The State Assembly and Senate voted on 11 January to allow interstate gambling, which means players would only be playing bingo against other players in New Jersey.

The legislation now had to be approved by New Jersey governor Chris Christie; he has 45 days to pass it or veto it. The only concern for those hoping for online bingo in New Jersey is that Christie may come under extreme pressure at federal level to block the legislation. It is believed that the federal government is concerned that states will legislate online gambling in a piecemeal way, meaning that there is no consistency from state to state and the federal government would get no tax benefit from legislation.

A large number of online operators are likely to be interested in operating online bingo in New Jersey, with Playtech’s Virtue Fusion division likely to make the biggest push to be the main software provide for a New Jersey bingo site.

Search for New Jersey Bingo halls

Currently online bingo sites in Ireland such as Bingo.ie, Paddy Power Bingo and Bingo Ireland operate in a grey area because legislation on gambling in Ireland was written well before the advent of the Internet. Most gaming companies taking bingo bets from Irish citizens have gaming licences in places such as Alderney, Isle of Man and Gibraltar.

In a statement the Irish Minister for Justice and Law Reform said he expected legislaton to be brought forward shortly following consultation with gambling industry groups about reform of Ireland’s antiquated gambling laws.

He told the Irish Parliament: “The Deputy will be aware from my replies to previous Questions that the consultation phase of the major review of gambling, initiated by me, has drawn to a close. I was pleased that over 70 organisations and groups considered the topic important enough to submit written submissions, and that many followed up those submissions with face-to-face meetings with the review team.

“I have also indicated that I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval of policy proposals for a new gambling architecture in the State, following an evaluation of the material received. The policy proposals, which I would intend to publish, will be based on an examination of the submissions received, as well as the recommendations contained in the Report of the Casino Committee, Regulating Gaming in Ireland, and, of course, consideration of modern gambling regulation. The review team is currently engaged in developing the appropriate proposals for consideration.

“Any new policy aimed at modernising our gambling code must take account of the challenges and threats, but also opportunities, presented by new technologies, particularly the internet. In addition, policy must also be premised on the three important considerations which are the hallmark of most well-regulated gambling codes.

“These are that young people and the vulnerable are protected; that gambling should in all respects be fairly and openly conducted and that gambling is kept free of crime.

“Following the settling of policy in relation to a new gambling architecture for the State, the House can expect the publication of legislative proposals in the normal course. As this will be the first comprehensive review of our gambling law, effectively since the enactment of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, it would be reasonable to expect that any new legislation would be complex and comprehensive.”

The bill proposed that online poker would be allowed in California with up to 20 per cent of the profits going to the state. Bill sponsor Roderick Wright cancelled the vote in the face of vehement opposition from Indian tribes with gaming interests in the state and California’s card clubs.

Wright, a California Democrat Senator for Inglewood,  said he would continue to look for ways to legalize poker in California in order to help boost the state’s empty coffers. It is widely thought that legalizing poker would be a gateway to allowing other online gambling across the USA with bingo being one of the most attractive games to allow, both because it is widely ingrained in American culture but also because of the low levels of problem gambling associated with the game.

Ironically it is the Indian casino and card clubs in California that first strongly supported the idea of online poker in the state. But when it became clear that Wright’s bill would allow Nevada companies and foreign poker operators to bid for the licence to run online poker, they switched to opposing the bill. One critic told Bingo News: “As soon as the Indian casinos and card clubs realized they may not be the beneficiaries of this bill, they immediately changed their minds. If online poker is legalized and they are not running it then there is likely to be a major negative impact on their land-based businesses.”

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Commerce Casino and Hollywood Park Casino were among those who were most vocal in their opposition to the bill. All agreed however that online poker in California was desirable and that they expected it to be legalized within the next three years.

Check out California’s bingo halls at California Bingo.

The panel had recommended that online bingo, poker and casino games should be legal for Australians but the communications minister said he believed that the likely rise in problem gambling outweighed any potential benefits of allowing online gambling.

Australia has one of the highest rates of problem gambling but most gambling experts believe this is related to the high incident of slot machines, known as ‘pokies’, and the mixing of gambling and alcohol in Australian bars. There are an estimated 160,000 problem gamblers in Australia.

The 2001 Interactive Gambling Act banned online gambling on bingo, poker and casino products but many Australians have simply chosen to play with unlicensed sites, often because they did not know the sites were not legal.

Stephen Conroy, the communications minister, and Jenny Macklin, the families minister, gave separate interviews saying the government would ignore the advice of the gambling policy advisory board, an independent body who suggested the tax and player protection benefits of allowing online gambling would be worthwhile.

Conroy said that they would try and crack down on online operators targetting Australians from overseas and would talk to American legislators about how they had passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and their attempts to enforce what is widely seen as a terribly drafted piece of legislation.

Several British companies have been keen to acquire Australian gambling licences in anticipation of changes in the laws on online betting. William Hill were widely expected to buy Centrebet while Paddy Power recently bought Sportbet and Sportingbet have long had a sports betting presence in the country.

The bill has already been passed by a whisker in the state Senate and now it has moved to the House for this key vote. Early predictions suggest that supporters of the bill are between three and six votes short of passing the bill.

Representative Marcel Black said that he is urging people to vote for Senator Roger Bedford’s bill that would also tax all forms of gambling in the state. He added, “As with every contentious issue, the requirement to get 63 votes for a constitutional amendment is difficult. I feel confident that at the end of the day, the House will allow the people to vote on this issue.”

A recent poll suggests that 80 per cent of voters in some state districts are keen to have the chance to vote on the bill when the state elections take place in November.

more to follow…

According to a Justice Department official the investigation surrounding the bill to regulate and legalize electronic bingo in Alabama isn’t meant to influence the vote in the Alabama House.

Birmingham attorney Doug Jones, in a letter to Justice Department officials, expressed “grave concern” about the timing of a meeting that federal investigators had with key legislators disclosing the investigation.

The House Tourism Committee will re-assess the bill this Tuesday. The committee’s debate comes nearly two weeks after federal agents told top ranking lawmakers they found evidence of corruption in the bill.

The Senate approved a bingo bill brought forward by Sen. Roger Bedford that would allow Alabama residents to decide in November if they want to tax and regulate electronic bingo. The margin of the vote was 21-13, the minimum majority to pass the bill.

The version of the bill that passed the Senate yesterday would create a gaming commission and tax gambling in the state at a rate of 25 per cent, or maybe even higher.

The gaming commission would have five members and it would be imperative that they could not work for any sort of gambling interests for five years before or after serving on the commission; and gambling interests could not contribute to the campaigns of elected officials who appoint the commission members.

The bill must now be approved by the Alabama House of Representatives before voters are allowed a chance to make their choice. It is a step in the right direction, though, for the bingo legislation in the state.

The speaker of the house said he expects the vote to be a close one when it comes around.

State Governor Bob Riley and many other Republicans have said that Senator Bedford’s legislation is corrupt and maintain that gambling should be illegal.

The advert featured a white man wearing a dinner suit and a black man in a floral shirt; they sat by a fire on a beach. The black man was playing a ukulele and repeated, in song, everything the white man said: “If you sign up this month to tombola.co.uk; we will match your first deposit up to twenty five pounds; thank you Tito; ola tombola”.

The ASA found the advert to be in breach of of CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.1 (Offence) and 6.6 (Harmful or negative stereotypes) following receipt of two complaints.

Tombola have said that they have no plans to use the advert again, which was shown on prime time slots until recently.

Clearcast, the company responsible for examining and approving adverts before broadcast said when they had reviewed the ad on more than one occasion, it did not occur to them that it might be interpreted to present a negative racial stereotype.

In the ASA’s adjudication it was concluded that the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. The ASA have told Tombola to take care not to present racial stereotypes in their future advertising campaigns.

The full ASA adjudication on the Tombola advert

After King’s announcement, two previously closed bingo halls, Country Crossing in Dothan and the White Hall in Lowndes County both announced plans to re-open in the near future. Both of the bingo halls have been closed for a month to prevent raids from the Governors task force.

The leader of the Governor’s task force, John Tyson said that he will fight King in court because Governor Riley believes that “the Attorney General is determined to protect the gambling bosses.”

Speaking about the task force at a press conference, Troy King said, “Rather than finding a path to a peaceful resolution of this issue, the actions of the task force led to the threat of an armed confrontation between law enforcement agencies so that the law enforcement family now finds itself divided into armed camps.”

The bingo battle should now be resolved in court in a confrontation between the attorney general and Gov. Bob Riley. Riley and Tyson argue that electronic bingo machines are illegal slot machines, while King said that the legality of the bingo machines should be determined by several court cases he intends to bring.

As with many of the previous stories of a similar nature, a local judge issued a temporary restraining order, ruling that the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling could not raid the venue.

However, John Tyson, a director of the Task Force said that all electronic bingo machines are illegal and that his organization would enforce the law.

State Governor Bob Riley said that he opposes a statewide voter referendum on bingo legality later this year.A referendum could allow slot-type gambling businesses to operate statewide, said the Governor.

High-profile political activist Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Montgomery and said Riley’s aggressive way of closing electronic bingo halls was “very provocative and dangerous.” Jackson added that he thought the bingo issue could be solved in court without the need for aggressive tactics.

Gov. Bob Riley issued a statement on Monday afternoon criticising a ruling made earlier in the day from Jefferson Co. Judge Robert Vance who ruled Attorney General Troy King has the authority to takeover the task force and court cases involving electronic bingo in Alabama courts.

Riley said, “Judge Vance has clearly exceeded his authority in legislating from the bench.” Judge Vance ruled the attorney general has not followed his constitutional duties to defend the state’s interests in these cases.

“While complaining of the Governor’s actions in the Supreme Court, and in the media, the Attorney General has made no effort to defend the State’s interest in these cases. He under a duty to do so,” said Judge Vance.

Mark White, the attorney for Victoryland casino proprietor Milton McGregor, welcomed the judge’s order. “It is unprecedented in this state for the governor to be able create a political police force such as his anti-gambling task force.” he said.Attorney General Troy King questioned the authority of the Governor’s Task Force to shut down bingo halls in many counties in Alabama.

“The recklessness of the task force have gone about it’s work, has lead us to the point we have some bingo halls closed some bingo halls open.” King said.

King believes that the ultimate decision on electronic bingo halls in the state needs to come from Alabama voters.

“I don’t understand why the opinion of a politician in Montgomery should matter more than the opinion of four million regular citizens who pay taxes and want to see the issue resolved,” he concluded.

It is likely that the Governor and Attorney General will meet sometime this week to discuss the issue.

It was revealed in tax returns that he won $1.5million at various casinos between 2006 and 2008, but Mr. Langford says he lost at least that amount. On one day in 2008 he won 36 jackpots worth $96,000 at VictoryLand, owned by Milton McGregor.

The ex-mayor was removed from his office when it was discovered he had accepted cash and gifts worth upwards of a quarter of a million dollars from a Montgomery based investment banker in exchange for directing lucrative sewer bond to the banker’s firm. Langford is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Prosecutors in the case recently filed papers that he be sent to prison for at least 24 years for his offences. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Phillips is recommending that the 63-year-old get from 24 to 30 years, partly because of his “blatant and hostile failure to accept responsibility” for his crimes.

The tax returns were published for separate civil cases, which claims that VictoryLand and Greenetrack casinos rigged their electronic bingo machines to let Mr Langford win.

The main revision of the bill that Senator Bedford plans to introduce will see the tax rate on casino revenue increased from 25 per cent to 27 per cent. He hopes to gain more support for the bill from those wavering on the side of anti bingo with this promised increase in tax revenue if the bill goes through.

Bedford is unsure as to whether he will gain the 21 votes required in the state senate to have the bill approved but is said to be “hopeful” that the amended bill will be passed.

The extra tax revenue will go towards local schools in the areas of the state that will fall under the bingo bill. Areas such as Montgomery, which already have local bingo, wouldn’t get any of the additional revenue for its schools.

The state Governor, Bob Riley is fervently against all bingo operations in the state and has dismissed the changes to the bill. His press secretary Todd Stacy said, “After three weeks cutting backroom deals, behind closed doors, it is still a crooked, corrupt bill that is written by casino interests for the benefit of casino interest. No changes were made that take the corruption out of the bill. It grants a few powerful casino bosses no-bid contracts. Guaranteeing them a monopoly to operate casinos in this state.”

Despite the anti bingo sentiments of the most powerful man in the state, Senator Bedford is standing firm by his belief that the people of Alabama must have the right to vote on this contentious issue. He said, “People understand this issue and they have a right to vote on it. If they vote for it we will limit it, regulate it and tax it heavily.”

The higher tax rate on bingo proposed in this new bill is still some way short of the 49 per cent rate in Maine and the 74 per cent paid by Rhode Island gambling operators.

RAY and Veikkaus comprise two of the three national gambling monopolies along with Fintoto, which offers betting on horse racing.

The two companies that now have permission to offer online gaming will be able to offer their new products from this month but it is believed that RAY will wait until August to launch its poker and casino games products on the web.

While the UK has been at the forefront of the online bingo movement, it has taken some other countries some time to realise quite how popular online bingo is with people playing games on the internet. Some famous online bingo brands are beggining to be launched all over Europe.

The legislation has been brought in, it is believed, to help RAY and Veikkuas compete with non Finland based private operators

In Finland, legislators are keen to keep online gaming as part of the monopoly that exists in the country. Despite some protests from land based gambling operators in Finland, the Finnish regulators are adamant that the monopoly situation is not in violation of any EU laws.

Kaisa Fahllund, a partner and head of the technology group at the Helsinki office of law firm Hannes Snellman said: “Basically Finland sticks to its monopoly but the reason that RAY has been allowed to offer these games is to compete with the foreign operators.”

The expansion of online bingo into Europe looks set to continue strongly this year as sites such as Foxy Bingo are launching in Sweden in the coming weeks.

Mr Curiati commented, “After seeing the results of studies carried out by technical experts, I have decided to publically declare by support for bingo halls throughout the whole country. The new legislation will keep bingo halls under strict control from the Ministry of Finance and will help to create 320 thousand new jobs, both directly and indirectly. ”

Curiati hopes that some of the tax revenues the government will gain from bingos will specifically go towards funding health spending. Preliminary calculations have estimated that tax revenue from bingo halls in Brazil could be as much as R$6million ($3.28million/£2.2million). As well as this, legislators have guaranteed that bingo halls will be given the “highest possible levels of legality”.

Mr Curiati explained that the law was clear on bingo halls and that he only approved of them if they prohibited people younger than 18 years old from entering and they must be located more than 500 metres from schools and churches.

Over the past month, Governor Bob Riley’s task force on illegal gambling has threatened to perform raids on bingo halls to confiscate machines that he believes are illegal.

The pro-bingo group, many of whom worked for casinos and bingo halls in the state shouted, “Bob took our jobs!”  Three large-scale bingo premises have been closed, leaving thousands unemployed. Many of the bingo supporters rallying in Montgomery worked at Victoryland or Country Crossing.

The state governor himself joined the anti-bingo rally. Riley could hardly be heard over the shouting by the protestors but he did say “the law in Alabama is clear that electronic bingo machines are illegal slot machines and casinos lead to more poverty rather than creating jobs.”

Jeff Emerson, Governor Riley’s Director of Communications said that the owners of Victoryland and Country Crossing should be ashamed of the tactics they have used in the bingo battle. Mr Emerson said, “Threatening tactics, intimidation, shouting down ministers, the use of profanity, all at a peaceful gathering designed to let people who oppose casinos to voice their concerns. Alabamians need to pay attention to the low road tactics they use to attack those who dare to disagree with them and their plans to get a no-bid casino bill through the Legislature.”

The crowds outside the Senate house didn’t bring bingo legislation to the forefront of the days business. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Lowell Barron didn’t put the talks on the agenda for the day as they were still ongoing. He will put the bill on the Senate’s work agenda when they assure him they have the 21 votes needed for passage.

Previously the Macon County Circuit Court had issued a restraining order against the task force but the Supreme Court ruled that the circuit court doesn’t have the authority to prevent the task force from entering bingo halls.

The task force can now enter establishments it had been blocked from entering and has the authority to seize any electronic bingo machines it considers illegal.

Governor Riley says that the ruling is another win for the rule of law and he reiterated that he is trying to enforce state law on electronic bingo gambling.

Victoryland casino and hotel are now closed to prevent any raids in the near future. Hotel guests were told to pack up their belongings and get out of the hotel.

The Alabama Christian Coalition Chairman, Dr. Randy Brinson said that he and his organisation are against gambling but want both sides in the issue to resolve their differences.

Dr. Brinson presented a poll, conducted by a San Diego research company, which showed that there was opposition to the anti-gambling task force’s tactics and the Governor’s “intense focus” on the issue. He also showed that those polled overwhelmingly supported legislation that would allow for a vote on the issue.

Democratic State Senator Quinton Ross, of Montgomery, said that the raids on bingo halls are hurting the local economy. He argued that the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of people are at stake and that there is a situation in the state where the Governor is willing to put people out of work by any means necessary.

Despite increased opposition pressure, Governor Riley and his task force Commander John Tyson are determined to maintain their stance that the electronic bingo machines are illegal. Governor Riley said, ” The law is crystal clear that you cannot do what these casinos are doing today.”

Currently there is a restraining order in effect which prevents the Illegal Gambling Task Force from raiding certain gaming premises. The task force is waiting to see if the supreme court will lift the order so they can obtain search warrants to raid the establishments.

The officer said that the electronic bingo machines at the Country Crossing gambling hall in Dothan are not bingo, and thus illegal because they can be played blindfolded.

He also indicated in a paper filed in federal court that the Country Crossing games don’t meet any of the guidelines of player interaction that the Alabama Supreme Court laid out in the White Hall case, including marking numbers and recognizing a winning card.

A planned raid of the gambling hall last Friday was called off after a judge requested further information before issuing a search warrant. The gambling task force is preparing to fight in court with Country Crossing’s attorneys over whether they can perform a new raid on the hall and its 1,700 electronic bingo machines.

The lawyers working for Country Crossing say that the games in the casino are legal and that the gambling hall, plus adjoining restaurants and inn, provide more than 1,000 jobs in south east Alabama.

Country Crossing gaming hall has been closed since Friday to try and prevent another raid. The owners plan to re open immediately if the judge blocks further raids.

The 140 machines, which generated revenue for community groups and charitable organisations benefiting the blind and developmentally disabled people in the city.

Charities including United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento and the Society for the Blind eventually agreed to remove all the machines after a long drawn out legal dispute.

The removal of the machines will begin today when movers arrive at the Bingo Center. Pulling the plug on the bingo machines will end the protracted legal dispute which effectively terminated when the 9th U.S Circuit Court ruled the machines illegal.

The charities involved will end up losing a large chunk of their annual budgets. United Cerebral Palsy, the lead plaintiff in the battle to keep the machines, will lose $375,000 per year in annual revenue. The money was used to pay for programs such as horseback riding for children with the developmental disease.

The Sociey for the Blind will lose around half a million dollars, one seventh of its annual budget for providing assistance to 3,000 people in the Sacramento area.

Heather Frank from Society of the Blind said, “We are regrouping and moving forward.” She says the charity is hoping to raise money by developing new braille products for businesses wanting to reach blind and visually impaired people.

Bill Murphy testified at a hearing that he paid for a software program from his organization’s gaming operations because he thought it was an allowable bingo expense. FAIM, an organization committed to promoting fine arts in Mississippi is also appealing the Secretary of State’s decision to close the agency down.

The bingo hall is still running during the appeal process.

The state Gaming Commission denied the FAIM’s charitable bingo licence renewal because the organization used money from the charity to pay for software that would help with gaming reporting requirements.

When he faced questions from the Gaming Commission’s attorney, FAIM founder Bill Murphy admitted that he had paid an accountant who did the monthly reporting from the bingo side of the operation.

There are 107 bingo and gaming halls in Aragón and it is argued that the market has been saturated. Any more places for people to play will mean that existing locations will be forced to shut down. This has already happened, with thirteen halls having shut down in Zaragoza alone last year.

The Department of Justice and Interior in Aragón is looking into measures to redistribute territorially the places where people can go to gamble. The problem in the region is that the majority of halls are located in Zaragoza and there are very few in the rest of the vast area. The idea is to maintain a similar number of bingo and gaming locations but to reduced the saturation of them in some areas. The state Government is sure that this will help to satisfy the demand for gaming in the region.

The Director General for the Interior, Javier Artajo explained, ” We are trying to combine the interests of the region (one of whose sources of income is Gaming Tax) and business growth, while always remembering the consumer and doing our best to protect them.”

It has been speculated that it could be at least a few weeks until the bill would make it to the floor. This news comes even after the bill had been approved by the House Tourism and Travel Committee last week.

The bill, drawn up by Rep. Marcel Black, if approved, would stop Governor Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling from raiding and shutting down any bingo hall that was running on 1st December 2009. The bill would protect bingo operators in Alabama under the same laws that protect the electronic bingo games played in American Indian casinos. The protection would run until November 2nd.

Black hopes to move the bill as a package with a proposed constitutional amendment that would have voters in Alabama go to the polls on the 2nd of November to decide whether to allow electronic bingo machines.

He said the bill “allows the bingo halls to operate and not be under threat from raids until people can vote on an amendment to the constitution.”

Governor Riley’s Task Force has already raided a bingo hall in Lowndes County and attempted to serve search warrants at another two bingo operators recently.  The state Department of Revenue also filed a $72million tax bill against Greenetrack bingo operator for unpaid sales and use taxes.

Now the courts are trying to figure out what “bingo” means in Alabama.

House bill 1-54 was brought in to try and sort out how the electronic bingo halls in Alabama would be run. If the bill is passed it will mean that bingo halls in the state will be run under the same law as Indian run casinos. It would keep bingo halls open in the state but would prevent any expansion of existing facilities, the addition of new games or any new halls being opened.

Republican Representative Marcel Black said, ” The Bill is to maintain the status quo until we can have the constitutional amendment I intend to introduce. The amendment will limit, regulate and tax gaming proceeds in this state.”

The bill will run until November this year, when a general election will be held in Alabama. After this, Representative Black hopes that Alabama voters will be able to decide on a constitutional amendment.

Brandon Falls, the district attorney for the Birmigham district, said that the halls were for-profit businesses rather than charity ventures and that if they did not close with 10 days they would face legal action,

“I’m giving them 10 days to cease operations, pack up and leave Jefferson County,” he told The Birmingham News.

The affected halls are in the eastern part of Jefferson County. Arther Green, district attorney of the Bessemer district, is understod to be looking at the legality of bingo halls in that region.

Falls say the bingo halls, which are largely full of slot machines, breach Amendment 386, which was approved for old-fashioned paper-based bingo hall operations for charity. He said the modern-day bingo halls are clearly businesses that are independent from charities, even though they do make contributions to charity.