• Net gambling operators look for ways around payment curbs

Congress took substantial action this month against Internet betting, with a House committee approving a bill to curb online gambling and a nearly identical bill being introduced in the Senate. Similar bills have been introduced in Congress before, but none passed both houses in the same session. With increased congressional interest now, the legislation may well reach the president's desk this year. Gambling site operators -- many of them American expatriates in the Caribbean or Central America, where gambling laws are more relaxed -- have already begun to make adjustments to the changing environment by shifting their marketing efforts to other countries and devising ways to circumvent new laws. "Will the legislation hurt us? Yes," said Dave, the owner of the online betting site triplecrownracebook.com, who would not give his last name. "Will we find a way around it? Yes. People will always find new ways to get money to us." [...]

> Read the full story here Source : LasVegasSun.com

• New Management for Casino Action Group

Kahnawake, Canada -- Online gaming group, Casino Action, today announced that it has purchased Challenge Casino and Music Hall Casino, to add to its portfolio of internet casinos. The new operations offer completely upgraded functionality, utilising software provided by Isle of Man based Microgaming Software Systems, and are available for immediate play at www.ChallengeCasino.com and www.MusicHallCasino.com. To celebrate the launch of these sites, both casinos are offering previous and new customers a lucrative US$22 FREE "No Deposit Required" introductory sign up bonus to experience the new casinos. Each casino offers 46 casino games and 11 Jackpot Progressives, with fast download speeds for ease of use, or immediate play with flash technology. A spokesperson for Microgaming Systems, the leading provider of internet gaming software, welcomed the new management of Challenge and Music Hall casinos. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : WinnerOnline.com

• PayPal charged with breaking Patriot Act

A U.S. Attorney's office has alleged that PayPal violated laws regarding the processing of online gambling payments, and is asking parent company eBay to hand over nine months of the gambling-related earnings in settlement. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri told eBay that its online payment service violated provisions in the USA Patriot Act between October 2001 and July 2002, according to eBay's annual report, filed Monday with securities regulators. Under the act, it is prohibited to transmit funds known to have come from a criminal offense, or that are intended to promote or support unlawful activities. The agency is seeking to collect any earnings that PayPal received from online gambling merchants during the nine-month period, as well as interest. Last year, PayPal received 6 percent of its revenue from online gambling, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBay, however, takes issue with the U.S. Attorney's allegations. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : ZDNet.com

• Web gamblers wager on Saddam's future

(AP) -- Think Saddam Hussein's days are numbered? Care to put a little money on it? If so, tune up your Web browser to one of the many Internet gambling sites taking bets on how long America's most wanted despot will hold onto the presidency of Iraq. Big money is riding on the question -- about $1.25 million in wagers just on one site, www.tradesports.com. Late Thursday, the site put Saddam's chances of lasting in office through Monday at about 90 percent. But he was given only a 1 in 3 chance of being in power at the end of April. Betonsports.com, which bills itself as the Internet's "largest, legal and licensed sportsbook," puts Saddam's chances of remaining in Baghdad until June 30 at 1 in 15. The site offers 5-to-1 odds he will be in U.S. hands by then. Some may consider wagering on the forceful ouster of a despot to be in poor taste. Not Eric Zitzewitz, a Stanford University economics professor who is using tradesports.com as a research tool. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : CNN.com

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