The Conversation – In its short life to date, online gambling has grown exponentially, both in terms of customer base and revenue. But the industry faces a difficult future as different governments begin to take wildly different approaches to regulation. So far, individual states have shown little consideration for common interests or needs when setting their individual regulatory frameworks for online gambling, leaving a disjointed picture across the world. Now, while the US moves to maximise revenues from internet poker and its kind, the UK is introducing increasingly prohibitionist rules. This could cause serious problems for UK operators. n the…

iGaming Business – Gaming specialist and smart system developer Play n’ Go has signed an agreement with iGaming services provider Microgame to supply its full suite of premium mobile and flash casino games to the Italian market. The announcement comes shortly after Play n’ GO was awarded the certification for its mobile casino games in Italy. Under the deal, Microgame will become the first customer to go live with games, which have been specifically developed for the mobile player audience. The Play n’ GO games operate on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile 7 and 8 devices. All games are…

Press Release – Online gambling experts Jackpot 247 have responded to the findings of the first ever industry study in Australia, carried out by Southern Cross University. An academic at Australia’s Southern Cross University has carried out the country’s first ever study on the world of online gambling, reports Casinomeister. Dr Sally Gainsbury, who has focused on gambling in the past, conducted the study. Findings include the revelation that internet punters are more prone to developing a gambling problem than those who gamble offline. Gainsbury studied 4,688 Australians who already gamble online, and she concluded that 30% of the respondents…

iGaming Business – Language-learning software provider Rosetta Stone has announced it is to move into the free-to-play mobile gaming market with the launch of Rosetta Stone Arcade Academy for iOS. The firm said that the free-to-play product includes 12 games and has been designed to teach adult players 50 Spanish words and phrases. Players that want to progress through content faster can continue playing by buying additional credits through a range of value packs. A leaderboard system also encourages users to keep playing. If the product does prove popular, it is likely that Rosetta Stone will introduce further languages and…

Futurity – Whether you think online betting is innocent entertainment or a shady activity may have to do with what you call it, according to a new study that shows how industry labels help shape consumer attitudes. “Changing an industry label from gambling to gaming affects what consumers, especially nonusers, think of betting online,” write Kathy LaTour, associate professor of services marketing at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, and Ashlee Humphreys of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, in a study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research. “A label like gaming prompts all sorts of…

Herald Review – A law allowing online wagering on races at Illinois horse tracks is set to expire Jan. 31. Without an extension and an agreement to pony up more funds, racing dates would be either eliminated or deeply slashed at tracks. Illinois lawmakers could take up the issue when they convene for the fall veto session next week, or discussions could be rolled into a debate over a larger gambling expansion package that has languished in the General Assembly for years. A hearing on a gambling expansion plan, which would add five new casinos and allow slot machines at…