Against the background of this week’s biggest ever International Casino Exhibition in London, GamblingCompliance.com looks at some of the changes brought about by the UK’s new Gambling Act, including the White Listing of remote gambling jurisdictions, and contrasts the situation of the domestic industry with the difficulties being faced by operators in Sweden, Italy and Russia.

GamblingCompliance explores the possibility of in-flight casino gambling following intriguing announcements this week by leading aircraft-maker Airbus and Las Vegas Sands. Airlines and gaming operators looking to maximize revenues may be interested in operating midair casinos but US legislation and problematic jurisdictional questions may lead them to discover that, as far as gambling is concerned, the sky truly is the limit.

GamblingCompliance looks at the potential fallout from last week's landmark High Court decision in a case involving Betfair and the state of Western Australia. Betfair has been freed to expand throughout the country, but the full consequences of the verdict could run far deeper.

The rise of new technologies such as the internet, alongside the growth in popularity of in-running betting, has added a new dimension to debates surrounding betting and corruption in sport. Leading remote betting companies insist they can aid sports authorities' to reduce the threat of match-fixing within their sports by channeling demand away from backstreet operators. But, for some bodies, approved and regulated betting on their sports remains taboo.

A landmark meeting at the European Parliament has seen online gambling industry regulators and researchers share information on social responsibility with MEPs and bureaucrats for the first time. GamblingCompliance participated in the conference, which, while it may not have captured the hearts and minds of Europe’s politicians, certainly opened up new channels of communication.

One of the more high-profile failed takeover talks of last year were those between European online gambling giants Bwin and Sportingbet. But as the most recent figures from both companies make clear, it is their contrasting positions on Turkey which likely scuppered the deal, despite a degree of attraction between the two.

In the wake of an ECJ hearing on Bwin's challenge to Portugal's lottery and betting monopoly, GamblingCompliance takes a look at the European Court of Justice's role in shaping the regulatory landscape of Europe's gambling industry and asks whether a further legal breakthrough may lie ahead.

Las Vegas's casinos have long been considered a 'recession-proof' industry but recent results would suggest that Nevada gambling businesses are now suffering from knock-on effects of a general economic slowdown. GamblingCompliance looks at the changing nature of the Vegas industry, and how the more diverse current offering in Vegas has led it to become more dependent on general consumer trends.

The recent ELA gaming exhibition in Monterrey underlined the increasing importance of Mexico's rapidly developing gambling market. But whilst local and international companies predict further growth, they are also aware that the market's future progress will depend greatly on the regulatory climate in Mexico.

The G2E Asia show at the Venetian, Macau should allow industry observers from around the world an insight into the latest developments in Asia's rapidly expanding casino sector. GamblingCompliance asks which Asian jurisdiction could be next to emulate Macau's success.

Germany may be the bookies' favourite to win the tournament, but England's absence from the Euro 2008 championships will have European-facing operators sizing up other markets as they look to cash in on the year's biggest betting event.

The early defeat last week of Barney Frank’s anti-UIGEA legislation underlines how moral arguments continue to dominate debate over internet gambling in Washington DC. GamblingCompliance asks where pro-online gaming lobbyists go from here.

Last weekend's classic Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final may have showed tennis at its very best, but the signs are that addressing the astronomical rise of tennis betting will remain a top priority for the sport's authorities who remain concerned about corruption scandals to have dogged the sport in recent months.

This week saw the publication of the Irish Casino Committee’s ‘Regulating Gaming in Ireland’ report. It was a report whose release had been delayed more times than the 7.25 into Paddington.

Court filings in Baltimore show that federal authorities have seized at least $14m in funds from one of Bodog's US payment processing partners so far this year. But they also hint at sophisticated, and presumably ongoing, investigations into the company's US activities, further underlining the liability faced by those online gaming companies still active in the US market.

This summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing will attract the attention of the world’s media for a range of reasons, but the International Olympic Committee has already taken steps to reduce the risk of potentially damaging betting scandals becoming one of them.

The summer sun seems not to be shining on the European-facing online poker industry as operators and network providers report significant falls in poker revenues over the past few months. GamblingCompliance asks whether the current decline is merely a temporary setback, or whether it signals the beginning of the end for the so-called 'poker boom'.

Intralot's joint venture Inteltek is poised to continue to operate Turkish sports betting game Iddaa after a tender conducted this week, but the Greek company already has its eyes set on further expansion in key lottery markets across the Atlantic.

Although Singapore is currently more preoccupied with the staging of its first Formula One Grand Prix race later this month, senior casino executives were in the territory this week to look ahead to the equally anticipated opening of Singapore’s first resort casinos in late 2009.

While private gambling operators throughout Europe await news of open gambling infringement proceedings at the European Commission in Brussels, politicians and industry stakeholders in Finland have been debating plans to reform national gambling laws in a bid to stave off an ECJ referral.

Action launched by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to seize the domain names of over 100 US-facing online gambling sites raises questions over possible state-by-state enforcement of internet gambling laws, where states have previously exerted their efforts lobbying the federal government to take action.

A New York Times article has focused attention on Republican presidential candidate John McCain's links with tribal gaming interests, but observers believe that neither McCain's nor Obama's election would bring about about any great shift in federal gambling policy.

The stocks of gambling operators on both sides of the Atlantic have continued to suffer this week on wider turmoil in global financial markets, leaving the gaming sector to face up to the reality of a global economic recession.

Ireland’s bookmaking sector is leading calls for the Irish Government to act swiftly upon a recently published report that recommended introducing sweeping reforms to Irish gambling legislation. But last week’s Irish Gaming Review conference in Dublin demonstrated that a range of key policy decisions continue to lie ahead for the Irish Executive.

Plans to sell state-owned bookmaker the Tote have now been shelved indefinitely after a seven-year flirtation with a free market sale ended in humiliating rejection. Across the Channel, the French now look set to profit from the British experience as they set up walls around their own Tote equivalent to protect it from the unwelcome advances of bookmakers.

The Department of Justice has warned that leasing the operation of state lotteries to a private company would likely be illegal under US federal law, leaving cash-strapped states to consider other revenue-raising measures as lottery privatization plans gather pace in other parts of the globe.