UK News -- Peter Dean, chairman of the U.K. Gaming Board, recently indicated that the country's planned gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission, will probably not be able to start operating until the beginning of 2006, though he added that "this will inevitably slip." Dean said the Gaming Board's transition team has already dedicated a tremendous amount of work toward transforming the Gaming Board into the Gambling Commission, but there is still much to do. Once the transformation is in process, new functions will be implemented on a staggered basis. Among the new powers the Gambling Commission will assume are the ability to investigate and prosecute cheating, the ability to enforce gambling debts, and the authority to regulate betting. The Gambling Board has so far only dealt with regulating casinos, bingo, machines and certain lotteries.
One Million Customers -- Austrian betting company BetandWin recently logged its millionth customer and will celebrate by holding a 10,000 euro jackpot. Anyone who places a bet with the company between Jan. 15 and Jan. 31 automatically qualifies for a chance to win the jackpot. BetandWin claims it now processes up to 4,000 bets per day.
Quoteworthy -- "The Financial Services Committee has had a long-standing interest in combating the scourge of Internet gambling, advancing legislation in each of the last three Congresses to bar Internet gambling sites access to the U.S. financial services system by preventing the use of credit cards, wire transfers and other bank instruments to fund gaming transactions. While we have twice succeeded in achieving House passage of this important legislation, the Senate has failed to act. Our Committee's attempts to add anti-Internet gambling provisions to the legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission late last year also fell short."
--Michael G. Oxley, R-Ohio, Spencer Bachus R-Ala., and James A. Leach, R-Iowa, all of whom are Members of the House Committee on Financial Services. The three submitted the above statement in a letter to the editor of the Christian Science Monitor in response to an editorial that discussed the "unfortunate" growth of online gambling in the United States. Their letter concluded, "We agree with your editorial's assessment of the dangers of Internet gambling, and will continue our efforts in the newly convened Congress to deny offshore gambling interests access to the U.S. market."
Speed Poker in Australia -- The 2005 Australian Poker Championship began at Crown Casino in Melbourne last Thursday. Making its debut at this year's event is "Speed Poker, a made-for-TV poker variation that involves six players, two dealers and a 15-second timer. Close to A$300,000 in prize money will be awarded in the World Speed Poker Championship, with A$100,000 going to the tournament winner. The 2005 Australian Poker Championship also marks the first time that poker in Australia will be filmed for an international television audience. Both the Fox network in the United States and the Nine network in Australia will pick up eight one-hour episodes of the World Speed Poker Championship.
Excellence in Gaming Management -- In November, a partnership between the University of Nevada in Reno, the University of Ljubljana and Slovenia-based company HIT d.d., will begin offering an educational program called EGM MBA, whose students will work toward attaining a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis on Excellence in Gaming Management. The program is billed as "the first European-based accredited MBA program targeted at the gaming and leisure industries, especially casinos." The classes will be held at the University of Ljubljana's campus in Slovenia and will be taught in English. The program's organizers will launch a recruitment effort for students and supporters at the International Casinos Exhibition in London later this month.