There has been such a huge scandal surrounding the fact that Members of the Board of Tiltware lined their own pockets at the expense of fans who played at Full Tilt Poker (FTP), it really is about time that everything got sorted out now. Its seems that 2013 might be the year when everything falls into place, the Department of Justice are happy, and online gambling in the USA finally becomes legal. Well…one can only hope. At the centre of the FTP scandal have been Chris (Jesus) Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar and Rafe Furst – well mostly these players have been mentioned.

Rafe Furst has surrendered a Trust Fund held in a Swiss Bank Account (?), plus agreed to pay the DoJ about $150 000 in fines. Howard Lederer knew that the DoJ had set their sights on his mansion, and has managed to stave off the forfeiture of this piece of property by bargaining with the authorities to take something else instead. In fact he has pledged to them, the proceeds from the sale of a property in Twin Palms Circle Las Vegas, as well as traceable proceeds from the sale of his Kingsclear Court, Las Vegas, property. So that is two Las Vegas properties he is down, and there is only something like five to go.

He has also forfeited his 1965 Shelby Cobra , plus funds a Lloyds TSB International account located on the Isle of Man. We have no idea what the amount involved with this transaction is. There is also an additional retirement account which was arranged using FTP funds, and this too has gone to the feds.

Apparently these monetary amount, plus those being surrendered by Raef Furst are going directly into the $184 (or thereabouts) owed to US online poker players; if and when they are able to process their claims with the DoJ. One would however assume that some of the funds paid to them in the FTP sale to PokerStars would have been earmarked for this process. However, we don’t know the finer details of the sale, only how many millions it cost.

It appears that only Ray Bitar and Chris Fergusson have to settle with the DoJ, which might be a faster process now that these two gamblers have fessed up and settled. It certainly goes to show that big money can keep you out of jail, as most of the deals made with the DoJ have entailed, forfeiture of vast amounts of money to admit no wrong-doing, and avoid any future prosecution. This is what PokerStars, Rafe Furst and Howard Lederer are all currently paying for. We suppose they have learned one thing from this – that crime doesn’t pay, but if you can pay, you can also get off the charges.

These charges included but were not limited to "conspiracy to commit bank, and or wire fraud, money laundering, as well as operating an illegal online gambling business." An amendment to the charges also accused these people of misrepresentation in that player funds were "safe and secure" both prior to and after Black Friday.

We always think it is the kettle calling the pot black when one gambling concern takes umbrage against another for fear they will lose their business. A prime example in the USA is Gambling Billionaire Magnate, Sheldon Adelson. He is the man who made his money with the Las Vegas Sands Corporation; he is also still their Chairman and CEO. In his opinion online gambling is morally wrong, but apparently it is not morally wrong to set down 5000 slots machines, 300 blackjack tables, 150 roulette wheels, and high stakes private Baccarat rooms on his casino floors. Go figure?

Anyway the latest in a long line of green monsters with regard the online US online gambling saga, is Lottery Directors. Another bunch of hypocrites from seven states who plan to storm in on Washington to speak against a bill which might potentially allow federal legislation and regulation for this much maligned industry. It appears that the bill is to restrict the expansion of lotteries online, as well as other gambling, but will promulgate online poker. Again with this bill, we see what appears to be a morally superior stance, calling the pot black so to speak, then, sneaking in the back door.

For goodness sake, why does the Federal Government not allow all online gambling activities across the board, a law such as this would stop all this envy and dissention right in its tracks. But then the Church and other groups who believe themselves to be on "higher" moral ground, would also have something to say.

Nevertheless, these lottery official hail from Kentucky, Idaho, New Hampshire, Georgia, Washington state, Missouri, and Iowa are signed-up. They will be flying in to lobby against the Federal bill devised by Senators Harry Reid, of Nevada, and Jon Kyl of Arizona.

David Gale who is the Exec Director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, says the Bill will restrict most other online gambling activities which leaves them out in the cold. More and more states are looking to expand their lottery operations online, but not only that, they also want to be able to offer various other casino-type gambling games. What was mentioned were slots and keno-type games. Basically random number games.

They say that the purpose of the lobbying trip was to spread the message that gaming rights are a state-specific right, and that each and every state has the right to determine what games should or should not be on offer. However, this has also never really been disputed at Federal level, we only have to look at the fact that Nevada has made online poker legal.

Apparently these lottery leaders want their individual states not only to have the power to determine the games they offer their residents, but also how these gambling games are delivered. In other words – they are concerned that a Federal bill would interfere with their power.

According to Reid and Kyl, their online gambling bill does not deserve any of this ire, it is simply in draft form at present, and they will continue to work transparently with all stakeholders.

According to the Associated Press – Harold Lovell – Finance Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, has said that they are going to pursue their long-standing dispute over online gambling with the USA. This small Island State with a population of less than 90 000, has unsuccessfully pursued this dispute since UIGEA was enacted in late 2006.

They have accused their giant northern neighbour of "hobbling its fragile economy" when they banned US punters from taking online bets and wagers with online operators. There were a great many online gambling websites which licensed their offshore operations in the Island State. Antigua says they are looking for a fair settlement according to a World Trade Organisation ruling which told them they have a valid claim.

Negotiations came to a standstill when the USA simply ignored to acknowledge their claim. The WTO dispute mechanism was then used to attempt to get the issue back onto the bargaining table. The Island State – like many other countries world-wide – are in a delicate fiscal position and feel that the matter "pushed their backs up against a wall".

At the next WTO meeting on the 17th December, this matter will be brought up on behalf of Antigua Barbuda. All things considered $176 Million is not a great deal of money, but the USA is also in a pretty cash-strapped state. At one time Antigua even requested that the WTO impose $3 billion in sanctions on the USA to force them to comply with the ruling granting them compensation. The WTO only enforced sanctions of $21 million per year.

These retaliatory sanctions against have come to be known as the David vs. Goliath trade battle. But being a small country they say it is not their intention to have a fight. However, they do believe they have the rights to protect their sovereignty as well as rely on the might of the WTO to back up their claim.

This ex-British colony once housed a thriving online casino industry, where numerous licensees employed around 3000 people and generated an income of approximately $1 billion.

Lovell says they are determined to pursue punitive action and insist that having failed through all other avenues, sanctions are the only recourse they have left. Barring a last minute settlement being made, the intention is to announce which industries will be targeted for sanction action. The US Tread Representative office has not responded as yet.

The USA is now also considering making online gambling legal, but it is taking years for the Federal Government to come to any decision. In the meantime individual states have taken the legal situation into their own hands and the State of Nevada was the first to make intrastate online gambling legal. It is believed that other states will follow suit, but what is really needed is Federal regulation and legislation.

At this juncture it is interesting to note that approximately half of the gamblers in the world are based in the USA.

We have been reading in the news that the large online gambling concerns, which offer offshore services to UK residents, may be in for beneficial tax-cut to lure these industry players back into the country. While we think this is a very fine idea, whether it ever comes to fruition or not, still remains to be seen.

Recently there have been massive protests against the fact that industry giants such as Amazon, Google and Starbucks have been involved in corporation tax avoidance. Apparently the government has also been aware of this and has failed to crack down on defaulters. In the meantime, an across the board tax of 15% applies to all gambling concerns, and this has seen an exodus of big brand names such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and other interactive divisions of brands, taking to the hills to license their products offshore.

While this has provided big business for Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Alderney, Malta and other independent members of the ex-British Empire. It does not do a lot for Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise coffers. Not when we bear in mind that the majority of the customers who follow these big name brands are actually situated in the UK.

Luring interactive gambling industry giants, and even the smaller concerns, does not only mean licensing fees will be filling up UK tax coffers. The industry is a mostly high-tech concern, and therefore highly paid people are employed in jobs, office space is required for hardware, software designers, financial, administrative, and all kinds of other highly paid people, and all of these people pay tax. An active industry also stimulates the economy too.

As an example perhaps we should look at Tombola Bingo. This is one of the very few interactive online bingo concerns that keepsoffices in the UK. Although they too are licensed in Gibraltar, they have offices based, and employ people in the Sutherland area. Despite the strict tax regime, which is even tougher for the bingo business in Britain, this business has continued to grow, and has on more than one occasion actually doubled in size.

With attractive tax cuts scheduled – which seems to be what Chancellor George Brown is planning, Britain’s biggest gambling companies could move back to the land of their birth. Despite the fact that this is a highly controversial move, if we think about it in pure numbers terms. It is far more economically beneficial to have twenty online gambling companies paying licensing fees, salaries, overheads etc, as well as 5% or 10% tax. Than it is to have NO online gambling companies paying any of the above expenses we listed.

Bearing in mind that there are hundreds – if not thousands – of online gambling concerns offering services to the residents of the UK; the more attractive the government makes it for them, the better it is for everyone in the long term.

According to The Mail on Sunday – "the Treasury is considering slashing the gambling levy by a third to recoup some of the £2.1 billion in revenues that has been lost over the last seven years."

The independent online gambling testing and compliance organisation eCOGRA, which is already performing technical standards reviews for operators licenced by the Danish Gambling Authority, has been further empowered by the Authority as an ‘Approved Enterprise’.

eCOGRA is the first company to be so appointed by the Danish Gambling Authority.

The role of an Approved Enterprise in the Danish market is to complete a report as required by the Danish Gambling Authority in respect of Danish licence holders within 14 months of the commencement of licensed online gambling operations.

Such a report includes an extensive review of license holders’ operational activities, embracing financial and statistical data to ensure that the licensee has provided gambling services in accordance with Danish gambling legislation.

eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge said this week that in order to be appointed as an Approved Enterprise, eCOGRA was required to demonstrate to the Danish Gambling Authority that its employees possess the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience for the role.

"The majority of eCOGRA’s employees are professionally qualified auditors with Big 4 audit firm backgrounds, and are highly experienced in auditing and reviewing financial information and remote gambling operator systems; we were therefore confident that we would meet the high standards of the Danish regulator," Beveridge said.

"eCOGRA now has ten years of diverse compliance, testing and consulting experience in the industry, during which its staff has successfully performed over 500 online gambling compliance reviews in the areas of player protection and responsible operator behaviour, in most cases for large and well-established internet gambling operator and software supplier companies."

"I therefore believe that we are well suited to perform the role of an Approved Enterprise in the growing Danish market."

"This appointment is extremely important to us, as our clients require us to provide them the full suite of services required by the various licensing jurisdictions, including the review of technical and information security requirements, and legal and financial compliance."