Daily Finance – There may be pretty lights, free-flowing cocktails and a theatrical buzz at the casino, but don’t go thinking that the treat for the senses is cheap. Slot players collectively walk out with as little as 90 percent of their money, on average. The odds are slightly better at the table games — including blackjack, poker and roulette — but there is no diversion where gamblers have the edge over the establishment. The house always wins. The odds are more favorable at a casino than state lotteries that only return as little as half of what they take…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Coral has completed the acquisition of multi-games provider Cool Games in an effort to further strengthen its interactive business. According to the Intergameonline.com website, the deal will include a library of exclusive gaming titles and an additional partnership that will deliver two social gaming applications. Angus Nisbet, gaming director at Coral Interactive, said that the company had recorded an increase in demand for multi-channel gaming and the purchase of Cool Games would help to boost its own service offering in this sector. “Since the launch of Coral’s digital platform just over a year ago, the…

iGaming Business – The Bulgarian State Gambling Commission (SGC) has granted online gambling licences to gambling company Betfair and sports betting operator Eurofootball. From this week, the Betfair.bg website will be authorised to offer sports betting in addition to wagers on horse and dog racing. Betfair will also be able to offer online casino betting games in the country under the terms of its licence. In addition, Eurofootball has also been approved to offer online betting on sports, as well as horse and dog racing, via its Eurofootball.bg website. iGaming Business

inCypress – Cabinet yesterday decided to establish ministerial and coordination committees and appoint a project manager amid efforts to create casinos that are “the best of their kind in Europe and amongst the best in the world”. Deputy Government Spokesman Viktor Papadopoulos made the announcement after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. He revealed that Deloitte has been selected as the successful candidate to consult the government on the casino issue following an international tender process undertaken by the Commerce Ministry. Papadopoulos announced the Cabinet’s decision to create a Ministerial Committee and a Coordinating Committee and to designate a project manager for the…

From Science Daily It is often said that more gambling (including playing the lottery) takes place during economic crises, but a study carried out by researchers at Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) indicates that the opposite is true: in the last year, people have decreased the frequency of gambling activities, the number of gambling activities participated in and the amount of money gambled. The gambling industry has not escaped the changes in people’s habits and behavior that the crisis has produced. This is one of the conclusions that can be drawn from the latest report on Spaniards’ perception of…

From New York Times As I walked down the main drag in Ellenville, N.Y., a small town about halfway between Manhattan and Albany, I noticed that if you turn your head at the proper angle, at the right time of day, at just the right intersection, the future doesn’t seem so scary. Right where Hermance Street runs into Canal, there’s the Shadowland Theater, a beautifully restored vaudeville house that abuts Aroma Thyme Bistro, which has four stars on Yelp. Off in the distance is the lush Witch’s Hole State Forest and the valley around Rondout Creek. But if you lower…