September 2004 Archives

HOLLYWOOD, Florida -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Senticore, Inc. (OTC BB: SNIO), a Florida-based publicly traded holding company with interests in residential and commercial real estate, land development projects, timber plantations, and professional sports, announced that it has been awarded a broad-ranging casino gaming permit by the government of Venezuela to operate a complete land-based and Internet casino on Margarita Island.

"The acquisition of a gaming license demonstrates Senticore's intent to further diversify its holdings within high growth industries," said chief executive officer, Jay Patel. "The gaming industry has seen a large surge in recent years, and with the increasing availability of high-speed Internet access all over the world, we expect the Internet gaming industry to continue to experience double and even triple digit growth for the next five years."

NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The global gambling market has expanded in spite of the world economic slowdown according to the much anticipated report entitled "Double or Quits?" by Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC), a UK betting and gaming consulting firm.

"It is the global slowdown which has acted as the primary catalyst for expansion," says Warwick Bartlett, GBGC's Lead Partner. "We are seeing governments deregulate gambling in order to raise what are essentially voluntary taxes, a process we predicted two years ago and one that is now well underway," he continues.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- In the fourth in a series of summit meetings held here Friday, a panel of experts agreed that although consumers will have to wait for regulation of online gambling, and for laws to offer them basic protections, there is reason to be encouraged. Although moves at the federal level are complicating the process -- most notably an effort last week to attach a bill prohibiting online gambling to anti-terrorism legislation -- the panel expected that when it comes to gambling law it's the state governments which always have, and likely will, find the ultimate solution.

Mark Balestra, vice president of River City Group and editor of Interactive Gaming News said there are already several models for how Internet gambling can be successfully regulated at the state level, including inter- state wagering on regional lotteries and para-mutual gambling.

By Tammy J. Oseid -

It's cool, sexy and popular among celebrities. It's a fixture on cable TV. Ben Affleck is king! Gambling among students isn't surprising in this stakes-driven pop culture of chance and excitement.

But the growing number of student gamblers suggest more problems with addiction in those who begin young. From high school cafeterias to college dorm rooms to professional card clubs, teens are playing for money, sometimes big money.

By David Bodamer -

Peter Morton, the chairman & founder of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, bought the 24 acres adjacent to his property in Las Vegas for $86 million. He plans to build a $1 billion, 1.5 million-square-foot hotel/condominium project on the site.

The new project, being designed by architect Richard Meier, will feature four buildings containing 1,500 hotel-condominium units. It will include restaurants, nightclubs, retail and a health club and spa. Construction on the project will begin next year. The first phase of the new complex will open one year from the start of construction.

If you have never gambled online you are probably bewildered by how to get started. Online gambling is still a very young industry and as such the test of time has yet to root out many of the less reputable casinos. On average the casinos keep about 75% of money deposited so they shouldn't need to cheat.

Always take a close look at their web site or the free games. If they seem like a professional organization chances are better that they are. Finally trust your gut. If you get a bad feeling about a place then resist playing there, even if you can't explain to yourself the exact reason.

VICTORIA, British Columbia – As reported by the Campbell River Mirror: " The Liberals used to think gambling was terrible.

"Premier Gordon Campbell said gambling creates addicts and hurts families, back when the Liberals were in opposition. And his position was clear.

"…The Liberal new era platform even promised to 'stop the expansion of gambling that has increased gambling addiction and put new strains on families.'

"But after the election everything changed and the Liberals rushed to ramp-up gambling throughout the province, striving to recruit more losers, to use the premier's word.

By Abigail -

The Canadian online casino which held a competition to guess its name prior to its launch, has reported a healthy response since it finally unveiled itself to the public. The now named Maple Casino, has reported back on the level of interest gamblers have taken in the site, even while it was running the pre-launch competition, and it seems to conform to a general trend hitting Canadian gambling these days. Both online and land gambling venues are enjoying a period of prosperity in Canada, as the population seem to be turning more and more to the activity.

By Roy Mark -

WASHINGTON -- Most Internet sports gambling proponents are perfectly happy with Congress' apparent lack of interest in creating any new laws against cyber wagering. Two years ago, when the 108th Congress convened, the gambling lobby said maintaining the status quo would be a victory.

David Carruthers, on the other hand, is not happy at all. Carruthers, the chief executive officer of BetonSports plc, the world's largest online gambling service, wants Congress to legalize U.S. online betting and regulate the industry.

by Chris Isidore, CNN/Money senior writer -

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It seems strange to say this, but placing an online bet shouldn't be a gamble.

But futile U.S. efforts to prohibit wagering on the Internet are making it so -- even as they do relatively little to stem the amounts being bet online.

Most online gambling operations are legitimate. But by forcing online betting off shore, the federal government has left millions of Americans with few protections from unscrupulous operators. And some foreign sites have been unwilling to pay up when big bets go against them.

A mathematics graduate from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who snubbed a 40,000 pound a year banking job to earn a mere 4,500 a week playing internet poker, is all set to earn 234,000 pounds a year as earnings.

According to The Sun, Lee-Anne Smyth began playing at university and in the process made so much money, that she refused a banking job

"Who needs a proper job when I can make what most people earn in a month in a couple of hours?" the paper quoted her as saying.

The Vice Fund's Dan Ahrens says shares in alcohol, tobacco, gaming, and defense outfits have many virtues for investors' portfolios.

Are "sin stocks" a good bet for risk-free investing? Dan Ahrens thinks so -- and he launched the Vice Fund (VICEX ) two years ago to focus on stocks in alcohol, tobacco, gaming, and defense. The strategy has worked: In the year ended Aug. 31, the fund was up 21.06%, against 11.45% for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

"No matter what the market's doing, no matter who wins the election, people continue to drink, people continue to gamble, continue to smoke," says Ahrens. He first noticed the relatively better showings of stocks in those areas during the downturn of 2001 and 2002, and that led to establishing the fund.

by Lloyd Garver -

I'll bet you can't go the entire day without seeing a commercial or a billboard advertising the lottery, a casino, or some other form of gambling; I'll give you two-to-one if you live in a big city. Thirty-nine states have lotteries, and if you drive across the country, you'll come across more casinos than full-service gas stations. Meanwhile, Las Vegas and other gambling centers have convinced America that visiting their cities is good, clean fun for the whole family.

What's behind all this "wholesome" gambling is, of course, governmental and corporate greed. And all this legalizing and sanitizing has had many effects on our society. When gambling is so accessible, obviously there are more gamblers — and more people with gambling problems. Casinos are so "family friendly" that it's hard to distinguish them from Disneyland. So children are exposed to gambling at a ridiculously young age, and the casinos have an unlimited supply of future players. State lotteries — which brought in $38 billion last year — were called the "numbers racket" in the mobster days, and similarly prey on the dreams of the poor.

By Cole Turner -

I was talking to renowned online and international gaming pundit Buzz Daly at the first annual Bodog.com Handicapper Conference in Las Vegas, and the subject of the effects of online wagering on the established land-based gaming industry came up.

In fact, this subject continued to pop up during the entire conference. In hindsight, this should not have been much of a surprise; after all, we were holding the conference at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and we threw a big industry party at the hip Palms Casino and Resort. (For some great pictures of this event, including photos with Joe Montana and the very lovely Bodog Girls, go to: www.bodogconference.com).

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A new Yale University study finds a link between recreational gambling and good health in older people.

The study comes from a national survey of gamblers and non-gamblers. It finds that recreational gamblers aged 65 or older are more likely to report being in better health than their non-gambling peers.

And, younger gamblers are more likely than older ones to suffer from alcoholism, depression, financial problems and other ills.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Sept. 8/PRNewswire/ -- BETonSPORTS plc (LSE: BSS.L - News) operator of the world's largest online wagering service, BETonSPORTS.com, today announced the launch of a broad public policy initiative titled "Proposition 1: To Regulate or Prohibit Online Gambling?" designed to create the framework for sensible and realistic regulation of online gambling in the U.S.

The initiative will be anchored by a national summit tour during September in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. Summit meetings will bring together experts in law, academia, industry and government to stimulate the discussion and debate needed to address issues critical to the development of federal regulation that will both recognize the growth and popularity of online gambling and provide key consumer protections. This begins with a focus on the merits of existing proposed legislation in Congress, but also looks at efforts by the Department of Justice to prohibit advertising by online gambling companies. Moreover, the initiative will address what the online and traditional "land-based" segments of the gambling industry should be doing together to demonstrate leadership in providing Congress valuable input and in protecting consumers.

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News -

New legislation could soon see an explosion in the number of people in the UK whose lives are ruined by gambling addiction, a leading expert warned today.

A new Bill expected to be introduced at the end of this year will sweep away most of the restrictions on gambling in Britain.

When the Gambling Bill becomes law it will allow slot machines and roulette tables to appear in bingo halls and betting shops, and casinos to operate around the clock.

But although the change will mean a tax bonanza for the Government the human cost will be severe, according to Professor Mark Griffiths, from Nottingham Trent University.

By Dan Gillmor -

A classic example of audacity is the man who kills his parents and asks for clemency on the grounds that he's an orphan. A few weeks ago, a California gambler who lost a bundle online joined a lawsuit against search engines that sell advertising for Internet gambling sites.

The case, filed in state court in San Francisco, is just one example of our society's utterly inconsistent and hypocritical treatment of gambling.

Online casino gambling has quickly become one of the most popular activities on the Net. But one of the biggest fears that still looms over some players is security and fraud concerns. Unlike land based casinos, online casinos rely on software to run the entire casino including the games, the outcomes and the payouts. But there are a number of protective measures the online casinos can take in order to better protect themselves and the player.

One of the online casino gamblers biggest concerns when it comes to playing online casino games is security and privacy. Although fraud on the internet is relatively low, it does still exist and so it is up to the online casino and the player to protect themselves and take action.

OTTAWA -- The Federal Court has been asked to decide whether Canada's first government-sanctioned Internet gambling site is legal. The Ontario Racing Commission suggests a rule change made last year by former agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief exceeded his legal authority and a popular racetrack betting site launched last January by Woodbine Entertainment Group could be illegal.

At stake is HorsePlayer Interactive, a novel online site that's bringing in about $1 million a week in wagers.

By Jon Kelly -

Q HOW is internet betting different from visiting a bookies in the high street?

A ONLINE betting exchanges let customers pick losers - known as "laying" a horse - as well as winners.

Stakes are taken, and bets paid, via a credit or debit card.

Firms such as Betfair and BETDAQ also allow punters to bet against each other, taking a commission for acting as broker.

Q WHY are people worried about this?

By Ian Paul -

ALLEGATIONS of race-fixing are hurdles that horse racing has to overcome regularly, but the recent spate of accusations represents serious damage to the sport's image.

In a relatively short time, there have been well-publicised suggestions of cheating aimed at jockeys, trainers and owners.

The BBC Panorama investigation, which included allegations of trainers sending out non-triers and ended with the resignation of the Jockey Club's chief security officer, was the start of a bad period for the sport's authorities.

By Sid Lipsey -

(CNN) -- Your cell phone rings to the tune of "The Gambler." You think Ben Affleck's best performance wasn't in a movie but in his winning hand at the last celebrity poker event. You couldn't care less about politics, but you can argue for hours whether you should play or fold an unsuited Ace/6.

Might as well face it: You're a poker fanatic. And if you can't make it to a casino, or it's one of those rare nights when ESPN is showing something other than a poker tournament, there are a number of Web sites that allow you to play poker online for a lot of money, very little money or no money at all.