For some time we’ve been following the ongoing conflict between the US and the island nation of Antigua surrounding internet gambling. Even before the passage of the most recent anti-gambling law, Antigua had gone to the WTO to complain that the US government’s actions against online gambling were de facto protectionist measures, and thus violated international trade law.

The WTO ended up siding with Antigua, although, quite predictably, the US did nothing to resolve the issue — in fact, things have only gotten worse. Now the WTO is speaking out again, slamming the US government for its failure to abide by the decision against it. Once again, it seems likely that the US will ignore the decision, although that would give Antigua the right to retaliate. One possibility that’s been thrown out there is that Antigua may turn itself into a haven for free music and software and set up some site like allofmp3.com. Of course, the US put pressure on Russia to crack down on that site, as part of the country’s admittance into the WTO, but since Antigua is already part of the organization, the US would have no such leverage. (technodirt)

The Formula-1 Grand Prix of 2007 is a month away. It will start the next 18th March in Australia , but the Antepost betting are starting to take off on this event so awaited, the first without Michael Schumacher. The first important bet came from England : 2000 pounds bet on the winning Fernando Alonso, who this year will race for McLaren. But bookmakers bet on the favourite Finnish Kimi Raikkonen, the new face of the Ferrari, quoted 11/8. Alonso follows immediately after by 2/1. agicos

MGM Mirage, the second-largest casino operator in the world, saw gaming revenues rise by 13% in the fourth quarter of 2006. In the three months to the end of December, casino revenues stood at US$833m compared to US$737m in the same period 2005. Casino revenues for the year rose to US$3.1bn from US$2.7bn in 2005. MMM, we wonder why…

Leisure and Gaming’s Betshop Italia brand has started selling scratch cards in its land-based retail outlets. Gabriel Chaleplis, managing director of Betshop, said: “The initial take up of scratch cards has been extremely promising and indicates that our Italian customers are keen to try new and different products beyond our core sports betting offering.”

888 says it has no further update on talks with Ladbrokes, which seem to be dragging on a bit. Ladbrokes indicated at the beginning of November that it was ‘in the early stages of reviewing a possible transaction involving 888’ although no decision had been made. A month later Ladbroke said it was ‘continuing discussions with 888 over a possible takeover.’

TORONTO — Gaming software producer CryptoLogic Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit dropped 70.6 per cent to $1.7-million (U.S.) in its first report reflecting financial performance since the U.S. government declared a ban on online gambling. The quarter was hit by $1-million in reorganization costs for the shift of its headquarters to Ireland.
However, CryptoLogic posted a record annual profit of $24.8-million and revenues of $104-million.

CryptoLogic said the short-term impact on revenue and earnings was “heightened” by the new law, adding that the fourth quarter is consider its strongest of the year. But the company added that since its major focus was on Europe, even before laws changed, the impact was “less serious” than for some competitors.

“While 2006 was a challenging year for the industry, it was another record year for CryptoLogic — and we enter 2007 with both focus and momentum,” said Lewis Rose, CryptoLogic’s president and CEO. “We’ve launched five new customer sites since December, and have three more in the queue — including two for Holland Casino, CryptoLogic’s first government-owned customer.” (canadian press)

While in Italy people are turning the near future of the present football season over, abroad there’s who has already thought about the future. In England the Thierry Henry case holds court. The strong French forward, object of desire of many European clubs among which also the Italian ones, could leave the Arsenal football club at the end of the season.

A well-known English bookmaker decided to take odds on it. All thing considered, it’s easier that the French player could stay with the Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger. In fact, the possibility that Henry could start the next season with the Gunners’ team shirt, is given 1.50 whereas that of seeing him with another team shirt is given to 2.50. agicos

CryptoLogic has signed a three-year licensing agreement with Holland Casino to provide the Dutch operator with poker and casino software. The new site is to be run by Holland Casino for the Dutch government, and will launch in June 2007 serving only players in the Netherlands.

Lewis Rose, CryptoLogic president and chief executive, said in a company statement that the addition of a government-controlled casino was significant for the company and its reputation. He said: “We have an excellent template for other governments interested in realising the benefits of safe, secure and regulated internet gaming.”

Holland Casino will join other top gaming sites using CryptoLogic-developed software. These include William Hill, InterCasino, Interpoker, Playboy Gaming, ukbetting, Littlewoods Gaming, DTD Poker, Betsafe, Parbet Poker and Extreme Poker.

The feds pretend they’re pursuing criminals while prosecuting honest businessmen for providing services Americans want. The money laundering charges against Lawrence and Lefebvre — which carry prison sentences of up to 20 years, 10 times the maximum penalty for the offense they supposedly facilitated — are based on the government’s claim that Neteller transferred money into and out of the United States “with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity.” BS!

What unlawful activity? taking online bets from Americans? Most Americans see Neteller as a legitimate business unlike certain lobbies that can’t stand the idea of somebody playing poker in his pajamas. Last year’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which forbids processing payments for illegal online gambling but does not say which forms of online gambling are illegal, did not clarify matters.

As far as the federal government is concerned, no matter what people involved with online gambling say about the industry’s legal status, it proves they’re guilty. It is merely acknowledging that some people entrusted with government power may abuse it in a vain attempt to police the recreational choices of their fellow citizens. We agree with Jacob Sullum of humanevents.com

The bets on the Academy Award are riding high in Italy and the preferences of the Italian betters reflect faithfully those of the foreign colleagues. A single anomaly is represented by Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happiness’ main character by the Italian director Gabriele Muccino, who competes for the Academy Award as Best actor: today Match Point has decreased its share till 8.00, whereas in England is always to 16/1.

The affection for the movie which represents Italy has been the cause of this decrease in Italy (up to some days ago its share was 15.00, thus at the same level of the British one): in fact in the last hours Italian people have bet a lot on his winning. agicos

Super Bowl Sunday is a good time to examine the federal government’s hypocritical relationship with gambling. Betting at Native American casinos on federal land is fine. Wagering in Nevada and New Jersey is OK, too. State lotteries are great.

As long as the government is in on the action (taxes), placing a C-note on the Bears or the Colts is as moral as eating apple pie. But don’t dare use your BlackBerry or laptop to visit an offshore gaming Web site. If you do that, you lock the Internal Revenue Service out of the take and offend the “legitimate gaming” lobby. We could not agree more with the Daily Breeze.

People clearly want to bet on sports, and they are increasingly using computers to direct their money to where they want it to go, the right of anyone in a free society. Gambling is a form of speculating, and if someone thinks he can get a greater return on the Super Bowl than he can on Ford stock, why not let him?

The best bet would be for the government to lift the online gaming ban and instead license, regulate and tax Web sites that seek American bettors. Read more

For the second consecutive year, CryptoLogic Inc. has captured Gambling Online Magazine’s Top Casino Software Award. The award, based on the votes of readers, players and website visitors, is widely recognized as the industry’s top honour.

At CryptoLogic, we know what players want, and transform those desires into the ultimate online entertainment experience,” said Lewis Rose, CryptoLogic’s President and CEO. Internet casino software continues to be CryptoLogic’s core business, accounting for almost 60% of the company’s revenue in the first three quarters of 2006. CryptoLogic continues to benefit from its significant investments in player research, competitive benchmarking and exclusive partnerships with top entertainment brands including Bejeweled and Cubis.

CryptoLogic offers a superior gaming experience with more excitement, more innovation and more chances to win,” said Justin Thouin, CryptoLogic’s Vice President, Casino.CryptoLogic also offers the industry’s best jackpot offering, including its patented Millionaires Club® which boasts the highest jackpot in online history, and its Rapid Fire slot games which continues to pay out more often than any other online slot. (cnnmatthews)