If you still have some cash to spare and are thinking to invest it, think about buying stocks in the online gambling sector.  Believe it or not they are doing better than land-based casino stocks.  Despite the online gambling companies’ stocks falling in 2006 in the US and the stock market fiasco earlier this year, there has now been a terrific turnaround and the prediction  is that these stocks are worth investing in.

Despite valiant efforts by Republican Barney Frank to overturn the UIGEA bill and make the internet gambling industry legally regulated in the US, it appears that the Treasury Department of the Bush administration have been drafting their own regulations and are hurrying to get them implemented while the Bush administration is still in force.  In effect their implementation would ban online gambling in the US, the only exemptions being horse race betting, interstate online lotteries and betting on fantasy sports.

Many online bingo sites in the UK are allowing online bingo players to bet on who will be the next US president.   Obama seems to have a good lead, but to be honest it’s anybody’s guess who will be voted in.  Obama has remained uncommitted regarding his stand on online gambling (online bingo, casino, poker or sportsbetting, whilst McCain appears to be sympathetic to the issues.

Bermuda is envious of Antigua, Barbuda and Costa Rica making so much money from online gambling so the  government is looking into the possibility of going into the market.  Not only are online casinos being considered, but also casinos may be allowed to open on the island.    Premier Ewart Brown said that they are preparing a feasibility study on gaming in general to see what the possibilities may be.

The Australian government’s plans to censor online gambling and porn websites will put users’ freedoms at risk says the internet users’ lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA).  Their spokesman Dale Clapperton said that “Any group with an axe to grind and political clout will be lobbying the Government to blacklist websites which they object to”.   Definitely sounds like the Kentucky situation to me.

A new proposal by Clubs Australia is for family members to have the support of gambling officers in order to assist with a problem gambler in the family.  If the plan goes ahead, problem gamblers would not be allowed further access to clubs until they received the necessary counseling.  It seems a good idea, but what might happen to a child at home who asks for help for one of his parents?

A national UK newspaper has reported that 25% more people are asking for help with their gambling problems and the cause is believed to be the government’s relaxation of rules on bookmakers and casinos advertising.  The Mail On Sunday says that nearly 38,000 people called a betting addiction hotline in 2007 compared to just over 30,000 in 2006.

The online gambling news website Online Casino Advisory is calling for “…a boycott by all gamblers, civil libertarians, and concerned protectors of the Internet of all products of Kentucky, or anything that produces Kentucky tax revenue.  Until governor Steve Beshear lifts his fascist order, every effort must be made to hurt the state’s coffers.”   What next?

Lawrence Anderson at Online Casino Advisory has said that we must find a solution to problem gambling instead of just highlighting it to the public with horror stories of the problems that gamblers have.    He says studies have shown that problem gambling, like alcohol abuse or drug problems, may be caused by a defect.

Playing online bingo at bet365 will give you a chance to win two tickets to see Sir Elton John on his 2008 Red Piano Tour in Paris.  Bet365 is the 16th largest private company in the UK and employs over 800 people.  The site boasts over 2 million players in 140 different countries so at this moment the lucky winner of the tickets could be absolutely anywhere in the world.