Analysts have tipped Japanese pachinko machine makers to boom after predicting a national child subsidy scheme was set to be a “hidden” bonus for the gambling industry.

Gaming in Belarus should be licensed and regulated in a bid to boost the industry and provide jobs, tourism and tax revenue, the country’s president has said.

Gaming revenues in the 12 US states which allow casinos fell 5.7 percent in 2009 to $30.7bn, according to a preliminary estimate by the American Gaming Association.

Regulators have banned a television gaming advert after complaints it suggested that players were more likely to win in online games than in bricks-and-mortar casinos.

Richard Glynn, the chairman of leading spread betting firm Sporting Index, is now the frontrunner to be Ladbrokes’ new chief executive after his leading rival took up another post, it was reported yesterday.

The stock market and analysts yesterday gave Tatts Group’s purchase of the New South Wales lottery a thumbs down after claiming it had overpaid for the business.

A scheme to allow riverboat casinos in Indiana to move inland has been effectively killed off.

The UK Government is searching for a new financial advisor for its proposed sale of the Tote after jettisoning Goldman Sachs.

Match-fixing in cricket has been put under the spotlight again after a series of claims about the number of players involved in corruption and the threat to the game in Twenty20 competitions.

Genting opened Singapore’s first casino yesterday to celebrate Chinese New Year - and unveiled plans to expand its operations in the US.