William Hill might be one of the biggest bookmaking brands in the UK, but when they heard that the USA might be making online gambling legal in the near future, they were madly keen to get into this market. First off, gambling online will start intrastate, and this means individual states will be responsible for making their own laws in this regard.

One of the first at the starting gate for state-legislation was Nevada, and William Hill took a very big gamble by investing $53.25 million in three Nevada gambling concerns. These acquisitions are; Brandywine Bookmaking, American Wagering Inc and Club Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sportsbook.

It appears as though this gamble has paid off and will continue to pay off big time, as the need to supplement state coffers through additional tax revenue schemes, spreads like wild-fire throughout the USA. Nevada state administration has ensured that they are now legal to offer online gambling licenses, and William Hill is one of the first to be granted a license from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

William Hill has a wealth of experience in the online gambling business; this brand is not only about High Street retail betting shops. They have been offering super services online for a good deal of time in the UK. The UK as we know has a well-developed infrastructure for the Internet gambling industry. They offer online sports betting, online bingo, a casino, virtual gaming such as Rugby Union, snooker and more; poker, financials, skill, mobile, Arcade and Vegas-type games. UK customers have developed an eclectic and sophisticated taste for these types of games, so, William Hill is well placed in Nevada to offer a superior online service.

It made good sense for this brand to get into the US at the very beginning, as getting a foothold in the US market while legislation is under review, is the way to make sure they get in on the ground-floor with a chance to win. Online gambling was extant in the USA prior to 2006; however, the promulgation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) changed all of this. So, essentially the USA is six years behind the UK in relationship to this virtual industry – we all know just how fast technology advances, so, they are way behind.

This is a significant step by William Hill as the ban is expected to be relaxed in the future state-by-state. To date we have no idea if UIGEA will change Federally, but according to Federal Government. It is up to each state to decide whether they wish online gambling to be made legal.

The acquisitions of the three Nevada-based gambling concerns were dependent on the outcome of the William Hill license applications being granted. Now that this has taken place, we can expect it to be all systems go. Obviously the sooner they get websites up and running, the sooner they can expect a return on their investment.

Online Gambling’s Legislative Change Sparks Fear In The Mind Of A Nation As Internet Gaming Set To Spread Across The US By End Of 2012.

As 2012 began and people discussed the significance of the Chinese year of the dragon commencing, the USA was faced with the likelihood that for them, 2012 would become the year of the gambler. As the US Justice Department changed its stance on the 1961 Federal Wire Act, a change in legislation which meant that US states would now legally be allowed to run and operate their own independent online gaming sites which would include the sale of lottery tickets via the internet.

This change in legislation has seen the online gaming revenue soar to new heights in a short period of time, so far as it has been found to amass a minimum $12 billion dollar more than the previously accumulated $62.5 billion gained from state lottery ticket sales.

Yet, while US states’ celebrate the money they’ll soon be bathing in, from having their lotteries and casinos join the 21st century and go viral, those who remain firm supporters of the 1961 Federal Wire Act shake their heads in disgust as they are forced to contemplate what the repeal of such law means to their fellow citizens.
It was a growing concern amongst those opposed to repealing the 1961 act that allowing states to make their lotteries and casinos readily available online to all US citizens was the equivalent of the government legalising crack cocaine for drug addicts.

This notion brought about by the repeals opposition has been backed most fervently by gambling experts who have claimed that the growing expansion of online gambling across the USA should be of great concern to the nation as around 3% of the entire population of the USA is at a greater risk of developing a serious gambling addiction as a result of its legalisation.

Nevertheless, government officials have rebuked all claims that changing their stance on the 1961 Federal Wire Act law has made online gambling legal in anyway shape or form. They have held the opinion that online gambling is and has always been the responsibility of the individual state and that it is up to that local governing body to regulate and oversee any online gambling operation being conducted within their borders. The repeal of the 1961 act was not in any way to make gambling legal within the United States, but to give local government the opportunities to augment their economy by opening up an interstate gambling establishment if they so wish.

Additionally, the Department of Justice has continuously reiterated that their decision to repeal the 1961 Federal Wire Act is not final, as they lack the authority necessary that The United States’ Supreme Court has to repeal and quash a legislative act permanently. As such, any decision that the Department of Justice makes which the US Supreme Court finds to be against the best interest of the US and its citizens may be repealed at anytime.

In 2010 UK gaming site woke up and rejoiced as news broke out that the four year ban which had been imposed upon US online gamblers was soon to be lifted as per the government’s reviews of its 2006 legislations and its prohibition of online real money betting.

As the 2006 legislation was enforce in September of 2006 across the USA, the UK’s multibillion pound gambling industry came close to collapse at the overnight loss of one of its largest online clients.

And, with the economy well on its downward spiral already, the last thing the British economy system needed was another attack on its annual revenue income.
Yet the loss of the US players to such profitable and reliable UK gaming sites like 888 Limited and Party Gaming meant that their shares saw a drastic drop of between 26% and 54% for each site respectively which equated to an overall loss of £4billion in stock shares.

And whilst the UK tried and failed to make the best of a bad situation by exploring wider gaming opportunities further afield than the scope of the US, nothing has been able to come close to the amount of revenue that US patronage produced which has in turn meant the inability of the gaming industry to recover fully from the revenue deficit the loss of the US backing cost.
However with the repeal on the mind of many a US governing body, a new hope was instilled amongst a struggling yet slowly re-growing online gaming industry as that age old controversial discussion on whether or not online gambling should be made legal was once again sparked off.

Nevertheless whilst UK and US Online Gambling supporters remained hopeful that the band would soon be lifted, expert predicted a drastic stall in repeal proceeding as midterm elections swept the nation and seats changed hands.

Yet when the stall experts predicted finally did came it was a surprised that its consequence was not that of any governmental election taking place, but rather that of the US states realising that the same legislations they had been abiding by and upholding since the 1961 Federal Wire Act could actually be used to help their own internal state economy without having to seek legal online gambling in overseas places like the UK.

Once again, the UK along with the rest of Europe were left to weigh the pros and cons of the US government lifting the ban on online gambling in the USA and realising the possible negative implications that lifting such a ban would have on their economy if US casinos and gaming halls chose to exploit this new freedom and establish themselves as rival gaming providers for US players within the actual US.

Two years on from the initial discussion to quash the 2006 prohibition of online gambling legislation in the US back in 2010, and still no decision has as yet come to fruition as the online gambling US drought continues.

The mGaming Awards, due to be held on the evening of the 25th of April at the closing of the mGaming Summit, have today announced an illustrious sponsor for the evening’s festivities. Microgaming is the largest software and technology provider for the online gaming market with over 15 years experience in the industry. Their sponsorship of the inaugural award ceremony will ensure delegates to the summit will enjoy a fruitful and note-worthy evening. The short list for the awards has been announced and can be found in full on www.mGamingSummit.com/mgaming_awards.

"We are delighted to support the mGaming Summit," says Neill Whyte, Head of Product Channels at Microgaming. "We have been at the forefront of mobile technology within the e-gaming industry for a number of years, and continue to stay ahead of the game. This event allows us to be ideally placed to meet and greet existing operators, and to discuss the key issues which are driving mobile gaming. We are looking forward to the conference and to our sponsorship of the evening drinks and awards."

The mGaming Awards are tied in to the mGaming summit, a one day event dedicated to the online mobile gambling market – a growing and profitable sector. Created by the leading information providers in each specific sector, iGaming Business (the business of online gambling) and WorldTelemedia (the mobile sector), this event will be bringing together brands, marketing agencies, rights holders, operators, federations, mobile suppliers, payment & billing services. The event is being held in London UK on the 25th of April 2012. More information can be found on www.mGamingSummit.com.

The independent testing and standards company eCOGRA has successfully completed a rigorous assessment by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service to achieve an extension to its International Organisation for Standardisation ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.

The extension enables the company to include the Danish Gambling Authority’s Technical Standards and Change Management Programme to its area of professional expertise.

"The practical application of this extended accreditation is that, along with other criteria required by the strict Danish regulator, we are now qualified to perform certification work and provide guidance to online gambling companies in the Danish market, and those seeking licenses to operate, " said eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge this week.

The extension qualifies eCOGRA to operate in all five Danish certification categories:

• Gambling functions;
• Business functions;
• Preventative measures to counter money laundering of proceeds and financing of terrorism;
• Vulnerability and penetration testing; and
• Change management

Beveridge says that there has been significant interest in eCOGRA’s capabilities in regulatory compliance, and he is confident that his company’s professional teams of auditors and IT specialists will be engaged to perform certification work for almost a third of Danish-licensed operators.

"Since 2003 we have accrued a considerable fund of experience and knowledge, having conducted literally hundreds of technical and financial inspections, reviews and assessments for many of the leading operators in the internet gambling industry, " Beveridge said. "This has generated more business for us as the regulatory scene in Europe especially has evolved and expanded."