Last week a senior NBA executive, David Stern said during a Sports Illustrated interview that legalised sports betting in the United States could be a “huge opportunity,” setting the stage for a closer relationship between reputable sports betting and the NBA.

The NFL has long opposed gambling and the promotion of gambling, even that which advertised tourist destinations like Las Vegas. Its agreement last week to a trial from January 4 to February 28 is being interpreted as a significant move away from the total blocking policy of the past.

NFL spokesmen said that the body would take a final decision following the trial on whether to extend the new rules into next season or revert to banning such advertisements. Under the modified policy, television ads for specific hotels, casinos and other institutions that allow gambling will still be forbidden and commercials must not contain any gambling references or imagery, reports the Associated Press news agency.

“On behalf of PPA members, I congratulate Joe on his historic WSOP win and thank him for being such a strong advocate for the casino game, especially online poker,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA.

Cada has been a card player since a young age, starting with games like euchre and pinochle with his family, including his father who was laid off this summer from his auto industry job in Michigan. Poker became a passion of Cada’s after he graduated high school, where he honed his skill online and in games with his close friends. While his parents were initially hesitant about Cada’s poker playing, as he improved and became a skilled player they supported him – and were proudly by his side during the WSOP.

A PPA member, Cada wore PPA patches throughout the WSOP.

“Poker is not gambling. There is decision-making, there’s logic, there’s math, and I think that taking away online poker takes away peoples’ rights. I am very supportive of the Poker Players Alliance,” said Cada.

After buying her card for GBP1, Rhani had a fight on her hands, requiring a tie-break to claim the prize. It was nerve-wracking and very tense, especially with such a fantastic prize on the line but in the end, the player from Leicestershire prevailed. Rhani was euphoric after the win and very excited to be going on the cruise. Her feelings were more than justified as she had the time of her life with her son.

“First of all I would like to thank Posh Bingo for giving Lee and I this great opportunity,” she said on her return. “We had a fantastic 10 days on the Arcadia and it was the best holiday we have ever had. We didn’t want to leave the ship.”

Rhani was blown away by the standard of the facilities on board the Arcadia. “The facilities were tremendous - I played bingo, the online casino as well as table tennis, while Lee used the gym everyday.” But they didn’t get to use everything as “the Ship was so large we didn’t have time to use all the facilities available to us - there was so much”

Once the sun went down, excitement levels only went up. “The shows every evening were very good,” Rhani said. She was also very impressed by the customer service. “The cabin, the service and the food were absolutely impeccable. Lee and I were really looked after as was all the passengers. There were around 1952 Passengers and 880 Crew and I have never been treated so well.”

Rhani made the most of the opportunity to see the Canary Islands. She went off-shore to visit Madeira and Tenerife. She also went to Lanzarote and Vigo with friends she made on the ship.

Many people make friends while at Posh Bingo and Rhani also did this while on the cruise. “We made a lot of friends and we have exchanged email addresses. So hopefully we shall keep in touch. We really did have a good time.”

Rhani let it be known that her trip came via Posh Bingo and fellow guests on the ship were surprised that an online bingo site would offer a prize as majestic as a free cruise for two. There is some skepticism about online games but when it comes to Posh everything is real. The games, the players and the prizes.

Rhani also had the pleasure of the captain sitting near her on a number of times. “The Captain actually sat at the next table to us on several occasions. We had one Formal Evening where the Captain and Crew introduced themselves. We were also introduced to all 32 Chefs on the last evening.”

Since 2002, Lyceum Media has offered PR and events services to a host of leading gaming brands but their partnership with Wholemeal Brains will now allow them to offer cutting-edge creative advertising in a multitude of mediums.

Wholemeal Brains, one of the most highly-reputed advertising creative teams in London, have worked with an extensive range of multinational brands including BBC, Disney, MTV, Sony, Coke, Mars and Adidas. They offer strategic creative advertising consulting for a host of communication mediums including TV, print, direct, radio, experiential and online.

The award-winning team comprised of Andy Howarth and Ben Stafford, have over twelve years experience as creative directors at some of London’s most prestigious advertising agencies. The dynamic-duo is noted in the advertising industry for consistently delivering fresh, innovative ideas across the intricate array of advertising outlets.

Melissa Ross, Lyceum Media, said, “Lyceum has been market leader in the world of iGaming PR and events for years but we strongly feel that quality PR should be coupled with quality advertising in order to create a winning marketing mix. We’re thrilled to have such a distinguished team of advertising creatives on board who will now allow us to offer a more comprehensive marketing proposition to complement our already hard-hitting PR and events services.”

“This is a fantastic move for us and we’re delighted to be working with Lyceum Media. Wholemeal Brains has experience in all forms of advertising within numerous sectors so we’ll be able to offer Lyceum Media’s clients the sort of out-of-the-box creative thinking that will vastly separate them from their competitors. We look forward to bringing our seasoned expertise to the online gambling industry to hopefully produce fresh new directions for gaming branding and advertising,” said Ben Stafford, Partner, Wholemeal Brains.

Crazy Slots Casino is a newly released site that is operated by the industry leading Golden Casino group. Industry analysts believe that the site has the potential to make it big as it appeals to players from around the globe, and welcomes US gamblers.

The new site is powered by Vegas Technology, and the creators of the online casino have tried to emulate the atmosphere found on a real Las Vegas casino floor. The graphics are bold, colorful and eye-catching, and visitors to this site are immediately drawn to the $12,500 free welcome bonus available to new players.

The site also promises nearly $400K in guaranteed tournaments in November, as well as weekly surprise bonuses.

The games on offer include over 100 slot titles, video poker games and specialty games.

The other site that has caught the attention of the gambling world is the newly launched Cabaret Club Casino, operated by the Palace Group which also runs the reputable Spin Palace online casino.

Powered by Microgaming software group, Cabaret Club casino does not accept US players but is a global facing site with multi language and multi currency options.

As with Crazy Slots casino, Cabaret Club is currently offering attractive bonuses to new and returning players, including a 100% match bonus with up to $150 free. A lucrative loyalty club with 4 VIP levels awards instant rewards from day one.

Cabaret Club boasts Microgaming’s full range of Vegas style games, including slots, roulette, blackjack and baccarat. The site is also linked to this software group’s progressive jackpot network, offering millions of dollars in prize money.

With two new online casinos vying for a part of the already competitive online casino market, it is certainly worth keeping an eye on the tournaments and promotions at these sites.

Santa Paws is a five-reel 20-payline slot featuring festive music and an animated top-screen featuring Father Christmas himself. BetStone stated that the new title provides ‘exciting interaction’ with Santa Paws serving as the ‘wild’ symbol and substituting for all other symbols with the exception of the penguin, which act as ‘scatters’. Revealing three, four or five penguins will activate the game’s free spin feature, which can award up to twelve goes with an up to a seven-time multiplier. Rudolf serves as the ‘extra wild’ during the free spins feature and substitutes for all other symbols except penguins. Finally, the game’s gamble feature can double or quadruple any win.

Ho Ho Ho is BetStone’s new five-reel 30-payline slot featuring all of the familiar holiday symbols such as turkeys, puddings, Christmas trees and sleighs filled with presents. Santa Claus serves as the title’s ‘wild’ symbol and substitutes for all others except ‘scatters’, which are represented as perfectly wrapped gifts. Players can win 20 free spins with all wins doubled by revealing three, four or five ‘scatters’ while the free spins feature can be retriggered in the bonus rounds. Rounding off this holiday game is the ‘gamble’ feature where players bet on red or black to double any winnings.

“Both games will enable casino operators to roll out dynamic content for players in time for the holiday season,” said Marzia Turrini, Head Of Business Development for Dublin-based BetStone.

“Given the ever-increasing demand for content on the Server Based Gaming Platform, these games’ rich features and strong Christmas theme will appeal to players anywhere in the world.”

The London Affiliate Conference will be held at London’s Old Billingsgate from January 29 to 31 with the Victor Chandler Group serving as the event’s Royal Flush Sponsors for the first time.

Chandler was one of the first in the internet gambling industry to recognise the importance of online gambling and has turned his VictorChandler domain into one of leading providers of Internet sportsbetting, casino and poker services.

He is set to battle it out for the top ASOP prize of $6,000 and a diamond bracelet against delegates that have qualified through a series of controlled and password-protected online freeroll tournaments held through CakePoker and VictorChandler.

“We are proud to be the Royal Flush sponsors of the ASOP this year,” said Chandler.

“Because of this, I want to give delegates the chance of getting more out of the competition. This is your chance to win a whole bag of gifts including a trip to the Nottingham Forest VIP box and a seat to the monthly million guaranteed tournament worth $560. Prizes worthy of the poker player who manages to get me out of the game. Victor Chandler Limited is always trying to find new ways of giving you more for your money and this competition is no different.”

ASOP events are held three times a year at affiliate conferences around the globe organised by iGB Affiliate. After ten years, ASOP tournaments have awarded over $200,000 in prizes and are constantly surprising their attendees.

“Every year, we get a huge influx of affiliates logging in online and competing to get one of the coveted 60 seats,” said Alex Pratt, Publisher for iGB Affiliate.

“Since we have allowed affiliate managers to compete this has only increased the fun rivalry of the game. We are lucky that year after year we get the best sponsors to run the online qualifiers, which has put our championship in the top leagues.”

Companies can use the product to deliver messages to their customers with links straight into the relevant casino game or betting market on their .mobi site. This obviates the need for the customer to click multiple times through from the home page in order to reach the market of interest to him/her.

Key features include:

* Personalised, embedded link within SMS to a market/event/game page or a campaign-specific splash wap-page

* Customer can view event and market pages and details without logging on

* Txt2Mobi Direct can identify the customer as s/he moves to ‘place bet’ and only requires password entry as confirmation

* Full reporting is available on click-throughs, customer journey and bets placed.

Speaking to the Warsaw Business Journal, Tusk admitted that the recent scandal involving online gambling legislation was behind the decision.

Civic Platform suffered a major blow when some of its most prominent members were accused of supporting legislation favourable to the gambling industry in exchange for political favours.

While the opposition voiced support for the changes, representatives of the industry derided the plan, arguing that it would push the gambling business into the black market.

Tusk wants to impose new and more severe and enforced measures against Internet gambling, although it is not yet clear exactly what his intentions are in this regard.

He also intends to gradually phase out approximately 50 000 slot machines by 2015, the Warsaw Business Journal reports. Slot machines in and around shops and gas stations will soon disappear, and there will be heavy new restrictions on gambling machines and businesses. The plans call for the government to simply stop renewing the six-year licenses on the machines, meaning a de facto ban on all such devices by 2015.

Gambling advertising, video lotteries and low-payout slot machines which are not in licensed casinos are all to be banned.

Taxation on machines will be increased, and only people older than 18 years of age will be allowed to play. Taxes on gambling establishments such as casinos will also rise.

Tusk said that his government wants to finish drafting the bill within the next week, and he told the WBJ that he expects the bill to be passed quickly and without amendment.

“It is not increasing revenues from gambling that is the key issue here, but counteracting its negative effects, such as addictions, especially among youngsters, and the mixing of the legal and criminal spheres in this industry,” explained the Prime Minister.

For the month of October 2009, the nine operating casinos generated $177 111 933 in gross revenue (Oct. 2008: $134 203 554.37) thanks to increased business and an additional two internet casinos.

The consequent growth in tax collections of $97 411 563 resulted in $23 599 608 being returned to Commonwealth citizens than those of last October. Pennsylvania’s tax rate is 55 percent of gross revenue.

In a measurement of just the seven casinos in operation this October that were also in operation last year, revenue was up 6.23 percent, the news agency Reuters reported in analysing the latest numbers.

The average daily number of slot machines in operation in Pennsylvania was 16 833 in October 2008 and 24 712 in October 2009.

Gaming Control Board Chair Greg Fajt said that while tax revenue is certainly assisting Pennsylvanians statewide in obtaining a property tax reduction averaging nearly $200 and saving the horse racing industry, slot machine-generated revenue is also reaching into the local communities that host or are neighbours to casinos.

“In the first three years of legalised gaming, $221 124 306 has already been distributed to local governments and counties from the play of slot machines at facilities that operate in or near their jurisdiction,” Fajt says. “This is new money coming into these communities to fund a myriad of projects that improve safety and transportation, create or retain jobs, and enhance the quality of life.”