Germany
Following the U.S.’s recent passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, Germany’s federal states are in deliberations over banning Internet gambling within the country. Although the European Gambling Commission is encouraging a European gambling market, German state ministers have opposed new regulations targeted at protecting their extensive monopoly as lottery operators. Three German states, including Saxony, placed a ban on commercial betting earlier this year. An Austrian Internet betting firm, bwin.com, the country’s largest commercial bookmaker, was the target of the ban. Government regulators in the U.S. and Europe have already scrutinized win and its competitors in an effort to stop Internet gambling to protect their citizens and state-run lotteries. If the German states do ban Internet gambling, it is reported that such private firms as Tipp24 and Fluxx would have a one-year transitional grace period to adjust to the new regulations.
Puerto Rico
Non-smoking gaming enthusiasts will be able to breathe a deeper sigh of relief this year, as smoking bans become effective in Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and Hawaii. Beginning in March, Puerto Rico’s “Clean Air Act,” which some believe to be the strictest in the Caribbean, will prohibit puffers from lighting up in bars, restaurants, casinos, open-air terraces, outdoor bars, as well as in private cars carrying children under 13. In light of the recent report from the U.S. Surgeon General declaring secondhand smoke as dangerous and harmful to one’s health, it is no surprise that Puerto Rico, along with other countries and states worldwide, has begun to take action against the cancer-inducing fog that tobacco smoke creates. Although smokers and tobacco enthusiasts will surely be disappointed they can no longer light up their preferred blend while playing their favorite slot or table game, there will surely be no complaints about the fresher air and the sweet smell of Tropicana breeze.
Washington, D.C.
The Swinomish Indian tribal community and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) have reached an important settlement agreement to resolve an NIGC investigation into accounting practices and tribal regulatory oversight of management personnel at the Swinomish Tribe’s Northern Lights Casino in Anacortes, Wash. The NIGC investigation was initiated after the Swinomish Tribe failed to meet the deadline to provide the NIGC with its gaming facility’s annual audit report for FY 2005, when NIGC learned that certain internal accounting and regulatory issues were preventing the tribe from completing its audit report. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and NIGC regulations require annual audits from all gaming operations, and the NIGC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) for the tribe’s failure to submit the report by the applicable deadline. In addition, NIGC conducted an investigation into the underlying causes of the late report, and found several problems with the manner in which casino management applied revenues that should have been going to the tribe. The settlement agreement ensures that the tribe will take appropriate licensing actions with regard to the individual casino managers, and will put into place certain regulations and policies that will prevent these types of issues in the future.
Upon signing the agreement, Chair Hogen stated: “This settlement agreement addresses serious issues that allowed a misapplication of tribal gaming revenues and placed future revenue in jeopardy because of actions of individuals and the deficiency of controls to protect those assets.”
The NOV and the settlement agreement can be viewed by visiting www.nigc.gov and clicking the links to Reading Room and Enforcement Actions.