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- China
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Gambling itch rising at four times the national growth in China
Macau's gambling revenue in the January-November
period rose 57% from a year earlier
China's Regulations on Lottery Management said
income from lottery is spent for prizes, management fees and public
welfare.
Gambling itch rising at four times the national
growth in China (China).- Chinese spending on gambling and lottery is
rising at four to five times the pace of national growth of around 9% a
year. Gaming casinos in Macau, the gambling heaven close to Hong Kong, saw
a 42% growth to us$ 2.4 billion in November. Sales of lottery tickets all
over China rose 37% on year on year basis in November.
Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau
reported that the casinos did business worth us$ 2.2 billion in November.
Macau's gambling revenue in the January-November
period rose 57% from a year earlier. Sales of lottery tickets in 11 months
ending November rose 25% to reach us$ 22 billion, according to the latest
numbers released by the ministry of finance.
China has two kinds of lottery, the usual state
lottery called 'welfare lottery' and sports lottery related to football
matches. Sales of welfare lottery tickets jumped 27 % to generate us$ 13
billion while the sales of sports lottery tickets grew 22.4% to us$ 9
billion in the first 11 months of 2010.
China's Regulations on Lottery Management said income
from lottery is spent for prizes, management fees and public welfare.
Yogonet.com /
Times of India, 28 December 2010
- Cyprus
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Cyprus online gamblers get reprieve as proposed ban is delayed
Online gambling prohibition is frowned upon by the EC
Originally, Cyprus sought input from the European
Commission on whether or not they could move forward with the ban.
Online gamblers have been able to play their favorite
casino games from the comfort of their own home for years in Cyprus, but
that was set to come to an end in 2011. Last week, those gamblers received
a reprieve as the island has delayed the proposed ban until at least the
middle of March.
Originally, Cyprus sought input from the European
Commission on whether or not they could move forward with the ban. Online
gambling prohibition is frowned upon by the EC because in most cases the
ban affects International commerce laws. Cyprus was looking to follow the
lead of Portugal in enacting the ban.
Portugal circumvented the European Union agreements
by claiming that the ban was necessary because of the high risk of crime in
the country. Cyprus has appealed to the EC using a similar approach, and
the input was supposed to come back from the Commission by last Tuesday.
Now that input will not arrive until March 14th.
The Commission will be making their determination
after considering several different factors. Included in the decision
making process will be discussions with other EU members. The feedback from
those discussions will go a long way in determining how the Commission
rules on the matter.
The ruling will be of interest to many countries that
have attempted to ban Internet gambling in the past. If Cyprus becomes the
second territory to win the right to a ban by citing the fear of criminal
behavior, other countries may start to use that strategy as well.
The US remains the largest online gambling market in
the world despite their government's efforts to prohibit the activity. The
World Trade Organization already has a ruling on the books against the US
when dealing with their online gambling laws. Antigua and Barbuda are owed
millions of dollars from the US and the two sides have been negotiating a
settlement for over a year.
Yogonet.com, 28
December 2010
- Gibraltar
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Gibraltar to raise gambling taxes for online companies in 2011
The government has decided to come into compliance
with European law
"Nobody will leave," said Victor
Chandler, Chairman of Victor Chandler International, one of the gaming
companies located in Gibraltar, to El Pais newspaper.
William Hill and Ladbrokes bolted from the UK
recently to get away from the 13% tax they were paying. Both firms opened
up shop in Gibraltar, having to pay only a 1% tax. Now, Gibraltar lawmakers
have decided that the online gambling taxes are being raised to 10 %
starting in 2011. The new tax will be the same as other businesses pay in
Gibraltar.
"Nobody will leave," said Victor
Chandler, Chairman of Victor Chandler International, one of the gaming
companies located in Gibraltar, to El Pais newspaper. "Although we'll
all complain about taxes going up." That may be a sentiment shared by
many of the online gaming executives in Gibraltar.
European Union law maintains that taxes must be
comparable, and Gibraltar has had a tax level much below other countries.
The government has decided to come into compliance with European law.
Around 20 online gaming companies will be affected by the tax rate change.
The gaming companies are thriving of late, and the
tax should not cause any of the companies to move. Even if they wanted to
leave, it is impossible to find anyplace where they will receive a lower
rate, even at the ten percent that the government is increasing to.
Gibraltar lawmakers understood they could raise the rate and not risk
losing business partners.
Companies located in Gibraltar have recently
started to consolidate with other gaming companies. Ladbrokes is in the
process of creating a bid to acquire 888 Holdings. If that were to happen,
Gibraltar could see more companies moving into the area in the coming
years.
Yogonet.com /
CasinoGamblingWeb.com, 27 December 2010
- Greece
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Greece government agrees to regulate online gambling
European Union law has been generally disregarded
by many countries including the US in recent years when it comes to online
gambling laws. The countries have either placed full bans on the activity,
or have allowed for monopolies to exist.
This year, however, several countries have started
to take steps to come into compliance with EU law, and Greece became the
latest to do so on Wednesday. Lawmakers claimed on Wednesday that online
gambling regulations would be coming in early 2011, bringing the country
into compliance with EU agreements that are currently in place.
Greece will not be stopping at online gambling.
The country also plans to lift a ban on low stakes slot machines. The
machines had been banned since 2002, but OPAP, the monopoly in betting, and
slots in casinos were exempt from the ban. That led to heavy fines for
violating EU law.
While Greece is opening their gambling market,
other countries are attempting to close theirs. Portugal recently won the
right to enact a gambling ban from the European Commission on the grounds
that the ban was needed to curb violent crimes. Cyprus has asked the Commission
to make a similar ruling, but that decision will not come until March.
The US, meanwhile, remains the largest online
gambling market in the world despite the government's attempt at
prohibition. Millions of online poker players exist in the US, and while
Conservatives are in favor of keeping the prohibition in place, many
Liberals are fighting to have the current laws changed.
In Greece, a Gambling Supervision Commission will
be created and will be in charge of regulating the gaming industry. Part of
the reason the ban is being lifted is the projected $1.3 billion in tax
revenue the government will receive in the next three years. Sports betting
is not included in the new laws, and currently OPAP has a monopoly on
sports betting with a deal in place until 2020.
CasinoGamblingWeb,
23 December 2010
- Malaysia
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More teens gambling lives away
More and more young adults are turning to gambling
for fast and easy money.
MCA public services and complaints department head Datuk Michael Chong
revealed yesterday that his department had received seven such cases this
year alone with debts totalling RM874,800 (S$366,000).
"The cases we see nowadays involve teenagers as young as 18," he
said at Wisma MCA, adding that this was just the tip of the iceberg as many
cases went unreported.
Chong said one of the cases he received involved a 20-year-old student who
became an online gambler, running up a debt of RM800,000 (S$335,000).
He said as was the case with all the others, the youth had tried paying it
off by lying to his parents that he needed the money for studies.
He finally confessed to his parents when the debtors called his home
demanding for payment.
His parents, who could not afford to pay back, approached Chong's
department for help.
Their son had since gone into hiding to escape the debt collectors'
harassment.
Chong said the young gamblers, all male, were described as hardworking,
obedient and studious by their families.
"But because they mixed with the wrong crowd, they found themselves in
hot water."
He said most of the bookies were classmates and ex-schoolmates of these
gamblers.
"Students are easily taken in by the syndicates who use their peers to
lure them into gambling," he said, adding that their actions could
have a detrimental effect on themselves, their families and careers.
One such student is Ah How, 21, who first became an online gambler last
year while he was studying at a college in Petaling Jaya.
His mother, who wanted to be known only as Yong, said she helped him pay
off the RM2,000 (S$840) debt.
But the second time around early this year, Ah How found himself in debt
again and borrowed RM8,000 (S$3,400) from his friend and used up RM15,000
(S$6,300) worth of investment to pay his debt.
Last week, Yong received a call from a debt collector who informed her that
Ah How owed him RM26,500 (S$11,000).
"He promised me that he would never gamble again after the first time,
but he doesn't seem to be able to stop," she said of her eldest son.
Yong said she came forward as she wanted her son's case to serve as a
lesson to other young adults who were hooked on gambling.
New Straits Times, 9 December 2010
- New
Zealand -
Gaming machines pose a dilemma
Reducing the number of gaming machines in Manawatu
will not solve the problem, says Hospitality Association of New Zealand
regional manager Chris Hince.
As part of the Manawatu District Council gambling
venue policy review, a study is being undertaken to consider reducing the
number of gaming machines in the district.
Councillors argued during a recent council meeting
that they had a moral duty to minimise the harm caused by problem gambling,
and decided to give the community the choice of three options:
To keep the existing policy which has a cap of 150
machines in the district.
Amend the policy to reduce the number to 128 which is
the current number of machines in the district.
Or reduce the number of machines to 100.
Fifteen submissions have been received from
organisations and people throughout the district and these will be
discussed at the council's strategic planning and policy committee meeting
tomorrow.
Mr Hince said problem gambling was an individual
problem and not a community problem.
"There is no correlation between the number of
machines and the number of problem gamblers," he said.
"Between 1991 and 2003 the number of gaming
machines grew five-fold nationally but the number of problem gamblers
reduced. We've also seen a reduction in machines since then and it's had no
change of problem gambler numbers."
He believes the council should make its decision
based on "reality" rather than "rhetoric and
hyperbole".
Feilding Hotel owner Dave Wiseman said he also did
not want council making its decision based on "heart-felt"
perceptions.
He believed the benefits of gaming outweighed the
negatives.
"All monies generated in our district from
gaming are distributed back to the community," he said.
"I can only speak from our own [Pub Charity]
contribution here, and in the past 12 months, we have funded a new
ambulance to Feilding's St John, $430,000 to the Manfeild Trust towards the
outdoor equestrian centre, the Historic Vehicle Society, Feilding Golf
Club."
A final decision will be made by the Manawatu
District Council in February.
Manawatu Standard,
15 December 2010
- New
Zealand -
Casino: We’re too full to detect banned gamblers
Increasing patronage on SkyCity Casino's gaming floor is making it
more difficult to detect people who have been banned from entering the
casino, SkyCity says.
Following an investigation, the Department of Internal Affairs has said it
found SkyCity had no grounds to withhold paying a $60,000 win to a man who
voluntarily banned himself from gambling in 2004.
SkyCity has paid the man, but said it was planning to lobby the department
and the Government to "remove any doubt" on the conditions of
re-entry into casinos.
"There are lots of people on our gaming floor, and as stringent as our
surveillance and our technology can be, it's not possible for us to detect
or stop every single person who has been excluded from entering the
casino," Skycity's spokeswoman Connie Sprague said. Miss Sprague would
not say how many problem gamblers were banned from entering the premises.
SkyCity's lawyer, Peter Treacy, said he hoped the Government would bring in
regulations to give some "legal teeth" to its efforts to keep
problem gamblers out.
Mr Treacy said SkyCity believed the $60,000 winner had contravened the
Gambling Act, but Internal Affairs disagreed.
"Our policies, we believe, are still absolutely right. The whole
thrust of them is to protect those few people who shouldn't be there from
themselves ..." he told Radio New Zealand.
"What's disappointing is that the department now doesn't seem to share
our view of what the consequences of re-entry and breach of conditions
should be."
In August, 28-year-old Sothea Sinn, who banned himself and his girlfriend
in 2004, entered the casino and gambled undetected for a few hours and won
a $60,000 jackpot playing Caribbean stud, a card game similar to poker.
He believed the ban had expired when he went to collect the winnings, but
was taken into a room with a SkyCity guard.
Internal Affairs gambling inspectors who arrived soon after had initially
agreed with the casino that Mr Sinn should not be paid because he had not
completed six counselling sessions, which was part of the criteria for him
to re-enter the casino.
But the department said that upon further investigation, it had found no
reason under the Gambling Act for SkyCity to refuse payment, reported the
department's newsletter, Gambits, in its December issue.The department had
"reconsidered the issue as one involving the integrity of
gambling" and advised SkyCity that Mr Sinn had not breached the
Gambling Act because his ban had expired. It also said alleged breaches of
civil law had no impact on the Gambling Act, and the matter of whether the
$60,000 was paid out was a matter between SkyCity and Mr Sinn.
Nzherald.co.nz, 5 January 2011
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