Following government approval, the bill will now be sent forward to the European Commission and the national parliamentary debate. The unexpected ban drew the attention of the online casino industry because hundreds of online casino gambling companies are located in the country and now they decide to close the gambling market. Charilaos STAVRAKIS, the Minister of Finance in the country announced the proposal, which will ban internet casino games such as roulette, poker and slots, in the Cyprus mail: “These online casinos have been created on every corner of Cyprus and anyone, young or old can basically gamble in the same way it is done in casinos abroad.”

Online sports betting will probably be allowed, but only in strictly regulated and licensed online casino companies. The bill also provides for the creation of a gaming authority in Cyprus, which will take a part of the overall gambling in Cyprus as a a tax. What the gambling tax will be the minister could not say, but he expects it will be around 10%.

Casino operators that violate the new law, will have their license withdrawn until the case can be dismissed, the Minister of Finance said. Before, equipment got seized but the illegal companies simply bought new stuff to proceed business. The Minister also reported that no licenses will be issued to land casinos. The Minister said: “It would be an oxymoron to legally allow the operation of dozens of online casinos in Cyprus in the shape we have today and not allow the creation of a real casino,” the minister said. “With this decision the government remains consistent with its initial position that it is against the creation of [land] casinos and online casinos for social and other reasons.”

The new legislation could have disastrous consequences for the hundreds of online casinos in the country. We will keep you up to date with the latest news about this topic.

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In 2006, the UIGEA was introduced. This law makes it illegal for financial institutions to process payments related to online casinos or Internet gambling sites. The legislation went into effect on July 1st 2010, but soon proved ineffective. Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, introduced HR2267 to overthrow the UIGEA and legalize and regulate the online casino gambling industry. After introducing the bill, it took some time before the proposal was discussed again. This week was the day, the proposal was addressed in an amendment and voting session in the Financial Services Committee.

HR2267 establishes a robust regulatory frame for the licensing and regulation of online gambling in the U.S.. This makes the online casino gambling industry easier to be monitored, children and compulsive gamblers can be protected better, the government gets more revenue by taxing online gambling and there are rules to prevent fraud, cheating and money laundering. The bill was strengthened by the introduction of several bipartisan amendments for more enforcement against unlicensed online gambling operators. Such rules are currently completely absent from the UIGEA.

There were 18 amendments introduced ranging from:

• Prohibition of credit card deposits
• A ban on sports betting, except the parimutuel betting
• Mandatory for licensed sites to have a physical presence in the U.S.
• Mandatory introduction of technology to verify that players are older then 21
• Mandatory technology to set loss limits
• RNG (Random Number Generators) will be mandatory
• Refusing people from playing who don’t pay child support
• to get a license, the company must have 50% of its staff in the U.S.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of poker players and lobbies for the adoption of Barney Frank’s bill, was quick to give a reaction. Alfonse D’Amato, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the PPA said: “The fact is, online poker is not going away. Congress has a choice – it can license and regulate it to provide government oversight and consumer protections, or our lawmakers can stick their heads in the sand, ignore it, and leave consumers to play on non-U.S. regulated websites in all 50 states. I’m glad the Financial Services Committee today overwhelmingly chose to act and protect Americans as well as preserve the fundamental freedoms of adults and the Internet.” John Pappas director of the PPA thanked the legislators who helped make HR2267 to create a stronger consumer protection with a series of changes. Particularly representatives John Campbell, Mary Jo Kilroy and Melissa Bean for their contribution to the proposal that protects the rights of adult poker players.

The bill still has a long way to go, but the fact that legislation has been approved by the Committee, indicates that more lawmakers support the regulation of Internet gambling while prohibition keeps failing. When more information is available about the Barney Frank bill and legalized online gambling, you can read about it here.

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PayPal was once the first payment method of choice in the online casino industry. But after PayPal was bought by eBay in 2002, PayPal pulled out of the internet casino industry because of the legislation risks in the U.S.. This was before the UIGEA, when the Wire Act put similar restrictions on payment processors but less attention was spent on this law, making the withdrawal of PayPay from the online casino gambling industry seem exaggerated. Now that credit cards, banking and financial institutions increasingly speak out against anti-gambling law, PayPal seems to slowly work back into the market which they have left years ago.

The prospect of legalizing online gambling in the U.S. becomes a more realistic view which ensures that companies are increasingly confident to take a step in the direction of the U.S. online gambling market. PayPal will also return in the Internet gambling payment processing industry and is already processing online casino payments. Ladbrokes and 32Red casino have recently began taking PayPal payments on their online casinos, which indicates that they are back in the online casino industry. In the online gambling network of Virgin, PayPal payments are also processed again. PayPal will be available to more and more online casinos in the near future.

Today is the hearing on the Barney Frank bill which could legalize the online gambling market, keep an eye on our site for the latest news on the legalization of online gambling in the US.

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The action by William Hill to move is in light of the high tax rates posed on online casino gambling companies to operate their business. The action was predicted, after many other bookmakers have already chosen to move their company to the tax haven. As a result of the move, 400 jobs will be lost in Britain with the betting operator.

Ralph Topping, Chief executive at William Hill had already warned that his gambling business must compete with foreign online betting sites, and the popular bookmaker Betfair. He said: “We’ve campaigned long and hard on the issue of being allowed to grow our business. Do we have to close shops before others accept that our UK business is under unfair pressure? As a UK plc operating in a global context and responsible for some 16,000 employees, we do not have the luxury of waiting for years to see how fiscal and regulatory policy develops in our sector.”

Last week, the gambling company recorded a decrease of 33 % in the phone revenues last year. In a statement the company said: “This significant change to our Telephone business is a response to the challenge of competing with betting exchanges and offshore telebetting operators, all of whom have benefitted from significant cost and tax advantages over UK bookmakers.” Despite that, the company net income gained 24% and the casino operating profit was 43% higher than the previous year. Topping said the online gambling company currently has 170 stores that are not profitable, 50 of these will be looked into what happens in the future before the end of the year, another 200 jobs may disappear.

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According to Interpol, police in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China arrested more than 5,000 people in connection to illegal betting during the tournament, which ended earlier this month. The raids included the casino gambling Mecca, Macau. Interpol said the raids, which took place between June 11 and July 11 and were coordinated by Interpol, have ensured that more than 800 illegal gambling companies have stopped, that processed more than 100 million pounds in bets.

Jean-Michel Louboutin Interpol said: “The results we have seen are impressive. As well as having clear connections to organised crime gangs, illegal soccer gambling is also linked with corruption, money laundering and prostitution.” In Malaysia, illegal sports betting was a success thanks to the easy access to bookmakers, some even doubled as loan sharks, giving out cash loans with a ridiculously high interest rate. Because of the easy access to these illegal bookmakers, it was easy for people to take part in these illegal activities. Sports betting and casino gambling are very popular in Asia, the Macau casino revenues, surpassed the revenues of Las Vegas, becoming the best destination for gambling. In not too long, the Macao casino gambling industry will overshadow the U.S. gambling market.

Illegal gambling remains a problem in Hong Kong and Singapore, where it is legal to gamble on football, with state owned monopolies. The attraction to bet illegally is mainly because it is easier to borrow, the chances are better and because of the rule that they only have to pay when they lose. But not paying of the loans can have serious impacts, the police warns that some illegal bookmakers have links with organized crime.

The number of funds taken during this World Cup is nearly five times more that during the World Cup in 2006. The number of arrests is approximately three times as much. Besides the funds, police also seized cars, bank cards, computers and mobile phones. In the Thai capital alone, more than 1,800 people were arrested, but less bookmakers because players chose to gamble at online casinos.

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The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is the biggest sporting event of the year, with 32 countries competing for the coveted World Cup. The report from Betfair stated that in the UK alone, punters spent 9.94 billion pounds on betting during the World Cup. Betfair is one of the largest online sports betting sites in the world, with more than 3 million customers in 170 countries worldwide. During the World Cup, the biggest single bet on Spain to win came from Russia. The bet was closed with 8-15. The greatest chance for Spain to win was sealed by an Australian player in December 2007 who chose Spain as the winner with a 16-1 chance. During the World Cup there were three English accounts that had more than a 7-1 chance for Spain to win.

The report also listed five matches on which was bet the most during the 2010 World Cup. The most important is the finale, where the number of bets rose by 38% since the World Cup in 2006. Besides the finals, the most important matches for punters at Betfair were: Germany – Spain, Netherlands – Spain, Uruguay – Netherlands and Germany versus England. This year 51% of the bets were placed before the matches started and 49% while the World Cup already had begun.

The report also lists which countries have the most loyal gamblers, and the most lucky. Spain tops the list, with 28% of the bets on their own national team as champion before two matches were played. 24% for Chile, Uruguay with 22%, Germany 18% and Argentina with 17%. Customers in Norway had the most luck, with 28% of the total number of bets were winnings by players. In Ireland this was 27% and 26% in Malaysia.

In a footnote, Betfair mentioned that the number of bets via mobile phones had increased by 1,000% compared to the World Championships in 2006. The total number of bets collected form a mobile online casino at Betfair was over 500,000.

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Director Michael Graydon said that at the launch of the site, 134 players accounts were vulnerable and accessible to others than the account owners. The error was first seen as a technical failure because of the many visitors, as this was the first time that residents were able to gamble online at the Canadian casino site. But Graydon reported that the Canadian lottery site PlayNow.com had been hit by hackers and personal information of players’ accounts was compromised. According to Graydon, at least 5,000 pounds was wagered by persons other than the account holders. Account information could also be seen where it actually should be invisible, there is even one known case in which credit card information was partially visible.

The lottery and casino operator said initially that the site was closed because of an excess of digital traffic. Friday representatives of the online casino company promised that the online casino would be back online as quickly as possible, without reporting the safety problems. Graydon said: “The first responsibility of the lottery was to the people whose account was compromised. We wanted to make sure they would hear from us first, instead of reading it in the newspaper.” Critics say the lottery and the government are lying about the mistake. But Graydon said that after all the parties involved were informed, the problem was disclosed to the public. Employees of the casino gambling site noticed the problem when a player contacted the customer service to report that he could read someone else’s player information. Graydon promised that the site will be opened again once all the security problems are over.

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The icons with an oriental theme include Mah-jong stones, gold and silver treasures and an oriental beauty. Special icons such as the jewellery box, the dragon, the fan and the lantern, are the bonus icons and provide the best opportunity to win. The Dragon Lady logo is the Wild and replaces any other symbol except for the scatters. When the wild replaces a symbol the pay line will pay 2 times.

The jewellery box is one of the scatters and starts the free-spins casino bonus round when you hit the scatter symbol on reel one and 5. In this bonus round you will receive 10, 15 or 20 free spins with a 2x multiplier. You can trigger the bonus round during the free spins but it will not count the multiplier. The free spins can also be re-triggered with the same number of free spins you began the round with.

The fan, lantern and dragon scatters start an online casino bonus when you hit a combination of three or more of these scatters. In the bonus round, you see 9 symbols. You need to find matching symbols, for each matching symbol you will gain winnings, succeed you 4 times in a row and you can win 100x your bet.

Minimum bets in the machine run between 0.01 and 0.40. Maximum bets are between 4.00 and 200.00. You can always play, whether you have a very small budget or you are a high roller, you can always bet the amount that suits you.

Dragon Lady is a fun slot machine with high rewards and many winning opportunities. Betting flexibility make everyone feel welcome, from the smallest to the largest gambler. The bonus round gives you the opportunity to win 100x your bet and the free spins round gives you the chance to double your winnings. Dragon Lady is very recommended for each player. So play Dragon Lady today at your favourite Microgaming online casino.

Presentation: 9.5
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 8.5
Bonus: 9
————
Total: 8.9

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Icons in Lion’s Pride include several appetizers for the king of the animals such as zebras and antelopes. In addition, a full lion family awaits in this slotmachine, the lion itself, the lioness and cubs. The Lion’s Pride logo is the wild and replaces any other symbol except the scatter. The Wild appears stacked on the role. The African mask is the scatter and starts the free spins bonus with 3 or more scatters. Finally there are points you earn when you hit the lion and lioness consecutive on a win-line.

When you hit the the African Mask scatter 3x or more, then the free spins bonus round starts. The number of free-spins depends on the number of scatters that you hit, and can go up to 25 free spins. The multiplier is randomly determined for each winning line and runs up to 10x. The free spins can be re-triggered during the free spins round.

The last feature lets you put your winnings on the line with the Gambling function of the machine. When you make a win, you can hit the Gambling button and the machine takes you to a new screen where you have to guess which card will be turned. You can bet on whether the next card that will be turned over is a colour or a symbol. Guess the right colour and you will receive 2x your bet, guess the right symbol and you will receive 4x your bet.

Betting in the machine runs between a minimum of 0.01 to 1.00. Maximum bets are between 2.00 and 10.00. With the maximum bet is it possible to win up to 12.500 in the basic game, and up to 125,000 in the free spins round.

Lion’s Pride is a nice slot machine with detailed graphics and good sound. Bets with all lines is pretty high, because you have to bet at least 1 pound. You can of course play fewer lines, but then the chance to win will be a lot less. The wild symbol provides additional win opportunities, and you can easily win big prizes in the free spins bonus round. Try your luck with gamblinthe g feature to increase your profits. Lions Pride is a fun slot machine with some nice bonus features that can help you to win big prizes, you just got to take the high stakes into account.

Presentation: 8
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 8.5
Bonus: 8
—————-
Total: 8.3

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France will collect a tax of 2 percent from cash games, tournaments and re-buys. A maximum of € 1 rake is withheld from cash games, but not in tournaments. Pots of cash games where there is no flop are also taxed, even if everyone folds to the big blind. That means that in the event that a player has the big blind seatr, and wins the hand, he doesn’t even win an entire small blind.

Without rake, poker is not profitable. The rake makes an average player a losing player, and an increase in rake makes the average poker player lose money faster. Online casino operators such as PokerStars calculate the gambling tax to their players as a 2% additional rake. A spokesperson said the extra rake is necessary because the online gambling sites lose money because of the French online casino gambling tax.

The online poker players of the online gambling sites will not simply let this go, and have taken the matters in their own hands in a special way. The online poker players decided to boycott the French PokerStars site because of the rake increase. This was not a boycott as normal, by staying away from the site or cancel the account. Instead, players chose to organize sit-ins. Players will sit at tables on PokerStars and other sites, and then keep the seats filled, without playing their hands. Blocking of the seats on the cash game tables cost poker operators a lot of income. Players say that the sites brought it to themselves, because players see the number of players hands for one buy-in fall a quarter of the total.

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