Sheldon Adelson’s lobbying entity, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, has crawled back from the sewer. It seems that the Justice Department fight in the Wire Act case with New Hampshire has given them some confidence. Just a few days later, CSIG joined the DOJ’s case with another voluminous amicus filing. Neither the DOJ nor CSIG have offered anything new this time around, instead opting for an expansion of the tired and adjudged incorrect legal arguments that were refuted in earlier rulings. The latest CSIG amicus brief incorporates large chunks of its May 2019 brief verbatim, including many of the…

We’re just one step away from West Virginia Internet gambling becoming regulated. They could become the fifth state to legalize web betting, with a bill currently awaiting Governor Jim Justice’s signature. House Bill 2934, which was introduced by Delegate Jason Barrett on February 12, has been passed by both chambers of the West Virginia legislature. Having passed the House in February, it was then passed by the Senate on March 8, the second-last day of the 2019 regular session by a vote of 26 in favor, and seven against. As a result of minor tweaks made in the upper chamber,…

Michigan online gambling seemed close in as the final few hours ticked off the 2018 legislative clock. Lawmakers in the state passed a bill that would legalize Internet gambling within the state, and now only a signature stands in the way of the 5th state with regulated online gambling. The proposal from Rep. Brandt Iden was among the dozens and dozens of bills considered during the final scheduled session on Thursday. Facing a seemingly endless to-do list, the process spilled over into a bonus Friday of lawmaking. The “lawful internet gaming act” cleared one Senate committee and both chambers over…

Russia this week tightened the screws on banks and payment processors, ordering them to cleanse the names of unlicensed online operators from their client lists. The Izvestia news agency has reported that the Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has written to Russia’s largest bank, Sherbank, as well as payment processors Skrill and Yandex, ordering them to remove operators from their customer-base in compliance with the law. Russia is in the midst of legalizing and regulating sports betting, a fact that has steeled its resolve to stamp out unregulated sites. The state began ISP blocking online gambling websites around September 2015 after…

Switzerland has withdrawn plans to introduce regulation that would require internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to block online gambling websites licensed abroad. The Legal Affairs Committee of the Swiss National Council voted 13-12 to remove language related to such rules from the country’s proposed gambling legislation. Earlier this month, the country’s Council of States gave its approval to the plans, with the support of the majority of the Swiss land-based gambling market, which has struggled in recent years due to the emergence of online wagering. More at iGaming Business

A bill to regulate online gambling and daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the US state of Pennsylvania is not likely to pass before the end of 2016, according to an official close to legal talks. Pennsylvania newspaper Tribune-Review quoted Casey Long, director of policy and legislative affairs in the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, as saying that the Senate has no plans to act on the bill, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 114-85. The state has until November 30 to pass bill HB2150 if it is to come…