For years, the common belief was that there was a direct correlation between access to casinos and problem gambling. The thinking is that the more casinos there are, the more people are able to play. The more people play, more will develop gambling problems. A recent study, however, indicates that is not the case.

A Harvard University study by Professors Howard Shaffer and Ryan Martin found that although there has been a great deal of casino expansion in the last 35 years, problem gambling has declined. Though the actual number of problem gamblers has increased (as has total population) it has decreased as a percentage, from 0.7% to 0.6%.

Those people who make up the small percentage of gambling addicts have something in common. They are likely addicted to something else as well. The study says that 75% of those people who have an addiction to gambling also have a chemical addiction to another substance, either drugs, alcohol or smoking. That suggests that in almost all cases, a person who does not already suffer from addiction, suggesting a predisposition to addiction, is safe from becoming addicted to gambling.

It is not known what has caused problem gambling to decline over the last 35 years. Some people believe that it is due to increased awareness of the problem. Some feel that it is because the casinos, including online casinos, do a much better job of helping people get treatment than they did in the past. Some believe that legislation like the creation of self-exclusion list and lifetime bans deserves the credit. In any case, it is good news that the increased availability of casinos has not resulted in an increase in problem gambling.

Sometimes the cops have to show up and break up all of the fun. You’re just having a good time illegally gambling on your party boat and then all of the sudden you’re being raided by a bunch of guys pointing guns in your face and yelling at you. And then you end up in jail. Total suck, right?

That’s what happened in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Department, State Law Enforcement Division and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources conducted a joint raid of the party boat, leading to a number of tickets and arrests.

The authorities said that over the years, they had received numerous complaints about illegal gambling and noise coming from the boat. The ship was a large three-deck vessel much like the large river boats used for old-fashioned casino cruises. It had been docking on a lake marina and operating its gambling operation using video poker machines, for some time. The problem is that video poker was outlawed in South Carolina back in 2000, so what may seem like harmless fun is a violation of state law.

Authorities seized 16 video poker machines and $2,000 in cash aboard the boat, the “Mark Twain.” The State Law Enforcement Agents issued a number of alcohol-related citations. Not to be outdone, since they came along on the road, the Department of Natural Resources cited the owners of the boat for safety violations. Probably not everyone was wearing a life preserver or something.

There are currently attempts in the state to liberalize the gambling laws, including allowing tribal casinos and offshore gambling boats. However, the proposed legislation would not overturn the ban on video poker machines, so the Mark Twain would still be in violation.

Prosecutors in an Alabama gambling case have drawn the ire of the federal judge for a lack of cooperation with the defense. On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. told prosecutors that if they do not comply by turning over all requested or exculpatory evidence to the defense, “there will be sanctions.” Those sanctions could include the prosecutors being removed from the case. The prosecutors had until the end of the day to provide the evidence, with a new hearing scheduled for Thursday.

The case is a gambling corruption case in which the defendants are accused of buying and selling votes related to gambling legislation. Among the indicted are casino owners and four former and current state senators. The evidence in question relates to casino owners Milton McGregor and Ronnie Gilley. The FBI used wiretaps to gather information on them, but according to the defense, they illegally monitored phone calls between the casino owners and their attorneys. In an earlier hearing, the FBI agents denied that accusation, saying that they had a list of the attorneys and stopped monitoring the conversations anytime they realized a lawyer was on the line. The defense asked for the prosecution to turn over all of the audio tapes and so far, they have not been compliant.

During the hearings, the defense hopes to have the information gained from those wiretaps ruled inadmissible in court. Without them, it will be more difficult to prosecute the defendants. The trial for the two casino owners and either other defendants is scheduled for June 6.

The alleged fraud occurred in an attempt to pass pro-gambling legislation, but the bill eventually failed. The legislation was aimed at allowing electronic bingo casinos shut down by Governor Riley’s anti-gambling task force to re-open.

In the U.S. state of Ohio, Attorney General Mike DeWine wants to regulate electronic “sweepstakes” games that have become popular over the years. Yesterday DeWine spoke at a news conference with state lawmakers who have introduced legislation regulating the devices.

DeWine does not like the games, which he calls “a threat to Ohio families and a rip-off to Ohio consumes.” The games in question often resemble slot machines, though DeWine repeatedly refers to them as “skill games.” They have become popular in business centers that offer copy and fax machines as well as the sweepstakes machines. In effect, many of those business centers have become small casino cafes. DeWine laments that those businesses have been “popping up all over the state.”

The legislation, sponsored by state representatives Nan Baker and Marlene Anielski, would allow the Ohio Casino Control Commission to regulate the machines. Due to a loophole in the current gambling laws, the machines and their businesses are currently unregulated. If the bill passes, the owners of the machines would have to be licensed by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Among the regulations that would be imposed is a limit to no more than five games per location. Currently some of the business centers have as many as 62 gambling machines, according to Anielski.

There is no question that limiting the centers to five machines would hurt. DeWine says that the legislation would make it “very difficult but not impossible” for the game owners to remain in business. Of course, he wouldn’t mind if they went out of business, given his opinion of the machines and the businesses.

There are two competing online gambling bills in the California legislature and now one of them has the formal support of a powerful tribal group. The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) voted to endorse Senate Bill 40, which was proposed by Senator Lou Correa.

CNIGA was founded in 1988 and is a non-profit organization made up of more than two dozen federally recognized tribal governments. They hold considerable sway in California when it comes to gambling issues. Though their endorsement was not unanimous, CNIGA found that Senate Bill 40 is the better of the two bills.

The bill would legalize intrastate online poker, which proponents say is already being played in the state, with the revenue going to offshore operators. Only licensed poker rooms would be able to offer the services and only tribal casinos and pari-mutuel facilities in the state would be eligible for licenses. That certainly would help the California tribes, which is why they support Correa’s bill.

Senate Bill 45, introduced by Senator Rod Wright, does not have those protections. The bill would allow not only online poker, but also other casino games. In addition, businesses outside of California would be eligible for licenses, though it would still only be California residents who are able to gamble online, and only while physically present in the state. For those reasons, CNIGA decided to oppose Senate Bill 45. If Senate Bill 40 is rejected and Senate Bill 45 is still around, though, it will be interesting to see if they change their mind.

Back on January 10, New Jersey’s state legislature passed a bill to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling. By state law, once the legislation is passed, the governor has 45 days to act. He can sign the bill, conditionally veto it and send it back to lawmakers with suggested revisions or outright veto it. If he does nothing, at the end of that 45-day period, if the governor has done nothing, the bill automatically becomes law.

Since the online gambling bill was passed on January 10, that 45-day period expires on Thursday, February 24. That means, normally, Governor Chris Christie would have 2 days to make a decision or let the bill become law on its own. Now, however, he has been given an extension and has until March 3.

The reason for it is that the state law is flexible on that timetable. Governors like to be able to meet with committees to discuss bills before making a decision. A rule allows the deadline to be extended to give the governor until the next legislative session to make a decision.

After Christie’s budget address, legislators spend their time taking an in-depth look at the budget (or at least they’re supposed to). For that reason, no committees meet during that time. The next legislative session in which committees will meet will be March 3, which is one week later.

That gives Governor Christie another week to consider the impact of signing or vetoing the bill. It also gives lobbyists another week to try to influence him. Vigorous lobbying efforts are expected on both sides, with online gambling trade groups lobbying for the bill and Caesers Entertainment, which wants to wait for online gambling at a federal level, lobbying against it.

The U.S. state of Texas is looking for additional revenue, with gambling considered a possible source. Such a topic is usually controversial, especially in a conservative state like Texas. However, a recent poll says that such a decision may not be all that controversial after all.

A recent poll by the Texas Tribune shows that nearly 90% of respondents support some form of casino gambling in the state. Those who answered the poll see casino gambling as a viable way to close a budget gap of more than $20 billion. Before you get too excited, though, both the governor and the Speaker of the House aren’t big fans of gambling.

Joe Straus, who was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that any legislation that would legalize casino-style gambling in the state would be unlikely to pass during this session. Governor Rick Perry also opposes gambling, though many believe that he would not veto a casino bill if it reaches his desk.

Senator Rodney Ellis is going to introduce a bill that would allow voters to decide on whether or not to allow casino-style gambling in the Lone Star State. Getting such a vote to happen, though, won’t be easy. The state constitution bans casino gambling, so if the voters elect to legalize the games, that would require a constitutional amendment. In Texas, amendments require a 2/3 vote to pass. Therefore, in order to even give the voters a chance to vote on the issue, 2/3 of the state lawmakers would have to vote in favor of Ellis’s bill.

Penny auctions could soon be illegal in South Africa, thanks to a draft law that defines the websites as gambling sites rather than online auctions. The move would ban penny auction sites that have become popular in the nation, most notably Smokoo, Kooldeals, ViaZiz and Bidchaser.

Penny auction sites have always treaded a fine line between auctions and gambling. That is because, unlike a traditional auction, you could end up paying money without every winning anything. There are also a lot of illegitimate penny auction sites out there that use a variety of techniques to scam customers. For those reasons, there are a lot of people out there that aren’t a fan of the businesses. In South Africa, they could soon be illegal.

The draft law making its way through the legislature states that auction websites cannot charge a non-refundable fee to participants for them to take part in the auction. That clause would make the entire business model of penny auctions illegal.

The South African Department of Trade and Industry says that after considering the business models of penny auction sites, “it is now clear that this is similar to gambling and can be regulated under the gambling regulations.” Those regulations, of course, would make the penny auction sites illegal.

Recently, South Africa made all online casinos illegal. The Northern High Court ruled that “interactive gambling” is illegal to operate in South Africa. That includes all online casinos and online poker rooms. However, sportsbooks and online betting exchanges are not banned because online betting is not considered interactive gambling.

When 2010 came to an end, so did efforts by U.S. Representative Barney Frank, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to regulate online gambling. At least, they ended for the time being. The states of New Jersey, California, Florida and Nevada are pushing for intrastate online gambling and now two new trade groups have formed to push for online gambling at a federal level.

Two new trade groups (which sounds better than “lobbying groups”) have announced their formation in the last week. The first was the American Institute of iGaming (AIIG), which is headed by Bill Pascrell, a lobbyist who pushed for New Jersey’s online gambling bill, which passed in January and is awaiting Governor Christie’s signature. According to Pascrell, their goal is to “educate and advocate for igaming in America.” He says that the trade group will be made up of gambling companies and payment processors. AIIG will concern themselves with influencing politicians at both the state and federal level to pass online gambling legislation.

The other new trade group goes by the name of U.S. Online Gaming Association, or USOGA. That trade group will be run by Malanie Brenner, a former executive director of Poker Voters of America, another lobbying group. USOGA will also lobby for regulation of online gambling in America and already has the backing of two gambling companies, the bookmaker Sportingbet and poker room PKR.

Existing gambling trade groups, including Brenner’s Poker Voters of America, were unable to get a federal online gambling law passed last year. Whether two new groups will have greater sway remains to be seen.

The United States Congress may have failed to regulate online poker at a federal level, but that doesn’t mean that online poker is illegal in the U.S. It is only illegal where banned by law and since there is no federal law banning the game, it is only banned when individual states – such as Washington – ban it. In the wake of Congress’s failure to regulate the game, several states are trying to do what the federal government could not.

New Jersey and California are at the forefront of regulating online gambling and both expect to have bills passed early next year. Florida is following closely behind them. On December 16, State Representative Joe Abruzzo introduced a new bill, which would be called the Internet Poker Consumer Protection & Revenue Generation Act of 2011.”

According to the bill’s summary, the bill, if passed, “provides for intrastate Internet poker to be provided to public by cardroom operators through state Internet poker network operated by Internet poker hub operators.” The bill would also provide for the licensing, administration and regulation of the online poker industry, with the regulation being carried out by the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

In the bill, which is currently 50 pages, would create a contractual relationship with existing Internet poker operators “with the technical expertise” to ensure that the games are fair and only allow individuals at least 18 years of age and physically present within the borders of Florida to play. That last part is interesting. The bill wouldn’t apply only to Florida residents, but anyone who is in Florida at the time. Therefore, just as someone who visits Las Vegas can legally visit a land casino, someone who visits Florida could legally play online poker.

The bill would also ensure that regulators had easy access to the poker rooms’ records to ensure compliance with regulations. It also requires licensed poker operators to provide “accessible customer service” and information related to problem gambling, including a telephone number for those with a gambling problem to call.

By introducing the online poker bill, Abruzzo hopes for the state of Florida to capture the millions of dollars residents of the Sunshine State spend at offshore gambling operators.