Tidbit from Canada -- The Interactive Gaming Council said yesterday that the United Kingdom has the right idea by making Internet gambling legal and regulated. "British leaders understand the importance and the value of regulating this relatively new means of gaming," said Rick Smith, the executive director of the IGC. "I only wish the U.S. government would take such an enlightened approach, instead of futilely attempting to block a form of entertainment that millions of its citizens enjoy." According to Peter Dean, the chairman of the Gaming Board for Great Britain, full legislation for Internet gambling will be enacted by next year and will be implemented by 2005. The IGC also said it is looking forward to U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., reintroducing his bill from last year’s session that would create a commission to study the regulation of Internet gambling.
US News -- A new computer game from the Connecticut Lottery Corp. has attracted the attention of the Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal. The game, called Treasure Tower, comes on a computer disk that is given to lottery customers who buy a package of four instant scratch tickets for $15. Treasure Tower allows the player to lead a cartoon character through a series of adventures to win monetary prizes, the largest of which is $25,000. The game lasts up to 20 minutes, but players can also choose to scratch off their ticket to see if they won, instead of using the CD. Blumenthal said the game is too close to Internet gambling. However, a spokeswoman for the lottery, Diane Patterson, said the game does not even use the Internet. "To have Internet gambling you have to be on the Internet," Patterson said. "For us, it’s a play style that uses animation. We were careful in how we presented it that it did not look like a child’s cartoon." … Politicians in Delaware are considering making sports betting legal in the state as a way to add to the revenue that slot machines already bring in. The Delaware News Journal reported Sunday that a 10-member task force has been created to study whether allowing sports betting in Delaware is feasible. The task force is made up of government leaders and members of the casino industry. According to federal law, sports betting is only legal in Delaware, Montana, Oregon and Nevada. So far only Oregon and Nevada offer it.
New Stuff -- Realbet Casino launched an online casino and sports book at www.realbet.com on Friday. The company is located in Willemstad, Curacao, and is operating under a Curacao gaming license. Realbet is offering sports wagers on events including the NCAA Championships and the Masters Golf Tournament and casino gaming on games including blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette, slots and poker.