The Irish Bookmakers Association is to ask the department of justice to reject the recommendation of the casino committee’s that fixed odds betting terminals be barred from betting shops. Their plea, in response to political manoeuvrings from the Labour party figure Pat Rabbitte, once again shifts FOBT’s to the centre of the growing debate over gambling reform in Ireland.

17/07/2008

The long awaited report of Ireland’s Casino Committee has been published, two years after former Irish justice minister Michael McDowell first commissioned it. The 208-page report recommends the establishment of a new regulatory authority to oversee land-based and online gambling and calls the US prohibition on Internet betting payments “an opportunity for Ireland.”

11/07/2008

Justice minister Dermott Ahern has signalled that casinos will be legalised and a new regulatory authority for gambling established. In his first utterances on the issue since taking office, Ahern told the Irish Times that the existing laws enshrined in the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act were “past their sell-by date”.

23/06/2008

Maryland state comptroller Peter Franchot has opened a new front in his campaign against slot machines in the state by announcing that his office will inspect bars and other premises with liquor licences and take steps to remove their licenses if they are found to be operating machines.

19/06/2008

The Kansas Lottery Commission has endorsed ten applications to operate three casinos in the state and has forwarded them to the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board. The Review Board is expected to announce the three winning bids by mid September.

29/05/2008

A technical problem with self-service betting terminals at Bay Meadows racetrack in California is threatening to escalate into a scandal, with the California Horse Race Board being accused of “covering up” a company that a politician claims has been “defrauding the public”.

28/05/2008

Until recently talk of a crackdown on Ireland’s members clubs was just talk. Last weekend’s raid on the Atlantis Casino Club in Clonmel, County Tipperary made it real, with surprised observers now struggling to explain the events.

23/05/2008

The Gambling Commission has published a consultation document on in-running (in-play) betting. The consultation is essentially an evidence and opinion gathering exercise, designed to assist the Commission in deciding whether in-running wagering requires further, specific regulation above other forms of betting due to perceived integrity and player protection concerns.

20/05/2008

An investigation into the affairs of Ohio attorney general Marc Dann has widened to include his links with gambling interests. Dann, who is under pressure to resign after revelations of sexual harassment and unprofessional behaviour at his office, made an apparent u-turn over the enforcement of a ban of controversial Tic Tac Fruit “skill games” in the state.

14/05/2008

The publication of the report by Ireland’s Casino Review Committee has been delayed yet again; this time by new Taioseach Brian Cowen’s government reshuffle.

13/05/2008

Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has stepped back from the controversial issue of fixed-odds betting terminals in Ireland’s betting shops, saying that a decision on the issue will be taken by the soon-to-be-formed cross party committee. He has conceded, however, that a report into the future of gambling in the Republic by the casino review committee has recommended that FOBTs be prohibited.

22/04/2008

A bill to allow Maine’s Penobscot Indians to operate 100 slot machines on their reservation has been vetoed by governor John Baldacci. Baldacci’s veto was then endorsed by the House, which voted 94-49 against the bill, leaving future gambling expansion plans in the state very much at the mercy of voter referenda.

18/04/2008

Norwegian monopoly gaming operator Norsk Tipping has announced record revenues and profits for 2007, with revenues up 9.2 percent and profits up by 8 percent. The state-owned company also confirmed its plans to introduce compulsory player registration across its business as a means of halting underage gambling and money laundering.

17/04/2008

The owners of Guam’s Greyhound Park have submitted new plans for expanded gambling at the track, the third such proposal in two years. This proposal, however, goes much further than previous calls to allow the installation of slot machines and proposes a full portfolio of casino games including card games, dice, roulette, baccarat and video versions of those games, plus traditional slot machines.

16/04/2008

Ireland’s Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has announced the creation of a dedicated cross party parliamentary committee to formulate new gambling legislation and establish a new regulator, however claims that Finance Minister Brian Cowen has already “given the nod” to bookmakers who wish to install fixed odds betting terminals in their shops have been denied. The committee is now set to consider the report by the Casino Review Committee, which is due to published within the next two weeks.

04/04/2008

Kentucky state Governor Steve Beshear has finally admitted that there is no chance that legislation to legalize casinos will be passed in the current legislative session. The horseracing state is the second to reject new gambling proposals this month, and the issue must now wait until 2010 for further consideration.

31/03/2008

The Maryland court of appeal has rejected a Republican lawsuit that would have scrapped a referendum on licensing up to 15,000 slot machines in the state. The Republicans had argued that technical and procedural irregularities meant that the vote enabling the referendum in the General Assembly last year should be invalidated.

14/03/2008

European football’s governing body UEFA has met with representatives of the European gambling industry in order to improve its monitoring of betting patterns as it battles against match fixing and corruption in its competitions. Meanwhile, it has emerged that of the 15 matches the governing body reported to Europol as being suspicious only one game is still being investigated.

28/02/2008

As a shake-up of Ireland’s gaming laws draws nearer, speculation is centred on exactly which aspects of gambling will be covered by the new legislation, with heavy bets being placed on the possible outcomes for the slot machine sector.

21/02/2008

Representatives from the UK amusement arcade sector lobbied Parliament this week, calling for a review of the 2005 Gambling Act. The amusement trades association BACTA claims that the effects of the Act, combined with the smoking ban, threaten the very existence of the industry and put 26,000 jobs in jeopardy.

07/02/2008

The Irish Bookmakers Association, which represents the operators of 750 of the Republic’s 1,100 off course betting shops, has signed an agreement with the charity GamCare to provide counselling for people who suffer from gambling addiction. Their strategic move comes as the Irish gambling industry prepares for a landmark debate over the reform of gambling legislation.

28/01/2008

The International Olympic Committee has agreed to soften its stance on gambling, opening the way for bookmakers to take bets on the London 2012 games and surround the event with marketing campaigns. Tough controls on gambling by participants are expected to remain however.

24/01/2008

Kentucky lawmakers have been hearing representations from the gambling and horseracing industries as they consider which proposals they will put to the electorate when there is a vote on expanded gambling in the state. The worsening budget crisis in the state may also shape the outcome of their deliberations.

16/01/2008

Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s controversial gambling compact with the Seminole Indian tribe has been published in the Federal register after the Department of the Interior ruled that the deal was legal.

10/01/2008

Casino regulation in Ireland may at last be imminent, driven by consumer protection fears, tax revenue opportunities, and the embarrassment of an unfavourable Financial Action Task Force report that condemned the Republic’s lack of anti-money laundering oversight.

09/01/2008

Representatives from America’s major casino corporations are expected to descend on the Massachusetts state house in Boston today for the state’s first debate on governor Deval Patrick’s scheme to license casino resorts in the state but a number of operators are also pushing ahead with their own alternative plans should the governor’s fail to make progress.

18/12/2007

As the New York Racing Association hurtles towards the end of its thirty-year franchise on December 31, it is still far from certain who will run horseracing at the State’s principal tracks next year, or even whether there will be any racing to run.

13/12/2007

A report on the regulation, governance, and finances of the UK’s greyhound racing industry by Lord Donoughue of Ashton has called for sweeping reform of the sport but has fallen short of advocating the introduction of a statutory levy.

30/11/2007

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has joined the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians in suing California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in an attempt to stop her certifying a referendum on its deal to expand gambling.

06/11/2007

Ireland’s largest off-course bookmaker has quit the Irish Bookmakers Association, seriously weakening the trade body as it seeks to lobby the government for an overhaul of gambling regulation in the Republic.

29/10/2007