Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Gambling Bits n Pieces

Government compromises with cap on casinos
The government has backed down slightly on the contentious issue of so-called super casinos. Tessa Jowell made the changes public last night as she reduced the number of super casinos allowed in the gambling bill from 20-40 to just 8.

The super casinos will be open 24 hours a day and have the potential of offering million dollar jackpots. They have been one of the most controversial aspects since the gambling bill was announced - fuelling anti-gambling bill campaigns from the media (largely the Daily Mail) and church groups.

However, it was unlikely the government were going to back down totally on these and Jowell contended that this back-down was due to 'listening to concerns from all parties'. It seems to have the desired effect as both the Lib Dems and the Tories have now agreed to withdraw their amendments to the gambling bill.

The casinos won't see the light of day until 2007 - and then their impact will be reviewed.

Packer moves into Macau gambling
Aussie media tycoon and all-round and gambler extraordinaire, Kerry Packer is plunging into the new jewel in the Asian gambling crown, Macau, in a joint venture with Asian gambling tycoon, Stanley Ho.

Last year, since the 'opening up' of the ex-Portugese colony, from the Ho monopoly, Macau earned gambling revenues of £2.4bn. There are now 3 operators running 14 casinos - with 5 more planned in the next 5 years.


Cricket Gambling Den Busted in Shanghai
Yet another cricket (as in the insect) betting ring has been busted - this time in Shanghai, China. More than 200 gamblers were involved in a ring taking over £200,000 in bets. The gambling was controlled by feeding drugs to the crickets before the fighting. 36 people are in custody

Apparantly, cricket fighting is a seasonal event - taking place from summer to late winter.

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