Austria Opens to Competition

Austria’s gaming monopoly is history, brought to a close by a German-Swiss consortium, which has won a license to open a resort in Vienna in the historic Palais Schwarzenberg...

Published July 7, 2014

Bill Fights Illegal Gambling In Cyprus

Lawmakers in Cyprus will vote on a bill that would help authorities shut down illegal gambling venues. The bill would close a venue even if a case is pending...

Published July 7, 2014

Scotland Wants FOBT Limits

The controversy in Britain over electronic table games has spread to Scotland, where lawmakers are echoing their counterparts in England and Wales in calling for limits on the spread...

Published June 30, 2014

Gala Coral Wants Out of Bingo

The UK’s tax cut on bingo revenue makes the sector an attractive proposition again, says gaming giant Gala Coral, and an opportunity for the company to cash out of...

Published June 30, 2014

Portugal to Create Compulsive Gambling Blacklist

Portugal is proposing a blacklist of compulsive gamblers that online gambling operators must honor by the end of 2014. Sites will have to share data about their players to...

Published June 30, 2014

Ladbrokes Finalizes Refinancing

Ladbrokes has completed a $169.5 million bond issue to refinance its bank debt. The refinancing extends the British bookmaker’s debt maturities and helps the company’s balance sheet, officials said.

Published June 30, 2014

ECJ Backs German Gambling Treaty

Germany’s interstate compact on gambling mandates strict limits on commercial competition everywhere but in Schleswig-Holstein, which has taken a more liberal approach. Digibet argued that nullified the treaty, but...

Published June 23, 2014

Antiquated Law Costs Ireland Millions

Ireland’s betting shops have been laboring since 1931 under a law that requires them to close early for six months every year. Reforms are in the works to...

Published June 16, 2014

Illegal Greece Bigger than the Licensed One

Licensed gambling in Greece is down 35 percent the last five years, and may now be smaller than the unregulated market, says the country’s top regulator. He estimates the...

Published June 16, 2014

Ads Off Target, UK Online Survey Finds

What British gamblers want in their online choices and what advertisers are pitching often are two different things, according to a new player survey. One key finding shows that...

Published June 9, 2014

From Russia With Love—and Casinos

Casino legalization figures prominently in Russia’s plans for reviving the troubled economy of the Crimea, with the Black Sea resort of Yalta designated as the likely location. The government...

Published June 2, 2014

London Casino Goes Risqué

In a first for Britain’s staid casino industry, the Hippodrome in London’s West End has opened a new venue where dancing girls perform in cages above the gaming tables....

Published June 2, 2014

Shop Closings ‘Inevitable,’ Says Gala Coral

Gala Coral says the British government’s crackdown on the spread of electronic table games in betting shops will force it to close many of its outlets, and that will...

Published May 26, 2014

UK Introduces New Gambling Protections

An update of the United Kingdom’s 2005 Gambling Act aims to protect gamblers without hurting the country’s gambling market. The report partly focused on high-stakes, fixed odds betting terminals—largely...

Published May 19, 2014

Cyprus: Casinos in 2015

Giorgos Lakkotrypis (l.), Cyprus’ tourism chief. says a bill to legalize casinos will be submitted to lawmakers this month, paving the way for licenses by next year. The...

Published May 19, 2014

EU Court Comes Down on Austria

Two internet gambling cases have resulted in a ruling in the European Court of Justice that Austria’s gaming laws may be more protectionist than protective and run afoul of...

Published May 19, 2014

Codere Debt Talks at Critical Stage

Codere and its owner, Jose Antonio Martinez Sampedro (l.) and his family, have managed to buy 10 more days to avoid bankruptcy proceedings and reach a settlement with its...

Published May 12, 2014

Crimea Casinos: Few Takers Expected

Russian President Vladimir Putin (l.) is no fan of the gaming industry, but he wants to make an exception the economically ailing Crimea. Industry experts have their doubts, though,...

Published May 12, 2014

For Sale: One 375-Year-Old Casino

Venice’s legendary Casino Di Venezia has plenty of history going for it, but not much else, or so it seemed from the resounding silence that greeted the city’s recent...

Published May 12, 2014

Lawrence Ho Eyes Casino in Barcelona

A company controlled by Macau casino magnate Lawrence Ho is negotiating with Spanish developers to manage a casino in a planned megaresort complex near Barcelona. The news comes just...

Published May 5, 2014