South Africa -- South Africa had set its deadline to redraft its Gambling Bill and pass it through the national assembly for this Friday, Sept 26, but after last Thursday and Friday's hearings before parliament's committees on trade and industry, the fate of the bill is uncertain. The hearings brought several mistakes and omissions in technical definitions to light, and several major policy issues that have not been appropriately addressed emerged.
No User Info -- AVN reports that Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has introduced a bill that would put an end to record companies' and other groups' attempts to make Internet service providers reveal information about their subscribers. Brownback's bill would make the copyright holders file John Doe lawsuits rather than serve subpoenas to obtain information about Internet users.
Scams -- Over the last month several residents from across the U.S. have been targets of a lottery scam by a group posing as "El Gordo Lottery." The operation has contacted potential victims by e-mail, phone and postal letters and asks them to send tax payments and processing fees before prize money can be received. . . . Another scam operation recently struck a man from Arroyo Grande, California. He received an e-mail that promised $86,000 worth of gambling vouchers in exchange for $10,000 in cash. He sent a check and never received a reply.