PRNewswire – Joint statement by: Michael K. Fagan, career federal prosecutor and post-911 anti-terrorism coordinator active in investigating and prosecuting illegal offshore online commercial gambling enterprises; Earl L. Grinols, distinguished professor of economics at Baylor University, former senior economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; Jim Thackston, software engineer with a background in the aerospace, manufacturing and energy industries; John Kindt, Professor of Business and Legal Policy,University of Illinois, Senior Editor, U.S. International Gaming Report. The FBI recently wrote Congress for the second time expressing the Agency’s concern that online gambling – including Internet poker – is vulnerable to…

Card Player – Zynga announced a few days ago that it is now trying its hand at accepting Bitcoins, a virtual currency that has gained steam in recent months. “In response to Bitcoin’s rise in popularity around the world, Zynga, with help from BitPay, is testing expanded payment options for players to make in-game purchases using Bitcoin,” the firm said in a statement. “The Bitcoin test is only available to Zynga.com players playing FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille…Zynga is always working to improve our customer experience by incorporating player feedback into our games. We…

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The Hill – Geoff Freeman, the AGA’s president and chief executive, said bulking up in staff and consulting are part of his plan to create a more aggressive casino trade association that can operate outside of the Beltway. “It’s part of a big shift that we are making. We are becoming a more proactive group that is working to define the image of the gaming industry. It’s less about legislation and more about defining the image of this industry, not in just Washington but in the states as well,” Freeman told The Hill. That includes bringing on Jim Messina, President…

Poker News – The U.S. federal government is once again intervening in online poker. According to The Oklahoman, last month the U.S. Department of the Interior stopped the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, owners of the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Okla., from offering online poker to international players through its website pokertribes.com, something the state agreed to in a gaming compact. As a result the tribe filed a lawsuit against Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn in Oklahoma City last week. The tribe hopes a federal judge will prevent interference and allow…

The number of internet gambling accounts created in New Jersey continues to grow and is nearing 150,000. New Jersey authorized Internet gambling last year to give a boost to Atlantic City’s struggling casino industry, which has been beset by increasing competition for the past seven years. It began with a five-day trial period on Nov. 21 and launched publicly on Nov. 25. As of Monday, 148,487 accounts had been created, though the state’s Gaming Enforcement Division notes that individuals often create separate accounts on more than one site. The state will issue its first report next week on Internet gambling…