only sports betting. That opinion dramatically changed the landscape, sparking moves by states, casino interests and technology vendors…

Lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties who want to ban online gambling have introduced legislation in the House and Senate. According to the Associated Press news agency, the bills are aimed at reversing a decision in 2011 by Attorney General Eric Holder that a 1961 law used to ban internet gambling only applied to sports betting. The new bills would expand prohibition to where it originally stood before the 2011 ruling. New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada are the only three states to have legalized online gaming since the 2011 ruling, but a number of other states have also…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Ladbrokes has successfully launched the full range of products from online gaming software supplier Playtech across its digital platform. Ladbrokes said that the move to Playtech was part of a “wider revamping” of the Ladbrokes digital business to give customers a better experience on mobile or desktop for its sportsbook and casino services. The successful launch has led to the withdrawal of the existing casino software and games portfolio from the Ladbrokes.com and Ladbrokes.dk domains. Ladbrokes said that as well as adding the Playtech products, it has also made improvements to the ‘Vegas’ tab by…

The Hill – Texas Governor and potential presidential candidate Rick Perry wants Congress to step in to prevent online gambling. In a letter to Congressional leaders and the House and Senate Judiciary committees sent Monday, Perry asked Congress to reverse a 2011 Department of Justice interpretation of the Wire Act that opened the door to legalized online gambling in the states. “Congress needs to step in now and call a ‘time-out’ by restoring the decades-long interpretation of the Wire Act,” Perry wrote in the letter. Even as members of Congress battle over whether or not to legalize online gambling at…

AP – Morgan Stanley lowered its estimate of the U.S. Internet gambling market on Tuesday to $3.5 billion by 2017, down from a previous forecast of $5 billion. The Wall Street firm cited worse-than-expected technical issues in its projection, but said it’s optimistic about the new industry’s long-term prospects. It forecast an $8 billion market by 2020 compared to its initial $9.3 billion estimate. “While we remain bullish on the online gaming opportunity in the U.S., we are lowering our estimates to better reflect the insights we have gained following the first few months of operations in New Jersey, Nevada…

Capitol Hill conservatives are bracing for a fight they do not want to fight: An online gambling ban, being pushed by Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Adelson. The fight begins as soon as companion bills are filed in each chamber before the end of the week by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R.-S.C.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R.-Utah). The bills were written by the staff of the Coalition to Stop Online Gambling, the advocacy group funded by Adelson, who has pledged to “spend whatever it takes” to see the legislation passed. What gives this fight the “#awkward” is the huge give and…