From Los Angeles Times An appointee of Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Gambling Control Commission says the state could reap hundreds of millions of dollars annually if betting on sports were legalized. “There is the opportunity to raise money for the state,” Richard J. Schuetz told the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday. “More importantly, it would remove a criminal element.” Although legislation has been introduced creating a format for legalized sports betting in California, Schuetz noted that Congress would first have to change federal law to legalize that form of gambling in California. A legislative analysis of the bill…

From eSportbets As the gaming industry evolves, the need to bet on something different, something more exciting and new grows.  Although tried back in 2009 electronic sports betting did not become the next big thing. However, four years later things look totally changed. Games like Starcraft 2 and League of Legends have taken over the gaming world, gathering over 300,000 viewers and gamers per day. If you were to visit streaming websites like twitch.tv you would see that the attention these games get is enormous. Logically a few books have taken the risk to experiment and the feedback is good….

For sports betting revenue to grow, the Indian government has been urged by an industry lobby group to establish a commission that will have the power to clamp down on illegal operations in the country. In a presentation to the government, Sanjiv Paul, chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said that India was missing out on significant taxable income through the lack of a regulatory body for sports betting. “India is continuing to lose billions of dollars in taxable revenue through illegal operations in sports betting,” Paul said. A FICCI report added that introducing…

From Philly.com In a landmark case being watched closely by other states, New Jersey made a final appeal Wednesday to be able to offer wagering on pro and college sports. And lawyers for the four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA reiterated their position why New Jersey should be forbidden to do so. The two sides appeared in a packed courtroom for a 11/2-hour session before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. The three-member panel hearing arguments consisted of Judges Julio Fuentes, D. Michael Fisher, and Thomas Vanaskie. “The leagues have not, and cannot,…

From iGaming Business The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has hit out at the “sluggish” process of allocating licences for sports betting operators in Germany and called for tougher regulatory controls to be introduced to ensure the terms of the Interstate Treaty of Gambling are enforced. The latest version of the treaty, designed to allow private providers to accept sports wagers as part of a partial liberalisation of the German gambling industry, came into force on July 1, 2012 after the government came under pressure from the European Court of Justice to alter its approach. Under the terms of…

The FBI has broken up a sports gambling ring accused of operating internationally and taking millions of dollars in illegal bets from Southern California. Authorities said 18 members of the gambling ring were charged in an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Agents arrested 14 of the defendants during raids in Los Angeles and San Diego. One of the alleged ring leaders was captured in Norway. All persons connected to the sports gambling ring were also connected to Macho Sports, an Internet and telephone gambling business. According to the indictment, Jan Harald Portocarrero and Erik Portocarrero ran the business from Lima, Peru, using…