The $240 billion U.S. gambling industry is looking to bolster its political influence with a national effort to mobilize workers behind its policy agenda heading into the 2016 elections. The American Gaming Association (AGA), a trade group representing mainly casinos and lotteries, boasts a growing membership covering 40 states, and the trade group’s leadership vowed Wednesday to increase its clout in Washington, despite the loss of retiring Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), an influential congressional ally. “We’re going to be more active in political discussion,” MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren told reporters Wednesday at the AGA’s shiny new D.C. digs….

While the world’s regulated online poker market has shrunk by 23% over the past two years, US-friendly sites have been experiencing some impressive growth over the same period of time and continue to outperform their licensed competitors. Bodog, for instance, has grown by 43%, the Winning Poker Network (WPN) by 77%, and the Chico Poker Network by an impressive 125%, raising the question whether it is these sites innovations or their virtual monopoly over the US market which is driving their traffic forward. Bodog was one of the first operators to recognize the damage done by online grinders relieving amateur…

Billionaire Ronald Perelman, who is the chairman and largest stockholder of lottery and slot machine giant Scientific Games Corp., plans to support the presidential bid of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, despite the Republican candidate’s backing of legislation that would ban Internet gambling. Scientific Games, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, has a large interactive gaming division that operates online lotteries in the U.S. The company provides products to 39 of the 44 U.S. state-run lotteries and to 50 lottery countries. Last year, Graham and a Utah congressman to introduced legislation to ban online wagering in the U.S. The move…

US fantasy sports company FanDuel has recruited 40 developers who previously worked for Zynga as part of a move to strengthen its operations in the country. FanDuel’s new offices in Orlando have been opened to support its established bases in New York and Los Angeles, as well as in the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. As part of this US expansion strategy, the company has brought in a team of 40 developers who made up the Zynga Sports 365 division of social gaming outfit. Zynga opted to close the Orlando-based division earlier this month as part of a strategy…

iGaming Business – Internet payment processor PayPal is set to enter into the regulated online gambling market in the US, according to various media reports. Although the company is yet to make an official announcement in regards to its plans, various reports have said that PayPal will begin processing payments for licensed online poker and casino sites in the regulated US states of Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware in the coming months. PayPal previously announced that it would not process any online gambling transactions, a stance it has so far upheld. The internet payment processor currently has more than 150…

iGaming Business – The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) has vetted an initial draft of its proposed framework for the regulation of online gaming in the US. Entitled ‘Policy Framework for the Regulation of Internet Gaming’, the organisation said it has developed the draft as a model for states considering legalising online gaming and intends to protect both states wishing to participate in internet gaming and those that do not. The framework addresses player protection, problem gambling protection, taxation, licensing, enforcement, payment processing, regulatory authority, multi-jurisdictional agreements, game choice and legality, as well as age verification, geo-location…