Saturday, February 28, 2009
California Considering Legalising Online Poker
According to one report, legislators are keen to meet with prospective operators in order to help solve the state’s $42 million budget deficit.
Friday 27th February 2009 
Legislators in the American state of California are so intent on legalising online poker that they are reportedly looking to attend an upcoming iGaming conference in order to meet with prospective operators. According to a report from online news portal Gambling911.com, the western state is looking towards online poker as a way to help solve its troubled economy, which has the second highest foreclosure rate in the country and near double-digit unemployment. However, Gambling911.com reported that the state would not be speaking with PartyGaming due to Anurag Dikshit, the online operator’s billionaire co-founder who recently pled guilty and agreed to pay a $300 million fine. 'Too much baggage,' Gambling911.com quoted a source. 'California is not going to have an online casino poker room licensed in the state where one of the founders pleaded guilty before he was even charged with a crime. '888.com is one that's been mentioned. They are looking at companies that are publicly traded and 888.com fits the bill. They are also trying to settle any issues with the US Government in relation to their taking bets from US customers prior to passage of poker prohibition in 2006, much like PartyGaming, but nobody there is turning themselves in.' Although California is the world’s eighth largest economy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reached a compromise with legislators this week that increased taxes and cut services in order to close a $42 million budget deficit.
Online Casino Makes Debut – Open To US Players
Top Gaming introduce new US-friendly online casino Gold Vegas.
Friday 27th February 2009
With the anti-gambling legislation in place in the US at the moment, coupled with the trying times against the online gambling industry, it’s a real surprise to see a new online casino accepting US players. Gold Vegas Casino, a product of Top Gaming software, features the best part of 100 online casino games including roulette, blackjack, video slots, video poker and a mighty progressive jackpot that is rising as we speak. In addition they offer a new deposit bonus of up to $2,000. Casino manager Chad Brooks says: 'Being a new provider of a service that has a great number of competitors brings something unique to a company such as ours; this being that we are geared up to go out there and show the world that we can truly provide online casino players with something more than other suppliers have shown to date. We are confident to say that when one looks at our casino bonuses and promotional content they will have no other alternative but to play with us. We are still however very cautious concerning our early steps into this market - it is a wily one to master.'