Gambling law in Alabama may soon change. The state has traditionally been against gambling, but recent events have some people, the residents as well as politicians, reconsidering their position. Electronic bingo machines, which are currently illegal, have sprung up across the state, but so far nothing has been done about it. Governor Robert Riley was frustrated with the fact that the city police and attorney general seemed to look the other way. In response, he formed a Task Force on Illegal Gambling last year.

One of the first actions of the task force was to raid three establishments believed to be housing illegal gambling, which include Country Crossing, VictoryLand and the White Hall Entertainment Center. However, since they did not have a warrant, a judge ordered that the raid be halted. VictoryLand then filed a restraining order. Since then, a warrant has been issued to search the establishments and in response, the businesses have closed indefinitely to avoid being raided.

And that’s where things get tricky. If the businesses are indeed running illegal gambling operations, Riley is well within his rights by going after them, though many in the gambling community see him as an evil anti-gambling activist. The attempted raids and subsequent closings, however, have stirred up controversy in the state and now it seems that the people don’t even agree with the gambling ban anymore.

Once a strong anti-gambling voice, the people of Alabama have seen their state, like the rest of the country, mired in a bad recession. Jobs are scarce and with those businesses shut down, the economy is hurting even more and countless workers are wondering if they still have jobs. As a result, a recent poll by the Christian Coalition shows that 2/3 of the people of Alabama are opposed to Riley’s gambling raids and a poll by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama found that 72% of the people are in favor of regulated gambling in the state and only 25% want gambling outlawed.

In response, Riley’s popularity in the state is falling and state Representative Marcel Black introduced a bill that would allow the voters to decide whether or not to legalize gambling. At this time, shutting down illegal gambling is perfectly constitutional, but doing so could hurt Riley. With thousands of jobs at stake, no one wants to be the guy who made the unemployment situation in Alabama even worse. For that reason, it may be best to let the people vote and see what they decide. In the meantime, do nothing. It may turn Riley’s stomach to turn a blind eye to illegal activity, no matter how harmless, but it may be what’s best for the state, his reputation and that of his party.

Though the global recession is hurting most businesses, there are some that are thriving. Gun and ammunition manufacturers are making a killing due to Americans who fear that a government that is rapidly expanding its power may soon outlaw the sale of firearms. Fast food restaurants with dollar menus are fattening their wallets because consumers can’t afford good food. The chocolate industry has made a sweet profit because chocolate is a comfort food and right now a lot of people need to be comforted. Whatever company provides the paper for the unemployment offices is doing pretty well, too. The point is, though business in general is bad, some companies are still making money.

Count PartyGaming in that category. Between the second and third quarters of the year, PartyGaming, the parent company of PartyCasino, reported a 17% growth in average daily revenue for their online casino operations. At the half-year point, the company saw underlying earnings rise by 34.8%.

The increase in revenue is attributed to an aggressive marketing strategy as well as the launching of 60 new games. That expansion is believed to have added new customers and convinced established customers to stop by the site more often.  The increase in revenue is very welcome news to the company, who is paying $105 million to the US government in a settlement related to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

According to CEO Jim Ryan, though some of their websites have seen losses, PartyCasino has been their biggest earner.  He stated that “Casino has been our star performer and continues to go from strength-to-strength, consolidating our position as the world’s leading online casino.” That is good news indeed. So when you get a stomach ache from eating too much chocolate, log on to PartyCasino and enjoy the new games that have made the online casino profitable.

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.

A recent poll conducted by the betting exchange found that there are two major factors weighing on the minds of internet gamblers, the US government’s freezing of assets back in May and the recession. The fact that the US government overstepped their authority, or what I like to call “doing what the government does best” by seizing funds to be paid out to winning players is a major concern among online players – at least those who know about it. The survey showed that 88% of the players were concerned about the security of their money and 76% moved to different sites as a result. However, only 42% of the players in the United States were aware of the freezing of assets from PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

 The poll also showed that 52% of the US players are spending less money in online casinos than the previous year due to the recession. So basically, online players are worried about the government stealing their money and about the government trashing our economy by spending too much of their money. Both problems seem to stem from the same principle: the government cannot be trusted with your money. The players’ worries about the government is the hurting online casino business, which should come as no surprise, because the current administration of bad for every other business as well, though it is good for the United Auto Workers union (UAW) and lawyers that love frivolous malpractice lawsuits. So if the online players want to make some real money they should probably join the UAW.