KITV – The Honolulu City Council is considering making it illegal to own a gambling machine. Councilman Joey Manahan says he wants to give law enforcement more tools to crack down on gambling. He says more establishments with sweepstakes machines have been popping up and neighbors have complained. The bill would make it a misdemeanor to manage, maintain, produce, possess or use the machines. It would be punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Companies that own the machines say they are not gambling devices. SOURCE

The Guardian – In the budget, George Osborne reduced the tax burden on land based bingo halls and raised it for betting shop fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Two gambling sectors treated very differently. The basis of this tax hike on FOBTs, as Osborne put it, was to “bring their profitability more in line with other gaming machines on the high street.” The chancellor has underestimated the disparity between FOBTs and other gaming machines. It is far bigger than a 5% tax adjustment can address. In 2013 FOBTs – or “B2” gaming machines as they are categorised – generated more…