PartyGaming executives are optimistic the company is close to resolving its longtime feud with the US government over gambling play the company accepted from US citizens. PartyGaming's US operations were mostly based on online poker and shut down after the passage of the UIGEA in 2006. Still, the US Department of Justice persists in investigating the online casino operator, creating the necessity for a settlement.

US law, as set by court decisions, holds that only Internet sports gambling is illegal, while no statutes address online casino gambling or Internet poker. But the DoJ insists that all online gambling is illegal, and has harassed PartyGaming executives and other online gambling operators.

While PartyGaming never engaged in US sports wagering, the company has found the pressure from DoJ efforts to be quite wearying. Company co-founder Anurag Dikshit paid an astounding $300 million fine and is awaiting a possible prison term because he could no longer handle the US persecution.

Still, no criminal charges have been filed, and PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan says no present company personnel will admit criminal activity. Martin Weingold, PartyGaming finance director, expects to settle for roughly $150 million.

Despite never having broken laws, PartyGaming officials feel the resolution with the US is the best move for the company's future. Stock value has rallied since the announcement of a possible deal with the US.

Further, by clearing their company name now, PartyGaming management positions the online gaming operator to better handle a re-opening of the US market. Companies in good standing with the US government are expected to receive favorable treatment when licensing of Internet casinos is underway.

source::onlinecasinoadvisory.com

Ireland is establishing a committee under the Minister of Justice to license and regulate casino gambling. The new branch will create a bill setting a new national gambling code, which will oversee private clubs hosting gaming as well as online casinos.

Minister Dermot Ahearn told the Irish Times the government wants to ward against problem gambling, money laundering, and child involvement, while still writing “a modern, responsive code that recognizes the fact that some people gamble and enjoy gambling”.

One part of the proposal would establish rules and regulations for the fifty or more private clubs that act as de facto casinos. The methods and laws for online casinos will be decided once a review of possible opportunities can be conducted by the committee.

Reports from studies done by the gaming industry and the government indicate Ireland could create as many as 13,000 jobs with a well-regulated and legalized Internet casino industry. As much as $350 million in revenue might be available.

Internet gambling observers noted the government's acceptance of the reality of people's desire to gamble, both online and at casinos. The goal of a transparent, honest gaming system devoid of crime was hailed by several commentators as praiseworthy compared to such blunders as the US UIGEA.

source: onlinecasinoadvisory.com

Twenty people were given prison sentences today in China for having owned and run online casino gambling sites. A court in Shanghai dished out sentences from one to six years for running an online site that took sports gambling wagers during the World Cup of soccer.

The leaders of the ring opened accounts on international gambling and UK casino sites, and then developed a network that ran through their accounts. Qian Baochun, considered the leader of the gambling operation, was given six years in prison and a fine of $735,000.

Estimates are that the three organizers earned about $250,000 over the year or so from the spring of 2006 until July of 2007. Bets handled by the syndicate amounted to almost a billion dollars.

Other suspects had helped recruit gamblers, ran the operation on a daily basis, and received commission on profits. Even after paying the edge to the existing casinos websites, the Chinese conspirators were able to realize strong profits.

A spokesman for the court in Shanghai noted the case as China's most notable involving online gambling, and added it marked a continuing of a policy not to tolerate Internet gambling along with other basic human rights.

source: onlinecasinoadvisory.com