Yesterday we ran a story about the government’s invasion of an Internet Cafe in Ocala Florida where owners were accused of running an illegal online gambling operation. A similar raid took place Sunday in Murray, Utah where police arrested about employees and customers alike totalling almost 50 “evil” online gamblers being thrown in the clink.

Similar in nature to the raid on the Ocala Internet cafe, police in Murray suspected the Fortune Cyber Cafe to be involved in illegal online gambling operations after a months-long investigation. Allegedly, customers of the cafe, routinely participated in playing online slots, Keno and poker. Customers would purchase a card that when used on the computer would allow them access to online gambling.

“We want to keep customers out of their business and let customers realize that if they do go to a business like this, they will be arrested for it.” said Kenny Bass, a Murray Police Detective.

There are some people who hate freedom, like Kelly Brachs who observed the arrests. “At least in this case there were some people who will have to pay the price for running an illegal gambling operation,” she said, “Most of the time the cops just seize all the gambling paraphernalia and do not arrest anyone.”

Ms.Brachs has hit the nail right on the head. Thank God the police took these dangerous online gamblers off of the streets- errr… out of the Internet cafes where they lurk and… not bother anybody? If anything, I can’t believe this doesn’t bother people that tax dollars go to process, prosecute and incarcerate people for playing a game online. No matter how you look at this palindrome of police-state political grandstanding, it signals to a far scarier future. How long is it before police are out of the Internet cafes and into American homes? Big brother is out there and he is not a fan of online gambling…unless he gets taxes from it, then it’s not evil, but it’s an evil scary game when it’s not taxed. Then it’s dangerous!

There are a lot of things my Grandma Schrute taught me. She taught me to stay in school, work hard and do my best, and she taught me that turtle-neck sweaters look funny if you have a giant goiter. Poor Grandma has a thyroid problem. She also taught me, though, that you should always be grateful for what you have and never ashamed when someone else has more.

High roller tournaments get a lot of ink because, let’s face it, they’re sexy. There is a lot of money paid out and the players are wearing and driving things the average person envies. Part of the appeal of the high roller tournaments, though, is the exclusivity. Not anyone can join. But that’s also part of the problem. Don’t worry, though, Online Vegas Casino has plenty of low roller tournaments that low-income stiffs like me can join. Never mind those high rollers. As Grandma Schrute would say, be happy you don’t have to stand in a bread line all day. Poor Grandma had it tough during the Great Depression.

Online Vegas has various tournaments that have an entry fee of $2 or less. The Frugal Fridays tournament has an entry fee and rebuy of $1.49. The last Frugal Friday of the month is this Friday, September 25, and it has a $1,000 guaranteed prize pool. The game featured in that tournament is the online slot called Doctor Love.

For really low rollers, there is the $750 Bonus Bucks tournament, which runs from Mondays through Thursdays. The entry fee for this tournament is a miniscule $0.50 and the rebuy is only $1.50. The bonus bucks that are given away from the prize pool are loyalty points. The tournament features a variety of online slots, such as Wheel of Chance and Solomon’s Mines.

In addition, every night at 8:00 PM, the casino has video poker tournaments. The entry fee is only $0.99, and unlike a McDonald’s Dollar Menu item, playing in the tournament probably won’t leave you dyspeptic and wishing you had spent more for something better. The tournament will be played on the video poker game Mega Multi Hand until September 27, when it will instead feature 2-4 Hand Deuces Wild. To play in the low roller tournaments, be sure to visit Online Vegas Casino today.

You have to respect Titan Poker for going all out on their online promotions and their latest, European Championship of Online Poker V (ECOOP V) is no exception. The tournament will feature $4.55 million in prizes divided between 14 separate events. There are flavors for every online poker aficionado to delight in including Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, Turbo, Six-Max and Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

Players from around the world have come to Europe’s largest online poker room to scrap for the big ECOOP prize money since it began in December of 2007. Since the ECOOP began, the prizes have significantly increased, beginning at a whopping $2.5 million in prizes and now up to a cool $4.55 million, it’s unbelievable to think of what Titan could do to up the prize pool further.

Satellites begin on September 21^st when online poker players can compete to win seats at ECOOP V. The Titan Poker online lobby promises to be fully updated with tournament types, times and buy-ins.

Day 1 of the tournament gives online No Limit Hold’em players the spotlight offering a $200+$15 buy-in with $250,000 in guaranteed prizes. Online Stud players can hop on the bandwagon for Limit 7 Card Stud with buy-ins starting at $250+$18. After a couple more days of Hold’em, days five and six showcase Omaha with a Pot Limit Hi/Lo tournament that drops $100,000 in prize money for $100+$9 buy-in.

The crown jewel of the tournament is the $1,500+$80 main event taking place on December 6, featuring $1.5 million in guaranteed prizes. With events running from November 23 through December 6, there is plenty of time to get caught up in the high stakes online poker tournament action.

Well, folks, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is under fire yet again. The man governing what may be the most corrupt state in the Union (though some may say it’s Illinois) is now being attacked by his Republican gubernatorial opponent over ties to an Atlantic City casino.

It was recently revealed that Corzine holds shares in a private hedge fund for Texas Pacific Group, a company that bought Harrah’s Entertainment (and thus, Harrah’s Casino) in 2006. State law prohibits elected officials from having financial ties with casinos. Corzine’s opponent, Christopher Christie, says that it is “shocking and reveals a colossal error in judgement that appears to be in violation of the law under the Casino Control Act.” Another Republican, Senator Joe Kyrllos, said the investment was “at best a conflict of interest and at worst a violation of the law.”

Corzine, as you might imagine, sees things differently. His chief counsel, William Castner, released a memo that read “no objective or authoritative source armed with the background and details of the Governor’s interest in TPG-Axon hedge fund can conclude that there is a ‘question’ that Governor Corzine has touched upon any statutory, regulatory or ethical guidelines or restrictions governing casino interests or even has come ‘close to the line’ on those guidelines.” Sean Darcy, a campaign spokesman for Corzine, said that the governor “does not own casino stock. None of his investments are managed by anyone who has a casino license.”

Christie, as you might imagine, is unconvinced. “In the interest of transparency,” he said, “Governor Corzine must reveal exactly how much money he has invested in TPG, precisely how much money he has personally made from his casino investment, and then he should immediately divest the funds.”

Corzine’s financial disclosure statements stated that he had earned an interest income of at least $700,000 from the hedge fund since 2006. At this time it’s unclear whether Christie is playing politics or whether there is substance to the accusation. Given New Jersey’s recent corruption scandal, though, many are unwilling to give Corzine the benefit of the doubt.

Internet cafes have become the backroom speakeasys of today’s online gambling world. Gone are the days where gambling took place in backrooms and attics of convenience stores and bars. Today, Internet cafes provide such a service for online gamblers looking for a safe place and a remote IP address.

In Florida Internet cafes have become a big “problem” for authorities looking to eradicate online gambling. To keep these scoundrels in check, police have been raiding these establishments and smoking these criminals out from the shadows in which they hide. The latest of these raids went down in Ocala, FL at the Internet Express Cafe on Thursday.

Marion County’s Judge Cochran said, “Folks would come off the streets, give the worker inside some money. They would get a card, and then use that card to gamble, that constitutes illegal gambling in the eyes of the law.”

During the online gambling raid, the employee running the cafe was arrested and charged with being an agent of a gambling house. While the owner has yet to be arrested, he is wanted by police.

“All these cafes are doing is allowing people a safe place where they can go enjoy some time with their friends,” Barry Hall said, “The amount of gambling taking place is minimal compared to the enjoyment these patrons are receiving while at the cafe.”

Perhaps its the smell of the legalization of online gambling in the US that has wet big government’s appetite to take one last bite out of the buffet of online gambling seized funds. Or maybe it’s that lust for power that Uncle Sam has felt during this current era of spend first, ask later government. More than likely though, it’s the drying up of funds in government coffers that has awakened a beast, hungry for the taste of online casino funds.

The US Attorney’s office in Baltimore, Maryland has juiced up its efforts to seize the money of sinister online gamblers with the Assets Forfeiture and Financial crimes on the lookout for funds acquired from ill-gotten gains. The task force’s focus is to take down mortgage fraud and “other financial criminal cases…more specifically online gambling.

“Seizing and forfeiting ill-gotten gains enables us to take the profit out of crime and use the proceeds to compensate victims,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. This new unit will work with federal authorities and with state and local officials on a wide range of cases in which federal forfeiture and money laundering statutes can help punish and deter crime. Federal laws allow us to pursue forfeiture of assets for many crimes, including mortgage fraud. Assets subject to forfeiture may include the fruits of crime – such as homes and vehicles purchased with criminal proceeds- and also the instrumentalities of crime – such as computers, vehicles and real estate used by criminals.”

The task force aims primarily at online payment companies that do business with online casinos as per the UIGEA stipulations. According to Gambling 911, agents pretended to be potential customers looking to join Golden Casino, a popular online casino. After the agents were told time and time again, that the casino did not accept US customers, one customer service representative allowed the agent access. The “investigation” also included the entrapment of small banks who were ultimately convinced that it was legal under US law to permit US customers.

If nothing else, this shows what lengths the government will go to in hopes of extorting raising more money for their programs. Despite these companies having excellent reputations and executing policies that abide by US laws, they set up these companies for failure, preying on their weakest link. It would be one thing if these companies signed up anybody who called, that would be a blatant violation of the law, but the fact that they try over and over to find one person to screw up and then pretend that online casino companies are criminal?

There are many things I like about the Mayan culture. They are responsible for beautiful architecture, beautiful women, beautiful carvings and other art. Let’s face it, even Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto was beautiful in a graphic, barbaric kind of way. For that reason, I’m thrilled that Real Time Gaming has released the new online slot called Mayan Queen.

The Mayan Queen online slot has a jungle background and symbols of Mayan jewelery, leopards, pottery, treasure and more. The game is a 25-payline slot with a maximum jackpot of $150,000. Bets can be made in denominations from a penny to $5.

The emerald is the scatter symbol, depending on its placement, it can trigger free spins or a multiplication of the payout amount by up to 500 times the bet. The queen herself is a wild symbol, which can stand for any symbol except the scatter symbol. When the queen appears, she takes up the entire reel and raises her scepter in a unique animation.

I have to admit that when I saw the press release for this slot, I got really excited thinking of the African Queen, which is one of my favorite Humphrey Bogart movies. A game about a Mayan queen is almost as good, though. Come to think of it, I think I need to call up RTG and suggest an African Queen game. Bogart and Hepburn immortalized in an online slot? Sounds good to me!

Mayan Queen is available at all of Real Time Gaming’s online casinos, including Cherry Red, Rushmore Casino and Slots Oasis. To get your game on, visit one of RTG’s online casinos today.

You know how those kids who were always picked on by the bullies ended up being the smart, successful people in life while the bullies spend their time in prison, working at a convenience store, or both? Well, I think those crafty Ukranians can fit in the former category. Ukraine is best known for constantly getting its head dunked in the toilet by the bully Russia, but all of that time being victimized has helped them learn some ingenuity and resilience.

Faced with a ban on gambling, Ukranian businesses got creative. Internet clubs have recently sprung up all over the place. In these clubs, people pay for club for access to a computer. They then play multiple gambling games online. When their money runs out, they pay the club for more. The servers for the websites they are visiting are offshore and thus, not affected by the Ukranian ban. By all accounts, unless the Ukraine decides to ban online gambling, this circumvention of the gambling ban is completely legal.

Even so, it is expected that these internet clubs will have some legal battles in their future. Legislation may outlaw online gambling or may come up with certain restrictions for it. A higher priority, though, is shutting down some casinos that are still operating illegally in the country. For now, however, Ukranians are enjoying their online gambling thanks to the loophole in the ban. Good job, Ukraine. I knew you would turn out okay, no matter what that mean Russia said about you.

The exclusively Swedish Svenskabingo.com has quickly become a well-recognized site on the Swedish Bingo community’s radar. However, the online bingo market is still dominated by other sites like Svenska Spel, Jackpot Joy and Ladbrokes to name a few. Svenska is hoping to change all of that with a new television ad campaign.

The ads target Swedish online bingo players, focusing on the idea of Svenskabingo being a bingo site created just for them. Like the online bingo’s site, the ads themselves are a colorful mix of live action and animation and emphasizes the social aspect of the all-Swedish language site.

Thomas Pedersen, Manager of Svenska Bingo, said of the campaign that he “hopes that the advert will cement Svenskabingo’s position at the forefront of the online gaming market in Sweden, and bring attention to our attempt to offer a targeted alternative to the imported multi-national bingo sites which make up a large proportion of the net bingo available to Swedish speakers.”

When the site launched in April, then Manager of Svenskabingo, Philippa Hellberg said, “Our goal is to create a safe, trustworthy yet highly entertaining environment for all our players. We are passionate about bingo and aim to make Svenska Bingo one of Sweden’s most popular bingo sites.”

She also urged Swedish affiliate marketers to get in on the action and promote the site, “We have an excellent and very generous affiliate programme and our affiliate software is excellent and built specially for the Virtue Fusion platform. We are confident we can beat any deal in the Swedish market.”

What can I say? It’s a slow news day.

The world’s top executives from the online gambling industry have descended on the Bella Centre in Copenhagen for The European i-Gaming Congress and Expo. On the second day of the expo, the top brass of seven of the industry’s biggest online gambling companies gathered for a panel discussion and weighed in on the future of the online gambling industry.

The panel, a who’s who of the online gambling world, 888.com CEO GiGi Levy, Petter Nylander of Unibet, Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger, Betfair’s David Yu, Ladbrokes’ Ed Andrewes, Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan and William Hill’s Henry Birch.

Mr. Levy was particularly optimistic about online gambling industry’s future, mentioning that only 8% of the $350 billion online gambling industry comes from online activities and that there is plenty of room to grow. Still, he did seem somewhat reserved about the new regulations facing the European market. “Regulation, and in particular the recent ECJ verdict, is the big thing facing us,” said Levy. “It is the one thing that could change the industry altogether on the European side.”

Norbert Teufelberger, Bwin head honcho and man with my favorite name ever, though admitting the ECJ ruling was not a help to his company, took the high road and had some positive things to say about European regulation of online gambling. “This will benefit local operators too, and will create3 a very tough time for the pirates.”

CEO of PartyGaming, Jim Ryan maintained that the recent Harrah’s deal would not be the last of inked deals in the USA and that he was sure his company would be back in the US in one form or another eventually. In fact, all present are currently looking for ways to include the US market in their future plans.

In fact, Betfair is super busy in the states with their hores racing deal with TVG. David Yu made it clear that Betfair approaches the legalities in the US conservatively and with caution, but added that the demand was definitely present in the American market. Rumor has it, in continuation of their recent marketing strategies, they will be launching an aggressive Happy Meal campaign with McDonald’s that is in no way aimed at minors featuring toys like “play fake-ids,” Pokey the Poker Player and Rolly the Roulette Wheel action figures and Betty BetFair dolls for girls women.*

While the industry as a whole seems confident in the future of US online gambling, they seem divided over the Asian market. Jim Ryan mentioned that Party Gaming will be steering efforts away from the Asian market while Bwin is continuing to invest in the possibility of a regulated online gambling market.

* I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Relax Betfair lovers. That Happy Meal thing is completely false and untrue. I think they’re working with Wendy’s.