Yesterday, Ireland’s Minister of Finance released a budget that confirmed something long speculated: The Irish government intends to place a tax on all bookmakers who take bets from Irish citizens, regardless of the location of the bookmaker.

Currently Ireland levies a 1% betting duty on all transactions between Irish citizens and Irish bookmakers located within the borders of the Emerald Isle. Bets placed online or via telephone with foreign bookmakers, however, escape that tax. Seeking additional revenue, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan wants to apply the tax to those overseas bookmakers if they conduct transactions with Irish citizens. Betting exchanges are thought to be in the crosshairs as well.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Finance proposed the Annexes to the Summary of 2011 Budget Members. That legislation states that “the government intends to include provisions in the finance bill and revise the Betting Act 1931 to ensure that all bookmakers taking bets from Ireland will pay 1% duty on those bets in the same way that betting shops currently do.”

Adding a tax is the easy part, though. Collecting a tax from foreign-owned and foreign-operated companies that don’t have a physical presence in your country is the tough part. To do so, most likely Ireland would have to create a licensing framework and refuse to allow unlicensed bookmakers to do business with the Irish. Those who become licensed would do so with a contract that includes the 1% tax.

That in itself would also be problematic. Before awarding licenses to overseas bookmakers, the Irish government would have to block or ban all current foreign bookmakers, which would violate the EU’s free trade rules. Minister Lenihan understands the difficulties ahead, but is determined to tax foreign bookmakers at the same rate as their domestic competition. Doing so would even the playing field and bring in additional revenue for the nation.

Right now, most of the Northern Hemisphere is seeing record-breaking cold temperatures, freezing pipes, running up heating bills, keeping people indoors, killing crops and causing all kinds of problems. It’s enough to make you wish that “global warming” was real. Though the aforementioned problems are well known, not many people think of the impact cold weather has on the gambling industry.

For starters, I’m having trouble typing this because my fingers are numb. That is only a minor concern, though. A bigger concern is a loss of revenue. Online betting exchanges make a lot of money on sports like horse racing. With the freezing temperatures, though, many races have been cancelled. That is done both for the protection of the horses (and jockeys) and also because not many people are willing to stand in freezing temperatures to watch a race, anyway.

Betfair, one of the biggest online betting exchanges in the world, has seen a drop of stock value as the weather has hurt their bottom line. CEO David Yu stated that that cold weather has “caused a number of race meeting cancellations, moderating overall growth rates in the quarter to date.”

Of late, Betfair’s stock has dropped by 10%. Since their stock market flotation in October, shares have dropped by 34% overall. Last quarter, revenues were up 27% at Betfair, aided largely by increased betting on the FIFA World Cup.

Horse racing and soccer (or football, depending on where you are) are two of the biggest betting subjects. Though soccer games will still take place in virtually any weather, horse racing can be delayed, postponed or canceled due to bad weather. Keep that in mind when you complain about the cold. If you think it’s ruining your day, think about how the staffs of online betting exchanges feel.

Though sales in their homeland of the Irish Republic have been largely stagnant, Paddy Power has seen an impressive growth overseas. The growing international company has seen a large jump in international revenue and plans to expand the company to take advantage of the successful markets.

While revenue in the Irish Republic saw a slight revenue increase of 9% over the last three months (due to an 8% drop in gambling activity), their international sales have seen dramatic gains. During the same time period, Paddy Power saw a 17% revenue increase in the UK and a jump of 70% in Australia.

Bolstered by their overseas success, the company is expanding to create new jobs in Ireland. Paddy Power is poised to add 500 new jobs in Ireland, most of which will be part of the international online business arm of the company. With the brick and mortar betting shops already a firm presence in the Emerald Isle, the addition of 500 new jobs for online betting should benefit Ireland’s economy. The company has announced plans to hire 1,440 new workers in total internationally.

The international online business has headquarters in West Dublin and that is where most of the new Irish jobs will be located. That is not the end of the planned expansion, though. Paddy Power expects to create an additional 640 jobs in Australia and the UK by the year 2013.

Paddy Power stated that making profits in Ireland has become more challenging, due to the deep recession facing the country. However, they are confident in a local turnaround, in part because of their international business. A spokesman said that “Paddy Power’s rapid international expansion has direct revenue benefits” for Ireland.

It never ceases to amaze me the things people will bet on. It reminds me of movies set on golf courses (major betting hubs) like Tin Cup or Caddy Shack, where the players bet whether or not they can drive the ball a certain distance, whether they can outdrive someone else, whether a put is made and more. I remember a scene where the golf course employees were taking bets on which bugs would get electrocuted by the bug zapper. People will bet on anything. That includes politics, where it is commonplace to bet on whether a politician will win an election, whether a certain bill will pass, whether a certain party will gain control of a chamber and more.

Right now, George Osborne is a major subject of betting at online bookmakers. Osborne, a British Conservative politician, currently serves as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom. That is a cabinet position in charge of all financial and economic matters in the UK. Right now, punters are betting on whether or not he will keep his job.

Yesterday, Osborne released the Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets firm three-year spending limits for all public sectors. In his Spending Review, Osborne made significant cuts to the expenditures of the United Kingdom, as expected. The economic path laid out by the Spending Review will have a large impact on the UK’s recovery from the Great Recession. Therefore, it will also have a large impact on whether or not Osborne keeps his job.

Currently, the bookmakers give him 1/3 odds to remain in his position until the next general election. There are 9/4 odds that he will leave early. Bettors are less optimistic that the coalition government will remain intact. William Hill has placed 1/2 odds on them breaking up before January 2015. The coalition government as formed between David Cameron’s Conservative Party and Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats after the general election failed to give any of the three major parties an overall majority.

If the coalition government does split up, you can bet the bookmakers will have odds on what the new government will look like. Trust me; there are odds for everything.

In case you have been wondering, there are now official odds on the likelihood of Lady Gaga becoming President of the United States. No longer do we have to wonder. Next time someone scoffs and says “What are the odds on that?” you will actually have an answer. The odds are 100/1 that Lady Gaga will at some point in her life become President of the United States, according to bookmaker William Hill.

Novelty betting is nothing new. Any time a few guys get together and are doing some activity, at some point a wager will come up. “What do you want to bet I can hit that target from here?” “I bet you $20 I can get her phone number.” In recent years, proposition betting on novelties has become more popular at online bookmakers. The truth is, people like to bet, and not just on sports and casino games.

While sports betting is still the dominant category at online bookmakers, prop bets on things such as politics and popular culture draw the interest of those who aren’t sports fans. It has become popular to vote on things such as who will win Dancing with the Stars or who will win the Booker Prize for fiction. William Hill allows you to bet on whether or not it will snow on a given day. Almost anything can be bet on with one online bookmaker or another, including Lady Gaga’s odds of becoming POTUS. In case you’re wondering, the odds of Ms. Gaga becoming president in 2012 are 500/1. Barack Obama’s odds are even money, which seems a little optimistic, considering his abysmal approval rating.

You can expect online bookmakers to continue offering novelty bets and possibly adding more and more of them. Many insiders see that as an attempt to target women or others who are not interested in sports.

There is a push to regulate online sports betting in India and it’s coming from an unlikely source: the United Kingdom. India gained their independence from the U.K. back in 1947, but the British crown still has a lot of influence in the country and they are trying to use that influence to legalize and regulate online gambling.

On the heels of a major cricket scandal, where three Pakistani bowlers were caught accepting bribes for a match against England, the U.K. government sees a regulated sports betting industry as being safer than the current prohibition. All forms of online gambling are banned in India.

The U.K.’s sports minister, Hugh Robertson, is in India to represent his government and the Gambling Commission, which oversees all of the online casinos based in the United Kingdom. Robertson will attempt to persuade India to let go of a gambling law that has been in place before the Internet even existed (it was passed in the 1800’s) and regulate the market instead.

This may surprise you, but the U.K. isn’t involving themselves here simply because they care about the Indian citizens who want to place bets online. There is also a self-serving interest at stake. The U.K. feels that if sports betting is regulated in countries where cricket is popular (such as India), the sport will be easier to control and more difficult to be corrupted. The gambling syndicates believed to be behind the cricket bribery scandal are believed to operate out of India.

I find it laughable that the government feels that they can put an end to corruption and that an industry is safer if the government has more control. Considering how corrupt governments – including in the U.K. – are and how many business scandals are caused by governments (and that’s just what we hear about), I’m not convinced. It’s true that if the online betting industry is underground it is more difficult for the government to police it. However, who says having the government doing the regulating makes it safer? I am all for legalizing online gambling, but it should be done in the name of freedom, not so the government can protect the people, since they always fail miserably at that task.

Though online gambling is illegal in India, it is estimated that they have a $250 million-per-year industry. Some of that money is spent on illegal operations in India, but the bulk of it is spent overseas, including in the U.K.

Okay, this much we know about online gambling in South Africa. The North Gauteng High Court says that online casinos are illegal. The Gauteng Gambling Board agrees and plans to have any violators arrested. Many online casinos, such as Piggs Peak, disagree and are appealing the decision. The GGB says that the country’s laws about online gambling are crystal clear while Piggs Peak says that they will resume online gambling operations in the country once the confusion is resolved. So obviously somebody is wrong.

Here’s another interesting variable, though. Online betting is perfectly legal there. As if to confuse things further, today Powerbet Gaming spoke up and reminded the world that their enterprises are completely legal and sanctioned by the government.

Powerbet Gaming released a statement that said that “there is considerable confusion among members of the public, banking institutions and the media regarding the legal position of online gambling and betting in South Africa.” Okay, I definitely agree so far. They then went on to say that the online gambling that is banned is online casino games. However, sports betting and online bookmaking “has been offered legally in South Africa for several years, within a well-established legal framework, and administered by provincial and national boards.”

The reason Powerbet wants to make it clear that online betting is legal in South Africa is that they are the parent company of Voltbet.com, an online betting site that is based in South Africa and licensed by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. According to Powerbet Gaming, there is no legal ban on placing a bet with Voltbet or similar companies.

If you’re confused then that would put you in the majority. To me, the only thing that seems clear is that nothing is really clear. Isn’t government regulation and bureaucracy great?

College students are finding new incentive to make good grades – they can make money. Using monetary reward for getting good grades is nothing new. Parents have been using the “I’ll give you $5 for straight A’s” technique ever since there were report cards. This new system, though, uses online gambling.

Ultrinsic, a website that allows students to bet on their grades, is getting some negative attention from schools and positive attention from the students. According to their website, Ultrinsic “provides incentives to students for academic achievement” and “dedicates itself to motivating students to improve in their grades.”

Here’s how it works: Students create an account with the website and upload transcripts and other proof of their academic history. They then send the website their upcoming class schedule. Based on their academic history, the website calculates odds of the student reaching certain grades. The students choose target grades for their classes and how much money they want to invest. At the end of the semester, the students send in their transcript and if they reached their target grades, they win money.

The website is new – still in beta mode – and has a growing roster that could include 200 universities by the spring. No schools are directly involved, though, and some administrations aren’t too happy about the site. Some say that a quest for knowledge should be its own reward. Others think it’s bad to have students bet money on a target grade, putting more pressure on themselves. Still others believe that use of the website amounts to online gambling, which could make it illegal in the United States.

Everyone agrees that it’s difficult to motivate students and welcomes tools to accomplish that. However, some worry that the site will develop gambling problems in college students. More realistic opponents worry that having money riding on the grades will lead to an increase in cheating.

There is not even an agreement about whether the actions taking place on the website are gambling. Judah Guber, the CEO of Ultrinsic, states that the website is not an online gambling site at all. According to Guber, it’s not gambling because it involves skill. This isn’t students betting money on someone else, as with sports betting. They are putting money on themselves and have the power to affect their own outcome with their skill. If they need an A, they can study, get tutoring, and do other things to accomplish that goal.

So is this website just a supercharged version of your parents giving you a few bucks for getting A’s? You decide.

The Gala Coral Group took to the outdoors for a good cause, raising money for the Sue Ryder Care charity. The Gala Coral Group is an online gambling and land-based gambling company in the UK. They own various online and land-based casinos, bingo halls, and bookmaking companies. They also have a soft spot for charity, as their recent actions suggest.

Last year, the company began a pledge to raise £1 million for the Sue Ryder Care charity. After meeting that goal in 2009, this year the company decided to up the ante, making their target goal £1.5 million. Last weekend, 29 employees from the Gala Coral Group’s subsidiaries got together and took part in the 3 Peaks Challenge, a national mountain-endurance challenge in the UK that has been going on for over 40 years.

In this year’s 3 Peaks Challenge, the employees climbed the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within a 24-hour period. In the process, they raised an additional £30,000, bringing them to a total of £1.2 million so far in 2010 with almost 5 months still to go.

Sue Ryder Care is a charity that provides end-of-life care, long-term neurological care and palliative care for patients. According to their website, every year they provide “4 million hours of care to people living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, stroke and brain injury.”

The CEO of Sue Ryder Care, Paul Woodward, praised the Gala Coral Group, saying that their support helps Sue Ryder Care “maintain provision of care via our health and social services nationwide but to develop and grow so that we can reach out to more people.”

The Gala Coral Group is an entity created by the merging of the Gala Group and Coral Eurobet in 2005. They own nearly 1600 betting offices, 147 bingo clubs, 27 land-based casinos, 2 tracks for dog racing, a phone betting service in the UK and an online gambling business.

Dear China,

China, China, China. I know you’re not all bad. You have good food and your architecture is pretty cool, despite the fact that some of your walls are flimsy and highly flammable. You just can’t seem to get past this whole oppressive authoritarian government thing, though.

Stop living in the past. The results are in from the global experiment on totalitarianism during the early 20^th century. Turns out no one liked it. Nazism? Believed by most casual observers to be the most pure embodiment of evil mankind has ever witnessed. Stalinism? Actually killed more people than Hitler and was more oppressive to the people. It’s currently only viewed favorably by a few crazies around the world. Maoism? Well, you guys in China actually made the Nazis and Bolsheviks look downright kind. Sure, the Soviets starved millions of Ukrainians to death, but the Maoists dwarfed that death toll and it was your own people!

It’s time to move on. You say you’re just doing what’s best for China, but if you actually took an honest poll, you’d be surprised how many people would like to be able to protest without being run over by a tank. You’d be shocked how many people would like to have free access to information, especially a news media that isn’t controlled by you. If you asked about gambling, I can ensure you that you won’t have millions of Chinese saying “Please protect me from spending my money! I know you can be more responsible with my money than I can, so please take it from me. By all means, don’t let me gamble!”

I want to like you, China. President Nixon visited you a while back and said something along the lines of “Hey, you’re not as evil as you used to be; let’s do business.” And it’s true. You’re not as evil as you used to be. You have given up control of the economy to the free market. Now it’s time to embrace other types of freedom, such as freedom of expression, freedom of press, and the freedom to bet on a soccer game without getting sent to prison for a year.

That’s what happened yesterday, China. Don’t think I don’t know it.  You see, we have a (mostly) free press here, so I was able to find stories with headlines such as “China man gets 1 year in prison for online gambling.” I could find it because Google doesn’t censor search results as much here.

So here’s the story as I understand it. Please correct me if I’m wrong, China. A 20-year-old man, Zhao Yah, is a soccer fan. The World Cup was going on, which just so happens to be the biggest sports tournament in the world, despite the fact that your national team didn’t qualify. He decides that since there is such a high demand for sports betting in China, despite the fact that you think it’s a no-no, he will help people bet on the games through a website. You then have him arrested and sentenced to one year in prison plus a 10,000 yuan fine for the “crime” of helping people spend their own money on a fun game that is the most popular in the world. He didn’t even own or run the website, but was only a middle man who collected bets. Did I get that right?

China, I’m glad to see that you gave him a comparatively light sentence (thanks to his cooperation), but I think this can be a teachable moment. You see, if so many people were willing to give him money to bet on the games, maybe that means that your people want legalized online gambling. Maybe you should hear them out.

I hope you take these comments not as insults but as constructive criticism. The truth is, I want to like you, China. Sure, you poison American children with your dangerous toys and support a tyrannical North Korean regime, but I know there is good in you somewhere. You need to let it out. It’s okay. Germany managed to stop being evil a long time ago. Isn’t it time you did, too?

Sincerely,

Jeremy