Casper Star-Tribune Online | City Council approves gambling at Casper bar. It could provide $200000 in local tax money. Casper Star-Tribune Online First, he needed to secure a conditional use permit to allow gambling in the C-2 commercial zone, where the bar is located. Second, he needed Casper to change its law barring gambling in liquor establishments. Rick Cook of Wyoming Downs said placing ... |
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OnlinePokerReport.com | New York, Illinois And Pennsylvania Are Coming Down To The Wire On Online Gambling OnlinePokerReport.com As we gear up for the home stretch, none of these bills happening is a certainty. But we can take a moment to appreciate the fact that four different legislative bodies have passed bills that would legalize and regulate online gambling. And we're still ... |
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5 places searched in Macon gambling investigation
Kasandra Ortiz, WMAZ 6:57 PM. EDT June 13, 2017
Three arrests have been made, civil racketeering complaints filed, and five locations searched in a Georgia Bureau of Investigation gambling investigation.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation executed five search warrants in Bibb County for the violation of Georgia's gambling laws, racketeering, money laundering and related offenses, said District Attorney David Cooke at a press conference Tuesday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation searched three businesses, an annex and a Macon home where they suspected illegal gambling.
The businesses raided were the Shell Food Mart on Riverside Drive in north Macon, Poplar Mart on Poplar Street downtown and Lizella Supermarket on Holley Road in West Bibb.
Cooke says all the locations used coin operated video machines, but instead of giving winning customers store merchandise or lottery tickets -- they were getting cash payouts.
Cooke says the Shell Food Mart on Riverside Drive and the Lizella Supermarket had millions of dollars coming through.
"Customers gambled approximately $25,000,000 or about $700,000 per month over a 3-year period from April 2014 to May 2017. These businesses failed to pay in excess of $1,000,000 to the state and local governments, said Cooke.
He says at Poplar Mart, on Poplar Street, customers gambled over $53,000 a month over a two-year period. The winnings totaled around $900,000. He said the store did not pay $100,000 in taxes and also filed fraudulent returns to the state.
Cooke says he has filed civil racketeering complaints against people connected with the gambling.
According to the Bibb County Jails inmate website Soon Cha, Hung Park and Myoung Park have all been arrested.
Cha was charged with racketeering, two counts of commercial gambling and evading currency transaction report requirements.
Hun Park and Myoung Park were charged with commercial gambling.
"We're going to vigorously enforce the law to the best of our ability. We're not going to be deterred and we're going to do everything we can to keep this community safe, said Cooke.
2017 WMAZ-TV
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Lastweek the Pennsylvania House passed the biggest expansion to gaming in over a decade. Ironically, the bill was originally introduced to provide for better gambling addiction treatment, yet it now authorizes fantasy sports gaming, online gaming, online lottery, airport gaming, and up to 40,000 video game tablet (VGT) terminals in up to 40,000 locations throughout the commonwealth.
Whether you agree with expanding gaming in Pennsylvania or not, an expansion of this magnitude requires serious consideration to determine its effect, both fiscally and ethically. Unfortunately, legislators were given only six hours to consider this675-page bill before being asked to cast a vote.
In the end, I voted no not because I oppose all gaming but because there was no way to cast a responsible and informed vote. Mine was a vote against a failure of process.
This failure, resulting in a lack of transparency of information, was made possible, in part, by a rule change passed on swearing-in day this year. The change decreased the minimum time required to consider an amended bill from 24 hours to just six hours. Six hours to consider anything from a simple word correction to a 675-page bill. A handful of colleagues and I voted no on this rule change, and I spoke out against it on the House floor.
Six hours is not enough time for legislators, or the public, to grasp the details of a bill and policy shift of this size. And it is not enough time to decide if an expansion in gaming is a smart bet or policy for our state.
We were elected by our constituents to make informed decisions about policies that reflect their priorities. In this case, we were not given the time to inform ourselves, much less our constituents, of the proposals, nor to ask their opinion before this vote.
Questions like: Is this a responsible way to increase revenues to balance the budget? Should this method be taken in connection with other revenue sources, such as a severance tax on natural gas, or changes to PIT or SUT? And ultimately, do residents want more access to gaming?
Maybe this is a smart, popular policy. One of the more compelling arguments I have heard is that there are already an estimated 40,000 illegally operated VGTs in the state that are not being regulated or taxed. But in six hours there is no way to determine the veracity of this claim, or get real feedback from our districts.
Perhaps the most concerning result of this rushed process is the inability to get accurate revenue estimates. Some wager that expanded gaming will bring in $250 million to $300 million in 2017/2018, but such estimates have been disastrously inaccurate in recent years.
Its budget season, and this fiscal year, Pennsylvania is expected to be more than $1 billion below revenue estimates in part due to gaming revenues that never materialized bringing our total budget deficit near $3 billion.
Pennsylvanians cannot afford self-inflicted budget mistakes, and when they happen because we fail to take the time to consider and accurately predict the impact of legislation, it is simply irresponsible. With the budget deadline around the corner, I fear that we will see more slap-dashed proposals that lawmakers and the public will not have the time to read, much less cast an informed vote.
I hope that I am wrong. I hope legislative leadership will be more forthcoming with the budget proposals we will consider; I hope we will be given the opportunity to adequately review all proposals that will have a direct impact on the people we represent, and on all Pennsylvanians.
But hoping for the best isnt a responsible policy, and Pennsylvanians deserve carefully considered policies, laws, and budgets. Thats why I am also supporting a House resolution by Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) to bring back the 24-hour mandate.
We must not gamble with Pennsylvanias future.
State Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Montgomery) represents the 153rd District.RepDean@pahouse.net
Published: June 14, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: June 14, 2017 12:23 PM EDT
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Six hours not enough time to study gambling bill - Philly.com
Australian company Crown Resorts said Tuesday that a group of its employees have been charged with offenses related to the promotion of gambling.
The Crown staff members and their families have faced months of uncertainty after Chinese authorities detained the employees in October. Among them were senior managers, including Jason O'Connor, executive vice president of Crown's VIP International unit.
O'Connor's business was focused on high-rolling gamblers, a sensitive area in China at a time when President Xi Jinping's sweeping corruption clampdown has targeted gambling as a potential way for corrupt officials to launder money.
The detentions of the Crown employees sent a chill through the gambling industry in Asia. The Australian company has reduced its links to China in the aftermath.
Related: Casino stock plummets after China detains staffers
Nineteen people charged in the case are due to appear before Baoshan District Court in Shanghai on June 26, according to a court notice.
Crown declined to comment further, citing court restrictions. The Australian government has said it's providing consular assistance to three detained Australians.
Gambling is illegal in China, except in the territory of Macau. Foreign casinos aren't permitted to promote gambling directly in the country, but they are allowed to promote their destinations more broadly.
Related: Japan opens door to potential $30 billion casino industry
Chinese gamblers were a big business for Crown.
More than a third of revenue generated by the company's Australian resorts for the year ended June 2016 came from international visitors, most of them from mainland China, according to Crown's latest annual report.
But the company says sales and profit sank in the second half of last year, dragged down by a 45% plunge in revenue from high-rolling gamblers.
Since the detentions of its staff in October, Crown has also pared back its exposure to China by offloading its stake in a Macau casino operator.
-- Nanlin Fang contributed to this report.
CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published June 13, 2017: 6:19 AM ET
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China charges Australian casino staff with promoting gambling - CNNMoney
USA TODAY Sports' Lindsay H. Jones looks at the division's big offseason changes. USA TODAY Sports
NFL policy prohibits team owners from having a stake in casinos, but two casino owners are on the governing board of the landlord that will own the Las Vegas stadium where the Raiders are scheduled to play in 2020.(Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
Now more than ever before, the NFLs public position on gambling has become quite an artful dance.
On one side of the ballroom, the league still opposes sports gambling and is against promoting casinos. The NFL even continues to fight a lawsuit that seeks payback from the league after it banned Tony Romo and other players from an event at a Las Vegas casino property in 2015.
On the other side of the room, the league increasingly has flirted with the gambling industry in recent years, including allowing advertising from casinos. In Arizona, a casino company called Gila River Gaming Enterprises confirmed to USA TODAY Sports this monththat it's been havingdiscussions with the Arizona Cardinals about buying naming rights to their stadium.
This pertains to thestadiumnaming rights, thecasino company said before recently noting it has entered anon-disclosure agreement with the team about these discussions. This is aresult of continued communications with the Arizona Cardinals through our strong existing relationship.
NFL fighting youth charity over gambling policy
The league's current gambling policystill prohibitsthe sale of primary stadium or field naming rights to gambling-related establishments. So why is this even a possibility in Arizona?The bigger question many have asked recently is why the league maintains this conflicted policy, especially after approving the relocation of the Oakland Raiders to the gambling capital of Las Vegas.
The simple answer is power and money to control players and personnel for the sake of appearances while making exceptions for the sake of revenue. The policy iseven atissue in federal court, where the NFL is fighting a charity organizationthat said the league forced it to move a youth bowling event with NFL players in 2015. The charitysaid the NFL made it relocate to a much smallerbowling alley in Las Vegasbecause thebigger bowling alley was part of a casino resort.
There is no reason for the NFL to alter its gambling policy if the only adverse ramifications are accusations of hypocrisy and negative media stories, said Daniel Wallach, a gaming and sports law attorney in Florida.
The only reason for the league to overhaul it, he said,would be for compelling legal or business reasons, which some predict could come within the next five years.
In the meantime, the Arizona discussions appear to be one of the most expensive examples yet of a rising NFL conflict a league policy rooted in old, negative perceptions against gambling vs. the demand for more lucrative ties between NFL teams and gambling businesses.
Stadium naming rights are lucrative sources of revenue for NFL teams. The Cardinals last stadium naming rights deal, with the University of Phoenix, paid the teaman average of $7.7 million per year.
But there are restrictions. No NFL stadium is named after a casino company, though Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens is named after company that includes casinos in its portfolio.
Sale of naming rights for stadium lounges and other sections of the stadium is permitted by the NFL for certain casinos. For example, in 2015, the Detroit Lions unveiled the MGM Grand Detroit Tunnel Club lounge at Ford Field. But the policy specifically excludes gambling-relatednaming rights for the "field or primary building name, according to the league policy.
The NFL referred questions about the Cardinals stadium naming rights to the team, which declined comment.
Its possible the policy could change, like it did when the league allowed teams to accept limited casino advertising in 2012. Its also possible the team could try to thread the needle by selling naming rights to the casino company but not putting the casino companys brand in the stadium name.
Perhaps the stadium could be called "Gila River Stadium, just like the Gila River Arena next door, home of the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL, a league that has a more permissive stance about sponsorships with casino companies.
Gila River Gaming Enterprises is part of the Gila River Indian Community. The NFLs gambling policy says its permissible to have general advertising in the sovereign name of a Native American Nation, regardless of whether that Native American Nation operates or holds interests in a casino.
The problem is perception. Such nuanced exceptions make the NFLs policy increasingly easy for critics to lampoon and raise questions about the point of such contortions as gambling becomes more publicly accepted.
In November 2012, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell testified in a legal proceeding that gambling was No. 1 on his list of threats to the integrity of pro football in the U.S. In March, he also said the league doesnt envision changing its policies just because the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas.
Even social gambling among co-workers can lead to discord, violence and a loss of team cohesion, the NFL policy states.
Gila River Gaming Enterprises is behind the name of the NHL arena adjacent to the Arizona Cardinals' stadium. Will the stadium adopt the name of a gaming operation too?(Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images)
The leagues steadfast resistance to sports gambling stems from its fear that bettors might scandalize the NFL by bribing players or coaches to fix game scores to their benefit. Critics of this stance long have pointed out that legalized, regulated sports betting will reduce this risk, not add to it.
Yet the leagues opposition to sports gambling still doesnt seem to explain the leagues position on being against certain types of casino associations, but not others. Or why the NFL is against a team owner even partly owning a casino but not against two casino executives serving on the governing board of the landlord that will own the Las Vegas stadium where the Raiders are scheduled to move in 2020.
Its ban on certain types of gambling relationships stem from old public perceptions that associated gambling with organized crime and viewed gambling in very negative terms, according to a 1999 memo to NFL teams from then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
But as legalized gambling became more publicly accepted, parts of the leagues policy evolved, too, in ways that make it seem inconsistent and conflicted.
On the one hand, team owners have been allowed to hold stakes in daily fantasy sports companies, which are illegal in some states and cant operate in Nevada without gambling licenses.On the other, the NFL confirmed lastweek it is still reviewing whether to discipline players for appearing at an arm-wrestling event at a Las Vegas casino in April.
The NFLs opposition to gambling has always sort of been 'until they can make money on it,' said John Holden, an attorney and visiting scholar at Florida State who has studied sports league gambling policies. Its not totally clear where the line is, or even if the line is very firm.
A company affiliated with former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo calls the NFL's gambling policy "disingenous."(Photo: LM Otero, AP)
Wallach notes the league is enormously successful and therefore not inclined to fix anything until feels it must.
It could be a court decision that causes the NFL to change, Wallach said. It could be a further decline in television ratings or a diminution of (media) rights deals.
The U.S. Supreme Court soon is expected to decide whether to hear the state of New Jerseys challenge to the federal ban on state-sponsored sports gambling, which is largely illegal outside of Nevada. The NFL is opposing New Jerseys challenge, but if the law changed and more states wantedto legalize sports gambling, the league could change its tune for acceptable regulations and financial considerations.
Meanwhile, a company affiliated with Romo, the former NFL quarterback, is still fighting the NFL in court over its gambling policy. The company sued the league in 2015, saying the league used its disingenuous policy to effectively shut down the companys fantasy football event in Las Vegas. The league prohibited players from appearing at the event because itspolicy forbids promotional appearances associated with casinos.
After a judge sided with the NFL last year and threw the case out, the company appealed, and the case is still pending in Texas court.
The reality is that when the NFL gets a piece of the pie, the NFL flagrantly and systematically violates its own supposed policy against casinos and gambling, the lawsuit states. Countless examples show the NFLs true attitude toward betting.
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NFL's gambling policy appears consistently inconsistent - USA Today - USA TODAY
Legal Sports Report | Is Daily Fantasy Sports A Form Of Gambling? New Rutgers Study Seems To Imply It Is Legal Sports Report That's the conclusion one will come to after reviewing Rutgers Center For Gambling Studies' recent report: The Prevalence of Online and LandBased Gambling in New Jersey, Nower, L., Volberg, R.A. & Caler, K.R. (2017). Of course, whether DFS sites like ... |
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Eighteen Crown Resorts employees were detained in China in October 2016. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Crown Resorts employees detained in China last year have been charged with offences related to the promotion of gambling, the Australian casino operator announced on Tuesday.
The cases of 15 employees have been referred to Shanghais Baoshan district court. In a statement on Tuesday, Crown said that with the matter now before the court it would make no further comment.
The group which consists of a Malaysian, a number of Chinese nationals and three Australian citizens including senior Crown executive Jason OConnor were taken into custody in October after a raids in four cities across China. Casino gambling is illegal in mainland China, and Chinese law prohibits agents from organising groups of more than 10 Chinese citizens to gamble abroad.
The arrests follow a crackdown announced by Chinas Ministry of Public Security last year on foreign casinos targeting Chinese citizens.
The companys major shareholder, James Packer, said at the time of the arrests he was deeply concerned about their welfare.
Since the first raids, Crown has scaled back its Chinese ambitions, selling down its stake in the Macau-based joint venture Melco Crown, before offloading its final stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment for $987 million.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
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Crown Resorts staff in China charged with promoting gambling - The Guardian
Smart Talk
Smart Talk is a daily, live, interactive program featuring conversations with newsmakers and experts in a variety of fields and exploring a wide range of issues and ideas, including the economy, politics, health care, education, culture, and the environment. Smart Talk airs live every week day at 9 a.m. on WITFs 89.5 and 93.3.
Listen to Smart Talk live online from 9-10 a.m. weekdays and at 7 p.m. (Repeat of 9 a.m. program)
Host: Scott LaMar
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved a sweeping gambling bill last week to generate money for the cash-straved state. House Bill 271 was introduced by Republican lawmakers and passed narrowly by a 102-89 vote with legislators from both parties voting for and against the proposal.
The bill would allow video gaming machines to be operated by bars, truck stops, bowling alleys, VFW's and private clubs. It could lead to about 8,000 establishments operating nearly 40,000 machines - each generating tax revenue for state and local governments. It would also facilitate the development of online gaming and lottery playing and allow online fantasy sports gambling.
Supporters point to the much-needed tax revenue. House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana Co.) said the bill would " . . . actually enhance revenue a little further." These machines have been used for years, they should be regulated, contend Lancaster Democratic Representative Mike Sturla. "This issue has been around for 30 years and for 30 years there have been members who have turned a blind eye to this," he said.
Opponents are concerned with the speed with which the bill was passed. "If you all had the chance to read it, I don't know how you did it," said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County. Others are worried about the impact on their communities. Philadelphia Representative Jason Dawkins worries that "when you live in communities like mine, when you see poverty, addiction and opioid abuse, you can't understand how we are putting another potential problem in our city."
Tuesday's Smart Talk discusses the merits and potential consequences of the gambling expansion bill with Representatives Mike Sturla and Dawkins as well as Josh Ercole, COO of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania and Robert Howard, co-founder of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Responsible Government.
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A childhood New Years holiday spent playing cards with his family planted the seeds of a gambling compulsion that ravaged decades of one mans life. Now 67, the former salesman from western Japan fell into debt time and time again as his addiction drew him to pachinko parlors, then illegal mah-jongg and dice games.
Gambling permeated my life, said the man, who asked not to be identified for fear of embarrassing loved ones. My fingers just dont do as theyre told. I cant count the number of times my family have had to clear up the mess by paying off my debts.
The man is among thousands in Japan whose gambling compulsion had gone largely unnoticed until a plan to introduce casino resorts forced policymakers to address the problem of addiction. At an event hosted by lawyers who oppose the governments casino plan, he said he only kicked his habit after joining Gamblers Anonymous about a decade ago.
Lawmakers are putting together an anti-addiction bill that must be passed before the first casinos can open their doors. In doing so, they must balance between safeguarding economic benefits from gambling establishments including the $200 billion pachinko industry while addressing the concerns of casino opponents who fear the businesses will spawn a new generation of addicts.
The bill doesnt specify rules that businesses must follow and penalties for noncompliance, according to a draft distributed to reporters. It broadly mandates the government to form a plan to stop gambling addiction, and says businesses must cooperate.
When it is passed, officials will start drafting regulations that could outline specific duties of gambling businesses, including restricting access to venues and providing funds to boost counseling. Thats raising concerns in Japans 11,000 pachinko parlors, which have operated in a legal gray area for decades.
People in the pachinko industry are involved with the causes of addiction, said Takeshi Shina, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party, which drafted its own bill. So we will have them cooperate to eliminate it. They cant stay out of it completely.
The bill could be passed before the current Diet session ends June 18. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ruling coalition holds a majority in both chambers, the opposition could still delay a vote.
Gambling in Japan turns over more than 27 trillion annually, replenishes local government coffers and employs about 300,000 people many of them in regions where jobs are relatively scarce. Its legal to bet on publicly run horse, boat, motorbike and bicycle races, plus lotteries and soccer pools. Horse racing alone generated 283 billion for the central government in fiscal 2015.
Pachinko operators, which rake in more than five times the revenue of the publicly managed gambling industry, have skirted a ban on private-sector gambling by having winners swap the ball bearings they win for a token prize that can later be exchanged off the premises for cash. The government doesnt break down the amount of taxes the industry contributes.
The threat of regulation is casting a shadow over a wider betting industry already in a downward spiral, as younger people spend more of their leisure time online, and tired race tracks provide little to appeal to new customers, according to Masatoshi Yamamoto, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co., who researches publicly funded gambling.
Industry turnover at pachinko parlors has shrunk by a third from a 2005 peak, and the number of venues is in a two-decade decline. While they introduced slot machines to attract younger customers, fans under 30 remain a rarity.
Shingo Ito of Nichiyukyo, a pachinko industry association, said prize values and opening times are already regulated. It also set up a phone counseling center that received 2,500 calls last year.
Its not like casinos, where people can spend as much as they want and stay as long as they like, Ito said. His group is running newspaper and poster advertisements describing pachinko as a healthy pastime to be enjoyed in moderation.
Little reliable data exist on the social costs of gambling in Japan. The results of the first comprehensive survey on addiction are due sometime in the next few months.
In general, compulsive gamblers make up 1 to 2 percent of any given population, according to James Whelan, a University of Memphis professor who briefed the Liberal Democratic Party on gambling addiction earlier this year. That could work out to 1 million or 2 million Japanese.
Whelan said the addition of casinos in Japan which may open as soon as 2023 probably wont make the issue worse, given that gambling is already widespread.
Noriko Tanaka, a counselor and campaigner on problem gambling, said she is concerned the new law wont be ambitious enough to help addicts. One cause for worry is that the draft bill refers to respect for the pachinko industrys own anti-dependency initiatives.
It could turn out to be just a fig leaf to help them pass the casino bill, Tanaka said.
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With casinos on horizon, bill to curb gambling addiction draws skepticism - The Japan Times
The NFLs silence on its gambling policy is deafening, and now the heat is starting to get turned up. Maybe its not the silence, but the hypocritical stance the NFL keeps taking when it comes to gambling. USA TODAYs Brent Schrotenboers piece on the NFLs do one thing but say another strategy proves that the league cant stay the current course. Whether the league and teams are courting casinos for sponsors, or making it illegal to gamble inside a stadium even though gambling on phones is legal in Las Vegas, its all just public posturing.
This is simply about public perception. The NFL has no problem with gambling when it gets to make money off sponsors. They are courting casinos as partners, while telling players they cant hold events, fundraisers, and conferences on casino grounds. The league is willing to take $750 million dollars in public money to move the Raiders to Sin City, but wants to stress that it is against legalized sports wagering expansion. Wait until Sands, Wynn, or Caesars wants to slap its name on the Las Vegas stadium through a multi-million dollar naming rights deal. Its way past the point of do as I say, not as I do. Its almost blatantly hypocritical.
The NFL has had the opportunity to change its stance. It would have been easy to come out in concert with the NBA and simply say that maybe the league could benefit from legalized sports gambling. It could even take the high road and say that legalizing gambling or at least doing research into the effects of legalization would take away a large revenue stream from organized crime. Instead, Roger Goodell has steadfastly said that gambling has no place in the NFL.
That stance is pretty rich. The NFL is one of the most wagered on leagues in the United States. Spreads are discussed on almost of their television partners programs. The injury report is almost exclusively designed to make sure that people cant take advantage of inside tips to have a better chance at winning a bet. The NFL and its teams already have official partnership deals with DraftKings and FanDuel. Both companies are involved with gambling even if they call it a different name.
We are way past the point of pretending that football and gambling dont go hand in hand. Its almost to the point that the NFL is insulting a large portion of its fans intelligence. Maybe its all about public relations, but three out of four sports fans are in favor of legalized sports gambling.Its time to come clean, but theres no sign of the league changing its stance. That means more articles, social media chatter, and television debates on the NFLs hypocritical stance.
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Heat being turned up on NFL in regards to gambling policy ... - Touchdown Wire
Tracy Jesperson, Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, speaks with students of G.A. Family Services Accountability and Responsibility program about gambling advertisements and addiction. P-J photo by Gavin Paterniti
The dangers of gambling and addiction were the focal points of a presentation at G.A. Family Services this week.
On Monday, the partnership between the Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council and the G.A.s Accountability and Responsibility program yielded a teaching moment aimed at preventing local youth from making unhealthy decisions about gambling.
The presentation was given by Tracy Jesperson, CASACs prevention educator, who spoke with three Accountability and Responsibility program students about recognizing and analyzing gambling advertisements; thereby helping them to make a more informed choice about participating in gambling in the future. The students were given the definitions of gambling and addiction, and were then handed examples of actual advertisements advocating for gambling.
Many New York state youth gamble despite the fact that it can turn into an addiction, and its illegal in many forms, Jesperson said. One of the factors that play a part in this decision is youth exposure to gambling advertising. Advertisements are created not only using written language, but also visual and sensory language. So learning to critically view these advertisements so that youre able to understand the advertisers motivation and accuracy level of these advertisements is an important skill necessary to make healthy decisions.
Jesperson said individuals are more likely to be struck by lightning at some point throughout their lives than to win a large sum of money via a lottery jackpot. The presentation was intended to raise awareness among youth about the media and the ways in which it can impact their lives, consciously or subconsciously, by teaching them media literacy.
G.A. Family Services Accountability and Responsibility Program is an afterschool program that focuses on at-risk youth and helps develop life skills and positive decision-making. It admits up to 10 teenagers, ages 13-18, per cycle, all of whom were referred by a juvenile probation officer or the Department of Social Services Child Services.
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GA Youth Learn About Gambling Advertising, Addiction - Jamestown Post Journal
SANTA FE COUNTY, New Mexico Police in New Mexico have released body camera video of a man accused of leaving his three children in the car while he went into a casino to gamble.
Around 10:00 p.m. on June 1st, Santa Fe County sheriffs deputies were called out to the Camel Rock Casino on Highway 285. They confronted 34-year-old Andrew Martinez in the parking lot. He told investigators hed been in the casino for about 15 minutes.
Deputies were called by casino security, who noticed Martinez left his three kids a four-year-old and twin two-year-olds in his SUV in the casino parking lot.
Martinez claimed he wanted to get a burger on special.
McDonalds has specials. I mean, you can get a burger for a buck, Martinez is heard saying in the video.
The video makes it clear that the deputy grew irritated by the minute when dealing with Martinez.
Deputy:So if I go watch surveillance, youre not playing a card game?
Yeah, I was, Martinez said.
Deputy: So thats not getting refreshments. Youre gambling. Do you think its a good idea to leave your kids out in the car for 20, 30 minutes while you go gamble a hand, right? This was a poor mistake.
The deputy checked on the kids in the car, who were quiet, but OK.
Deputies tested Martinez to see if he was under the influence. Investigators believed hed been drinking, but he swore he did not.
Either way, he was taken to jail, and the kids went home with their mother.
You going in that casino and leaving your kids out in the car is child neglect, the deputy said.
Martinez is charged with three counts of child abuse through abandonment.
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You're gambling Man accused of leaving 3 kids in car at casino - fox6now.com
iDice is the first mobile blockchain based gambling app. The company has got the reputation worldwide as one of the most played blockchain casinos in the world, and is growing faster as a blockchain game. The company has already paid out Ethereum of worth more than $250,000 with zero spending on marketing; however, in view of the funds required to cover its growing user demand, iDice has announced its much awaited crowdsale on June 16th 2017. The crowdsale is to continue for 14 days, ending by June 30th. The funds raised from this crowdsale will also be used for mobile development of app, as a next step.
IDice to Go One Step ahead- Launching the worlds first mobile blockchain gambling app
For beginners, iDice beta release, launched two months ago, has been successful to raise around $200,000 in player profit, without any marketing or promotion. Jordon Wong, who is the founder and CEO of the company, has planned to integrate iDice platform with IOS and Android devices. According to him, though the platform has won a great attention as well as positive feedback in the market, but there is still a huge room for improvements and due to this, a lot of pressure is on the team. Now iDice is thinking about the big picture and planning to go one step ahead in the market by launching the first mobile blockchain gambling app in the world.
Unlocking the Potential of Untapped Mobile Market
The team at iDice has smartly discovered that gambling Dapp market is not exploiting a huge and still untapped mobile phone users market. We dont have any great cross-platform app at the moment. Therefore, iDice considers it a great opportunity to pioneer and showcase its superior platform.
The Platform Adhering to Safety
It is not surprising to know that iDice is the most secured blockchain based gambling platform. It doesnt ask users to sign up for an account or deposit any funds, making itself absolutely hacker-proof. The users just transfer their funds from the personal wallets directly to iDice smart contracts and then its all coded. Above all, iDice source code is auditable by third parties. Users can even see this online.
The Future
It is predicted that Ethereum is going to dominate bitcoin in next three years, leading to faster growth of Ethereum smart contract technology at the moment, which is making iDice sort of platforms profitable. More than 50 percent of cryptocurrency transactions in the world are based on gambling. Every day, bitcoins of around $1.8 billion worth are being exchanged, implying that at least $900 million worth of bitcoins are gambled every day. Since there are just 3 key gambling sites and the fact that majority of transactions are being done through these only, iDice holds very high expectations both from the iDice team as well as potential investors.
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In this April 15, 2015, file photo,Resorts Casino Hotel Internet gambling lounge. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
Pennsylvania is considering the expansion of slots and internet gambling by placing machines in bars and restaurants. Atlantic Citys long-awaited turnaround seems to have started. Is this a new threat for AC?
Gaming expert Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine, says there is plenty of opposition in that state from Pennsylvania casinos.
I doubt if you will see all of this stuff (in Pennsylvania) get to the governors desk. It is going to be changed markedly if it even reaches it.
The (Pennsylvania) House has passed a bill that was very different from the bill that the state Senate passed. So what you are seeing stipulated in the House bill, and in the state Senate bill in Pennsylvania, for that matter, will change markedly. We really have to see what the final version of the bill is and whether the governor will sign it.
Gros says that further expansion into bars and restaurants would be questionable.
But we are not talking about any new casino. So I think that is not going to impact Atlantic City that greatly any more.
Gros also suggests that this internet gambling expansion could actually benefit both states.
If New Jersey and Pennsylvania should create a compact allowing them to share players, that would be very good for the market.
There is already a deal between Nevada and Delaware for their online gaming.
Basically it is where youre gambling from, the taxes will go to that state.
Pennsylvania needs revenue, so Harrisburg is considering this.
Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5.
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Pennsylvania off-site gambling a threat to Atlantic City? - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio
The UK's hung Parliament is more likely to mean an aggressive cut to the size of stakes allowed on gambling machines - a move that could hit revenues across the industry, experts have said.
Punters can bet up to 100 a time on fixed odds betting terminals, known as FOBTs, but MPs had been considering whether to reduce this level as part of a wider triennial review ofthe gambling industry by government.
The terminals havebeen dubbed the "crack cocaine"of the gambling industryand both Labour and the Liberal Democrats stated in their manifestos an intention to slash the size ofbet a gambler could make at one time on a FOBT to 2.
This level could see some of the UK's biggest bookmakers lose hundreds of millions in pounds of revenue on the changes, according to analysis from Barclays.
The Conservative Party did not state a preference for limiting the size of stakes on FOBTs, but the Democratic Unionist Party, upon which it must now depend for votes, has previously indicated its opposition to gambling terminals.
Analysts at Barclays said the make-up of the new Parliament meant the "probability of a maximum stakes being cut to 2 has increased", something likely to worry investors.
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For ten years, coordinators of an after-school anti-gambling program have been growing the number of students they reach in an effort to stop problem gambling and teach students money management skills.
The program, called Betting on Our Future, is hostingparticipants from throughout California at their annual, three-day conference in Anaheim starting on Monday.
We know that young people arent necessarily the primary problem in problem gambling, but theyre affected by it in their families and their communities, said Jim Kooler, who administers the program as head of the California Friday Night Live Partnership at the Tulare County Office of Education.
Problem gambling affects about 10 percent of teenagers and 4 percent of adults in the state, according to state officials. Kooler said its a much bigger problem when you think about the ripple effects.
You may have a young person who has a family member, a parent who is gambling, and theres no money for rent, theres no money for food, and theyre affected by it as well, Kooler said.
The goal of the program is to help students learn how bets at school, online games, and financial risk-taking like high-interest loans can feed gambling tendencies while helping them identify the skills needs to engage in healthy gambling defined as that which is under control. Organizers say the program reinforces leadership skills, community problem solving, and civics lessons by pushing students to find out how prevalent a problem is in their school and neighborhoods.
Taking part in the program helped some of the teens see the harmful side of everyday behavior at their school, students said.
My friends like to play basketball or sports and like, play for money, said eleventh grader Breanna Martin, who took part in the program at Citrus Valley High School in Redlands. And they sometimes end up losing a lot and getting into fights over it.
Her school and 28 other sites across the state, including ones in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Anaheim, received grants that paid for video production equipment. Students met during lunch, after school, or on weekends to learn about problem gambling and to plan and shoot a short video about the effects of gambling addiction.
It was the first year Martin's school took part in Betting on Our Future.
Next year it would be interesting to get a little more in depth as to what exactly is going on at our school, said Pam Martin, a teacher at school who advises the group and who is Breannas mother. We heard about dice throwing and cards and whatnot, but maybe looking at it a little deeper and possibly trying to track down some these kids that are in trouble, in order to help them.
The videos produced at this and 28 other sites will compete at the Betting on Our Future annual conference in Anaheim this week. The videos are about 30 seconds long each and all have an anti-gambling messages.
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Statewide teen program tackles gambling addiction - 89.3 KPCC
During the Russian Gaming Week in Moscow, the multinational iGaming software provider BtoBet has met Sports betting and Casino licensees wishing to develop their business on regulated markets, and speed up revenues and operations in the evolving Eastern European regulatory framework.
The picture for gambling throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia is quite complex. Many countries are gradually regulating the industry and operators need to be farsighted, quick and grasp the opportunity offered by the next-generation technology to run the evolution of the market and maximise their profit when the regulation will allow them to move to online and mobile.
BtoBets multi-jurisdiction platform compliant with strictly regulated market, respecting the local requirements and integrated with 2,000 games and casino games allows a quick and easy incorporation of any third party supplier. Once integrated, the iGaming content can benefit from BtoBets Artificial intelligence and Recommendation engine to handle opportunities of growth. Through the companys advanced tools East-European licensees can:
Collect data Monitor players behavior Understand their preferences Provide them with tailor-made offers
Anticipating BtoBets participation in the upcoming Eastern Gaming shows CEEGC in Budapest and BEGE Expo in Sofia CEO Kostandina Zafirovska commented:
East European player are showing a growing interest in online gaming and eSports competitions. As a consequence, todays bettors in this area are shifting from traditional sports to cybersports, preferring mobile and desktop to shops. In the next months, BtoBet will attend other important shows in Eastern Europe to display tothe local operators how BtoBets advanced Sportsbook and Casino solutions, can help them to expand their business safely towards mobile and online.
To discover more about the East European market, download the Industry Report CIS -Eastern Europe, Gaming or cybersport betting? Opportunities and strategies.
About BtoBet
BtoBet is a pioneer in new technologies for iGaming operators and the betting industry by using technological intelligence as its main base for its products. It offers unique, customizable, secure and flexible cloud-based systems delivering unprecedented capabilities to drive sportsbook and iGaming business. BtoBets technical team of the company is in Skopje and has an ever growing team of developers. BtoBets dynamic Sportsbook team operates from Rome, whilst Malta hosts the commercial and marketing center. Visit our site on: http://www.btobet.com
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USA TODAY Sports' Lindsay H. Jones looks at how offseason changes in the NFC West will affect the division's 2017 NFL season. USA TODAY Sports
A nonprofit whose charity event was forced to relocate by the NFL has asked a judge to demand league commissioner Roger Goodell explain the league's gambling policy.(Photo: Paul Beaty, AP)
In 2015, a nonprofit organization called Strikes for Kids invited more than 100 boys and girls to a charity event at a bowling alley near Las Vegas.
The star attraction was NFL players. More than 25 were scheduled to bowl with the kids and families all to help support youth development and education.
But there was one big problem with it:The bowling alley was part of a casino.
So the NFL forced the event to relocate, saying the leagues gambling policy forbids players from making promotional appearances at casinos.
And now the charity is fighting back.
After filing suit against the league last year, on Thursday the charity asked a federal judge to force NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to testify about how he interprets his gambling policy.
Mr. Goodell alone is charged with interpretation and enforcement of the gambling policy that served as the basis for relocating the charity event, said the request filed Thursday in federal court in Dallas.
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NFLs gambling policy appears consistently inconsistent
The request marks the latest strange legal entanglement the league finds itself in over its gambling policy. Even after the league recently approved the relocation of the Oakland Raiders to the casino capital of Las Vegas, this case also shows NFL is still heavily invested in the notion that casinos are bad places for players and children alike.
In this case, the NFLs position against casinos also stands out because the charity bowling event moved from a large bowling alley at the Sunset Station casino to the smaller Brooklyn Bowl, which is part of the LINQ casino promenade but not inside the casino itself.
One casino relationship was OK, according to the league. One was not.
So whats the difference, according to the leagues gambling policy?
The Brooklyn Bowl on the Las Vegas strip is not inside a casino, but it shares a promenade with one. Apparently that nuance is important to the NFL.(Photo: Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY)
It depends. Strikes for Kids is seeking damages and has accused the league of fraud, saying an NFL lawyer misled the group and caused the charity to lose revenue. The event moved from a 72-lane bowling alley to one with only 16 lanes available by the Las Vegas Strip.
The NFL lawyer stated that the charity event needed to be moved, or no NFL player would be permitted to participate, the charity said in court filing June 6. Not only were these statements not true but were made with reckless disregard for the truth because the NFL approved a nearly identical venue for the charity event.
The NFL disagrees and is fighting this case and a similar case brought by two Dallas law firms: Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst LLP and the Pettit Law Firm. The two firms also are pursuing a separate suit against the NFL on behalf of a company affiliated with former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
In that case, they say the NFL forced the cancellation of a fantasy football event in Las Vegas in 2015 because the event violated the same policy involving promotional appearances at casinos. However, the Romo event was not to take place inside a casino but rather in a convention property that was next to the Venetian casino and owned by the Las Vegas Sands casino company.
The league argued it had authority under its collective bargaining agreement with players to enforce its gambling policy in the Romo case. A judge agreed last year and threw the case out, but the plaintiffs appealed in Texas court. That case is still pending.
In the bowling alley imbroglio, the NFL noted that the Palazzo casino also was sponsoring the event, which was against league policy.
After speaking with the NFL lawyer, plaintiff dropped the casino sponsor and voluntarily moved its event to another venue called the Brooklyn Bowl, which plaintiff represented did not have any affiliation with a casino, attorneys for the NFL stated in court documents last month. The event then proceeded in the new venue with the participation of several NFL players and without any objection from the NFL.
This smaller bowling alley in Las Vegas wasn't the charity's first choice, but in the NFL's eyes, it was acceptable. It is located in a casino promenade.(Photo: Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY)
The NFL attorneys noted that the NFL Foundation donated $5,000 to the charity to help support the event and was thanked for it by the charitys executive director.
The charitys attorneys described this as hush money. And now they want to take Goodells testimony about the gambling policy in a deposition. U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver denied this request last month on the basis that it was not relevant or proportional to the needs of the case. But the charity filed objections to her ruling last week and is trying again with a different judge.
When you look at the two (bowling alleys), there does not seem to be a difference, plaintiff attorney Julie Pettit told Toliver in a hearing May 25. And there's only one person (Goodell) that can tell us what's the difference between the non-approved venue and the approved venue. And he's this Oz behind the curtain, this person that the NFL will not allow us to talk to. And everyone points their finger at him, saying he's the only one that can make that determination.
In March, Goodell told reporters that the league doesnt envision changing its policies just because the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas by 2020. He also said the league retains the right to make changes if it thinks they are necessary.
Under the same gambling policy, NFL teams are allowed to accept limited advertising from casinos. In Las Vegas, the Raiders new NFL stadium will be owned by a landlord whose governing board includes executives from the MGM and Caesars casino companies.
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A vote in favor of a massive gambling expansion in Pennsylvania passed the state House of Representatives late Wednesday night by a vote of 102-89.
First addressing the need to fix the local share tax issue in which the local revenue from Harrahs casino has been crucial to the city of Chester the bill intends to open up and legalize online gambling and daily fantasy sports, and authorizes tablet gambling at Pennsylvania airports. It will allow video gaming terminals in drinking establishments.
Split mostly down party lines, local representatives were deeply divided over the need for revenue and the difficulty in regulating the video gaming terminals.
Democratic Reps. Brian Kirkland, D-159 of Chester, Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby, and Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161 of Swarthmore, voted nay, while Reps. Nick Miccarelli, R-162 of Ridley Park, Jamie Santora, R-163 of Upper Darby, and Steve Barrar, R-160 of Upper Chichester, voted in the affirmative.
This is a revenue generator, Santora said, who serves on the Gaming Oversight Committee. Were finally addressing the fantasy sports, which at some point will have a ruling from the federal government, but if youre not regulating youre not taking part in it.
Under HB 271, daily fantasy sports like FanDuel and DraftKings would have to pay $50,000 license fee and pay a 19 percent tax based on in-state participation. Applicants would also have to verifying they are at least 18 years of age.
Additionally, it solidifies the local shares from casinos locking in Harrahs at 2 percent a year of gross slot-machine gambling to Delaware County and $10 million a year to the city of Chester. Municipalities across the state will receive similar revenue shares, save for the city-county of Philadelphia, where SugarHouse Casino will pay 2 percent a year to both the host county and the host municipality.
Chester is in big trouble. Theyre one of the poorest municipalities in the state. They cant afford to lose the $10 million a year, Santora said. Blocking this is risking that.
The county hasnt raised taxes in three years, and Im sure the casino revenue is a big reason why, he continued.
However, the expansion of video gaming terminals, or VGTs, into bars, hotels, restaurants, truck stops, clubs or nursing homes, has brought great concern over the capacity of those owners to oversee and regulate addictive gambling among their patrons.
The casinos are highly regulated. They have mechanisms in place to identify and support folks with gambling addiction issues. The state police offer safety, said Krueger-Braneky. None of that will be true in this case. This is nothing more than a massive gambling expansion in an attempt to find new revenue from a Republican body that refuses to pass a severance tax (on Marcellus shale extractors).
Gov. Tom Wolf and fellow Democrats have been trying to pass a natural gas severance tax for years.
The bill is expected to go through drastic changes once the state Senate is back in session on Monday.
Barrar said he expects the gambling expansion bill to go to conference committee, which will include members from both the House and Senate from both majority and minority parties to hash out the differences between the two houses.
I voted in favor of the VGTs for the tavern owners. Theyre struggling, and a big chunk will come back to the communities, Barrar said. Right now Harrahs gives back to the county, but I dont know that it benefits my constituents.
Im not sure theres an appetite for VGTs in the Senate, but I do think well see an expansion of gaming, Miccarelli said.
Miccarelli too said the lack of oversight was of concern, but it didnt outweigh the benefits of revenue to local municipalities.
Itll ensure the additional revenue to municipalities is done in a responsible way, Miccarelli said. At the end of the day, you have problems at casinos with the strictest oversight I have concerns about gambling, but that versus raising taxes, Id rather not raise taxes on working families.
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Delco reps split on expanded gambling in Pa. - Delco News Network