SINGAPORE — Singapore opens the first of two casinos on Sunday as part of a campaign to attract millions of new tourists, but the rich city-state is not touting itself as a rival to glitzy Macau or Las Vegas.
Resorts World Sentosa, owned by Malaysian gaming giant Genting, will also feature Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios movie theme park.
The second casino complex, Marina Bay Sands, is currently being completed by US-based Las Vegas Sands and is expected to open in April.
Officials hope the casinos will help Singapore achieve its target of 17 million visitors a year generating over 21 billion US dollars by 2015, boosting the services sector and reducing the role of manufacturing in the economy.
Visitor arrivals fell to 9.7 million visitors in 2009, down 4.3 percent from 2008, but a surge in the final quarter of last year boosted the tourism industry's hopes that 2010 numbers will be better.
The arrival numbers include tourists using the island city-state as a jumpoff point to other Asian destinations.
Singapore hopes tourists will stay a little longer -- and spend a lot more -- as a result of the casino resorts.
Resorts World Sentosa is aimed at families, while Marina Bay Sands, located next to the banking district, is designed to cater to the corporate and convention crowd.
"Singapore's new casinos open up Southeast Asia as an entirely new market for multiple-billion dollar integrated entertainment," Jonathan Galaviz, an independent gaming industry analyst based in Las Vegas, told AFP.
A marine life park, a maritime museum, a spa and two more hotels will be launched at Resorts World Sentosa after 2010.
Singapore gave the green light for casino gambling in 2005, setting off a flurry of construction that went ahead despite the city-state slipping into recession in 2008 due to the impact of the global crisis.
The two "integrated resorts" will cost a total of over 10 billion dollars to build.
Unlike larger neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, highly urbanised Singapore has no major natural destinations to offer and relies on man-made attractions such as shopping malls and wildlife parks to pull in tourists.
Galaviz said the Singapore casino resorts are not expected to compete "substantially" with gambling-driven Macau because the resorts are pitched at visitors who prioritise entertainment over gambling.
The success of Singapore's casino resorts will be measured by how the attractions outside of the gaming rooms perform, he added.
"It's important for everybody to remember that more than 90 percent of (Singapore resorts' facilities) have nothing to do with casino gaming," he said.
"The more important metric to gauge the ultimate success of the (resorts) will be the non-casino revenue such as hotel rooms, retail, and restaurants."
Galaviz says Singapore's gaming market is expected to generate revenues of two billion dollars annually, which will be significantly lower than what Singapore residents already spend annually in legal gaming.
Figures from Singapore Totalisator Board, the city-state's sole legal betting operator, showed 5.77 billion dollars were wagered on horse racing, football matches, among others, in the year to March 2009.
2/13/10
McMahon: WWE Network Expected To Launch in Mid 2011 - 11th February 2010
Proposed Network To Help Promote `Raw,' `SmackDown' Properties
World Wrestling Entertainment is looking to jump into the cable network ring with a proposed network that the pro grappling outfit expects to launch in the next 18 months, according to WWE chairman Vince McMahon.
McMahon, speaking Thursday morning during the company's 2009 fourth-quarter earnings call, said it has been doing "a great deal of due diligence" toward creating a WWE cable network that would presumably offer live and library content.
"I would hope a year-and-a-half from now we would be up and running," McMahon said. "We think there is a tremendous opportunity for us out there and quite frankly if things happen as we hope they will happen it will be a really big game changer for the WWE."
The proposed network would not infringe on the WWE's current cable and broadcast shows, including USA Network's WWE Monday Night Raw and MyNetworkTV's SmackDown , but instead could be used as a marketing tool for those shows.
"We are unique in that what's good for the WWE is good for all our television partners as far as promotion and things of that nature," he said. "The new network could tie in and be adjacent to some of those shows and quite frankly our own network can enhance Raw and SmackDown. It would really be a win-win across the board for our television partners, as well as for us." (Credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, MultiChannel News, Wires)
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World Wrestling Entertainment is looking to jump into the cable network ring with a proposed network that the pro grappling outfit expects to launch in the next 18 months, according to WWE chairman Vince McMahon.
McMahon, speaking Thursday morning during the company's 2009 fourth-quarter earnings call, said it has been doing "a great deal of due diligence" toward creating a WWE cable network that would presumably offer live and library content.
"I would hope a year-and-a-half from now we would be up and running," McMahon said. "We think there is a tremendous opportunity for us out there and quite frankly if things happen as we hope they will happen it will be a really big game changer for the WWE."
The proposed network would not infringe on the WWE's current cable and broadcast shows, including USA Network's WWE Monday Night Raw and MyNetworkTV's SmackDown , but instead could be used as a marketing tool for those shows.
"We are unique in that what's good for the WWE is good for all our television partners as far as promotion and things of that nature," he said. "The new network could tie in and be adjacent to some of those shows and quite frankly our own network can enhance Raw and SmackDown. It would really be a win-win across the board for our television partners, as well as for us." (Credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, MultiChannel News, Wires)
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2/12/10
Australia Internet Censorship Issue at Breaking Point, by Greg Tingle - 11th February 2010
Special contributor to the Gambling911.com website, Greg Tingle, looks at the continuing uproar over censorship attempts in Australia as they apply to the Internet and ultimately online gambling websites, some of which appeared on a much publicized "black list" some months ago.
Was it Hollywood's Elvira who said "All is fair in love and war"? Whatever the case that seems to be the mindset of "Anonymous" who is blasting Australian government websites in protest to the proposed Australian Internet filter also with its bastard cousin, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) "blacklist".
Welcome "Operational Titstorm".
It's fair to say that some Aussies are bloody pissed off that their endless stream of "vice" such as porn, gaming and other "questionable material" may be cut off thank to the intenet filter cum post Australian election time.
As we know know too well, often when a a government tries to smother and cover up a news story the story becomes bigger. This is a classic example. It's now a red hot international news item and the more Senator Stephen Conroy and his team try to smother it, the more fuel gets added to the fire! The news story is up there with China's "Great Wall Of China" censorship matters, along with human rights, freedom of information, freedom of speech, Hillary Clinton and friends.
One needs little imagination to see that some parallels can be drawn to what will happen in Australian when certain things become illegal... they will go underground, likely get more popular and sought after, however some consumer protection will be lost.
In the igaming industry I would recommend that people stick to brands they know and trust, be it PartyGaming, BetUS, Betfair, Virgin Games and I understand that both Playtech and Microgaming powered online casinos currently have a clean bill of health.
If you're an Aussie reading this, my "spies" tell me that in approx 6 months Australians won't be able to access popular porn sites RedTube and YouPorn (unless they have some sort of whiz bang anti censorship - anti filter device)... something that could well end up on the black market (i.e: pubs and clubs, "mates rates" and items that "fell off the back of a truck"). Over a decade ago when pay TV was introduced to Australians one used to be able to purchase a device to plug into the standard pay TV equipment and get pay TV for free! This allowed consumers to get more variety of channels, unscrambled (and for free)... things could very well end up going in a similar direction for Australian internet users based on recent developments.
News just in... The Australian government is trying to pursue Google to voluntarily censor YouTube videos in Australia. Google have refused the government's request thus far.
Media Man thanks and praises American and Canadian news media and igaming media news websites for bringing the news to the people and we applaud Gambling911 in their fearless commitment to educating and informing the masses on internet censorship and other important matters pertaining to the igaming, betting and political arena.
Australian government spooks and contractors are trying to get the defaced websites back on the air as of the time of writing.
Greg Tingle, Media Man International
http://www.mediamanint.com
Was it Hollywood's Elvira who said "All is fair in love and war"? Whatever the case that seems to be the mindset of "Anonymous" who is blasting Australian government websites in protest to the proposed Australian Internet filter also with its bastard cousin, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) "blacklist".
Welcome "Operational Titstorm".
It's fair to say that some Aussies are bloody pissed off that their endless stream of "vice" such as porn, gaming and other "questionable material" may be cut off thank to the intenet filter cum post Australian election time.
As we know know too well, often when a a government tries to smother and cover up a news story the story becomes bigger. This is a classic example. It's now a red hot international news item and the more Senator Stephen Conroy and his team try to smother it, the more fuel gets added to the fire! The news story is up there with China's "Great Wall Of China" censorship matters, along with human rights, freedom of information, freedom of speech, Hillary Clinton and friends.
One needs little imagination to see that some parallels can be drawn to what will happen in Australian when certain things become illegal... they will go underground, likely get more popular and sought after, however some consumer protection will be lost.
In the igaming industry I would recommend that people stick to brands they know and trust, be it PartyGaming, BetUS, Betfair, Virgin Games and I understand that both Playtech and Microgaming powered online casinos currently have a clean bill of health.
If you're an Aussie reading this, my "spies" tell me that in approx 6 months Australians won't be able to access popular porn sites RedTube and YouPorn (unless they have some sort of whiz bang anti censorship - anti filter device)... something that could well end up on the black market (i.e: pubs and clubs, "mates rates" and items that "fell off the back of a truck"). Over a decade ago when pay TV was introduced to Australians one used to be able to purchase a device to plug into the standard pay TV equipment and get pay TV for free! This allowed consumers to get more variety of channels, unscrambled (and for free)... things could very well end up going in a similar direction for Australian internet users based on recent developments.
News just in... The Australian government is trying to pursue Google to voluntarily censor YouTube videos in Australia. Google have refused the government's request thus far.
Media Man thanks and praises American and Canadian news media and igaming media news websites for bringing the news to the people and we applaud Gambling911 in their fearless commitment to educating and informing the masses on internet censorship and other important matters pertaining to the igaming, betting and political arena.
Australian government spooks and contractors are trying to get the defaced websites back on the air as of the time of writing.
Greg Tingle, Media Man International
http://www.mediamanint.com
2/10/10
Avatar type technology and innovation at PartyGaming's PartyCasino, by Greg Tingle - 10th February 2010
Avatar type technology and innovation at PartyGaming's PartyCasino; More out of this world game experiences at PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com
PartyGaming's PartyCasino.com, established since 1997, is widely acknowledged as the world's biggest and best online casino... a big claim, we know.
Evidence... hundreds of games... slots, table games, skill games, poker and more.
Exclusive Hollywood blockbusters... Rambo, Saturday Night Fever, Sinatra, Tarzan, High Noon, Top Gun, Resident Evil, The Naked Gun, Mission: Impossible.
Classic slots like Cleopatra, Monopoly, Cluedo, Wheel Of Fortune...
Marvel super hero fans? Don't just watch the movies, play the games! The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. Excelsior!
Rewards... PartyGaming's PartyPoints and Palladium Lounge
Trust and credibility... listed on the London Stock Exchange and winner of numerous igaming and business awards and commendations including eGaming Review "Operator Of The Year" and Casino News Media "Online Casino Of The Month"
Easy for players... multi currency and multi language, and PartyCasino is available for most European, Canadian, South African, South American and Australian customers. Go Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!
PartyGaming also own and operate the world famous World Poker Tour, a claim only one igaming operator can make... that's PartyGaming.
Play for free or play for money. Feel the excitement at PartyCasino.com
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PartyGaming's PartyCasino.com, established since 1997, is widely acknowledged as the world's biggest and best online casino... a big claim, we know.
Evidence... hundreds of games... slots, table games, skill games, poker and more.
Exclusive Hollywood blockbusters... Rambo, Saturday Night Fever, Sinatra, Tarzan, High Noon, Top Gun, Resident Evil, The Naked Gun, Mission: Impossible.
Classic slots like Cleopatra, Monopoly, Cluedo, Wheel Of Fortune...
Marvel super hero fans? Don't just watch the movies, play the games! The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. Excelsior!
Rewards... PartyGaming's PartyPoints and Palladium Lounge
Trust and credibility... listed on the London Stock Exchange and winner of numerous igaming and business awards and commendations including eGaming Review "Operator Of The Year" and Casino News Media "Online Casino Of The Month"
Easy for players... multi currency and multi language, and PartyCasino is available for most European, Canadian, South African, South American and Australian customers. Go Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!
PartyGaming also own and operate the world famous World Poker Tour, a claim only one igaming operator can make... that's PartyGaming.
Play for free or play for money. Feel the excitement at PartyCasino.com
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China Plans Online Gambling Crackdown, by Greg Tingle - 10th February 2010
China plans to crack down on the online gaming and gambling industry, including the banks, financial institutions and websites that support it, the Ministry of Public Security advised in a statement posted on its (official) website.
The campaign will "concentrate on investigating major and important cases of online gambling, knock out domestic and foreign groups that organize online gambling, and severely punish the criminal elements".
The so called "crackdown", to be conducted in the February - August period, was agreed to by eight (lucky in many parts of Asia) government bodies including the Supreme Court, Propaganda bureau, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Gambling in its traditional form was banned in mainland China after the Communist takeover in 1949, the exceptions being two state lotteries... one run by the sports ministry to fund the building of facilities. Experts point out that this could be seen as a monopoly, and even boarding on racism of sorts in the business sector, as gaming and gambling is a world wide industry, these days the internet being the preferred global medium.
Underground casinos, overseas conglomerates and illegal syndicates have sprung up to fill the gap.
The statement said it will severely punish those who run underground banks and third-party payment platforms that provide banking services needed for gambling. As in pornography crackdowns, website operators will also be targeted.
The move is the latest in a series of curbs on the country's relatively free-wheeling online world, one of the few arenas for people from across China to interact in large groups, share information and criticize the government.
A long-running anti-pornography drive has netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what many see as an effort by the Chinese government to reassert control over new media.
Widespread protests in Iran after a contested presidential election alerted Beijing to the potential for protesters and dissidents to use social media to spread their message.
China has banned Google's YouTube since March 2009, when a Tibetan exile film documenting the injuries and death of a Tibetan protester was published on the video sharing site. The government began blocking Twitter, Flickr and Facebook last summer.
Media and gaming analysts advise that this latest news is a "non coincidence" and "strategic" relating to U.S giant Google accusing China of cyber terrorism and of course internet censorship. In addition the internet, gaming and political world ponders what effect these developments may have down under in Australia, as Senator Stephen Conroy still plans to introduce the internet filters (along with "internet blacklist") after the next Australian election. The news also comes as documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" attracts substantial mainstream press. The documentary focuses on the relationship between politics, lobbying, money and strong Native American casino themes.
Macau remains the regions hotspot for legal gambling, where recently Australian casino king James Packer has seen his Melco-Crown Entertainment City Of Dreams, Macau, achieved record profits and visitors, a development that insiders are calling the gambling "comeback of the decade". Asian gambling tsar Stanley Ho will be looking for some of Packer's recent good fortune as Ho is said to be struggling to regain his full health since suffering a stroke and undergoing brain surgery last August. Media and gaming commentators remain divided as to the current health Status of Ho. Macau's casino district has borrowed one page out of Vegas's book... they now have a Cotai Strip (but it is unclear if they are legal or illegal strip clubs in downtown Cotai). What is known however is that when things become "illegal" they go underground and usually become more popular and profitable.
Numerous high profile American, European and Australian media and internet companies have been seen to be pro actively targeting Asia in recent years and insiders suspect that this has raised the ire of the Chinese government. Macau remains the regions casino and gambling hotspot (where gambling is legal).
In a strategic move Australian founded Media Man today launched http://www.MediaMan.Asia to coincide with the Chinese crackdown on media, entertainment, internet and gaming. Media Man did not pursue .hk, .tw, .mo or .ch domain names as they preferred the more global nature of a .asia. Technically Australia is part of the Asia Pacific according to sources such as Wikipedia, Websters and The World Atlas. Internet portals and publishers, World Casino Directory and Global Gaming Directory, competitors of sorts, are monitoring the developments closely.
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man, primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
The campaign will "concentrate on investigating major and important cases of online gambling, knock out domestic and foreign groups that organize online gambling, and severely punish the criminal elements".
The so called "crackdown", to be conducted in the February - August period, was agreed to by eight (lucky in many parts of Asia) government bodies including the Supreme Court, Propaganda bureau, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Gambling in its traditional form was banned in mainland China after the Communist takeover in 1949, the exceptions being two state lotteries... one run by the sports ministry to fund the building of facilities. Experts point out that this could be seen as a monopoly, and even boarding on racism of sorts in the business sector, as gaming and gambling is a world wide industry, these days the internet being the preferred global medium.
Underground casinos, overseas conglomerates and illegal syndicates have sprung up to fill the gap.
The statement said it will severely punish those who run underground banks and third-party payment platforms that provide banking services needed for gambling. As in pornography crackdowns, website operators will also be targeted.
The move is the latest in a series of curbs on the country's relatively free-wheeling online world, one of the few arenas for people from across China to interact in large groups, share information and criticize the government.
A long-running anti-pornography drive has netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what many see as an effort by the Chinese government to reassert control over new media.
Widespread protests in Iran after a contested presidential election alerted Beijing to the potential for protesters and dissidents to use social media to spread their message.
China has banned Google's YouTube since March 2009, when a Tibetan exile film documenting the injuries and death of a Tibetan protester was published on the video sharing site. The government began blocking Twitter, Flickr and Facebook last summer.
Media and gaming analysts advise that this latest news is a "non coincidence" and "strategic" relating to U.S giant Google accusing China of cyber terrorism and of course internet censorship. In addition the internet, gaming and political world ponders what effect these developments may have down under in Australia, as Senator Stephen Conroy still plans to introduce the internet filters (along with "internet blacklist") after the next Australian election. The news also comes as documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" attracts substantial mainstream press. The documentary focuses on the relationship between politics, lobbying, money and strong Native American casino themes.
Macau remains the regions hotspot for legal gambling, where recently Australian casino king James Packer has seen his Melco-Crown Entertainment City Of Dreams, Macau, achieved record profits and visitors, a development that insiders are calling the gambling "comeback of the decade". Asian gambling tsar Stanley Ho will be looking for some of Packer's recent good fortune as Ho is said to be struggling to regain his full health since suffering a stroke and undergoing brain surgery last August. Media and gaming commentators remain divided as to the current health Status of Ho. Macau's casino district has borrowed one page out of Vegas's book... they now have a Cotai Strip (but it is unclear if they are legal or illegal strip clubs in downtown Cotai). What is known however is that when things become "illegal" they go underground and usually become more popular and profitable.
Numerous high profile American, European and Australian media and internet companies have been seen to be pro actively targeting Asia in recent years and insiders suspect that this has raised the ire of the Chinese government. Macau remains the regions casino and gambling hotspot (where gambling is legal).
In a strategic move Australian founded Media Man today launched http://www.MediaMan.Asia to coincide with the Chinese crackdown on media, entertainment, internet and gaming. Media Man did not pursue .hk, .tw, .mo or .ch domain names as they preferred the more global nature of a .asia. Technically Australia is part of the Asia Pacific according to sources such as Wikipedia, Websters and The World Atlas. Internet portals and publishers, World Casino Directory and Global Gaming Directory, competitors of sorts, are monitoring the developments closely.
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man, primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
2/9/10
China plans online gambling crackdown: Could Australia be next to follow?, by Greg Tingle - 9th February 2010
China plans to crack down on the online gaming and gambling industry, including the banks, financial institutions and websites that support it, the Ministry of Public Security advised in a statement posted on its (official) website.
The campaign will "concentrate on investigating major and important cases of online gambling, knock out domestic and foreign groups that organize online gambling, and severely punish the criminal elements".
The so called "crackdown", to be conducted in the February - August period, was agreed to by eight (lucky in many parts of Asia) government bodies including the Supreme Court, Propaganda bureau, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Gambling in its traditional form was banned in mainland China after the Communist takeover in 1949, the exceptions being two state lotteries... one run by the sports ministry to fund the building of facilities. Experts point out that this could be seen as a monopoly, and even boarding on racism of sorts in the business sector, as gaming and gambling is a world wide industry, these days the internet being the preferred global medium.
Underground casinos, overseas conglomerates and illegal syndicates have sprung up to fill the gap.
The statement said it will severely punish those who run underground banks and third-party payment platforms that provide banking services needed for gambling. As in pornography crackdowns, website operators will also be targeted.
The move is the latest in a series of curbs on the country's relatively free-wheeling online world, one of the few arenas for people from across China to interact in large groups, share information and criticize the government.
A long-running anti-pornography drive has netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what many see as an effort by the Chinese government to reassert control over new media.
Widespread protests in Iran after a contested presidential election alerted Beijing to the potential for protesters and dissidents to use social media to spread their message.
China has banned Google's YouTube since March 2009, when a Tibetan exile film documenting the injuries and death of a Tibetan protester was published on the video sharing site. The government began blocking Twitter, Flickr and Facebook last summer.
Media and gaming analyists advise that this latest news is a "non coincidence" and "strategic" relating to U.S giant Google accusing China of cyber terrorism and of course internet censorship. In addition the internet, gaming and political world ponders what effect these developments may have down under in Australia, as Senator Stephen Conroy still plans to introduce the internet filters (along with "internet blacklist") after the next Australian election. The news also comes as documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" attracts substantial mainstream press. The documentary focuses on the relationship between politics, lobbying, money and strong Native American casino themes.
Macau remains the regions hotspot for legal gambling, where recently Australian casino king James Packer has seen his Melco-Crown Entertainment City Of Dreams, Macau, achieve recent profits and visitors, a development that insiders are calling the gambling "comeback of the decade". Asian gambling tsar Stanley Ho will be looking for some of Packer's recent good fortune as Ho is said to be struggling to regain his full health since suffering a stroke and undergoing brain surgery last August. Media and gaming commentators remain divided as to the current health Status of Ho. Macau's casino district has borrowed one page out of Vegas' book... they now have a Cotai Strip (but it is unclear if they are legal or illegal strip clubs in downtown Cotai). What is known however is that when things become "illegal" they go underground and usually become more popular and profitable.
Numerous high profile American, European and Australian media and internet companies have been seen to be pro actively targeting Asia in recent years and insiders suspect that this has raised the ire of the Chinese government. Macau remains the regions casino and gambling hotspot (where gambling is legal).
In a strategic move Australian founded Media Man today launched MediaMan.Asia to coincide with the Chinese crackdown on media, entertainment, internet and gaming. Media Man did not pursue .hk, .tw, .mo or .ch domain names as they prefered the more global nature of a .asia. Technically Australia is part of the Asia Pacific according to sources such as Wikipedia, Websters and The World Atlas. Internet portals and publishers, World Casino Directory and Global Gaming Directory, competitors of sorts, are monitoring the developments closely.
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man, primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
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The campaign will "concentrate on investigating major and important cases of online gambling, knock out domestic and foreign groups that organize online gambling, and severely punish the criminal elements".
The so called "crackdown", to be conducted in the February - August period, was agreed to by eight (lucky in many parts of Asia) government bodies including the Supreme Court, Propaganda bureau, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Gambling in its traditional form was banned in mainland China after the Communist takeover in 1949, the exceptions being two state lotteries... one run by the sports ministry to fund the building of facilities. Experts point out that this could be seen as a monopoly, and even boarding on racism of sorts in the business sector, as gaming and gambling is a world wide industry, these days the internet being the preferred global medium.
Underground casinos, overseas conglomerates and illegal syndicates have sprung up to fill the gap.
The statement said it will severely punish those who run underground banks and third-party payment platforms that provide banking services needed for gambling. As in pornography crackdowns, website operators will also be targeted.
The move is the latest in a series of curbs on the country's relatively free-wheeling online world, one of the few arenas for people from across China to interact in large groups, share information and criticize the government.
A long-running anti-pornography drive has netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what many see as an effort by the Chinese government to reassert control over new media.
Widespread protests in Iran after a contested presidential election alerted Beijing to the potential for protesters and dissidents to use social media to spread their message.
China has banned Google's YouTube since March 2009, when a Tibetan exile film documenting the injuries and death of a Tibetan protester was published on the video sharing site. The government began blocking Twitter, Flickr and Facebook last summer.
Media and gaming analyists advise that this latest news is a "non coincidence" and "strategic" relating to U.S giant Google accusing China of cyber terrorism and of course internet censorship. In addition the internet, gaming and political world ponders what effect these developments may have down under in Australia, as Senator Stephen Conroy still plans to introduce the internet filters (along with "internet blacklist") after the next Australian election. The news also comes as documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" attracts substantial mainstream press. The documentary focuses on the relationship between politics, lobbying, money and strong Native American casino themes.
Macau remains the regions hotspot for legal gambling, where recently Australian casino king James Packer has seen his Melco-Crown Entertainment City Of Dreams, Macau, achieve recent profits and visitors, a development that insiders are calling the gambling "comeback of the decade". Asian gambling tsar Stanley Ho will be looking for some of Packer's recent good fortune as Ho is said to be struggling to regain his full health since suffering a stroke and undergoing brain surgery last August. Media and gaming commentators remain divided as to the current health Status of Ho. Macau's casino district has borrowed one page out of Vegas' book... they now have a Cotai Strip (but it is unclear if they are legal or illegal strip clubs in downtown Cotai). What is known however is that when things become "illegal" they go underground and usually become more popular and profitable.
Numerous high profile American, European and Australian media and internet companies have been seen to be pro actively targeting Asia in recent years and insiders suspect that this has raised the ire of the Chinese government. Macau remains the regions casino and gambling hotspot (where gambling is legal).
In a strategic move Australian founded Media Man today launched MediaMan.Asia to coincide with the Chinese crackdown on media, entertainment, internet and gaming. Media Man did not pursue .hk, .tw, .mo or .ch domain names as they prefered the more global nature of a .asia. Technically Australia is part of the Asia Pacific according to sources such as Wikipedia, Websters and The World Atlas. Internet portals and publishers, World Casino Directory and Global Gaming Directory, competitors of sorts, are monitoring the developments closely.
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man, primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
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2/8/10
Punter boosts gaming firm's profits
A punter who pumped almost half of a £3.1m jackpot win back into slot machine games has helped to boost the revenues of online betting firm PartyGaming.
The anonymous player scooped the roll-over prize on PartyCasino after it overhauled jackpot rules earlier in the year to tempt in punters with bigger payouts.
The recycled winnings helped the company push up fourth-quarter revenues 32%, while the sports betting business gained from a higher number of draws after a historic low at the start of the Premier League football season.
The PartyPoker owner said all four of its divisions - poker, casino games, bingo and sports betting - showed growth in the three months to December 31 as revenues jumped by almost a third to £87.2 million over a year earlier.
Shares rose 3% on Wednesday as the firm said underlying earnings for 2009 as a whole would be "slightly ahead" of board expectations.
The fourth quarter is traditionally better for the online gaming sites due to poorer weather but the firm added that casino and sports betting revenues had been "particularly strong".
The group's PartyPoker website - which had 438,000 active players during the three months to December - now boasts the biggest pool of players behind PokerStars and Full Tilt.
The business is also eyeing growth opportunities in Europe this year as well as potential acquisitions and mergers. The company was reported in December to be in talks over a potential merger with Austrian rival Bwin, which would create a £2 billion internet gaming giant.
Chief executive Jim Ryan said: "With some of the world's largest gaming sites in poker, casino and bingo, and opportunities to further consolidate the online gaming sector, we are confident about our future prospects."
Investec analyst Matthew Gerard said: "An increasing focus on casino and bingo will drive robust revenue growth."
Websites
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
PartyGammon.com
Profiles
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
World Poker Tour
GetMinted.com
Cashcade
PartyGaming
News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Poker News
Bingo News
Betting News
PartyCasino.com News
PartyGaming News
Global Gaming News
The anonymous player scooped the roll-over prize on PartyCasino after it overhauled jackpot rules earlier in the year to tempt in punters with bigger payouts.
The recycled winnings helped the company push up fourth-quarter revenues 32%, while the sports betting business gained from a higher number of draws after a historic low at the start of the Premier League football season.
The PartyPoker owner said all four of its divisions - poker, casino games, bingo and sports betting - showed growth in the three months to December 31 as revenues jumped by almost a third to £87.2 million over a year earlier.
Shares rose 3% on Wednesday as the firm said underlying earnings for 2009 as a whole would be "slightly ahead" of board expectations.
The fourth quarter is traditionally better for the online gaming sites due to poorer weather but the firm added that casino and sports betting revenues had been "particularly strong".
The group's PartyPoker website - which had 438,000 active players during the three months to December - now boasts the biggest pool of players behind PokerStars and Full Tilt.
The business is also eyeing growth opportunities in Europe this year as well as potential acquisitions and mergers. The company was reported in December to be in talks over a potential merger with Austrian rival Bwin, which would create a £2 billion internet gaming giant.
Chief executive Jim Ryan said: "With some of the world's largest gaming sites in poker, casino and bingo, and opportunities to further consolidate the online gaming sector, we are confident about our future prospects."
Investec analyst Matthew Gerard said: "An increasing focus on casino and bingo will drive robust revenue growth."
Websites
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
PartyGammon.com
Profiles
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
World Poker Tour
GetMinted.com
Cashcade
PartyGaming
News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Poker News
Bingo News
Betting News
PartyCasino.com News
PartyGaming News
Global Gaming News
Casino News Media - Media Man - News Update - 8th February 2010
PartyCasino.com remains most popular online casino in Australia - Asia Pacific
PartyPoker players and management enjoying rewards of Aussie Tyron Krost winning 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship
Sinatra Slot is the Casino News Media slot game of the month
Cleopatra online slot game still world's most popular online slot; Sinatra, Rambo, ISIS, Hellboy, Tomb Raider not able to crack Cleo's #1 position
3D Casinos - PartyCasino Live Dealer stays popular with "Avatar" type technology rumored to be on the way; PKR upgrades front-end and back-end and introduces sports betting
PartyGaming sales up 32% from last quarter
New Games - Microgaming powered Casino Splendido and Roxy Palace get Hellboy online slot; Virgin Casino gets Monty’s Millions; PartyCasino.com gets Melon Madness jackpot slot
Playtech follows up business deal with Sega with a deal with Richard Branson's Virgin Games; Interested in expanding service to United States
Microgaming Announces Lord of the Rings Licensing Deal
Microgaming - Captain Cooks Casino loosing some ground to Casino Splendido and Roxy Palace in Asia Pacific region, as Captain Cooks doesn't have Hellboy slot
Reality TV - iGaming connection: PartyCasino signs up Phil Tufnell to front campaign
Bingo: PartyBingo, Foxy Bingo and Virgin Bingo continue to enjoy growth
Table games likely to become more popular online as new technology is released
Jackpots - PartyCasino's "The Big One" Jackpot rises in popularity however Marvel Hero Jackpot and Gold Mega Jackpot games preferred by many
PokerStars remains world's most popular online poker website but PartyGaming's PartyPoker making ground
Noble Casino gets a boost with $4000 player bonus and Incredible Hulk and Iron-Man slots
Thor movie sees Marvel themed online slot games remain some of world's most popular; Spider-Man, Captain America and The Hulk also likely to get boost from Marvel movie headlines
NextGen Gaming: Andre The Giant and pro wrestling themed slot game rumors continue
Wrestling News: Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to feature on new American Gaming News and American Casino News website portals; Flair keen to build on NC Education Lottery deal and Hogan open to boosting igaming business following Hulkamania slot
Hitwise rankings get cred with industry, players and potential advertisers
Google organic search results more credible with players and industry than sponsored and paid listings; Google continues to react well to new, fresh and unique content
Apple keen to build upon mobile gaming and gambling success; Cleo game may be path forward
Social networking websites continue to play increased role in igaming business
UFC sports betting battle heats up between PartyBets and BetUS; as PartyGaming continues talkers with bwin
City Of Dreams Macau makes impressive comeback; Bottom link and visitor numbers up
Crown Casino, Melbourne, Australia continues to come down hard on criminals and bad behavior; Assisting police efforts in cracking criminals
Tabcorp Holdings bottom line results not impressive with 1% profit increase from last year; May revamp its Gold Coast based Conrad Jupiters casino, following Sydney's Star City Casino renovation
Casino Legal - Australian Productivity Commission due to release details of gaming report this month
Casino Legal - Harrah’s Entertainment and PartyGaming leading the way in U.S lobbying
"Casino Jack" movie documentary has industry on edge and Yankee and Aussie politicians concerned
World Casino Directory format remains popular with players, industry and portal developers
Multi currency casino format a winner with punters
Macau's casino sector enjoys boost while Las Vegas Strip still hurting
Las Vegas industry and politics continue to investigate ways to see comeback to Vegas
Events - iGaming Business to return to Sydney, Australia this March
Community News - Media Man assists Virgin Unite; Calvin Ayre shows awesome leadership in Haiti relief effort and James Packer Crown Casino king plays it forward to UNICEF
HollywoodSlotGames.com to do cross promos with American Gaming News and American Casino News websites
Media Man launches more website portals: American Gaming News; American Casino News and Media Man Asia
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Global Gaming Directory.net
Australian Casino News
American Gaming News
American Casino News
Bingo News Media
Virtual Worlds Media
Poker News Media
Cleopatra Slot News
Casino Travel Media
Multi Currency Casino
PartyPoker players and management enjoying rewards of Aussie Tyron Krost winning 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship
Sinatra Slot is the Casino News Media slot game of the month
Cleopatra online slot game still world's most popular online slot; Sinatra, Rambo, ISIS, Hellboy, Tomb Raider not able to crack Cleo's #1 position
3D Casinos - PartyCasino Live Dealer stays popular with "Avatar" type technology rumored to be on the way; PKR upgrades front-end and back-end and introduces sports betting
PartyGaming sales up 32% from last quarter
New Games - Microgaming powered Casino Splendido and Roxy Palace get Hellboy online slot; Virgin Casino gets Monty’s Millions; PartyCasino.com gets Melon Madness jackpot slot
Playtech follows up business deal with Sega with a deal with Richard Branson's Virgin Games; Interested in expanding service to United States
Microgaming Announces Lord of the Rings Licensing Deal
Microgaming - Captain Cooks Casino loosing some ground to Casino Splendido and Roxy Palace in Asia Pacific region, as Captain Cooks doesn't have Hellboy slot
Reality TV - iGaming connection: PartyCasino signs up Phil Tufnell to front campaign
Bingo: PartyBingo, Foxy Bingo and Virgin Bingo continue to enjoy growth
Table games likely to become more popular online as new technology is released
Jackpots - PartyCasino's "The Big One" Jackpot rises in popularity however Marvel Hero Jackpot and Gold Mega Jackpot games preferred by many
PokerStars remains world's most popular online poker website but PartyGaming's PartyPoker making ground
Noble Casino gets a boost with $4000 player bonus and Incredible Hulk and Iron-Man slots
Thor movie sees Marvel themed online slot games remain some of world's most popular; Spider-Man, Captain America and The Hulk also likely to get boost from Marvel movie headlines
NextGen Gaming: Andre The Giant and pro wrestling themed slot game rumors continue
Wrestling News: Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to feature on new American Gaming News and American Casino News website portals; Flair keen to build on NC Education Lottery deal and Hogan open to boosting igaming business following Hulkamania slot
Hitwise rankings get cred with industry, players and potential advertisers
Google organic search results more credible with players and industry than sponsored and paid listings; Google continues to react well to new, fresh and unique content
Apple keen to build upon mobile gaming and gambling success; Cleo game may be path forward
Social networking websites continue to play increased role in igaming business
UFC sports betting battle heats up between PartyBets and BetUS; as PartyGaming continues talkers with bwin
City Of Dreams Macau makes impressive comeback; Bottom link and visitor numbers up
Crown Casino, Melbourne, Australia continues to come down hard on criminals and bad behavior; Assisting police efforts in cracking criminals
Tabcorp Holdings bottom line results not impressive with 1% profit increase from last year; May revamp its Gold Coast based Conrad Jupiters casino, following Sydney's Star City Casino renovation
Casino Legal - Australian Productivity Commission due to release details of gaming report this month
Casino Legal - Harrah’s Entertainment and PartyGaming leading the way in U.S lobbying
"Casino Jack" movie documentary has industry on edge and Yankee and Aussie politicians concerned
World Casino Directory format remains popular with players, industry and portal developers
Multi currency casino format a winner with punters
Macau's casino sector enjoys boost while Las Vegas Strip still hurting
Las Vegas industry and politics continue to investigate ways to see comeback to Vegas
Events - iGaming Business to return to Sydney, Australia this March
Community News - Media Man assists Virgin Unite; Calvin Ayre shows awesome leadership in Haiti relief effort and James Packer Crown Casino king plays it forward to UNICEF
HollywoodSlotGames.com to do cross promos with American Gaming News and American Casino News websites
Media Man launches more website portals: American Gaming News; American Casino News and Media Man Asia
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Global Gaming Directory.net
Australian Casino News
American Gaming News
American Casino News
Bingo News Media
Virtual Worlds Media
Poker News Media
Cleopatra Slot News
Casino Travel Media
Multi Currency Casino
2/7/10
PartyGaming jumps after sales surge, by Greg Tingle - 6th February 2010
Investors in PartyGaming which owns the PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBingo.com World Poker Tour and other online gambling sites, are celebrating after it said fourth quarter sales surged 32% from the year before and it remains confident about the full year outlook.
PartyGaming is the world's leading online gaming and igaming company, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was established in 1997.
The company has a number of awards and commendations to its name including from eGaming Review, Poker News Daily and Casino News Media.
The writer has a b2b relationship with a number of PartyGaming brands, as they do with dozens of companies in the igaming, gaming, entertainment and media sector.
Websites
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
World Poker Tour
Profiles
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
World Poker Tour
PartyGaming
News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Poker News
Bingo News
Betting News
Global Gaming News
PartyCasino.com News
PartyGaming News
Website Network
Media Man
Media Man International
Global Gaming Directory
Global Gaming Directory.net
Party Casino News
Australian Casino News
American Gaming News
American Casino News
Poker News Media
Casino News Media
PartyGaming is the world's leading online gaming and igaming company, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was established in 1997.
The company has a number of awards and commendations to its name including from eGaming Review, Poker News Daily and Casino News Media.
The writer has a b2b relationship with a number of PartyGaming brands, as they do with dozens of companies in the igaming, gaming, entertainment and media sector.
Websites
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
World Poker Tour
Profiles
PartyCasino.com
PartyPoker.com
PartyBingo.com
PartyBets.com
World Poker Tour
PartyGaming
News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Poker News
Bingo News
Betting News
Global Gaming News
PartyCasino.com News
PartyGaming News
Website Network
Media Man
Media Man International
Global Gaming Directory
Global Gaming Directory.net
Party Casino News
Australian Casino News
American Gaming News
American Casino News
Poker News Media
Casino News Media
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