We aren’t in the least little bit surprised to find out that the states of Nevada and New Jersey are considering jumping into bed together to offer online poker to US fans of this game. A joint online gambling market would mean greater liquidity for both operators and players if a bi-state gambling biz was the name of the game. When we talk about greeter liquidity, we mean much larger player pools, and therefore much more prize money to be won.

This idea is once again the brain-child of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who has been trying his damndest for years to get online gambling –re-legalised in the USA. Reid is a firm believer that people should be allowed to do whatever they desire, in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. We agree, as long as it is consensual and no innocent parties get hurt. The government could argue that online gambling can be addictive, but so are prescription drugs, cigarettes and alcohol which are all freely on sale, in the USA.

A bottle store owner doesn’t say to a customer – I think you have a drinking problem, and I will no longer sell you booze. By the very same token, ADULTS are the potential market for any online gambling activities, and they have the right to make their own decisions, as well as mistakes. Gambling is not the problem, people are the problem, and people therefore have to take responsibility for their own actions.

That having been said, State casino regulators and gambling business execs have been discussing the possibility of a merge in the form of a “New Jersey/Nevada internet gambling compact”. The reasons for this are quite clear, as we explained in the first paragraph, it is very possible that one State – on its own – would not make for sustainable business opportunities. Say nothing of poor prize pools for players, which is plainly an unattractive prospect.

Supporters off this merge are envisaging that it should come to fruition by sometime in 2014. However, the Nevada Legislature does not convene again until February 2015. But that is not the end of the story, committee chairs who handle legislation would have to be included in this process, and to date have no idea of what is being cooked up by Reid.

But Reid believes that legislatures for both States may not be required. He is of the opinion that Federal legislation can achieve the compact which will allow for this marriage made in heaven (?) to take place before 2015. He has been entertaining the idea of the compact for a while now, after having worked extremely hard to get online gambling and not only poker, made legal in the United States.

It is no secret that the offshore territories of the UK have done really well out of the fact that the offer tax havens to the UK-facing online gambling industry. This applies to Alderney, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta and recently even the Isle of Jersey, although Jersey seems to have come on board rather Late.

Now that the British Government has been looking for ways to tax online gambling services, rather than making taxation more attractive for existing as well as start-up operator, they are thinking of a point of consumption tax. This seems quite a sensible move, as offshore operators benefit from offering gaming to UK customers, but only paly local license fees and taxes.

The introduction of a point of consumption tax seems ready to go ahead, and should be in place by December 2014. The remote gambling industry are obviously keen to find out how this tax will affect them so, neighbouring gambling jurisdictions need to be thinking ahead regarding these new regulations.

The Economic Development Minister of the Isle of Man’s – John Shimmin – is already rolling-out a new five-year plan of strategy to ensure they keep on top of things. He is quite rightly of the opinion that the sooner they take a pro-active approach, the better off they will be. We have to bear in mind here that the online gambling industry revived the economies of these island states to a great extent. It creates highly paid, highly technical jobs, generates tax income and has seen many professional relocate to be closer to where they work. Their spending stimulates these economies too.

The planned tax regime for 2014 has John Shimmin concerned that with better taxation regulation in place, firms may be tempted to relocated back to the UK. This would mean the Isle of Man (and the others) may lose some of their licensees. It is obvious that they should be prepared for this, and that they should also be able to offer incentives for firms to remain. They have already signed a tax sharing agreement with the UK, and met with the UK Gambling Commission.

Shimmin has guaranteed their support their to e-gaming operators, and confirmed that they fully understand any implications that may affect their regulatory regime. They are still seeking to attract even more new licensees, so, business must be good. Currently big names such as PokerStars, Paddy Power, and the new Full Tilt Poker, amongst others are firmly entrenched in the Isle of Man.

The fundamental concept of any online business, is that business can take place on a global scale, and this concept applies to online gambling. This type of business without borders is also a model that is intrinsic to the freedom of trade principles adopted by law-makers of the European Union (EU). However, when it comes down to online gambling and EU free trade principles, many EU countries still practice monopolistic approaches. This is frowned upon by the EU.

Now Dr Christos Dimitriadis – Intralot’s Head of Information Security has spoken at a Berlin conference, and said that “it is inevitable that new types of mobile games that could incorporate gambling features will become legal across the European Union”. Intralot builds lottery systems, terminals, and so on, and has a presence in fifty-five countries globally.

He was a guest speaker at the ISACA Insights World Congress 2013, when he made clear that their firm would be both keen, and able to investigate new business breaks, if the entire EU were to make mobile gambling legal. The gambling sector is currently merging mobile services and the cloud, which is proving to be incredibly popular with punters, and is showing exponential growth with many UK-based operators.

The problem with this form of gambling for EU member countries, is that they are not all on the same page, when it comes down to legalising games of chance that are internet based. As we said in the first paragraph – even though the European Commission has drafted an across-the-board framework for the online gambling industry – member states are being very reluctant to come to the party. It is unfortunate that regulatory changes have to be made country-by-country, but it is what it is.

The belief is that eventually there will be a way in which each member state controls e-gambling. They must play a regulatory role because of the “responsibility” factor. Gambling is believed to be best when it is controlled by law, or otherwise unscrupulous operators are able to take advantage of the public. The problem is that the EU has a great business model to follow in the UK, but don’t seem to be able to apply the lessons learned by the UK into their own situation.

Great Britain is home to the most mature sector of the global online gambling industry, and their legal framework seems to work, although like times, technology changes, and laws should be tweaked to compensate for this change. Mobile gambling in the UK, has hit the ground running in the past couple of years, and consistently appears to be enjoying an exponential growth swing.

The very first time we saw Net Entertainment (NetEnt)games and websites, it was hard not to believe that this online gambling, gaming developer was not going to do big things. They have since divested themselves of operations in this field, to concentrate on development as well as turnkey solution for the industry from a back office perspective. Dropping the gambling website business meant ridding themselves of “conflict of interest” issues, and they have gone from strength to strength since then. Every operator who is anybody should want NetEnt games on their websites.

Already an award winner, this prominent Swedish software provider for online casinos has landed a hat-trick at the recent EGR B2B Awards. Any player in this industry wants these prestigious awards in their trophy cabinet, and NetEnt took three! These awards are:

• Innovation in Slot Provision
• Innovation in Mobile
• Mobile Supplier of the Year

This company’s commitment in the development of a top-notch mobile platform has paid off, for sure. “Touch” (the mobile platform) is thought to be the best in the business, and the awards it has won contests to that. The online gambling audience is now more sophisticated than ever before, and amore players move to the convenience of mobile to play on the go, NetEnt products adapt to this growing demand. Players want quality mobile casino games, and quality is what they get.

The Award for innovation in slots provision is highly commendable too – if you have not seen their great games – do yourself a favour and check out: Jack and the Beanstalk, Gonzos Quest, BloodSuckers, Egg-o-matic, Zombies, Starburst, Evolution, Jack Hammer…there are just so many to choose from.

Per Eriksson – the President and CEO of Net Entertainment, was understandably thrilled to share this good news with the industry. He said that "Innovation is at the core of everything we do and these three prestigious industry awards are a product of all the team’s hard work." He also commented that their team had been focussing heavily on mobile development during the past eighteen months, and this focus had paid off.

Mobile is without any shadow of a doubt a high growth area, and being regarded so highly at the EGR B2B Awards will only stand the brand in good stead for a very good future. These awards recognise achievements across all e-gaming segments, including networks, payment solutions, IT and infrastructure, mobile gaming, software, and so on.

Whilst speaking of Net Entertainmednt, you might also be interested to know that another recent BIG win took place on Mega Fortune™. It paid out a handsome prized of €5.3 Million at BetVictor Casino during the May Bank Holiday weekend. This prize was the 4th biggest in their history.

One of the reasons why gambling has in the past had a dodgy reputation, has been due to the fact that a "gambling underworld" has had, and in some instance still does play a role in this business. This type of illegal activity is not unique to gambling per se, but unscrupulous operators do have a penchant to try their luck. However, there are very many legitimate gambling businesses doing really well, offering fair games, etcetera, but even the legitimate sector of this industry seems to have been tarred (in some instances) with the same brush.

Now the online gambling industry appears to have been targeted for the same “tar and feathering” treatment, where fuel for this impression is being fired by who else – but the film industry? Justin Timberlake has taken time out of his newly re-vamped role as a successful pop star to get back into the movie making business, with a new role that has been based on the online gambling underworld.

The film dubbed – Runner Runner – is being released by Twentieth Century Fox and official video trailers are already hitting the silver screen. This gambling drama is due to be release sometime this September. Timberlake co-stars with Ben Affleck who is no stranger to gambling, and really enjoys his poker; Affleck takes on the role of an online gambling tycoon. But not just any common or garden gambling tycoon, he is tied to corruption, and of course bribery.

Playing a Princeton grad student named Richie – Timberlake – is caught up in the constant concern regarding how to pay off massive tuition fees. He also happens to be a mathematics genius, and recons he could probably come up with the $60K required, by playing online poker. The fact that playing online poker is still illegal in the USA has even been taken into consideration, as Ivan Block (played by Affleck) is situated in Costa Rica.

Nevertheless, Richie makes use of the law of statistics together with his own considerable know-how, and guess what happens next? He loses of course – and finds himself in an even worse position. But not only does he lose, he also believes that he has been cheated out of the money he lost.

After losing, Richie travels to Costa Rica to confront Block, but instead ends up being lured into this underworld. After being kidnapped by FBI agents, and informed of what Block’s shady dealings really are, he tries to switch sides. However, I guess we will have to wait for the movie to come out, before we find out what transpires in the end. Release is scheduled for 27th September 2013.