Kenyan MPs have approved a new 35% tax on gambling companies, in a move that represents a significant increase on the current rate of 7.5%. Earlier this week, legislators had opted not to back a proposed 50% gambling tax put forward by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, which in turn led to a delay in the country’s Finance Bill 2017. Kenyatta refused to sign the Finance Bill as a direct result of the lack of support for his proposed 50% rate, which, according to Citizen TV, he said would help to discourage gambling amongst the youth of Kenya. However, Kenyatta and…

A special commission in Massachusetts is poised to recommend an omnibus approach to regulation of the online gambling industry, according to Statehouse News Service, which could pave the way for iGaming in the state. The Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports met on Tuesday. Last year, the legislature created the panel and tasked it with generating a report about the industries in its name. (Online gambling is currently illegal in the state, while paid-entry fantasy sports is legal and regulated.) According to Statehouse News, “most commission members who shared their points of view Tuesday…

The European Commission cleared the way for Denmark to end Danske Spil’s monopoly on offering online bingo and horse race betting in Denmark on Friday, after the three-month standstill period set aside for review of the country’s draft law by the EC and other member states expired. The draft act, also adopted by the Danish parliament on Friday, will liberalise online bingo by allowing private operators to apply to offer this on a licensed basis “with the objective of channelling players away from the unregulated market into a Danish regulated market, including Danish protection of the players”. The opening is…

The international online gaming sharing liquidity between Italy, the UK, Spain, France and Portugal shall happen in June according to a report from ARJEL. International online gaming sharing liquidity seems a “never ending story” that we have been watching during almost the last decade. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the current plan is apparently to have an agreement between Italy, the UK, Spain, France and Portugal. The agreement was expected by mid-2017 and now the French gambling regulator, ARJEL, has announced in its report that the deal between regulators will be signed by June 2017. This does…

The Ilani Casino opened its doors on April 24 to a throng of disgruntled patrons. Being the closest casino to Portland, Oregon, The Ilani knew they were going to attract a strong local crowd, but had no idea of the mayhem that would soon unfold. Among the problems, the grand opening drew in thousands of patrons, clogging local roads and the I-5 North for eight miles. On top of that, the casino’s 3,000-space parking lot was completely full, leaving guests circling the lot or looking for parking, even worse, simply leaving. The hysteria reached a frenzied peak when guests assembled…

This week in gambling, we’re looking at Sheldon Adelson’s failed crusade against online gambling. This includes states pursuing i-gaming regulations and his competition launching real money gambling websites. Plus, we’ve not even mentioned his hypocrisy and internal problems! This week’s special offer is from Casino City!