Gambling helpline funding slashed

The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling had its budget cut in recent cost-saving measures, the Boston Globe reports. The State Treasurer says there's no rationale behind the decision and it should be reversed. Globe columnist Adrian Walker complains the State has broken the compact with its stakeholders, sending a bad message at the worst possible time, just before the stressful holiday season that can bring gambling problems to a head.

As the state lotteries of the world raise the bar, adopting a stringent set of responsible gaming principles and performance indicators, you have to wonder why lottery officials weren't consulted before the cuts were announced. Or indeed why Adrian Walker didn't ask them to explain the apparent "contradiction of a state that publicly frowns on gambling running an enormous gambling business".

Germany mulls online gambling ban

The Register reports that Germany is holding off on a proposed rule that would prohibit online gambling. Media reports had suggested that the states were close to a nationwide agreement after three southern states (Bavaria, Saxony and Hesse) had introduced a ban. But last week, the heads of the sixteen German Länder voted to defer any action, saying further study is needed to assess the impact of any changes. Read The Register's source at OUT-LAW.com.

McCreevey rules out European regulation of Internet gaming

The Financial Times reports that Europe is watching closely as Italy prepares to release new licenses that will govern online gaming, kiosks and betting shops. The continent appears to have divided into three camps, the paper writes: The French group, which wants to restrict access to national markets, the British group, which is in favor of liberalisation, and a non-aligned group which is caught between the other two groups and weighing the pros and cons of the two approaches. The odds of European Union-wide regulation of Internet gambling? "Not a chance," internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevey told the European Parliament last month.

WTO to issue interim report on Antigua in January

After hearings in Geneva this month, Errol Cort, the finance minister of Antigua, welcomed the support his country had received from big trading partners of the U.S., including China, Japan and members of the European Union. A record of the Geneva hearings is to be published December 22, and an interim report on January 11. The parties will be given a period of time to submit their comments and observations on the panel's rulings and recommendations, before the final report is made available to the entire WTO membership sometime in early February 2007.

Greek firm eyes Indiana's state jewels

A proposal by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to lease the state’s lottery appears to be gaining ground. The Indianapolis Star reports that Greek lottery operator Intralot has expressed an interest in the idea, and that Lottomatica and Scientific Games are also weighing up their options. Backers of Daniels’ plan say leasing the Hoosier Lottery to a private firm would be more efficient than having the state run it and would help ease the state’s budget shortfall. New Jersey and Illinois are also considering leasing their lottery franchises.

Spain to license offshore casinos

THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE in Europe's online gaming sector continues to evolve. Spain announced last week that it will regulate and license online gambling companies. Officials in Madrid announced that renewable five year licenses will be awarded to vendors. Analysts predict a wave of applications from companies based in the UK and possibly from some American firms.

Meanwhile, authorities in the UK are forging ahead with their plan to regulate and tax online gambling.

But as some European countries fall over themselves to bring the free-runners into the fold and tax them, France and Germany seem to favor the prohibition route championed by the US with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Che casino!

The Contra Costa Times reports that GTECH has pledged to run background checks on key employees and implement anti-bribery programs in response to California lawmakers' concerns over the spotty history of Italy's Lottomatica, which recently bought out the Rhode Island firm for $4.7bn.

But lawmakers still wonder why the merger approval was not taken formally before the five-member commission that runs the lottery, and why the lottery's legal counsel - the state Attorney General's Office - was not informed. An emergency session of the state legislature is being held just before Christmas to try to sort out the mess, The Daily Democrat reports.