Australian gambling remains politically red hot. With the changes in town comes a new watchdog… yep, a man of a different breed who appears to be a shoot straight, and takes a balanced view of the industry. Media Man, Gambling911 and our pack of sniffer dogs pound the pavement and sniff out the story… Ruff

Meet Mr Ches Baragwanath, Australia’s new Gambling Watchdog.

(Read the full post about ‘Australia Gets New Gambling Watchdog in Town: Woof!’…)

The publication was examining the implications of the Democratic Party politician’s use of an obscure century-old law to file a lawsuit against Pocket Kings, Ltd., an online betting business based in Dublin, Ireland which also operates under the name Full Tilt Poker.

(Read the full post about ‘No upside for Kentucky tax payers, State to take all’…)

The soccer spectacular is expected to generate a huge amount of interest in the football-mad nation, creating a flood of Internet gambling through offshore sports betting websites.

In 2004, the Social Services Ministry estimated that there were more than 74 illegal online betting sites operating in Indonesia, and this is likely to have increased substantially in the intervening 6 years.

(Read the full post about ‘Indonesian police to monitor online gambling activity in lead up to World Cup’…)

So far, Sportsbook.com appears to have defied the Super Bowl 2010 betting trends with most of its customers jumping on the Indianapolis Colts bandwagon.  64 percent of gamblers betting the Super Bowl 2010 spread were on Indianapolis at -5 at Sportsbook.com.

"They are bucking the trend because so many other online sportsbooks have most action coming in on the Saints," Gambling911.com Senior Reporter, Carrie Stroup, explained.  "Super Bowl 2010 will have different results for different books."

And for the online sportsbooks, the difference between 55 percent of one side getting more action over the other and balanced (50 percent) action means all the difference in the world compared with other game matchups that take place throughout the year. <

(Read the full post about ‘Super Bowl 2010: Betting Action Depends on Book’…)

The study (PDF file), conducted by Harvard Professor Malcolm Sparrow, was released during testimony by WiredSafety Executive Director Dr. Parry Aftab before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington DC.

“After more than a decade analyzing the risks posed by unregulated internet gambling, it may be ironic, but I have reached the conclusion that the best way to protect families and consumers in connection with cyber gambling is by legalizing it, not outlawing it entirely.

(Read the full post about ‘Wiredsafety study advocates U.S. online gambling legalisation and regulation’…)

The latest of these is ChontelB, an Australian gambler on the Microgaming-powered Royal Vegas Casino website who recently took home A$26,813 for a slots win on the Major Millions game, only two months after her A$33,000 hit in the Grand Slam of Slots tournament.

The Grand Slam of Slots tournament is still being played out, with a worthwhile €1,000,000 grand prize jackpot still up for grabs.

The draft will now enter a public hearing phase through November and December, with the final report submitted to the federal government by 26 February 2010 according to this media release.

A key finding in the extensively researched report is that Australia’s ban on online gaming is just not working, with Australians increasingly gambling abroad on sites “with minimal consumer protection,” an outcome widely predicted by experts when the government abandoned its progressive regulatory policy on the pastime some years ago.

The Commission proposes the ‘managed liberalisation’ of online gambling, with supply being made legal in Australia, contingent on the introduction of stringent ‘harm minimisation measures’.

This could herald a return to the previous and more liberal policy of regulation rather than prohibition.

Much of the report is devoted to problem gambling and the proliferation of land-based ‘pokie machines’.

(Read the full post about ‘Australian Productivity Commission recommends regulation of online gambling’…)

The Reuters news agency reports that Chinese citizens traveling from the populous Guangdong province to Macau are having an easier time obtaining visas, sending casino stocks soaring Monday this week as industry executives bet on record October earnings as a result.

The Reuters report claims that the authorities were concerned that citizens were doing too much gambling, and consequently imposed new rules lst year limiting them to two trips a year to Macau.

Government officials apparently began easing up on the rule as early as two months ago, and noticeably loosened the restriction at the start of this (September) month.

“The latest version is (they can travel to Macau) once a month out of Guangdong,” an anonymous casino executive told the news agency.

(Read the full post about ‘Macau casino stocks soar as China eases visa restrictions’…)

Hutchinson prefaces his story with the comment that the BCLC is no stranger to massive profits, pointing out that last year saw over a billion in profits, the 24th consecutive year of profit for the organisation.

But management was disappointed – the results fells some $19 million short of what they were expecting.

“They decided something new was required to keep the win streak alive,” writes Hutchinson. “More games. A different venue.

(Read the full post about ‘A closer look at B.C.’s online gambling ambitions’…)