Bet From Anywhere Blog

As we reported yesterday, Virgin is launching a new online tournament gaming service, Virgin Gaming, which lets joystick enthusiasts play popular titles like “Halo 3″ and “Madden NFL 10″ for cash and prizes on multiplayer services such as PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

Now, it’s been announced that more than $1 million in prize money will be given away in the next year, courtesy of the firm, a joint venture between Branson and Canadian startup WorldGaming.com.

“The video game market is extremely competitive and overcrowded, but we see a big opportunity,” Branson told Game Industry TV, explaining his decision to enter the skill-based gaming business rather than publish software for PC, console or mobile platforms.

Tags:   playstation · Playstation Network · video game tournaments · video games · virgin gaming · XBOX LiveNo Comments.

China will crack down on gambling on the Internet during the football World Cup and will “severely punish” anyone caught betting online, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.

Law enforcement agencies have investigated more than 740 online gambling cases and arrested more than 3,600 people since starting a “strike hard” campaign against the crime in January, according to the statement. More than 700 million yuan ($102 million) has been impounded, the ministry said.

Just a friendly reminder to keep all your wagers legal and above board….

Tags:   china · sports betting · world cupNo Comments.

Virgin Group is getting into the Internet video game tournament business, which is legal in all but 11 states because the video games are considered games of skill, not chance.

The new Virgin Gaming Web site, to be announced on Tuesday at the E3 video game industry show here, gives console video game players the chance to win large cash prizes for beating others at well-known PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games like Halo 3 and FIFA 10.

Visitors to Virgin can play free, or wager as little as $1. But if they bet, the winner receives twice the bet, minus Virgin’s commission.

To deter cheating, Virgin Gaming will determine the winner of each game automatically. The company has agreements with multiple game publishers to gain direct access to game results stored on the publishers’ servers.

Tags:   playstation · video game tournaments · video games · virgin gaming · XBOX 3601 Comment

Legislation introduced this week would allow Internet wagering at Atlantic City casinos.

The bill sponsored by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, specifically would allow “New Jersey residents to place wagers on casino games via the Internet,” according to the text of the legislation.

All games, including poker, would be offered through Internet wagering, the bill states.

In addition, the bill would require that the equipment used to operate the Internet wagering be located in a restricted area of a casino hotel or in a secure facility off the premises of the casino hotel, “but within the territorial limits of Atlantic County.”

The bill comes with an annual tax of 20 percent on gross revenue from Internet wagering, which would be paid into a casino revenue fund. It also provides for the creation of a Division of Internet Wagering under the direction of the state Casino Control Commission.

Additionally, the Casino Control Commission and the New Jersey Racing Commission would allow the operation of terminals at racetracks at which “individuals who have registered to participate in Internet wagering may wager on games conducted at casinos in Atlantic City.”

Those terminals would be identical in appearance to casino slot machines.

The full text of the proposed legislation, S3167, “Permits Internet wagering at Atlantic City casinos under certain circumstances,” is available here.

Source: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_dfdd5dcc-0375-11df-b557-001cc4c002e0.html

Tags:   internet gambling · New Jersey · united statesNo Comments.

Legislation to allow Internet gambling is scheduled to be introduced today by US Representative Barney Frank.

Similar legislation failed in the last Congress. Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, has support for the bill from such companies as Youbet.com Inc., and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., in addition to the Poker Players Alliance, formed to overturn a 2006 ban on Internet poker. [Read more →]

Tags:   Barney Frank · uigea1 Comment