Press of Atlantic City – With days remaining until New Jersey’s online gambling launch, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak has vowed to fight a well-financed lobbying effort against Internet wagering and plans an announcement that could further expand the state’s online gambling industry. Lesniak, D-Union, is expected to make the announcement at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The senator has declined to provide details prior to the press conference. Legislators and regulators on Tuesday said they did not know the details of the development “I have not talked to Sen. Lesniak. This took us all by surprise,”…

iGaming Business – Online gambling operator 888 Holdings has confirmed that its online gambling service has gone live in the US state of Delaware. Internet versions of poker, casino table games and casino slots will now be available to Delaware citizens. Along with partner Scientific Games, 888 signed a contract with Delaware Lottery to be the primary vendor team to operate online gambling systems in the state for an initial term of five years, with four additional rolling one-year contract extension options. Delaware recently became the first US state to go live with comprehensive intrastate online gambling and is operating…

Press of Atlantic City – Fewer than half of Atlantic City’s casinos have received the approvals needed to begin Internet gambling trials this week. But that might change today as regulators will likely vote on a licensing arrangement that could bring the resort’s four Caesars Entertainment properties into the mix. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of Caesars, is seeking a license from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Unlike other Atlantic City casinos that applied for Internet gambling permits through their existing licensed casinos, Caesars is instead attempting to license its Internet gambling subsidiary, which it already uses to operate…

Online gaming in Bulgaria boils down to one word: Blacklists! They have been the way a number of governments have attempted to curb online gaming companies deemed of operating illegally within their borders. The country has been one of the countries to have used blacklists as a strategy to stop unlicensed online gaming sites from being accessed by Bulgarians. Approximately 160 sites providing online gaming in Bulgaria have been blacklisted by the Bulgarian government since March last year. That was when the government officially gave the country’s State Gambling Commission the power to ban the IPs of unlicensed sites. Many…

A Perth start-up is poised to open the virtual doors of its online Aussie casino, but founder Laurence Escalante believes exploiting a loophole in Facebook’s sweepstakes rules could be an even bigger money earner. Mr Escalante’s Virtual Gaming Worlds operates Chumba Casino, an online world where users play digital poker machines and card games for free, with no chance to win prizes. The ‘social casino’ makes money from dedicated users, who pay for things like extra credits and premium play. Chumba Casino exists solely as an app within Facebook, but Mr Escalante received a license from The Philippines in August…

Card Player – Congressmen from the United States met publicly for the country’s first ever hearing on virtual currencies, most notably the skyrocketing bitcoin. The hearing was entitled “Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats, and Promises of Virtual Currencies” and lasted around three hours. Silk Road was an online marketplace where users could buy illicit goods using bitcoins. Its owner was accused of a slew of crimes, including seeking out a hitman. “Criminals will always seek new technologies to further hide their crimes,” Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, testified in…