CryptoLogic Limited, a world leader in Internet casino and branded gaming software, has signed a multi-year agreement to provide at least 10 of its top branded and non-branded slot games to Betfair.

The first five games will be available to Betfair’s two million registered customers before the end of the second quarter.

The games will be made available to Betfair through Orbis Technology’s Fixed Odds Games platform.

Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic’s President and CEO said:”CryptoLogic’s new relationship with Betfair is excellent proof of the potential of our ?build once, license often’ business strategy,”.

Since pioneering the first successful online betting exchange in 2000, Betfair has grown to process more than six million transactions a day.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committe said he would introduce a bill next week to overturn a three year old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

The legislation would overturn a law imposed during the Bush administration that has hurt U.S. trade ties with the European Union.

The bill had been expected earlier, but Frank said his committee has been busy with other measures addressing the credit crisis and proposals to reform financial regulation.

EU online gambling firms lost billions of euros in value after the U.S. Congress in 2006 made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

The Swedish government has announced they plan to block online casinos from their residents.  This plan goes against what the people of Sweden want according to the latest news.

They have advertised in several locations stating that the monopoly in Sweden must end.  Ladbrokes is an operate of both land and online casinos.

Their first act against the monopoly has been the advertising of consumer costs.  They are stating that with the monopoly of Swedish casinos the residents are paying high costs.

The Swedish government has talked about making a system more like UIGEA with internet filtering.

The government officials say a block is necessary on online casinos.  They want to be able to control any gambling problems.

There are a number of individuals who do not believe online casinos are safe. 

Part of the reason for the unlicensed online casinos has to do with the gambling laws.  Some countries just do not want to have online casinos available to their residents.

One of the most secure country on this market is UK because is known for their online casinos which have some of the best protection available.

A number of UK online casinos are working to improve their security.  They work with a British online security firm which helps to verify identifications and all safety protocols.  This new online security company will restrict underage gambling by not allowing anyone through without a valid verification.

PartyGaming and PKR.com are two of the online casinos which are already using the British security company.

It seems that every time a new method of protection is in place criminals eventually find a way around it. This means that online casinos need to keep their security updated.

After declining for three straight quarters, Macau’s first quarter gaming revenues were on the rise once again.

The city’s first quarter gambling revenue shows a 13 percent year-over-year drop. Yet when compared to the 2008 fourth quarter, there was an 8.1 percent jump.

At 26 billion patacas revenue, was nowhere near the same period last year, when the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Board reported earnings of more than 30 billion patacas.

This revenue rise can be attributed to a slowdown  both in the recession and visa controls on mainland China visitors.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Macau government predicted a continuing revenue decline to about 21 billion patacas each quarter.

A small group of unsecured creditors filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition against the owners this month, which would temporarily halt any foreclosure proceeding by the lender and is a possible preemptive strike by the creditors, who may want to take their chances recovering any cash in bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the Lady Luck casino downtown, where Canyon funded a $66 million bridge loan for a planned renovation, isn’t generating any revenue. Owner Andrew Donner closed the property in 2006, hoping to redevelop it as a boutique hotel.

In late 2005, Canyon financed an investment by developer Concord Wilshire in 7.6 acres north of Circus Circus — the site of a proposed Maxim magazine-themed resort. The plan was short-lived and Concord, which paid $90 million for the land, sold it two years later to Circus Circus owner MGM Mirage for $131 million.

The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino will host the inaugural Suzie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament benefiting the Boys and Girls Club July 1, where first place will win an unprecedented seat on NBC’s hit poker program Poker After Dark.

The tournament is open to the public and the winner will receive a $20,000 seat on the top-rated, late-night poker program, giving them the opportunity to become a television poker star and win $120,000 in cash. The $20,000 Poker After Dark seat will be donated by Full Tilt Poker.net and additional prizes will be donated by the Golden Nugget and other sponsors.

“This is a very exciting and almost unbelievable poker opportunity,” said John Colville, director of Golden Nugget poker.

The charity tournament festivities kick off in The Grand events center at 4 p.m. Buy in for this tournament is $330 and will feature $200 multi re-buys and $100 add-ons. Registration for the event begins at noon July 1, or participants can register early in the Golden Nugget Poker Room.

In conjunction with the charity tournament, Suzie and Howard Lederer will also host all the fun, games and some of the best food around during their annual World Series of Barbeque.

Leading online casino operator PartyGaming has launched a new Rambo-themed five-reel and 20-payline virtual slot game on its PartyCasino.com site.

Rambo is the latest movie themed online slot to launch on PartyCasino.com, joining a collection of games that reads like a list of Hollywood’s greatest movies.

PartyCasino.com pays out over ten million dollars every day to players and features other film themed slots including Mission:Impossible, The Terminator, The Godfather, Top Gun, Saturday Night Fever and Gone With The Wind.

The site’s Gold Mega Jackpot currently stands at nearly $1.3 million after player ‘ScottishAOD’ won $1,358,857 playing Mega Fortune Wheel in late-February. This win was particularly interesting as it followed a success by the father of ‘ScottishAOD’ nine months to the day earlier for $763,356 meaning that the two have collectively taken home $2,122,213.

PartyCasino.com also announced that its Live Dealer function is up and running following an agreement with Evolution Gaming last year offering multi-currency baccarat, blackjack and roulette games.

PartyCasino.com has already developed a portfolio of slots that reads like a collection of Hollywood greats and there is more to come.

Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25K High Roller for a first prize of $433,500.

ElkY now stands firmly at the top of the EPT Tournament Leader Board and his EPT tournament earnings now total well over €2 million. He has also extended his lead at the top of the French all-time money list – above the likes of David Benyamineand Anthony Lellouche.

ElkY said: “It feels great. Last year’s main event was bigger but this means a lot. The field was so prestigious and I played very well against good players. This will be a great memory for me.”

The two-day $25,000 High Roller tournament attracted a field of 48 players and created a total prize pool of $1.2 million. The final table featured eight extremely strong players including WSOP champions Eli Elezra, Scott Seiver and Daniel Alaei.

Among the other stars who competed in the event were EPT London High-Roller winner Jason Mercier, Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Dario Minieri and Joe Hachem, tennis legend Boris Becker, PokerStars Six men Ivan Demidov and Denis Phillips as well as Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson and many more world class players

As riders and their horses kick up a new day at Lone Star Park, anticipation is high for a new season of live racing.

On busy days, the race track employs 1,200 people who maintain, clean and serve patrons.

This year, Mayfield cut his stable’s operation by more than half.

But the economy is not the number one concern at Lone Star Park. They’re expecting big crowds again this year.

The larger issue is that Lone Star is losing out to nearby states that permit casino games at their tracks.

“The City of Grand Prairie owns Lone Star Park, and Mayor Charles England went to Austin to testify in support of expanded gambling.