Europe is hurting for money right now, as most of the countries in that area are buried under a mountain of debt and are suffering from a devalued currency and a workforce hit by big unemployment numbers. During the hard times, governments look for new ways to make money and one such way that has been popular lately is gambling.

Countries that do not regulate and tax gambling are basically letting the industry occur within their nation without benefitting from it. Even places where it’s prohibited, people find a way to play their favorite games, whether it’s an underground establishment or an internet casino.

Two eastern European countries could soon turn to a regulated online gambling industry as a way of generating much-needed revenue. Last year, Romania amended their gambling laws to increase the tax and saw a jump in revenue from gambling. The secretary of their Finance Minstry, Bogdan Dragoi, said that they “are looking into ways to regulate online gambling, and, if we manage to control money collection, we will authorize them.”

Right now, Romania doesn’t ban online gambling, but they don’t regulate and tax it, either. That means Romanian citizens are free to spend lots of money at online casinos but the government can’t generate revenue from it. Additionally, though online gambling is legal, the country does not allow Romanian companies to open online casinos.

Romania’s neighbor to the east, Moldova, is also considering a move toward regulating online gambling. Many citizens participate in online gambling and Moldova is considering awarding licenses to online casinos so they can generate tax revenue from the industry. In addition, Moldova’s Ministry of the Economy has asked the European Union to modify their gambling laws, creating a more suitable climate for online gambling in the region.

The New Jersey bill that would legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling has an unlikely opponent: the Atlantic City casinos. Members of the Casino Association of New Jersey have spoken out in opposition to the bill, leaving some online gambling proponents scratching their heads.

The bill would allow licensed casinos within the state of New Jersey to operate online casinos, which would only be accessible to people within the state borders. Because the industry would take place entirely within the state’s borders, it would not fall under and federal regulations or laws, including UIGEA.

Despite that fact, Casino Association President Joe Carbo wrote to committee members considering the bill that it violates federal law (which is incorrect) and that the bill would favor foreign online gambling operators. According to Carbo, passing the law would do more to hurt the Atlantic City casinos than to hurt them.

Supporters of the bill disagree, stating that those casinos have the most to gain from the legislation. Joe Brennan, chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), says that if the bill becomes law, the “revenue would flow through” the Atlantic City casinos. He also stated that only online casinos with New Jersey gaming licenses could profit off of the law.

China has vowed to crack down on World Cup betting this year. Considering that China’s communist government is one of the most controlling and oppressive in the world, when they say they’re going to crack down on something, they mean business. For that reason, I cannot advocate that anyone in China bet on the World Cup or engage in any gambling activity. Anyone who does is risking imprisonment.

All forms of gambling have been banned in the Chinese mainland since the communist government took power in 1949. Despite that, the underground gambling industry has thrived in the Middle Kingdom. It is estimated that in 2006 – the year of the last World Cup – approximately ¥500 billion (equivalent to $73 billion) were wagered in online gambling transactions.

Things changed this year, though, when Nan Yong, the head of the Chinese Football Association was arrested for corruption. Also this year, three Chinese World Cup referees – including Lu Jun were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes and fixing matches. The Chinese government has called sports betting a “cancer” and has vowed to eliminate it from the sport of football.

Sports betting may be the top priority, but the Chinese are going after all forms of gambling. Their police have arrested 344 suspects for gambling charges so far this year and have frozen approximately ¥50 million in gambling funds.

China’s national team did not qualify for the World Cup this year, but that doesn’t alleviate concerns among the government that sports betting will be rampant for the next month.

If you live somewhere other than China, though, there are a lot of good places for online casino gambling and sports betting. Check with your local laws to make sure you aren’t doing anything illegal and if it’s okay, find a good online casino or sports book and enjoy the summer and the World Cup!

As I have said before, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) – which was passed in 2006 and took effect June 1 of this year – does not ban online gambling in America. In fact, there is no federal ban of online gambling. There are several states in the U.S. that have online gambling bans, though. Washington is one of those states.

In the state of Washington, online gambling – including poker – is illegal and engaging in online poker is a felony. A felony!

The Poker Players Alliance – one of the largest online poker lobbies in the world – is challenging Washington’s law in court. Lee Rousso, State Director of the PPA, challenges that the law violates the Interstate Commerce Act. According to Rousso, the law states that no state can pass legislation that discriminates against a section of a particular industry. He argues that Washington’s law discriminates against the online section of the gambling industry. In other words, you can’t allow people to play poker in a land-based casino and not allow them to play it at an online casino.

I’m no lawyer, so I’ll avoid trying to interpret a small section of a law passed in 1887. The PPA is fighting the Washington law on the basis that it violates federal law by unfairly discriminating against the online gambling industry. So far the case has been heard by a trial court and then an appeals court. It is now set to be heard by the Washington State Supreme Court. The outcome of this case should definitely be interesting.

During his prime, ex-NBA player Antoine Walker was good at three things: shooting the three, firing the trifecta, and hoisting a trey. Yes, I’m aware that all three are the same thing. I’m saying that he was only good at camping out behind the three-point line and hitting open shots. There were many things that Walker was not good at, with the biggest being managing his money.

It seems that Walker should have hired an accountant, money manager or anybody to take care of his finances for him instead of doing it on his own. Over 13 seasons in the NBA – most of them with the Boston Celtics – Walker made $110 million. Now all of it is gone and Walker is in trouble.

It seems that in 2009, despite not actually having any money, Walker kept writing checks to casinos for loans. Upon losing the money on the floor, the casino wasn’t able to recoup the money because there was no money to cover the bad checks. It is alleged that he wrote approximately $1.2 million in bad checks to casinos in Indiana and Las Vegas. Walker then negotiated a settlement with the casinos and has so far paid off approximately $135,000 of his debt.

Walker was also indicted for felony check fraud. Today, Walker’s attorney met before a Las Vegas judge, who gave Walker a June 14 court date for the criminal charges. If convicted, Walker could face up to 12 years in prison. Last week, Walker – facing foreclosure on a $2.3 million Chicago mansion – filed for bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy hearing, the claim states that Walker has $4.2 million in assets and $12.7 in liabilities. By my math, that means Walker is $8.5 million in the red.

Even in these dire straits, Walker is spending a lot of money. According to Walker, he spends $1000 on clothes, $1000 on recreation, $1000 on transportation (that does not include car payments), $1200 on housekeeping and $1000 in training every month. Maybe it’s just me, but if he’s $8.5 million in the hole, maybe he should wear the clothes he already has, entertain himself with cheaper activities and clean his own house. In fact, if he moved out of his Miami mansion and into a smaller house, it would be easier to clean.

Walker is requesting that he be allowed to retain his $2.3 million Miami home, his $54000 Range Rover and $2000 in cash. As for his plan on how to pay the money back? He seems to be going the Michael Vick route there. It seems that his strategy is to rejoin the NBA.

Walker was once a star with the Celtics, but he soon became replaceable when it was learned that someone who plays defense, will pass on occasion, and will occasionally drive to the basket can be more helpful than a spot-up shooter who does nothing else. Walker then became a bench player with the Miami Heat, where he won a championship, and then washed out of the league after the 2008 season. So now he wants to rejoin the NBA? Does anybody need a selfish jump shooter who won’t pass or play defense?

A Pennsylvania man who had voluntarily banned himself from casinos won over $2,000 but will be unable to keep the money. The man’s name has not been released, but according to Pennsylvania State Police, the 55-year-old man had placed himself on the state’s self-exclusion program in April of 2009.

Like many jurisdictions, Pennsylvania has a self-exclusion program where players with a gambling addiction can voluntarily ban themselves from casinos. By placing themselves on the list, the casinos are not allowed to admit them or let them play. The program is meant to help problem gamblers overcome their urges by taking the decision about whether or not to gamble away from the person with the problem.

Somehow, however, this man managed to play at the Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, Pennsylvania. He won a jackpot of over $2,000 but his winnings have been forfeited. To add insult to injury, the man will also face a criminal trespass charge. Getting convicted of trespassing should help deter him from doing it again, I guess. That could be one way of helping the man resist the temptation to gamble.

According to Pennsylvania officials, 1,351 residents have registered for the self-exclusion program.

It is either a sad time for online blackjack fans or a happy time for online slots fans – maybe both. Cherry Red Casino has dropped their blackjack tournaments in favor of slot tournaments. Though slot tournaments can be found at most online casinos, blackjack tournaments are hard to find and for online blackjack players, losing those tournaments can hurt.

Cherry Red Casino had offered blackjack tournaments that give players the ability to compete head to head rather than against the dealer. Though loyal blackjack players liked the unique gameplay for their favorite game, the popularity of the tournaments had fallen over the years.

Seeing a decline in interest, Cherry Red Casino decided to end their blackjack tournaments in favor of the more-popular slot tournaments. In the online slot tournaments, players will buy in for a predetermined amount, receive a certain number of credits, and then compete with other players for the high score. At the end of the tournaments, the top players will win prizes.

Though the blackjack tournaments are now gone, the slot tournaments have not yet started. Once they are announced, details can be found on the promotions page of the online casino. To play the new slot tournaments, once they’re available, visit Cherry Red Casino.

Even when there are not big promotions being offered at VIP Slots Casino, there is always something going on. The online casino has a large number of daily and weekly promotions that you can find at any time.

Every Tuesday, players receive a 75% bonus on their first deposit. On Thursday, you can receive a 50% bonus and on Saturday you can receive a 100% bonus on your first deposit. The details of those bonuses vary depending on your rewards membership level.

For fans of online slots, VIP Slots offers daily tournaments every day of the week on a variety of their games. The buy-in is only $2 and you play for the pot, so you make more if more people join the tournament. VIP Slots also offers blackjack tournaments every Monday and Friday where you can play for an entry fee of $5-10 and play for the pot or a $5,000 prize pool, respectively. The online casino also holds video poker tournaments a couple times every week with a buy-in of only $5. In those tournaments, you play for the pot. Roulette fans have access to a tournament every week, where you can play for the pot by paying only a $5 entry fee. If you don’t want to spend money in the tournament, VIP Slots also offers weekly freeroll tournaments, where you play for free for a shot at a $5,000 prize pool.

In addition to the daily and weekly tournaments, there are a wide variety of bonuses given to VIP Plan members. For example, on Table Game Tuesday, members earn double points for every table game they play. Every Thursday, players earn triple rewards points on slot games during the Sizzling Slots promotion. On Friday, players can take advantage of the Happy Hour promotion and earn double rewards on any game in the online casino between the hours of 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM. I only wish the local restaurants had a Happy Hour that lasted that long.

To take advantage of these great promotions, visit VIP Slots Casino today.

Time is running out for the Weekend Madness tournament at Online Vegas Casino. It is the last tournament of the month of March, obviously, and is a good chance to take away some money heading into Easter, which should help because that candy is expensive.

The Weekend Madness tournament ends on March 30. The tournament is played on the online slot Reel Deal and players are competing for a $50,000 prize pool. That prize pool is split in two parts, with the top $30,000 being given out in casino credits and the other $20,000 being given out in loyalty points.

To enter the Weekend Madness tournament, players have to buy in by paying the $12.99 entry fee. By paying that fee, players are given a balance of $325, which can be replenished if necessary by rebuying for the same amount.

This is also a good time to point out that if you are a member of Online Vegas Casino, it would be wise to join their email distribution list. That is because members of that list do not have to pay the $12.99 entry fee for this tournament. Players on that email list are sent a bonus code that can be used to bypass the entry fee for this tournament. Like many online casinos, Online Vegas frequently rewards those who join their email list by giving them exclusive access to promotions.

To participate in the Weekend Madness tournament and take your shot at a part of the $50,000 prize pool, visit Online Vegas today. And if you’re not signed up to receive emails from the casino, this would be a good time to do so.

As long as there are things with unknown outcomes, people will gamble on them. Casino games like blackjack, poker and roulette have been gambled on for ages, as have sports. Most offices in America right now are participating in a pool based on the NCAA Tournament. If you’ve ever been to a golf course, you’ve probably seen people wager on whether or not they can make a certain put. People just like to put their money where their mouth is and hopefully make money in the process.

I don’t know how long people have been gambling on box office results, but it makes sense. There are certainly as many movie fans out there as sports fans. Why not gamble on whether the next Jason Statham action movie will break the $100 million mark? Think the new Coen brothers movie will be a sleeper despite a small budget, including in marketing? Why not bet on it?

Two online websites that I know of have decided to organize this type of proposition bet. Trade Exchange and Cantor Exchange plan to let people gamble on the box office returns of upcoming movies. The gambling on the movies will be treated more like futures trading on the stock market than a prop bet. People will invest money on a certain movie, hoping that it reaches a certain financial goal. The Motion Picture Association of America (you know, that group that warns you before every movie starts) isn’t pleased.

The MPAA released a letter that says “the reputation and integrity of our industry could be tarnished by allowing trading in movie futures contracts in a manner which allows them to be viewed as the economic equivalent of legalized gambling on movie receipts. We can see no public purpose in allowing these contracts to be the subject of interstate commerce.”

Ouch. So suddenly the MPAA says that their industry has integrity? Have they been paying attention to Hollywood? Without the MPAA on board, though, it may be impossible to hold legal, organized gambling on box office results of Hollywood movies. That, of course, won’t stop office pools and other unorganized attempts.