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If you work in the gaming industry, why not join us at this year’s World Gaming Executive Summit? Download the event brochure for more information here >

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If you want to learn more about gaming regulations, why not join us at this year’s World Gaming Executive Summit? Download the event brochure for more information here >

Last Tuesday the first-ever fully-legal online poker site launched in the US, however it’s currently restricted to citizens within the state of Nevada.

Powered by Ultimate Gaming, the site will accept wagers from players living in Nevada, and requires an in-depth amount of information before allowing a player to create a user account.

Online poker has been outlawed since 2011, with the Department of Justice blacklisting domain names of the largest offshore sites aimed at US customers.

The move, which will be followed by around another 25 other vendors over the coming year, is an olive branch to regaining and keeping consumer trust  – as well as that of regulators and politicians.

It’s a lucrative move as, with time and proper nurture, online poker should easily blossom into a multi-billion-dollar market.

Ultimate Gaming believe they can make the site profitable within a few years through cross-promotion with Ultimate Fighting Championship – due to sharing a common owner: Frank Fertitta III and brother Lorenzo (who also owns Station Casinos Inc.).

The question begs that, while 47 million visitors come to Nevada a year – which has a population of just 2.8 million – will they want to visit to just sit at a computer and play poker?

Is it too early to say now is the time for online gaming?

Perhaps waiting until more solid or wider-ranging state legistlation is in place would e a better idea?

Will federal regulation ever come about?

At this year’s World Executive Gaming Summit US regulation methods will be placed under a microscope as we all wonder what exactly it is that’s taking so long.

You can download a brochure for free here.

Over-regulating betting shops and casinos will force players into the less-restrictive environment of online gaming, argues Chris Snowdon of IEA.

The hoo-ra comes from the calls for restrictions of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in bookies and casinos, as many believe that they encourage unhealthy gambling behaviour and should be removed as part of a voluntary opt out scheme.

Speaking on BBC Radio Kent, Snowdon argues that concerns over FOBTs are little more than an example of moral panic. Removing their presence through over-regulation would only send many gamblers online instead, betting from home where their usage isn’t restricted.

Essentially, that is where the problem lies rather than in the land-based shops and casinos that provide regions with lots of jobs.

You can listen to the full Radio Kent programme on iPlayer, the segment over FOBTs begins at 2:40.24, and read the paper that’s sparked the controversy.

Do you think that gaming runs the risk of over-regulation?

How would you suggest worried councils combat gaming addiction?

Let us know by leaving a comment with your thoughts in below.

Regulation and regulators are, as always, a hot topic for debate at World Gaming Executive Summit 2013. Click below to download a free brochure.

The UK Government are in possession of a winning ticket for the National Lottery thanks to it’s successful performance over the last few years.

This ticket isn’t the same red and white stubs that Joe Public buys; no, this is the lottery duty that the government receives – which is 12 per cent of lottery sales.

Due to having risen by 7 per cent in 2012 alone, that means that a whopping £817 million went straight into the Treasury from the National Lottery.

According to Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, that means by 2015 the UK government will be sitting pretty on a £1 billion lottery duty payout.

“Since 2007 the lottery duty the government has received has increased by 42%,” said GBGC’s director Lorien Pilling say and the last few years have each seen record-breaking amounts of duty generated by the National Lottery’s performance.”

It’s not a phenomenon either as lotteries globally have done exceedingly well, with the global lottery market worth $122 billion in revenue – rising to what GBGC expect to be $150 billion by 2017.

“The strong performance of lotteries is good for governments because many rely on the proceeds of their state lotteries to fund various areas of public life from welfare to education,” continued Pilling.

“In the UK the forthcoming ticket and prize increases will spur further sales increases and, therefore, increase the amount the government receives in duty. In the current economic climate GB£ 1 billion will be most welcome even though it won’t solve the UK’s fiscal problems.”

Camelot – operators of the National Lottery – are rising the ticket price for the first time in its 19 year history in a bid to improve winnings for customers who are enticed by Euromillion’s larger jackpot.

At this year’s Global Lotteries Executive Summit 2013 – Which is partnered with World Gaming Executive Summit 2013 – the expansion and change of lotteries as they keep themselves relevant in the world of gaming will be hot on the lips of many speakers and attendees. You can find out more by downloading the free brochure below.

Over in the city’s Entertainment District, oporators are hoping that Chinese mainlanders and Philippine locals will be drawin into their casino meccas thanks to the Las-Vegas brand of gaming they provide.

This video from Gambling Compliance shows how Solaire resort and casio are vying for the premium VIP business that Manalians are asking for.

Skillbet, an online gaming poker platform that claims they are legal in 28 states, has announced that they will be switching tact and pulling back from their initial marketing effort as they look to shift into the free-to-play social gaming instead.

The initial Skillbet concept was to pit two players against one another in a virtual online poker session that got around the rules in a legal grey zone of having them compete against computer players, then deciding the winner based on who performed best in the situation.

While it was advertised as being legal in 28 states, Skillbet themselves pulled out of three of those states, leading to further questions of just how legal it all was.

The news was confirmed by Skillbet representative Renee Revel posting on TwoPlusTwo, saying “We are going to spend the next 4-5 months developing (what we hope will be) an awesome social play-money game based on SkillBet (sort of a cross between SkillBet and Draw Something or Words with Friends).”

It indicates quite clearly that they intend to add a thoroughly more social element into the world.

The reason for pulling back its marketing effort seems to come from confusion and indecision on just how legal Skillbet is, which is largely due to the shoddy roll-out of online poker and gaming legislation across the US.

If anything, the move suggests that Skillbet just wasn’t as appealing to customers as they initially hoped it would be.

Do you think that a programme like Skillbet really was as legal as it implied it was?

Do you think that moving into the free-to-play social gaming market is a smart move for the company?

Leave a comment with your thoughts in below.

Social gaming and the rise of Facebook as a social and real-money gaming platform are issues that will be raised at this year’s World Gaming Executive Summit in Barcelona. If you’d like to learn more, you can download the brochure for free by clicking the button below.

As many US states start to embrace online gaming through new bills, Illinois seems to be the next in line to make the key changes it needs to allow for more online gaming to be had in the state.

Governor Pat Quinn isn’t keen on the idea of legalising Internet gaming, but Senate president John Cullerton is expected to remove the issue from current legislation and push for it as a separate issue – according to the State Journal-Register.

This is because Quinn has shot down several attempts at gaming expansion in Illinois due to believing that previous measures have had online gaming slipped in as a half-measure at the last minute, thus needing further review.

The new bill currently includes a ban on campaign contributions from the gaming industry and sets aside funds for education too, just as Quinn has requested.

Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada have legalised online poker, many other gaming industry leaders feel that there is still a need for liquidity to keep it alive. The idea of interstate compacts doesn’t sit too well with them due to its ability to ensnare a large number of players.

As always, it’s unlikely that the legislation will be passed any time soon, but with Illinois’ 13 million population, that’s a large pool for gaming companies to dip their toes into – making it quite the lucrative market indeed.

Do you think that this slow creep of adoption across the US is a good sign?

Should this be made into a federal measure rather than a state-by-state one?

Leave a comment containing your thoughts below.

At the World Gaming Executive Summit 2013, the issue surrounding US gaming legislation – along with legislation for many other nations in the world – will be discussed in depth, allowing you to really understand what each measure really means to you.

Online poker is big business for those companies that are involved in the digital gaming push. It’s a highly successful market in Europe where online gaming has been regulated and implemented reasonably successfully, which is now why the US are playing catch up with their state-by-state adoption of online gaming legislation.

The latest territory to make amends to their lagging legislation is Massachusetts who has passed its state budget with an amendment for online poker attached.

The amendment (amendment #365) seeks to establish a system for regulating online poker for the state.

Now the amended bill has passed through the vote on April 24th, the bill now means that a licence fee would cost a minimum of $10m, credited against tax payments.

Companies must also launch online gambling within 30 days of getting a license, otherwise they’ll face a heavy $25m penatly.

There’s also a “bad actor” clause that restricts companies who accepted bets after passage of the UIGEA.

Interestingly, local coverage of the $34m budget didn’t cover the online poker amendment – a sign that the people aren’t fully behind the move?

This isn’t the end though, currently the State Senate needs to agree upon the budget and work out the differences. There are then even more steps of legislation that could see the online poker regulation amendment removed – so it’s only the start of another lucrative opportunity.

Do you think that Massachusetts needs to bring online poker regulations forward faster than this?

Is the US legislative system slightly broken?

Let us know by leaving a comment below.

World Gaming Executive Summit 2013 will be looking at the issues of US legislation and just how you can make your online gaming offering work well within the state-by-state restrictions unravelling across the nation.

Essentially, they argue that an increase in taxation would lead to a drop in players, which ultimately means the government would lose out on money.

At this year’s World Gaming Executive Summit discussions surroudning legislation and taxation will be taking place, ensuring you get the best picture of which regions are the most lucrative and thirsty for gaming fun.