This Week in Gambling

iGaming Business – PokerStars and California’s Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the state’s three largest card rooms – the Commerce Club, the Hawaiian Gardens Casino and the Bicycle Casino, have confirmed their partnership that will see PokerStars supply and operate a California-licensed online poker site once regulation comes into force in the US’s most populous state. News of the agreement between the different parties first came out in late March, its official announcement was made yesterday (Wednesday) to coincide with the hearing organised by California’s Assembly Committee on Governmental Organisation on intra-state online poker regulation. The key issue in…

Times Union – Whither harness racing in Saratoga Springs? A day after the Saratoga racino announced it had deserted plans to pursue casino gambling in Saratoga Springs in favor of East Greenbush, hundreds of patrons placed bets on the racino’s video lottery terminals while trotters and pacers at the harness track enjoyed a day off. Simmering beneath the calm at Saratoga Casino and Raceway, however, was uncertainty and nervousness. Horsemen were worried the state’s casino sweepstakes were leaving them behind. They said the future of the sport looked cloudy. “There could be a serious situation down the road, serious effects…

Courier Journal – Corporate leaders from Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc. talked about the new over-sized video board at its namesake track and other issues facing the company in a Thursday conference call with investors and analysts to discuss the company’s $700,000 first-quarter loss. …An analyst asked when Churchill would begin to see returns on its investments for an Internet gambling platform for games like online poker. “We believe that over time the Internet gaming market in the U.S. will develop into a significant opportunity for us and for others as well, of course,” Evans said. “We plan to be a…

North Jersey – State Democratic leaders on Wednesday denounced a proposed Congressional ban of online gaming that would roll back the 2013 legalization of such games by New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware while also barring the other 47 states from enacting such legislation. New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, said in a press release that online gaming “is clearly an issue best left for the states to decide and regulate.” While Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California are sponsors of a recent bill to ban the gambling, state Senate President Stephen…

iGaming Business – The Advertising Standards Authority Ireland (ASAI) has ruled that an advert campaign by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power featuring Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was “offensive” after it breached several rules. The campaign referred to the outcome of a trial in which Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013. The advert offered the opportunity to bet on the outcome of the trial and stated punters that placed a bet could access a special money-back offer. The advert stated: “IT’S OSCAR TIME. MONEY BACK IF HE WALKS. WE WILL REFUND ALL LOSING BETS ON THE…

Poker News – While Poland keeps its online poker market in the hands of “grey operators” by continuing to ban the game from the country, DLA Piper Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska told PokerNews that the country’s missed tax revenues due to gambling restrictions could be about PLN 600 million — approximately €142 million. Since 2011, Poland’s online gambling market has been regulated by the Polish Gambling Act, a very restrictive set of norms that forbids online poker and allows online betting only on four operators holding state-issued licenses. Yet, on March 25, 2014, amendments to the Polish Gambling Act made it possible…