Online Casino and Gambling News: May 2011

Gibraltar-based bwin.party digital entertainment has issued its first annual report combining the results of consortium members Party Gaming and bwin and revealing some interesting statistics.

Australia's vehemently anti-gambling independent politician, Nick Xenophon, says that his new anti-micro gambling measure is at least partly designed to counter political wagering on Australian elections. In an interview with ABC TV reported Sunday, the senator warned that gambling has the potential to corrupt the political process.

Almost a year ago, the RealTime Gaming-powered online casino Freespin closed its virtual doors after informing players: “It is with great regret and a heavy heart that we announce that FreeSpin casino will be closing on June 30, 2010.

Jay Hancock, a respected columnist for the Baltimore Sun, wrote a savvy and interesting op-ed article on the current state of online gambling play in the United States this week, examining the Black Friday and Blue Monday enforcement actions and quoting knowledgeable experts on the situation.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports further problems could be in store for Australian gambling companies in the form of possible restrictions on publishing odds during radio and television broadcasts of sporting events.

Creditors of the struggling Czech national lottery and betting firm Sazka voted to send the company into bankruptcy Friday, reports the Reuters news service.

The Baltimore-based federal prosecutor who has spearheaded the latest round of internet gambling domain and bank account seizures, US Attorney Rod Rosenstein, has reaffirmed that unless players live in a state with specific laws forbidding their participation in gambling, they are not the target of enforcement actions.

US federal authorities pursuing online gambling firms operating in America can add another notch to their gun following the announcement by the World Bingo Network that it has shut down with immediate effect.

Australian Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy announced on Friday the introduction of a multi-sport ban on in-game betting to be rolled out by June 2012.

Singapore 's Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) , this week.