Russia tried to put an end to online gambling a while ago, but now they are for the first time targeting the players. A new bill has been introduced in parliament that would make it illegal for players to gamble online.

Back in 2009, Russia passed a law that banned brick and mortar casinos. The law only made it illegal to operate a gambling business, though, so players were still free to play casino games if they could find a place to play it. The only legal option then was to gamble online and as a result of the gambling ban, online gambling in Russia drastically increased.

To curb internet gambling activity that is growing in popularity, the government now seeks to close the loophole that makes wagering online legal. Ivan Savvidi has introduced legislation into the Federal Assembly of Russia that would make all types of online gambling illegal. Players who violate the law would be fined. Any gambling operators who violate the ban could be subject to imprisonment.

The gambling legislation would also close a second loophole. Currently, though slot machines are banned in Russia, there are some electronic gambling machines similar to slots that do not violate the strict interpretation of the law. The new bill redefines slot machines in such a way that would ban any games that essentially offer the same experience as playing a slot machine.

If the legislation passes and becomes law, Russian citizens who want to play casino games for money would have no legal means to do so. They could still play the state lottery, though.

The bill that would bring an online gambling market to the U.S. state of New Jersey is one step closer to becoming a law. It has passed a committee vote on its way to a full Assembly vote next week.

Today the State Assembly Regulatory Oversight & Gaming Committee passed Raymond Lesniak’s online gambling bill by a unanimous vote. The bill will then be moved to the Assembly floor for a full vote, which is expected to take place on Monday, December 13. The same bill already passed the state Senate, so if the full Assembly passes the bill as well, the only remaining step would be to be signed by Governor Chris Christie, which is expected.

One amendment was stripped from the bill, though. The bill once included an amendment that would allow customers from overseas to play at New Jersey online casinos. That amendment was dropped, meaning that only New Jersey residents would be able to participate in the gambling market that the bill would create. The international gambling amendment may have been removed to avoid the possibility of the federal government or World Trade Organization claiming jurisdiction.

Lesniak states that he believes the bill will be passed by the state Assembly and be signed by Governor Christie “before the end of the year.” If the law passes, New Jersey will be the first U.S. state to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling, though California may be close behind them. Governor Christie has never gone on the record as supporting or opposing the legislation, but he is looking for ways to increase revenue in the state, particularly in Atlantic City. Most sources believe he will sign the bill rather than using his veto power.

Right now there is a lot of buzz in the online gambling industry over the possibility of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attaching an online poker bill to must-pass legislation during the lame duck session. There are a lot of good and bad things being said about the bill, which few people have seen.

The bill would essentially render UIGEA useless even if it doesn’t totally repeal it. That would be good news for online gamblers in the U.S. who are having trouble finding casinos that will accept them. No one has reported yet on the licensing fees or the tax rate, but there are a couple reported regulations that have some in the business angry.

One reported regulation would only allow casinos that have existed at least 5 years in the United States to offer online gambling. That would benefit the old casino industries in places like Las Vegas (where Reid represents) and Atlantic City while discriminating against states with new casino industries. The bill also supposedly would not allow tribal casinos to provide online gambling sites.

Another regulation that is drawing the ire of poker players is a rule that would make them wait 15 months without playing poker online. It will take 15 months from the time the law is passed for the regulation to be put in place. That type of regulatory delay is common and it is the reason laws take so long to go into effect. However, Reid’s bill purportedly states that online casinos cannot receive a license if they have accepted U.S. players within 30 days of the bill being passed. That means a period of 15 months (or more) in which any online gambling website that wants to be licensed in the U.S. will not allow any American customers.

When the bill becomes law, if it does, more will be known, but right now it looks like there are some aspects of it that are not good for casinos or American online gamblers.

Like many states in the U.S., Illinois has a law banning smoking in virtually all public buildings, including workplaces, schools, shopping centers, restaurants, bars and more. Members of the casino industry believe that the smoking ban is hurting their business, though, and are calling for changes.

When Nevada passed a similar law, the language of the law exempted casinos. With the Las Vegas Strip accounting for a large portion of the state’s revenue, giving them special treatment made sense. Illinois made no such exemption for casinos. Though the casino industry in Illinois is miniscule in comparison to Nevada, those who work in the market are still affected by the Smoke Free Illinois law, which was passed three years ago.

Andre Thapedi, a state representative, estimates that the non-smoking law costs Illinois casinos $200 million per year. Though it’s hard to verify an exact amount of money lost due to non-smoking policies, it is true that smoking is a common practice that goes along with gambling and other casino activities. As long as there have been casinos, people have enjoyed drinking and smoking in them. With the smoking bans in effect, some smokers may decide not to go to the casino for a good time. If they do go, they might spend less time there.

For that reason, Thapedi has sponsored a bill that would amend the Smoke Free Illinois law to allow the state’s casinos to build separate smoking rooms. In those rooms, and only in those rooms, players would be able to smoke all they want. It should be noted that Thapedi was also a sponsor of the original anti-smoking law.

The legislation has passed the House Executive Committee but has not yet reached a full vote. Before the committee voted on it, there was debate from both sides. Those supporting the bill cited a need to increase revenue in the struggling casinos. Those opposing the bill cited health concerns, specifically second-hand smoke inhalation for other players and for the casino employees.

A number of casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere have already been sued by employees – mostly dealers and waitresses – who say they have poor health due to second-hand smoke on the casino floor. Smoke Free Illinois was passed to protect non-smokers from having to inhale smoke. While non-smoking players could avoid playing in smoking rooms, it would be more difficult for casino employees to decline working in those rooms.

Poland is trying really hard to put an end to online gambling in their country, but so far it has been unsuccessful. Poland has a large number of brick and mortar casinos but in recent years those casinos have been losing a lot of business to the online sector. People who don’t live close to the casinos have been choosing to play online instead. As a result, a recent study showed that Polish citizens are spending 50% more money at internet casinos than at brick and mortar casinos.

Possibly in an attempt to protect those land-based casinos, in 2009 Poland passed a low outlawing online gambling. However, they only made it illegal for gambling websites to operate or advertise in Poland. The law then did nothing to keep overseas operators from continuing to allow Polish citizens to play with them. As a result, not only did the law do nothing to stop online gambling in the country, but internet wagering actually increased by 20% since the law passed.

Since that law has done nothing to curb the internet gambling in the country, Poland’s government now wants to amend the law. The plan is to make it illegal for players to place wagers online. Doing so would make it so authorities could arrest the Polish players for playing games at online casinos. If enough players became worried about arrest, the activity would stop, or such is the hope. In addition, the amendment seeks to place any online casinos that deal with Polish players into Polish jurisdiction. Doing so would allow the government to prosecute those gambling operators in Polish courts, even though they are located overseas. The two-pronged approach is aimed to make both the gambling provider and the player afraid to play casino games online.

With most U.S. states facing huge budget deficits, they are looking for additional sources of revenue. Many states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania, have looked to expanding their current gambling operations. The state of California is considering legalizing intrastate online gambling. Now New Jersey may be following their lead.

Senator Ray Lesniak is sponsoring a bill that would legalize online play of poker and some traditional casino games, such as blackjack and baccarat. The bill would be introduced early next year. The state Senator is proposing a bill that he says would lead to an additional $50 million per year in tax revenue.

The brick and mortar casinos in Atlantic City are the strongest and most vocal opposition to the bill. Land-based casinos often consider online gambling their competition. Still, even without the regulation it is estimated that more than a half-million New Jersey residents are already playing at online casinos and online poker rooms. Since lack of regulation isn’t deterring the activity, regulating it to bring in more revenue seems wise. A portion of the revenue could even be used to help the struggling Atlantic City casinos and the horse racing industry.

Supporters of the plan to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling in New Jersey stated that in addition to the extra revenue, opening the market could lead to up to 5,000 new jobs. Adding jobs to the Garden State would give a much-needed boost to its residents. The state currently has an unemployment rate of 9.4%.

At this time, it is unknown how much support there is in the state legislature for Senator Lesniak’s bill. If enough states legalize online gambling and online poker within their own borders, repeal of UIGEA will either become more likely or will become unnecessary.

Last weekend, Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill that would allow three new casinos and slot machines at two existing racetracks. Governor Deval Patrick (D), however, rejected the bill and sent an amended version of the bill back to the Massachusetts General Court.

Though Patrick originally considered a compromise that would allow one slot parlour instead of two, he has reneged on that idea and instead sent the bill down. With the bill struck down by the governor, it goes back to the General Court, the state legislature made of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Before members of either chamber of the Court can decide on compromising and rewriting any portions of the bill, they must have a 2/3 vote from both chambers to move forward. Proponents of the gambling bill may not have enough support for that. Though the House passed the bill with more than the 2/3 majority, the Senate passed the bill two votes shy of that 2/3 margin. It’s possible that the Senate could convince two senators to change their mind, but there is another problem.

With mid-term elections around the corner and the state lawmakers currently on recess, it’s unlikely that the General Court will get a chance to vote on the bill again. Therese Murray (D), President of the Massachusetts Senate, has said that she will not call Senate members back for a special session. That indicates that the bill may soon die in the court without a re-vote.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D), a supporter of the gambling bill, has indicated that there will be no re-vote and said that Governor Patrick’s decision to send the bill back down amounts to a veto and a disregard of the will of the people elected to represent Massachusetts.

The issue over possibly legalizing and regulating online casinos in the United States is a complex and tricky one. People try to simply it by using stereotypes, claiming that Democrats are for it but Republicans against it for moral reasons. They say that land-based casinos are against it. Others say that the online casinos and gambling proponents don’t care about problem gambling or other issues that it could cause. None of those people are right.

The truth is that there is support and opposition on both ends of the political spectrum. Most casinos and online gambling supporters are concerned with gambling addiction and do everything they can to minimize the problem. There is surely a lot of opposition from the land-based casinos, most vocally from Steve Wynn, who owns the Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn and more. However, some of his competitors feel differently.

In an article last weekend with the New York Post, entrepreneur Donald Trump spoke out in favor of the federal government legalizing and regulating online casinos. Trump, a known conservative, is one of the best-known businessmen in America. Along with his popular reality TV show, his hair, and his tower, Trump is probably best known for owning the three largest casinos in Atlantic City. Many land-based casino owners see online gambling as a threat, as competition that would hurt them. The Donald sees things differently, though.

“Why lose all those billions of revenue?” he asked, echoing the point made by many that tax revenue from online casinos would help a struggling economy in the throes of a deep recession. Trump knows a thing or two about tax revenue. According to the Post, his three Atlantic City casinos combine to be the largest taxpayer in the city.

Expounding on his pro-online gambling stance, Trump said that “online gambling is going to happen; why not have it work to the public advantage.” As a possible harbinger of things to come, the House Financial Services Committee recently voted to pass the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, a bill that would repeal UIGEA and legalize and regulate online gambling in America.

Last week was a big week in the online gambling community. The biggest news – at least in the Western world – was that in the United States, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act passed the House Financial Services Committee, clearing the way for a full House vote.

There was another big piece of news in online gambling, though. PartyGaming and bwin accounced that they would merge. Since they are publicly traded companies, the merger has to be approved by shareholders, but if it goes through, that will make the resulting company the largest in the online gambling industry.

PartyGaming is an online casino and poker room based in the UK and bwin is an online bookmaker based in Austria. If the two merge, as has been in the works for approximately 6 months, they would offer virtually every imaginable type of game or activity for online betting. They would also have the largest revenue and most customers in the online gambling industry.

Many in the industry believe that more mergers are likely to come soon. Many also believe that the timing of this announcement, coming on the heels of the House Financial Services Committee vote, is no coincidence.

PartyGaming used to be the largest online poker room in the industry, but with approximately 70% of their customers coming from the United States, the passage of UIGEA in 2006, which amounted to a de facto ban on online gambling, they dropped to fourth-largest. One of the rules in the new American online gambling legislation is that online casinos who have violated existing U.S. laws will not be able to obtain licenses to operate in the States. For that reason, PartyGaming and other casinos need to continue to be careful when it comes to American customers, at least until the legislation is passed into law.

In a decision that was somewhat surprising to many in the gambling community, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld Sweden’s ban on unlicensed operators advertising within the country. Opponents of the law say that the ruling backs state-run monopolies.

Sweden’s court of appeals faced two recent cases where unlicensed operators were banned from advertising for their online gambling sites. Sweden does not allow gambling companies that are not licensed in Sweden to advertise within the nation’s borders. In both court cases, the newspaper editors – Otto Sjoberg of the Expressen and Ander Gerdin of the Aftonbladet – prosecuted for carrying advertisements from unlicensed gambling companies. The appeals courts then referred the cases to the ECJ, asking whether the current Swedish law was compatible with EU free-trade rules.

Sweden argued to the ECJ that such a ban is necessary for the government to keep a tight control on the gambling industry and ensure that it is safe and that private, unlicensed casinos don’t make a profit off their citizens. The ECJ ruled in their favor, saying that the ban is allowed.

In a separate question, the ECJ was asked whether Sweden is allowed to apply stricter criminal penalties against for the promotion of overseas casinos as against unlicensed gambling located within Sweden. To that question, the ECJ said no. As a result, Sweden may be forced to repeal laws that make promoting foreign gambling sites a criminal activity, whereas the promotion of unlicensed local companies carries only a fine. That’s certainly good news for Sjoberg and Gerdin, who, instead of facing jail time, should only receive administrative penalties.