Lawmakers in Connecticut are working with the state’s Attorney General, Martha Coakley, to develop casino regulations that will be ready once expanded gambling plans are approved on Beacon Hill.  Coakley stated, “We want to have a regulatory structure in place before a bill comes out…I’m told that gambling brings certain types of crime, such as money laundering and gang activity. We want to make sure that we have the regulatory authority to oversee whatever comes out of the legislature.” 

In April, Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Governor Deval Patrick all agreed that the proposed expansion of gambling legislation in the state are acceptable.  Despite a dip in slot revenues and a substantial layoff at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, lawmakers are still looking to focus on increased gambling locales.  As Murray stated, “There’s still up to $900 million going out of the state to Connecticut and Rhode Island gambling facilities, and we’d like to capture that.”

Connecticut’s Division of Special Revenue is showing a notable dip in revenues at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos.  The decrease in revenue is attributed to the recession and hard-hitting economy that has his the nation, causing many people to scale back on discretionary spending.  Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos suffered a 7.5% decrease in profits, bringing in only $736.4 million, for the first two quarters of 2009. Last year, the total revenue was $796 million for the first half of the year.

According to the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, just over 30% of customers at Foxwoods and just under 20% at Mohegan Sun, are Massachusetts  residents.  Both casinos have contributed a combined $5 billion to the state and local governments in the last 15 years.

In downtown St. Louis, Pinnacle Entertainment is making a move to replace the Admiral riverboat, that houses the President Casino.  The reason for the replacement is that that long-standing Admiral riverboat is aging quickly and in need of an upgrade.  Managers are quick to note that they need state regulators to allow the change without risking the casino’s operating license.  As of July 2010 the casino will no longer be certified if it isn’t upgraded with major  repairs.  The casino has been standing since 1907 and was rebuilt in 1940. Since that time it has been visited by millions of gamblers and suffered considerable wear and tear.  The city knows that it’s in need of serious attention to continue as one of the casino giants of the Midwest.

The Missouri Gaming Commission held a public hearing this past Tuesday in effort to present future construction plans and revamping of the President casino. They are also debating whether or not Pinnacle Entertainment will be allowed to sustain their current license for the proposed new generation of the Admiral Riverboat.  At this time there was no decision on the license, however Chairman James Matthewson stated that it will come “within a reasonable period of time.”

The President Casino’s final decision will inevitably have repercussions on the entire state of Missouri because the number of casinos in the state are capped at 13.  The state has 12 currently and one more under construction.  This limited licensing means that any new developments must wait until one of the approved casinos loses its license to start operating.   Attorney General Chris Koster stated, “We conclude that to replace a boat or permanently change a location requires the issuance of a new license.”  The state must follow its rule of 13 casinos, but they also want to make sure each one is performing and bringing in gambling revenue to the state.

Management of the Admiral remains hopeful. They hope to convince regulators that the casino is an integral part of the social culture of downtown St. Louis and contributes to the atmosphere of the community.  If they can maintain its importance, they may be able to convince the Missouri Gaming Commission to carry over the license to the new and updated facility.

If you’re searching online casinos to find the best new places to gamble, be sure to check out SuproCasino. It is one of the latest online gambling websites and is proving to be more than worth a shot.  The casino has an intentional “modern” look and is setting itself apart from other online casinos by using heavy branding and marketing.  Although the company is part of a huge conglomerate, it’s still looking to form its own niche in the online casino market by creating dynamic and innovative bonuses and big payouts.

SuproCasino is a part of the 888-family of online casinos so it already has a great advantage as a newcomer to the market.  888’s award-winning software has already given it a reputation for outstanding gaming and ease of play.  Like the company’s other online casinos, SuproCasino is a cut above the rest in look, design and customer service. Its unique branding is hoped to create a new market of gamblers who want sleek visuals to replicate brick and mortar casino gambling.

SuproCasino is 888’s latest addition to the market and is already setting itself up as a stand-out. Currently SupraCasino offers the best sign-up bonuses of all the online casinos.  They offer 100% up to $1,200. The bonus gives applicable gamblers better odds of large wins when playing.  The casino is already known to offer one of the thinnest house edges in online gaming and with the added bonus structure, gamblers are enjoying winning possibilities. Of course there are some restrictions, but overall they hold up well to the industry standard and still afford players a wide range of possible payouts.

If you’re a new player to the online casino market, be sure to look at SuproCasino as an option.  You won’t find an online casino with better sign-on bonuses and better odds, combined.

JetCasino.com is one of the latest online casinos to payout big for one lucky player.  The casino held a drawing to win a “supercar” for a weekend and “Peter H” won.  Peter is a car aficionado and chose the Lamborghini Murcielago for his weekend supercar.  Of the car, Peter H said, “The car was delivered within minutes. It was surrounded by people taking pictures and asking questions. I’ve never seen anything quite like it! I was eventually asked by the police to move on because of the crowds it was attracting!” JetCasino.com’s manager stated, “This is the kind of response that we like to hear about when we arrange these Supercar experiences. Although some people may not like the attention, the cars that we offer are bound to attract it which adds to the overall thrill of experiencing one. The Murcielago is an incredible machine and everyone at Jet is pleased that Peter enjoyed every moment of driving it.”

JetCasino.com is working hard to maintain its slogan of “Home of the High Rollers” and their marketing team is consistently innovating new ideas.  The website, that operates on the PlayTech platform, allows players to choose from over 130 online games. In the world of online casinos, JetCasino.com is living up to its name.  They also offer high-betting Blackjack and Roulette.  New players are given ₤200 as a sign-on bonus and the casino’s progressive jackpots regularly reach ₤1,000,000. 

This specific give-a-way sets the gamer apart in the world of online casinos because it is a consistent promotion. JetCasino.com plans on holding the deal every month.  They  offer a different high performance car and anyone who deposits a minimum of ₤25 is eligible to win the random drawing.  With this type of promotion, it’s easy to see why JetCasino.com is setting itself up for success and standing out from the crowd of other online casinos.  It’s this type of flashy win that most gamblers are drawn to and appreciate. Peter H added, “I love JetCasino.com and all my friends are jumping on board…especially after they saw me in the Lamborghini!”

It’s always great to hear about online casinos who are pushing the envelope in terms of payout. One of the biggest UK online casinos Will Hill management has announced a grand total of ₤750,000 paid out over the last 30 days. The total payout came from winning in bingo, poker, live casino games, lotteries and sports betting.  It also included jackpots from ₤20,000 to ₤188,000. Most of the biggest payouts were won on progressive jackpot games.

Will Hill can attribute its “Pharaoh’s Treasure” slots to the huge jackpot of ₤188,000.  “Sophie M” was the grand winner this month when she hit the GBP 102 716 progressive jackpot…on a GBP 4.5 bet. The winner said the online casinos’ payout caused her to go into “complete shock” when she won. “It was the early hours of the morning and I went to bed thinking ‘thank you, thank you, thank you.’  I hardly slept but I had to keep checking my bank balance the next morning because it felt like some weird and wonderful dream that I’d had!” In excitement she added, “I’ve had online casinos’ accounts for about a year, but I’ve only been playing the Pharaoh’s Treasure  game for a couple of weeks - I liked the graphics and I’ve got a good memory so I was good at the bonus rounds. Really good at the bonus rounds, as it turns out! It’s still unbelievable! I’m planning to invest the money for my family, especially my beautiful children, it will secure their future for them.”

This is great news for online gamers. This means that other online casinos will have to up their antes to remain competitive with Will Hill.  As an online casino, the company has worked hard to promote themselves as a premier payout casino.  In fact, the company set its sights on being a giant in payout, but since the beginning of the year they have far exceeded their expectations by reaching almost ₤500,000 in progressive jackpots.  As they continue to grow into a giant in online casinos, Will Hill plans on continuing to exert themselves and set themselves apart from other online gaming portals.

WMS Gaming, a slot machine manufacturer based in Illinois, recently released an online survey called “The Active Gambler Profile.”  The study was created to find out the specific behaviors of gamblers in online casinos and how they prefer things such as the user-interface, gaming guidelines, customer contact and payout options. The company asked 2000 respondents to answer a battery of questions on online casinos and their gaming practices.  Rob Bone, the WMS Gaming’s VP of Marketing, stated, “The results provided views of the full, active gambling population.” The groups were divided by the number of times they visit either online casinos or actual casinos. Data was split up into three categories:

·         Those who are casual gamblers

·         Those who are frequent gamblers

·         Those who are devoted gamblers

One interesting result of the study was that online casinos are seeing more frequent users due to the fact that most people have much less “personal time” in their lives.  It seems appropriate that gamblers can log-in for their gaming needs, rather than travel to a far-away casino. Bone added, “Gamblers are actually more ‘time impoverished’ than the average American because [they] have fewer opportunities for personal time, based on frenetic lifestyles.” 

The biggest finding of the survey is that technology is affecting gambling preferences.  The Active Gambler Profile showed that 92% of gamblers have access to online casinos, whereas only 70% of the population have internet access at all.  Bone added, “Active gamblers spend hours online, and new devices such as mobile I-phones allow gamblers to engage the [online casino] on demand.”  Technology is affecting online casinos and gaming in general, by making it more accessible to the market.

WMS Gaming hopes to use the information gathered to cater more directly to their market. Knowing what customers’ priorities are makes it easier to create products that bring value. Bone also stated, “There’s a misconception about gamblers…that they’re laggards when it comes to adapting to technology, and that’s just not the case. Actually, they like to figure things out, they want to know how a game works, how they get paid, and then be able to explain it to others.” 

Gambling continues to gain steam both in actual and online casinos.  One of the hottest annual events is the World Series of Poker Main Event. This year’s tournament was no different than other years in celebrating.  Here are some of the hottest, and most interesting characters, around.

Jason Alexander of “Seinfeld” fame. Jason used to come to the casino to play around and dabble in the game. He’d spend more time honing his comedy skill than actually playing for cash. This year was different. He obviously modified his attitude towards the game and was playing like a pro.  He even made it to a leader for a portion of the tournament and seemed destined to win. He didn’t, but he did show that he’s a serious contender and player. His inclusion brings added credibility to the hobby in casual online casinos and top-dollar casino tournaments.

Lou Diamond Phillips is another serious player.  He recently won the reality TV show “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here” and right off of his win, he headed to the Tournament.  He ended up not only winning the reality TV show, but winning over $36,000 at the poker showdown and finishing a respectable 186^th. This was his first event, but definitely won’t be his last because he showed some real poker playing talent. Phillips’ celebrity is credited with bringing notoriety to the reality TV show he participated in and poker organizers are hoping it will bring added notoriety to gambling in general, in both actual casinos and online casinos.

Phil Hellmuth is another person who participated in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Hellmuth made a big splash last year but this year only made it to 436^th place, winning just over $25,000. Part of his signature participation is his entrance. One year he was flanked by scantily clad models as he walked down the hallway into the tournament. The “flashy” lifestyle is apropos to the flashy Vegas casinos and mirrored in virtual online casinos by developers. Hellmuth is an expert at the lifestyle.

In the end, the World Series of Poker Main Event 2009 was a success. It was showy and opulent, and indicative of the Vegas casino world.  Check out the tournament next year and you’re sure to find the best players and have a great time watching the event.

Spain is another country looking for ways to regulate online casinos.  Many nations are looking for gambling as the answer to growing deficits and in particular with the heavy-handed recession, they are open to new options of generating revenue.  Spain is hoping to find ways to manage each market and use the online gambling market. 

Managing each separate market in the country will require compliance with all local laws and specialized consultants will have to be highly involved for the development of online casinos to work. Despite the enormity of the expansion, lawmakers are quick to explore options as there is an estimated 46 million people in the Spanish-speaking market in Spain alone.  Many international organizations have also shown peaked interest in moving the online casinos into Spain due to the huge untapped market.

The knowledge of the Spanish market has also led other gaming companies to create region-specific events. For example, iGaming Business developed iGB Espana. This is a gaming conference that will be held in Madrid from October 29^th to the 31^st. The purpose of the convention is to capitalize on the gambling market and introduce online casinos to the area.  Companies also want to do extensive market research to usher in the possibility of expansion into the individual demographic.  James McKeown, editor of iGaming Business, stated, “Never has the need for localization been more apparent in our [online casino] and gambling industry, and iGB Espana is a timely reflection of this shift in focus to online casinos and gaming, in general.” He added, “Spain is a flowering market but there is still much to learn in order to create a successful and fully compliant business there. Being the first market-specific conference on the circuit, iGB España is the only event fully dedicated to the Spanish market, and is the only place where you’ll be fully educated on the legal, operational and technical workings of the market.”

iGB Espana will be a free conference for all affiliates and media owners and will offer a wide variety of networking opportunities for all involved in gambling and the online casinos market. To register, find out more at www.iGBEspana.com.

More and more states and cities are looking to gambling revenues as their deficits become unmanageable. The recession has led everyone in difficult financial struggles. State representatives are one by one making big pushes to include and increase online gambling as an added source of revenue to help defray huge deficits and expenditures. 

The Illinois General Assembly is the most recent body to propose the expansion of online casino taxations to generate cash for the state government.  The topic was first brought up in 2005 when the House voted 67 to 42 to shut down the proposal involving the state’s riverboat casinos.  State Representative John Bradley, supporter of online gambling taxations, stated that the 2005 vote sent a clear message to those who are looking to gambling to save the state from financial turmoil.  He stated, “It brought the problem of relying on gambling for revenues to the forefront. We were able to make a significant statement.”

The newly proposed online casino plan would involve more than just online gaming. The state is looking to add four new casinos to the current nine, making a total of thirteen in the Chicago-land area.  It would also allow horst tracks to add slots and expand existing casinos.  The state is estimating the increase in gambling taxes in both brick and mortar and online casinos would bring in “at least” $2 billion.

State Representative Lou Lang stated, “The sluggishness of the state’s economy and growing health care costs and pension obligations continue to plague the state budget,” said Lang. “As a result, Illinois must continue to replace lost revenues.”  Despite the earlier vetoing of changes to online casinos, some legislators are still considering expanding current casinos to help fund school  constructions and road building.

Still with a history of unsuccessful campaigning for new taxes on regular and online casinos, it may be difficult to get the new laws  passed. One spokesperson stated, “I don’t know if the mood in Illinois House is any different as it pertains to gambling.”  Many people still believe that encouraging gambling, in live casinos or online casinos, does more harm than good for the society. Only time will tell if lawmakers are ready to use gambling as a method of revenue-generating activity.

Since the UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, PayPal changed its policies to prohibit online gambling transactions. The company mainly was concerned it would be prosecuted by the US Department of Justice so they opted out of transactions completed at online casinos. Now that UK online casinos are regulated under the UK Gambling Act 2005, however, PayPal UK has begun managing online gambling transactions. PayPal’s development has made it a premiere online venue for moving payments from one business or person to another business or person. 

Casino 32 Red is the most recent of the online casinos to begin virtual gambling. Pat Harrison, Operations Director for the casino stated that the company’s mission is “to make online gambling as simple and convenient as possible.” He also confirmed that the company would be upgrading their cashiering services to affiliate with PayPal’s online money management system. Harrison stated 32 Red is confident that PayPal can contribute to their mission of user-friendly payment submission and collections and hopes the move will bring in a completely new demographic of gamers in online casinos.

32 Red is hoping that PayPal’s reputation for reliability will positively contribute to its current online membership.  In the UK only 75 internet casinos are using PayPal UK.  With 32 Red’s reputation for outstanding gaming and PayPal’s reputation for secure transactions, the company’s managers believe it will create growth.  PayPal is known for its security and simple payment methods as it accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, Solo, and direct deposit transactions. 

As a testament to their user-friendly interface, 32 Red has outlined its new account creation process. It has already melded with PayPal.  A 32 Red online casino player can open a free account. Immediately there are PayPal instructions at the cashier’s screen. It leads new users through the deposit process.  The simplicity is what PayPal is known for and 32 Red hopes to capitalize on this and bring in more customers to its online casinos.