Spain is now one step closer to a regulated market, since its internet gambling proposals have been given the green light by Spanish congress.

This follows the approval of the draft gaming legislation two months ago, it will now appear before the senate. Should it be approved by the Spanish senate, it will then be passed on to the European Commission for approval before it’s legalised.

 El Mundo, Spain’s premier newspaper recently reported that internet gambling could be legalised as early as summer. Unfortunately there’s always a snag that complicates matters further, such as a transitional period that has been proposed, the reason for this is it enables internet casinos to regulate their status and sponsorship dealings”. However, this might compel the Spanish Association of Online Gamblers (AEDAPI) to object to it.

AEDAPI questioned the proposed black period introduction the previous week, in effect this could encourage players to wager …

Germany’s 16 states’ aims to do away with their domination on gambling and to revise its present gambling policies so that it complies with the European Union’s (EU) laws.

With regard to these movements, the web’s premier operators released a statement recently and congratulated Schleswig-Holstein’s positive stance to do away with its monopolistic traits. Gambling legalization will stand the state in good stead.

“Online gambling sites that operate in Europe have requested that all European governments comply with EU policies and regulations. A representative added: “The casino vendors await only the proclamation of the popular state’s new internet gambling policies.”

The bill proclaimed by the state is solely based on the feedback from internet casinos; according to them it’s a practical model which is in acquiescence with the European Court of Justice Guidelines and enables trustworthy internet casino vendors to offer German players a secure and lucrative service that favours EU …

The legalization of internet gambling is looking rosier by the day in the US.

In a recent rapport released by Fitch Ratings, the company stated that it is not a “pipeline dream” anymore-the chances of it being legalised and regulated in the United States is highly probable.

According to the Boston Herald many US states are seriously contemplating online gambling proposals and new federal laws are being discussed on how to properly police it. How it might relief certain budget constraints. Some operators have upped the ante when it comes to their online initiatives . For example the likes of Wynn-PokerStars and Caesars-888 Holdings algamated.”

The Fitch report estimates that internet gambling profits generated in the United States from foreign based operators generate $5 billion to $6 billion per annum. The amount of foreign based companies could increase dramatically if the US revises its present gambling policies. Some analyst postulate …

The amount of cash wagered on internet sports betting has dropped by more than 26.5% in France quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2011, says Le Figaro a French newspaper.

The reason for this decline is the lack of major sporting events in France. Jean-Francois Vilotte president of ARJEL quickly pointed out the reason for this is that the French market only opened in May and can’t compare its current figures to Q1 2010. “This is a momentous drop, the public should realise this does not necessarily mean that sports betting will remain below the 20% mark this year,” said Vilotte.

This decline is a major setback for internet gambling in France, which started off rather ominously and received a fair amount of criticism from Stéphane Courbit former-BetClic Everest chairman.

Last week Friday, bwin.party co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger expressed his concerns and concurrent problems the French market poses for internet casinos, …

The Channel Islands has its own licensing and regulatory jurisdiction better known as Alderney.

The organization accountable for handling all gambling matters is the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). Financials for 2010 has been publicised by the AGCC recently and it looks very positive. The island’s internet gambling industry generated a steady profit of £2.26 million and in licensing fees from internet casinos Alderney managed to earn £3.8 million.

John Beaman the chairman of the Policy and Finance Committee, recently wrote in the Billet D’Etat that the Island’s internet gambling industry is on the up. He wrote, “AGCC’s projected capital income looks rosy, however, we try our best to way in potential external factors that might impact negatively on Alderney and implement mitigating factors to handle these. As it is, we have a very competent and efficient management team who stays abreast with the latest technological developments that further enhances …

Saskatchewan minister Ken Cheveldayoff indicated that the Canadian province is seriously contemplating to accept online gambling. The government owned land gambling operator Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation is in favour too. Saskatchewan highlighted in its financial report that it may join British Columbia and Quebec and impose the necessary legislation that will permit and regulate internet casinos.

Poor financial performance is the main reason why the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation wants to allow internet gambling. Even though it reported in 2010 a net income of Cdn$43 million, it is 15% below its projected figures subsequent a slow start in the early part of the year and a fifty three day labour clash. To date its yearly net revenue is also in the doldrums by approximately Cdn$7.8 million in comparison to the same period in 2010.

The report stated that without a much needed boost from the company’s outlook for the future looks gloomy. …

888 Holdings’ chief executive Gigi Levy notified the board that he’ll be resigning soon. This in the middle of the internet gambling group’s protracted takeover by Ladbrokes. Levy said he’d like to “pursue other business ventures” after five years with 888 Holdings. Levy will stay on as member of the board.

888 Holdings said in a recent statement to the stock exchange that Levy will assist in finding a suitable CEO to fill his position. Until the appointment is concluded, the board approached Brian Mattingley senior independent director to “establish a close-knit relationship with management on all fronts.”

In March 888 was compelled to extend its payments for Wink Bingo after the strong performance, since it’s not in a position to repay the full earn-out payment of £48.7m payable in May. On the 18th March the internet casino said 888 will effect a change in control before it has completed …

The press recently reported that casinos in Atlantic City revised their rule concerning progressive jackpots. It permits casinos to terminate it and to keep all cash accrued. Before this change, players who wagered at land-based casinos thought a portion of a progressive jackpots belonged to them. A proportion of their wagering counted toward building the jackpot.

The new rules state’s that casinos will from henceforth give the public 30 days’ notice and should there be no winner of the progressive jackpots, it’s within the casino’s right to cancel the jackpot. Previous rules compelled casinos to transfer the jackpots to other progressives. Because of this new rule, casinos will from now on be allowed to rid themselves of underperforming slot brands and also increase the odds of winning progressive jackpots from 50 million to 100 million to 1. In addition to this, a casino is not required to pay for a …

Chiliconnect is now live and it enables players to assimilate their poker account with their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Players can now challenge other players, make bets to last longer and sell a share of their play.

Alexandre Dreyfus CEO of ChiliPoker said that interaction amongst players via a “buddy list” enjoys precedence over the social media aspect. It creates a distinctive selling point for one’s website, stating that “We invite players to wager at ChiliPoker because of ChiliPoker not because of iPoker.”

Dreyfus pointed out the importance of control within the internet casinos industry, he said: “Obviously there are other networks whose brand is more flexible than ours in terms of marketing however; we’d like to see ourselves not just as another iPoker site promoted by affiliates, but as an innovative site exploring new avenues.”

“Our poker client is the same all over and we control one of strong …

Various European governments are presently scrutinising their internet gambling policies. One of the key issues is how to effectively tax operators. Taxation is regarded as a vital yet debatable topic at times. As it stands most governments presently employ two distinct tax rates such as gross profits tax (GPT) or turnover tax.

What is a turn over tax? Every bet that is placed is taxed so to speak. Then we have a GPT tax rate, it’s a tax levied on stakes minus winnings for conventional bookmakers, or in the case of betting exchanges commission charged to players.

In the past a turnover structure has been used to tax land-based casinos. This method of taxation is favoured by governments since it’s easy to employ and governments are now contemplating to use this same tax model to tax internet casinos. Betfair and other internet casinos are not in favour of this taxation …