Italian online gambling statistics

Italians spend Euros 350 million every year on Internet poker

Online poker is a pastime rapidly gaining ground among Italian gamblers, it seems from a survey conducted recently by the Consumers Defense and Orientation Association (ADOC) and reported this week by the Agipronews agency. The survey found that Italians punters annually spend an average of Euros 600 each on Internet gambling, making a total yearly spend of Euros 350 million.

Almost 2 million Italian residents have gone online at least once to play a game of chance on the Internet, with a quarter of that number using offshore Internet gambling sites for this activity. With the Italian government poised to legalise, license and regulate online gambling the survey will be read with interest by many involved in the industry.

Agipronews comments in a statement that the online gaming phenomenon increasingly appeals to Italian people, with visits to foreign gambling sites up 25 percent. According to ADOC, 16 000 Italian citizens ‘may be considered’ to have gambling problems with an average level of debt that ranges between Euros 10 000 and Euros 12 000, in exceptional cases reaching Euros 40 000.

Source: Online-Casinos.com

Florida technical school now offers Slot Machine Repair class

As the presence of casino gambling increases in Florida, an adult school in Hollywood has become the first to offer a state-approved course in slot machine repair.

The Sheridan Technical Center’s first nine-week class has 25 students, and the next session starts in October. Students, who pay $651, must be at least 21 and have clean criminal records.

Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminole Indians, says the tribe’s casinos already have thousands of slot machines, with plans to install a total of 15,000. He says the demand for qualified technicians will be high, adding that graduates of the program could earn as much as $18 an hour.
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Mexican police raid casino, grab suspected hit man

Mexican police have captured a suspected drug cartel hit man in a crowded Tijuana casino after a chase through the city streets.

Mexico’s federal Public Security Department says agents arrested a man believed to be Ruben Rios Estrada at the Caliente racetrack casino in Tijuana. It says Rios is a key gunman for the Arellano-Felix cocaine cartel. Another suspected gang member also was arrested.

Mexican media report that casino officials complained that the raid endangered some 1,300 customers, who were ordered to the floor.

The agency says the army and federal attorney general’s joined Friday’s arrests and that the suspects have been flown to Mexico City.

Kahnawake and Antigua white listing request rejected

The United Kingdom Secretary of State has officially rejected the white listing request of the gambling commissions of Canadian First Nation of Kahnawake and Antigua.

They are both considered to be established as online gambling entities in other parts of the world, yet Kahnawake and Antigua have both been rejected… with no specific reason given. Currently, only the online gambling companies which have been licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA), Tasmania, Isle of Man, and Alderney are allowed to advertise in the United Kingdom.

“After careful assessment of their representations against the published criteria, the Secretary of State has also decided not to whitelist Kahnawáke (Canadian reservation) or Antigua,” says the United Kingdom Gambling Commission in their newsletter.

The request for white listing is important to any online gambling company because only white listed companies can advertise their company inside the United Kingdom. Since they are already established in other countries, many online gambling officials and insiders were shocked to hear the news because of the implications this may have on their reputation and business.

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2 girls, 1 restaurant & casino

Eva Longoria Parker and Victoria Beckham, (Posh, for those of you who were wondering) are reportedly teaming up to open a new restaurant and casino.

Daily Star reports that Desperate Housewife Eva is launching a second branch of her Tinseltown eatery, Beso, in Las Vegas, and that Posh is apparently planning to chip in by turning half the venue into a casino specialising in dominoes (unfortunately, Strip Poker with the girls is not on the menu yet).

Heartbreak aside, a source close to the two A-listers reported that the two had become pals since Posh moved to LA with hubby David and their kids.

The source went on to say that the stars “are obsessed with the game and spend most evenings going out for a civilised meal and then getting stuck into a meaty tournament”.

The insider added: “But they realised there are no venues which provide dinner and focus on this new Hollywood craze.

“So when Eva said she was opening a second Beso branch in the gambling capital of the world, Victoria had the brainwave of turning it into a place which specialises in food and their favourite game.”