From Press Herald Wanting to restrict how people spend their money is at odds with defenses of rights. I do not understand why many liberals who favor legalizing marijuana, oppose censorship of hard-core pornography, support the right of terminally ill, pain-wracked people to assisted suicide and pride themselves on their belief in individuals’ rights to govern their own lives become vehement prohibitionists when it comes to gambling. Of course opposition to repealing laws that make it criminal for adults to make bets with their own money is not confined to people on the left. The most important law protecting America…

From WSJ The debate over Internet gambling has been raging in the U.S. for more than a decade. Until recently, the federal government treated Internet gambling as an illegal activity. Fueled by the 50-year-old Wire Act, which bans sports betting over communication wires, and a 2006 law that made it illegal to process U.S. payments for online gambling, the Justice Department targeted online-gambling companies and their partners with criminal and civil lawsuits. But in late 2011, the Justice Department changed its interpretation of the law, opening the way for states to consider some forms of Internet betting. Earlier this year,…

From Elko Daily Free Press Nevada casinos won $914.8 million in March, posting a 7 percent increase from the same month a year ago with much of the gains attributable to the high-roller game of baccarat, the state Gaming Control Board reported Friday. Wendover’s revenue was up 7.6 percent and the rest of Elko County saw an 8.9 percent gain. The March statewide winnings pushed the fiscal year-to-date total to nearly $8.4 billion, 2.8 percent more than last year. Taxes collected on the March win totaled $78.3 million, an increase of 9.6 percent. The Las Vegas Strip posted a 13.1…

From Press of Atlantic City Guests at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa can enjoy breakfast in bed — and betting in bed. In good news for bettors and couch potatoes alike, Atlantic City’s top-grossing casino has decided to continue testing on a new mobile gambling system that allows hotel guests to play slot machines and video poker games in the privacy of their rooms. Called “eCasino,” customers use the television sets in their rooms to place their bets and play the games. Borgata is the only Atlantic City casino to have in-room gambling. Introduced in February, the new system underwent…

From Gizmodo Casinos are awesome, especially once you accept the fact that the house always wins. And if you’re going to give away your money regardless, you might as well do it at one of these incredibly, wonderfully weird games. FULL STORY

From ARS Technica On April 30, 2013, the poker world saw the launch of the United States’ first legal online poker site, Ultimate Poker. But Ultimate Poker has one significant limit: it is only legal within the boundaries of Nevada. As more sites come online under similar state schemes—New Jersey and Delaware are likely next—online gambling in the United States may be poised for an explosion. It wasn’t always this way. Among online poker players, Black Friday refers to the infamous day in April 2011 when the United States brought federal criminal charges against the founders of three major overseas…