The UK Gambling Act that came into effect on September 1, allows online gaming companies to advertise in the UK if they meet such criteria as the location where their license is held, the protection of children and social responsibility. Besides, while advertising the gaming sites should follow some rules as well. E.g. “they may not use sexual innuendos such as models in bikinis nor may they make any reference to the fact that players can gamble and win money or that players can receive a bonus if they deposit money at a gambling site”.

Ladbrokes, the British bookmaker and online gambling giant, turned out to be the first to advertise. The target audience of their campaign is occasional gamblers between the ages of 18 to 34. They are known to bet occasionally on the outcome of soccer matches. The ad features Jimmy Hill, veteran television presenter and former soccer professional, Arsenal’s Lee Dixon and Ian Wright with Glasgow Rangers’ Alistair ‘Ally’ McCoist, all popular ex-footballers, and the strap line of ‘Everyone’s got an opinion, what’s yours worth?’.

Betfair appeared to be the second to present their advertising campaign. William Hill and other online gaming companies will follow with their own adverts.

A new mobile betting service will soon be available for a large number of Gibraltar-based bookmaker Stan James’ customers who use technology from mobile gaming technology provider Mfuse. Users of Stan James Mobile are able to get an “in-running” experience and to place bets from anywhere at any time. Having texted “stans” to 89700, customers will be able to download the mobile application and log-in using their existing username and password within minutes.

The demand for a new betting service is explained by rising number of Internet-compatible mobile handsets and the growing number of customers who want to place their bets during sport events.

Readers of the Southern California Gaming Guide voted for the 2007 Southern California Gaming Reader’s Choice Awards. “The 2007 Best of Southern California Gaming reflects the choices of our over 400,000 readers”. There, casinos and slot machines were rated across 28 categories.

According to the results, Valley View is called the luckiest casino in South Carolina. The next on the list are Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort and the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino.

The best slot machines are Star Wars and Megabucks.

Star Wars is called the best in the penny slot category. It is followed by Fort Knox and Zorro.

The third annual eGaming Awards has recently taken place at the National History Museum in London. Lots of online casinos, betting companies, poker sites, etc were recognized there. Top executives from various sectors of the industry were present there to accept the awards and to recognize the accomplishments of other companies within the gambling industry.

Mark Blandford, who served as the Chairman of the e-Gaming Awards’ judging panel, has also been given recognition for his contributions to the online casino and e-gaming industry. Blandford is one of the foremost industry analysts who got his experience working with Sportingbet and serving on various committees related to the industry. Blandford was honored with the event’s Outstanding Contribution Award.

Australia’s biggest casino owner, James Packer’s Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd, is planning to build its third, largest so far hotel. Being the richest man in Australia, Packer opened his first gaming house in Macau in May. The third hotel will be located at the company’s Melbourne gaming house. The approximate cost of the casino is said to be A$300 million ($267 million). A$205 million is being planned for building retail shops, upgrading an existing hotel and refurnishing the casino. About 340,000 guests a year will be accommodated there.

The construction of the 658-room hotel is expected to be started this month, and the completion is expected to take place in May 2010. The hotel is believed to attract a large number of visitors and “to target the international leisure market”.  Besides, the hotel will focus on the global conventions and conferences industry.

The two agencies, The United States Treasury and Federal Reserve that work together with the US Department of Justice have initiated a process implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Thus, final steps are being taken to ensure that internet gambling is banned once and for all.

In spite of the fact that the Act was passed by Congress in 2006 and was designed to avoid any ambiguity about whether or not gambling is illegal, many banks and credit card companies have not stopped payments to illegal sites. They are waiting for the rules “to determine what procedures need to be followed”. The announcement made details those roles and calls on banks, credit card companies and automated payment system companies to have policies that do not allow illegal gambling businesses to be paid.