Russia’s Ministry of Finance has drafted a new bill designed to block payment transactions with international online gambling companies. According to Russian news website RBC.ru, the proposed legislation, which is set to be discussed by the government on Thursday, sets out regulations that would require banks and payment processors to block transactions between punters in the country and international operators. Should the bill gain approval, the Federal Task Service would create a blacklist of Russian and international companies and individuals that participate in illegal online gaming activities, with the list to then be sent to financial institutions in the country,…

Former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, with all his baggage and online gambling concerns, was sworn in as United States Attorney General on Thursday, after a divided Senate prolonged his confirmation hearings, amid a sometimes bitter debate that closely scrutinized his record on civil rights. President Donald Trump’s pick for the job has been dogged by allegations of racism since he was denied a federal judgeship 30 years ago, due to what Ted Kennedy called evidence of “gross insensitivity to the questions of race.” Enough column inches have been devoted this week to what Sessions may or may not have said…

There are zero legal online gambling sites in Massachusetts, but that doesn’t mean people don’t gamble online in the Bay State. In the United States, online gambling is only legal and regulated in the following locales: New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. That being said, online gambling (poker, casino, sports betting, and beyond) is widely available across the United States. In most states, including Massachusetts, online gamblers don’t have the same protections as gamblers in New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. They have no choice but to play on offshore, unlicensed, and unregulated online gaming websites – sites that have a spotty…

The queue of states looking to legalize online gambling is growing larger by the day. By all accounts, 2017 is going to be the year the number of states with legalized online gaming will increase. According to industry analysts Chris Grove and Adam Krejcik of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, at least one, and perhaps as many as three states will legalize online gaming in 2017. No state has authorized iGaming since 2013. The prediction was part of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s U.S. iGaming Industry Update – 2017. When it comes to continued online gaming legalization in the United States, everything…

Pennsylvania State Reps. Rosita Youngblood and George Dunbar are looking for co-sponsors for an impending gaming reform bill they plan to introduce in the near future. In co-sponsorship memoranda that surfaced on Wednesday, Youngblood and Dunbar laid out their case… The key components of the bill are carryovers from legislation passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2016, including the legalization of online gambling and daily fantasy sports, a local share assessment fix, authorizing gaming tablets at international airports, and the removal of membership fees at Category 3 casinos. According to the co-sponsorship memoranda, the bill would regulate and…

Hawaii has become the latest state in the US to consider the legalising of online gaming after an internet casino bill was introduced. Put forward by Senator Will Espero, the proposed legislation would allow people over the age of 18 to access a range of online casino games, but would not permit sports betting. Should the bill go through, the state would set up the Hawaii Internet Lottery & Gaming Corporation to oversee online gaming and safeguard players. The bill also sets out plans to use tax revenue generated from the market for funding public schools and the University of…