In the latest of a series of attacks on the Commission’s conclusions, land gaming operators inthe state of New South Wales warned the Australian federal government that competition from online casinos, if allowed, could cause hundreds of lost jobs.

NSW land operators told the national government any move to liberalise laws regarding online casinos, allied to the stronger restrictions on land gambling proposed by the Productivity Commission may force them to cut jobs in order to more effectively compete and survive commercially.

Land operator trade association Clubs NSW put numbers to the warning, saying that the Productivity Commission’s proposals could cause land operator revenues to decline by as much as 30 percent, which in turn could trigger up to 200 venue closures and the loss of hundreds of Australian jobs.

In its letter to the federal government, the New South Wales state government additionally warned: “Internet gaming has the potential for exponential growth and without proper regulation it could pose serious problems to society and problem gamblers.”

The Stanleybet International group has donated Euro 1.3 million for the purpose, the highest charitable payment paid out by a foreign company and one online roulette strategy which will enable the education of 90 pupils in thirteen classrooms when the rebuilding has been completed early 2010.

“We have very close links in Italy as well as employing a significant number of Italian nationals within our business,” said John Whittaker, managing director for StanleyBet.

“After such a tragic event, we felt it was incumbent on us to help in any way we could and as a result we decided to fund the rebuilding of the school in Arsita.”

Enzo Lucci, the Mayor for Arsita thanked Stanleybet and said: “We are very grateful to StanleyBet for its generous contribution and making the new school a reality,” said. “It means that our children will now have a building in which to learn.”

Once the US passes online casino gambling regulations (and though it may take years, it is the inevitable) those internet gambling sites currently offering gambling to US players will likely be denied official licensing in the market, so they’re not too keen to have that happen. Then to consider even further, a regulated and licensed market will mean that every single online casino gambling site is paying a portion of their revenue to the US government, which lowers the profits and affects the wager limits, bonuses and payout settings of the gambling sites.

Although there is no denying that there is a current danger for the online casinos offering internet gambling services illegally, many of these sites have a very real and valid reason for wanting to keep the status quo, stay profitable, and continue offering illegal gambling services to US players.

The problem is, there is a lot of money to be made from the online casinos, and not just money that the US government can take in taxes, but money that investors and venture capitalists are considering investing in companies that prep and prepare for entry into the US. But in order to prepare for the US online casino gambling industry the investors need a reliable prediction that really accurately assesses the obstacles facing the industry. One major step forward in the right direction was last weeks Congressional hearing about the internet gambling industry – but the hearing is just a first step, not a conclusive indication that the government is leaning in any particular direction.

Every time that something has been promised in the US online casino gambling industry, there have been limitations and those expectations are rarely met. That’s why it’s really safest to anticipate a possible several year delay still before a new federal legislation passes muster and makes it through the House and Senate and into law.

This legislation was instituted to protect land gambling interests that bring in a lot of money to the state budget in the form of tax revenue. Prentice instituted the harsh online casino gambling penalties back in 2006 and has now announced that new legislation is attempting to legalize keno in the state. The new keno legislation that is making its way through the state would generate an additional $30 million annually for the state budget – that’s no small figure. The state has a budget gap next year, and keno is the supposed solution to that gap. The online casinos and internet gambling companies feel that policy could be a little hypocritical though, for a state that is so against the expansion of internet gambling interests, it seems counterintuitive to then push for a much larger land gambling industry too.

But that’s just the crux of the issue; the state of Washington is not against the online casino gambling industry on principle, but rather for money. The strong penalties for internet gambling are merely the key way that the state has managed to protect it’s budgetary interests that are funded by land gambling.

And that’s just the federal government! There are a host of other issues on the state level that have also caused international concern – namely the state of Kentucky, and the stat4e of Washington. Kentucky is first on the list because state governor Steve Beshear has made a bit of a fool out of the state with the attempted domain name seizure from more than 140 online casinos and internet gambling related sites. The case has made international headlines for the past year – partly because the case was wholly ridiculous but yet pushed all the way to the state Supreme Court before being dismissed.

And if the Kentucky online casino domain name seizure were not enough, the state of Washington has the distinction of being the one state where gambling through the internet is right up there as an offense with child pornography. The state of Washington made internet gambling a felony offense several years ago and hasn’t made any attempts to overturn that ridiculously draconian piece of legislation.

Eubank said: “I am delighted to add punch to GamCare’s excellent work with problem gamblers and their families. I know from my own experience how easy it can be to be sucked into the casino gambling habit – and also how difficult it is to admit you have a problem and ask for help. Talking to GamCare’s HelpLine and Counselling team really brought home to me the nature and seriousness of the problem for many individuals, and the impact on their families. I am particularly keen to contribute to GamCare’s developing work with young people and disadvantaged groups.”

Announcing Eubank’s new role, GamCare Chairman Anthony Jennens said: “We are really pleased to welcome Chris on board. He has been to our offices to find out what we do at first hand, and he was visibly moved by some of the cases we described for him. HelpLine and Counselling staff were impressed by both his interest and understanding, and his keenness to get involved.”

Eubank will be attending GamCare’s Annual Conference in London on Monday 19th October. The conference provides a focus for the industry’s Responsible Gambling Awareness Day, which is designed to encourage gamblers to gamble sensibly and to help make sure that people who need help know how to find it.

“North America’s AAA Diamond rating system is a long-trusted method of rating lodgings and dining establishments, especially during what has been a difficult economic year for the hospitality online gambling industry and travelers,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco in making the announcement. “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.”

The coveted rating plaque features a design of four raised simulated diamonds and the AAA Four Diamond Award logo. It is presented to hotel and online casino general managers and executive chefs to recognize the award-winning properties, which rank among the top 3.4 percent of more than 2,600 Southern California hotels, motels and restaurants inspected by the Auto Club, the nation’s largest AAA affiliate.

“Recognition from the Auto Club with this top award for the sixth consecutive year is an ongoing tribute to every team member at Pala Casino Spa & Resort,” said Bill Bembenek, Pala’ s chief executive officer. “Everyone can take great pride in knowing that their daily commitment to quality and guest service continues to place them at the top of the industry.”

The recently expanded Pala Casino Spa & Resort includes a Las Vegas-style casino with over 2,000 slot machines, 15 poker tables and 87 table games; a 507-room hotel; a 10,000-square-foot, full-service spa and salon that features 14 treatment rooms; a state-of-the-art fitness center; swimming pool with 12 private poolside cabanas; and dual-temperature outdoor Jacuzzi. Pala also offers ten restaurants and 40,000-square-feet of meeting and convention space. The state-of-the-art Pala Spa won the 2009 Best Casino Spa from Spas of America

The study, conducted by Harvard Professor Malcolm Sparrow, was released during testimony by WiredSafety Executive Director Dr. Parry Aftab before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington DC.

“After more than a decade analyzing the risks posed by unregulated internet gambling, it may be ironic, but I have reached the conclusion that the best way to protect families and consumers in connection with cyber gambling is by legalizing it, not outlawing it entirely. Current laws prohibit the use of any financial institution for placing illegal online bets. But this approach won’t work in isolation and can’t work in a digital environment,” said Dr. Aftab in her testimony.

The study evaluated and weighed the different types and levels of consumer risks associated with existing, mostly unregulated, Internet gambling against the risks associated with Internet gambling in a strictly-regulated environment. These risks included, among others, gambling by minors, problem gambling, money laundering and fraud.

Dr. Aftab does not advocate online gambling, but she and WiredSafety strongly support efforts that result in effective consumer protections in a world where online gambling is a reality.

“The unintended but inevitable result of the current U.S. legal approach to Internet gambling is to force millions of American consumers to offshore sites out of the reach of U.S. courts and regulators and exposing U.S. citizens to significant risks without legal recourse. Prohibition isn’t working here any better than it did during the days of Al Capone. People will find ways to place a bet online or try their hand at games of chance,” continued Dr. Aftab.

On the basis of the research team’s review of the existing literature, available technologies, and interviews with academics, regulators, industry participants, and public interest advocates, the study reaches three main conclusions:

* Online gambling could be regulated effectively if it were legalized.

* A well-structured regulatory regime should provide much better social and consumer protections than the status quo for all of the identified risks.

* At a minimum, even an imperfect legalization and regulatory regime for online gambling would give Americans much more protection than they have now. The current prohibitionist policy is extremely weak: large numbers of U.S. residents already gamble online, but they do so using offshore sites, many of which are poorly regulated or unregulated.

“If we are going to protect consumers, we need to recognize that online gambling is a reality and growing daily. We owe it to Americans to address it intelligently. Our study and our experience supports the conclusion that the best way to address the risks associated with online gambling is developing a strong regulatory regime that protects consumers and empowers parents to protect their children from risky gambling web sites. And only Congress can do that,” Dr. Aftab concluded.

The Lisbon Treaty is still quite new and the Right2bet campaign latched onto the Citizens Initiative provision and have launched a campaign to gain the 1 million signatures and then force the European Parliament to address the issues with the current European online casino gambling industry. Although some EU member states have liberalized their gambling policies in the past several years, there are still several member-states that have restrictions and monopolies in place as a way to block activities from foreign online casinos. The Right2Bet campaign is asking that that EU fully address the discrepancy in policies and liberalize the whole of the EU market.

The matter at hand lies in the fact that action from the European Court of Justice is slow moving and the online casino gambling industry is looking for one cohesive and pointed effort from the European Union to address the blatant issues that are present in the European marketplace as sever EU countries refuse to open up their doors to more inclusive and liberal gaming policies.