Online Casino Edition – Casino News News about online casinos and gambling

September 27, 2011

French Court Rules That Poker Is A Game Of Skill

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Recently, a major decision given by a French court has taken everyone by surprise. All these days, poker was considered to be a game of chance or luck but this new decision by the French court is bound to make everybody think twice before they play poker in future. The French court has declared in a case that poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance. It is being considered similar to other games of skill like craps and blackjack.

Impact of the ruling on earlier cases

Poker is one of the popular games played by many both in the regular land based casinos as well as online casinos. Many poker players still believe that poker requires a lot of skill and is not just a game of chance. The decision of the French Court has just reaffirmed the belief of the players. The court’s ruling is exactly the reverse of decisions given in earlier cases. Many years ago, in cases related to poker, it was always ruled that poker was a game of chance. This new decision is expected reverse the decision of all previous cases.

Impact of this decision on Online casinos

Laws concerning online gambling in France refer to poker as a game of chance. Online casino sites contain language that refers to poker as a game of chance. This decision of the French court is expected to have a great impact on the online gaming community. All these years, online sites have been offering poker under the category of games of chance.
Very shortly, the French Government is likely to appeal against the decision of the French Court. If the government succeeds, then, online casinos providers can easily open up gaming sites without any kind of license. Online poker sites can easily attract many players and they need not pay current taxes as well.

The French Government’s Future Plans

Proactively, the French government is also planning to amend its laws with a provision for making poker a game of skill. By including poker as a game of skill, it will allow the French Poker Pros to claim any amount that has been won as income which attracts tax. A lot of changes are expected to happen in the long run with this major decision by the French Court.

However, there are lot of people who are arguing against the decision. Many players involved in skill games like chess players, mathematics professors and also bridge players are against considering poker as a game of skill. They are now questioning the very concept of skill and its importance. Chess players who believe that skill is the main aspect of the game of chess are not ready to accept poker as a skill game. Very soon, the French government’s proposal is expected to end this argument.

September 25, 2011

UK Online Casinos Coming Under More Regulations

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

UK is one of the countries which had introduced better regulations and licensing rules for online casinos as well as many poker sites. Now, they are again trying to frame better rules for regulating the activities of online casinos in order to make them safer for players.

Need for Regulation

There has been no development regarding regulating the activities of online casinos for many years. Despite the increasing number of online casinos, very little attention has been paid by the authorities towards the licensing aspect. Though there are some existing rules, they are not being followed by the industry players.

Latest Case of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker

Recently due to a case that happened in April, the US made some stringent measure to tackle the security lapses in online casinos. Full Tilt who had secured the license from Alderney did not require its online casino to hold any funds required for refunding to the players. Everything went for a toss when Full Tilt stopped allowing US players to play in their online casino. They did not refund the money to players who had deposited money. The matter became worse when Full Tilt did not have enough money to refund to players when their license for gaming was suspended. This created lot of chaos among players as they became aware of the rules only then. It resulted in many players suffering heavy losses.

This was the time when people who were visiting online casinos started thinking about how secure these online casinos were. The US passed very stringent regulations in order to provide a safer gaming experience to players in online casinos. PokerStars is a very good example. They were given license by the Isle of Man. They were required to maintain sufficient funds depending upon the volume of business in order to meet the refund demands of players. When their license was suspended, they had enough funds to refund around $100 million to players from the US without any hiccups.

New regulations for licensing and to curb fraud and theft

The regulations and licensing requirements of online casinos are being reviewed by the Culture, Media and Sports Department in the UK. A lot of factors are being taken into consideration in order to frame better legislation to ensure that online casinos in UK are safe and secure.

Factors being taken into consideration include better rules for accounting for online casinos, rules for limiting the advertising campaign and sponsorship programs by online casinos, better and effective measures to curb fraud and theft and many more. All this will help provide a better environment for players so that they can play in online casinos without any problem. Due to the growing number of cases of fraud and theft, a lot of discussion is being held for framing rules for curbing the same.

In the US, authorities have started their campaign against fraud in online casinos by introducing better legislative measures. Very soon, even the UK government is expected to implement such measures. In the next few months, a lot of drastic changes are expected to be seen in the way licensing is done in UK online casinos.

September 23, 2011

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Levies Hefty Fine On A Casino Operator

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) levied a fine of $30,000 on a casino operator on 18 August 2011 for a regulatory violation. The casino operator had violated the regulations by contributing to an individual’s illegal campaign. This fine was a result of an agreement between the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Board and the operator of Parx casino and Racetrack in Bucks County, the Greenwood gaming and entertainment Inc.

For permitting two different individuals on the PGCB’s list to enter and gamble in the casino, the Greenwood Gaming was fined $15,000 on different occasions in 2009 and 2010. In the Self-Exclusion program of PGCB, the individual gamblers are assisted to choose to ban themselves from gambling in the casinos in Pennsylvania State. Once a person is included in the Self-Exclusion list, the casinos and other gaming facilities must refuse any trading or wagers from these persons and deny all gaming privileges.

Fine Levied for Violating Prohibition on Contributions

In accordance with another consent agreement, $15,000 fine was levied against Tommy Rosenfeld of New York. He violated the prohibition on contributions to any campaigns toward any election to the public office in the State of Pennsylvania. Mr. Rosenfled, the owner of CanAm Pennsylvania Regional Centre LLC, New York, had made a contribution of $15,000 in October 2010. He had submitted an application for a gaming principle license, around 6 months prior to this contribution.

According to the agreement, after applying for the license, a person is prohibited to contribute any money or kinds in any other form to a political party, an individual candidate, or any group which is organized to support a candidate for election in a public office. As Mr. Rosenfled came under this category, he was fined. The contribution money was later refunded to him.

Working of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The PGCB was established in 2004 under an act popularly known as Race Horse Development and gaming Act. The board’s job is to oversee and regulate all aspects of the gaming industry and casino in the Pennsylvania state .The ten casinos in operation in the Commonwealth have generated $5.5 billion in tax revenue and license-fee revenue since November 2006 when the first casino opened.

This money generated is being used to reduce the property tax burden of the homeowners of Pennsylvania and for funding the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry. A portion of this money also goes as grants for fire companies, sewer/water projects, and for establishing a new system of tax revenue for local governments for the community projects.

Information on all aspects of the PGCB can be found on their official website. The visitors can view videos of Board meetings on operations and working of the PGCB at this website. They can obtain information regarding any gambling problem, its identification, and solution. They can look for future schedule of meetings, go through past meeting details, and seek assistance in related matters of gaming. There is also an interactive map of casino locations in Pennsylvania which can be assessed on this website.

The next meeting for PGCB is scheduled for September 14, 2011, in Harrisburg, Hearing Room 1 of the PUC–Keystone building. Meeting starts at 10:00 am and everybody is invited.

September 21, 2011

Viejas Casino Offers Free Meal To Public At Harvest Buffet On 20thanniversary

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Southern California’s premier gaming and entertainment destination, Viejas casino, is amidst celebrations for its 20th anniversary. As part of this celebration, the casino is offering free meal to the public on September 13, Tuesday, at the award-winning Harvest Buffet.

In Viejas casino, there are thousands of slot machines, game tables with Baccarat, Pai Gow and blackjack, a poker room, a bingo hall, and betting facility. The casino has a variety of restaurants including the harvest Buffet, Grove Steakhouse, and Emerald Asian Cuisine. There is a unique shopping outlet which offers the visitors highly acclaimed stores, Mini Golf, Bowling, and numerous eating joints. Viejas casino is a complete entertainment center. It enjoys patronage of people from all walks of life, all age and income groups.

A Gesture to Thank Dedicated Guests

Ever since it opened up in September 13, 1991, Viejas casino has been a favorite destination for gaming, entertainment, and dining. Mr. Anthony R. Pico, the Viejas tribal Chairman, said that offering the free meal buffet is simply a way to express thanks to the dedicated guests and everybody in San Diego who has contributed in the success of the Casino in the past two decades.

He further added that the tribal government gaming has provided Tribal Community, the much required opportunity for economical independence and self–governance. Sharing the good fortune with others and giving back in some way to the society is a part of the tribal culture. Therefore, the free meal incorporates these values and has been made a prominent part of the 20th year celebrations.

The guests are requested to plan ahead and keep aside plenty of time for parking and traffic congestions, as a large crowd is expected. The free meal will be offered as a plated serving to all guests in the Harvest buffet from 9 am to 9 pm and will be served on first come first serve basis. No entry formality, no V-Club card is required. Viejas has arranged for 25 free round trip buses running from El Cajon and three from North County. This is done to provide easy transport access to all those who want to visit for the free meal at Viejas Casino.

EwasteCollection Event

In addition to this, the Viejas outlets and computers 2 SD kids are hosting e-waste recycling drop off event on August 27, Saturday. When somebody donates, they receive free voucher to the Harvest Buffet at Viejas casino. Area residents can drop off the eWaste like working and non-working electronic items at Viejas outlets; drop off signs and distribution signs have been put up. The volunteers will be there to accept TVs, phones, cords, printers, hardware, and software.

Other Celebrations at Viejas

As part of the ongoing celebration of the Casino’s 20 years on Saturday, September 17, there will be a tribal blessing with sage-burning ceremony at the south entrance at 5 pm. In the V lounge, there will be free food and entertainment, historic bird-singing, which has been a part of the tribal culture for thousands of years. The 2012 Corvette drawing is scheduled at 8 pm. One lucky guest will also win $20,000 and eight guests will each get $2,000; this is in addition to the Corvette draw. At the bingo pavilion of Viejas, $100,000 is to be given away on September 17th, as the 20th anniversary celebrations continue.

September 19, 2011

MGM’s New Macau Casino Deal

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

The MGM Grand, Macau, is one of the many casinos and resorts that come under MGM Resorts International. The hotel cum resort opened its doors in Macau in 2007. The Grand stands as a 35-story structure with 600 rooms. The casino houses more than 1000 slot machines and as many as 427 gaming tables. Like all its casinos, the golden lion stands in front of the casino welcoming the guests to the MGM experience. The resort was opened in Macau as a joint venture with Chinese casino magnate Stanley Ho’s daughter Pansy. The joint venture started as a 50–50 deal.

In 2011 the 50–50 venture changed. MGM Resorts International was finally getting controlling interest in the Macau venture. This is on account of a new deal with Pansy. The new deal would give MGM 51 percentage, which is controlling interest in the casino. Pansy would get 29 percent and the remaining would be offered as public offering. The proceedings from the public offering would go to Ho’s ventures. Miss Ho would also receive $300 million worth of MGM’s senior convertible notes. Controlling interest in a casino in the gambling capital of the world is the target. This they have been able to achieve with this new deal with Pansy Ho. With the deal, MGM also aims to lead in the Macau gambling industry where other casino giants like Wynn and Las Vegas Sands are already leading the show.

The IPO is worth $1.5 billion. The fact that MGM is passing on that fortune to Pansy Ho comes as a surprise to many economists and financial experts. Though MGM would not gain from the IPO, the leaders of MGM state that the deal would only bring it benefit in the long run. In Macau casino revenues are skyrocketing every year. In the year 2010 alone, there was a rise in total gambling revenues that were somewhere near 45 percent. Therefore, the move by MGM to make a sacrifice in light of the bigger gains that await it is justified. There are also criticisms regarding Pansy’s decision to give up controlling interest in the venture. Some even criticize MGM of taking undue advantage of the lack of business expertise of Pansy. The company still claims that no such intent was there and the deal was struck after many days of negotiations with Pansy and her managers.

MGM further aims to strengthen its foothold in Macau by gaining land rights in Macau’s Cotai area. Here they plan to build a new casino. Other casinos like Galaxy and Wynn are set to open shop there. The Cotai area of Macau is the presently booming center where most gambling kings are looking on with interest.

MGM Resorts International is now more focused on its Macau operations. Las Vegas is diminishing in its capacity as a gambling destination. Macau has now emerged as the leader when it comes to gambling. More tourists and gamers prefer the grander settings of the Macau casinos to that of Las Vegas. As such, MGM’s strategy to build up the business in Macau is justified.

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