With the Black Friday and Blue Money indictments and everything that has followed, you might think that online gambling is dead in the United States. At the very least, no one is going to look to expand their business in America until laws are changed. Well, if you thought that, you would be wrong.

There were recently two big deals in the online gambling industry. In one, Playtech reached a deal that will cut them in on the online poker market in California, if it ever is created. The state has picked a company called SciPlay to provide the software for the online poker room that will be launched if the state gets approval from the federal government. Playtech recently began a joint venture with SciPlay, which cuts them into the potential California market.

888, a UK online casino, is now looking at the other major market that is most likely to happen in the U.S.: Nevada. It has been announced that 888 is in discussions with Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The deal, if reached, would give 888 access to the online poker market through Caesars’ gambling license. Caesars in return would get 888’s online poker software.

The 888 deal is not yet complete but is said to be in the “advanced stages.” In any case, that and the Playtech deal are signs that foreign online gambling companies are not giving up on America. There is still a chance that regulation, either at a federal or state level, could come soon and if it happens, the companies want to be ready to take advantage of the large customer base.

Today the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved of a deal between Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah’s) and 888 Holdings, a provider of online gambling overseas. Nevada’s Foreign Gaming Act requires the board to investigate and approve of any Nevada gambling companies that conduct business with companies outside the country. Since 888 is an international company based overseas, the board had to look into the deal and see if it would impact Nevada residents.

Prior to the passage of UIGEA in 2006, 888 accepted wagers from U.S. customers at their websites. That set off red flags for the NGCB, who needed to determine, among other things, whether the deal would involve Nevada residents with online gambling. In the deal, 888’s independent business-to-business division, Dragonfish, will provide software for Caesars to operate online gambling websites in the UK. Those websites would only be available to UK citizens and Americans would be banned.

After a two-week investigation, the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved the deal. This is the first time the Foreign Gaming Act has been used to determine the suitability of a business deal between a Nevada gambling company and an online gambling company. Back in 2007, the Nevada Gaming Control Board investigated the suitability of Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho partnering with the MGM Mirage for shared ownership of the MGM Grand Macau. In that instance, they also found the partnership suitable. 888 Holdings us a public limited company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The news has not had any discernable effect on the stock, however, with shares dropping slightly today.

The rumors that Ladbrokes will acquire competitor 888 now have more credibility. 888 has confirmed that they are currently engaging in talks with Ladbrokes about a possible takeover. Since that remark, shares in 888 have risen by 24%.

Though sources say that the talks are at an early stage, the Sunday Telegraph reported that Ladbrokes was proposing purchasing 888 for a bid of 70 pence per share, a value of approximately £240 million. Ladbrokes is the largest bookmaker in the United Kingdom and has a strong presence online and in physical betting shops. By purchasing the online casino 888.com, Ladbrokes would strengthen their company by offering two big parts of the online gambling market. The two companies combined would have a yearly revenue of approximately £350 million.

Though shareholders are excited by this news, it’s far from a done deal. Four years ago, Ladbrokes considered buying 888, but the deal fell through. One of the reasons given for the takeover never happening was concern that the U.S. Department of Justice could prosecute 888 for accepting American online gamblers prior to the passage of the UIGEA in 2006.

Though accepting U.S. customers before 2006 was certainly not a crime, that hasn’t stopped the Justice Department from shaking down offenders of this imaginary crime. To avoid possible prosecution, PartyGaming and Sportingbet both reached deals with the DOJ where they paid millions to achieve immunity from prosecution (ironically, despite shaking down those companies, the DOJ claims to be the maintainer of law and order who goes after organized crime and corruption). Since 888 hasn’t paid off the feds, some still worry about whether fear of prosecution will once again nix the deal.

When MTV first launched in 1981, it was a station devoted to playing music videos by hot and up-and-coming artists. Then the station, whose acronym used to mean Music Television, became nothing but a mindless pop culture channel, more likely to have a show about annoying teenagers or a dating show than actually have any music. Now they are evolving again, as the network enters the online gambling market.

Though they started in the U.S., MTV is now global. The UK and Ireland branches of the network now have signed a deal with 888.com to bring an MTV-brand online casino to the people. The deal is a clear move to attract a younger audience to the online gambling market, since people of a certain age would once do anything that MTV says is cool. Therefore, 888 is hoping to use MTV’s influence to bring youth to a new site to play online bingo.

Yes, you read that correctly. They are tapping MTV’s influence on younger demographics for an online bingo site. What, no pinochle? An MTV online poker room sounds like a great marketing idea, but to me MTV doesn’t really scream bingo. I can picture the old, cool MTV trashing a bingo hall. I can see Dan Cortese or Adam Sandler wrecking a bingo hall and tearing up the place, making fun of everyone there. Somehow I can’t imagine Daisy Fuentes standing by a pool in Cancun telling the Spring Breakers that once they check into their hotel room for the night, they should log onto an online bingo site.

I know that MTV lost their edge a long time ago and they lost most people’s respect when their lone music video show, TRL, played only parts of songs while fans talked over them by giving shout-outs. Still, it hurts me to see MTV like this. I realize that it’s been a long time since anyone has said “I want my MTV,” but are they so out of it that they’re sponsoring bingo?

To be fair, bingo is more popular among young crowds than it once was, especially online bingo. The online casino is trying to increase that trend, bringing more youth to the game. It’s a risky move, though. Selling a cooler game, like poker or blackjack, would be an easier trick for them and MTV.

The MTV online bingo website will launch in August and will be promoted on MTV’s channels and websites in the UK and Ireland. If this had happened 20 years ago, you could almost guarantee success, but today when MTV does something, does anyone really care? I doubt it, but maybe if the bingo hall offers “money for nothing and chicks for free” we can have this discussion again.

Earlier in the week, 888 struck a deal with American casino Harrah’s in a move that could pay huge dividends for the online casino. 888.com’s business-to-business arm, Dragonfish, signed a deal with Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the online casino version of Harrah’s popular Las Vegas casino. Harrah’s online casino currently only serves customers outside the United States, due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which is under threat to be repealed by bills in both the House and Senate.

In the deal, 888 will provide game software, e-payment services and customer support to Harrah’s. The deal, though, has much larger implications. If UIGEA is repealed, as many expect, then that will open a new market for online casinos in the United States. The bills that would repeal the law, however, also contain provisions that would limit gambling licenses to casinos that pay taxes to the American federal government, which would not include foreign operators. There is still a chance the provisions could be stricken from the bills, but many are worried that America will not allow overseas online casinos to do business in the American market. By signing this deal with the huge American casino, 888 increases the likelihood that they could be given a license to provide services to American customers.

There is still a lot of work to be done (such as repealing UIGEA), 888’s deal has kind of lit the charcoal that could stoke the flames of change in the U.S. With overseas online casinos signing deals with American casinos, the push to legalize and legitimize online gambling in America seems stronger than ever.

The economy has been in the crapper for quite a while now. Still, it’s hard to fathom how an industry whose customers continually pump quarters into slot machines without a true expectation of return on that money can claim hardship. I understand that people are spending less money gambling online, but let’s be real…online gambling is a can’t lose industry for those that are successful. That being said, 888 Holdings Plc, the second-largest U. K. online gambling company is predicting further growth in the coming months.

Gigi Levy, Chief Executive Officer of 888 said, “We feel a lot more confident in the industry’s going back to its normal growth trend, rather than continuing to be hurt by the recession. We’re looking at Q1 as the lowest point and aiming to grow from there.”

This recession is the worst since World War II, which coming from a British person is pretty terrible when you consider that Great Britain was pretty much obliterated. 888’s second quarter income saw a decline of 12 percent and an 8 percent slump in active online casino and poker players. Amidst the financial turmoil, 88 is taking an aggressive stance and seeking out joint ventures, having secured over twenty contracts with other companies, state owned lotteries, television stations and other media outlets.

888 is also interested in the ladies…their money that is. They are seeking to acquire or develop their own online gambling games geared towards women. Online bingo seems to be the big attraction for girls these days and Levy confirmed this will be their focus.

According to the UK’s Sunday Times, PartyGaming has agreed to a deal to purchase online bingo giant Cashcade. The deal, which would be officially announced within the next two days, is reportedly worth £100 million, with an initial £75 million in guaranteed money and up to £25 million depending on how the bingo site fares in 2009 and 2010. The expectations are that the site will fare very well, since Cashcade is the UK’s number-one online bingo site in terms of number of players.

Cashcade is owner of popular online bingo companies Foxy Bingo, Mirror Bingo and Cheeky Bingo. Cashcade’s companies make up 23% of the online bingo market share, making them a popular, though pricey, company for acquisition after they announced they were for sale earlier in the year.

Until it is officially announced, though, and the contract is signed, no one should assume anything. After all, until last week everyone assumed online casino 888.com was going to buy Cashcade, but they pulled out of the bidding war when the stakes got too high. And as for the Sunday Times‘ reporting, I have no experience with the newspaper to know how credible they are, but the likes of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather have led to a general distrust of the media. Of course, we want you to know that you can trust us nice folks at GamblingReview. We’re different. In any case, the deal is said to be announced within the next two days and GamblingReview will update you when it happens.

Gigi Levy, the CEO of online casino 888.com, has announced that they will not buy Cashcade, a popular UK online bingo firm. The two parties have been in negotiations for the past three months, but according to Levy, the deal fell through because the price tag was too high. There has been speculation that no deal was made due to a lack of settlement between 888.com and the US government. Levy denies this claim, stating that they had enough bank financing to get the deal done but “we just didn’t want to pay the price they were asking for.”

 888 was believed to be the front-runner in the Cashcade bidding war, but with them out of the picture, PartyGaming and an undisclosed company will continue bidding for the firm. According to Levy, those companies “are more interested in it and are willing to pay more for it.”

 888 may have decided against purchasing Cashcade, but they will still carry their games despite a change in ownership. Gashcade, the parent company of Foxy Bingo, has a binding contract with 888 that will keep their games on Globalcom Limited, which was bought by 888 in 2007, for at least the next two years.

 Unlike competitors PartyGaming and Sportingbet, 888 has not settled with the US government regarding activities that took place, now considered illegal, before the passing the the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). By settling, the companies gained immunity from prosecution of pre-UIGEA offenses. There has been speculation that a lack of a settlement would hinder 888’s ability to purchase Cashcade, but that has been denied by Levy.

888.com, the online casino based in the British territory of Gibraltar, plans to revamp their casino to create a new three-dimensional experience. The website wants to add more eye candy to the games, making it a more interesting gaming experience. The changes are scheduled to take effect in the fall and are a response to a decrease in revenue likely caused by the global recession and the United States federal government’s recent abuse of power by freezing funds to be paid out to winning players.

The reworked model, which will include games like blackjack and roulette, is expected to increase the overall aesthetics of the online gaming experience. If all goes well, 888 plans to offer 3-D updates to third parties for whom they’ve supplied software. 

In an age when the entertainment industry has to pull out all stops to attract an increasingly stingy public, 3-D has been the new big thing. Movies like My Bloody Valentine have proven that you really have never fully appreciated a decapitation scene until you’ve seen it in 3-D (For that matter, the same goes for the movie’s nude scenes). The umpteenth version of Journey to the Center of the Earth, however, taught the world that a lame story in 3-D is still a lame story. More and more websites are also going 3-D, which should eventually become the norm in the online casino industry. Why have the screen show a flat image of a few cards when you can recreate an entire casino environment? It seems clear that 3-D is the way of the future. I only hope that Dan Brown doesn’t start writing pop-up books. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me. That attention whore.