Poker News – After an attempt to regulate online gaming last November did not succeed, the Portuguese government has already pledged that it will be ready to approve a new piece of legislation by the end of February. Público, Portugal’s leading newspaper, reports that the changes were anticipated in a memorandum of understanding that Portugal’s government sent earlier this week to Europe’s troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) for presenting some of the measures planned to help the country’s growth. Although it is still unclear how the government intends to regulate Portugal’s online gaming and betting markets,…

Poker News – PokerStars is one step closer to offering real-money poker games to Bulgarian players after the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission (SGC) granted the poker room an online gaming license on Wednesday. “Bulgaria is full of promise,” said PokerStars’ Head of Corporation Communications Eric Hollreiser. “Poker is extremely popular in the country and recently we have seen some notable results from Bulgarian players including Dimitar Danchev, who won the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $1,859,000.” The decision to grant PokerStars an online gaming license represents a new, tangible sign of Bulgaria’s determination in launching online poker, as…

Card Player – A third Nevada online poker operator is now taking action. Real Gaming, the brand under which South Point Casino has ventured into the online space, has began what is considered its soft launch phase. The firm’s website can be found here. Originally slated to be called “South Point Poker”, the company re-branded last year. South Point was once considered to be the favorite to be the first Nevada site up and operational, but it was leapfrogged to the market by Ultimate Poker — an offshoot of Station Casinos — and the WSOP — owned by Caesars Entertainment…

Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Fifty-five million Americans play poker, but now the Supreme Court could weigh in on whether your basement poker game is a federal crime. Under Georgia law, betting on hands of poker, even around your kitchen table with friends, is illegal. Robert Costner regularly hosts poker parties for as many as 100 people in Virginia, a state where it’s legal to play for cash at home. “Why does the federal government care?” said Costner. “It’s not organized crime. It’s not the mob, it’s just some guys getting together having fun.” But the Supreme Court could soon step in….

Poker News – The Garden City Group (GCG), the firm responsible for overseeing the repayment of money owed to Full Tilt Poker players in the U.S., has posted a new announcement on its website regarding the remission process. According to a Feb. 13 update, the GCG is in the process of preparing payments for Petitioners who timely confirmed their FTP Account Balance. “Beginning on Feb. 13, such Petitioners may notice a zero-dollar transaction in their bank account statement that relates to the Full Tilt Poker Claims Administration,” the update said. “Please be aware that this is a normal part of…

The parent company of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars is hoping to enter into the world of sports betting. Full Tilt was recently expanded to include roulette, blackjack and other casino games and now the Rational Group is planning on adding a sportsbook to the site. When this is done it will make Full Tilt Poker the first Rational owned site to offer a complete range of gambling options. A spokesperson for the Rational Group said that the company is “exploring opportunities to enter global sports betting markets to enhance our online gaming offerings.” At present Rational is talking to…