Daily Archives: February 17, 2017

Friday February 17 2017

A person inserts a coin into a fixed odds betting terminal in Githurai on November 27, 2015. Firms have objected to a bill seeking to regulate the sector. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The proposed law by Gem Member of Parliament Jakoyo Midiwo to regulate gambling will end up killing the industry, betting companies have said.

Their representatives asked a National Assembly committee to defer it until after consultations and a compromise reached.

Members of the association of betting firms met the committee on social welfare and said the Bill is misguided.

The Bill requires significant amendments. It would not be the same Bill as it was at the first reading, said Association of Gaming Operators of Kenya chairman Ronald Karauri.

The second reading was on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Karauri said the draft law would breach the Constitution and make it difficult to run gaming companies.

There appears to be a concerted targeting of the industry through measures that are designed to cripple the industry, Mr Karauri said.

Mr Karauri batted away claims that gambling is addictive, saying: That I cannot take. It has never been scientifically proven that betting is addictive.

"It is my personal belief that if there was a problem with betting, it would not grow.

The association presented a report from the police showing that there was no truth in claims on social media and by one media house that a person committed suicide after losing a bet.

Mr Karauri said the amendment to the law on their taxation last year had led to double taxation on revenue and then on their profits.

He said taxing revenues and profits would begin on February 20.

Kenya Revenue Authority say they dont know about taxes, yet they are aware that they have been collecting significant revenue, he added.

Members of the committee were surprised to hear that betting firms pay tax one paid Sh700 million in 2015.

They however told the association that the Bill would not be deferred and asked them to draft their desired amendments.

There is some urgency in the matter, David Were, the committee chairman, said.

Cherangany MP Wesley Korir (independent) said: We cannot just say that we defer. Bring your proposals. Lets sit again. Lets talk again. Lets become friends and we deal with this.

The associations lawyer, Mr Mwangi Muturi, said the law would violate the right to property as foreigners in local betting firms would be removed.

Mr Midiwos Bill proposes to increase betting tax from 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent of revenues, lottery tax from five per cent to 20 per cent of their turnover, gaming tax from 12 per cent to 20 per cent of revenue and prize competition tax from 15 per cent to 20 per cent.

Telcos hold meetings to plot resistance against the plan to protect customers data.

The two got a 9.1 per cent pay rise last year.

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Firms oppose Bill regulating gambling - Daily Nation

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Cumming Man Arrested In Gambling Raid Patch.com CUMMING, GA A Cumming man who authorities say was running illegal gambling operations out of two residences was arrested in a raid on Thursday. Frank Michael House, 54, of Somerset Court, is charged with felony commercial gambling as well as ... Operation Parlay | Authorities: Online sports betting ring operated out of Georgia homes11alive.com Georgia man accused of being online sports bookieAtlanta Journal Constitution all 5 news articles »

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Cumming Man Arrested In Gambling Raid - Patch.com

ATTLEBORO - The city has applied for $400,000 in gambling mitigation money from the state to help design a $2.3 million public safety dispatch center in the South Attleboro fire station.

The application to the state Gaming Commission states the center would be used jointly for fire, police and ambulance services.

Gambling mitigation money is being requested because a recent study found traffic and crime incidents have increased in the area since the June 2015 opening of Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville.

Casinos in Massachusetts pay into the mitigation fund, so neighboring communities can apply for financial aid to offset any negative consequences from the casinos.

Mayor Kevin Dumas said the idea of the joint dispatch center is a new one, and specific plans have not yet been developed.

"This is in the absolute incipient stage, as there has been no detailed information provided. A consultant was contacted for a broad idea of cost without analyzing a possible location, details of staffing and capital costs," he said.

A capital improvement plan will be written later, Dumas said.

The city's application is based on the notion that police and fire calls have increased in recent years.

It states it is "plausible" that the increase in Attleboro is due in part to the casino.

One example it cites is the case of two North Attleboro and Plainville residents arrested in Attleboro for shoplifting.

One of the suspects told police she paid for a brand new car with winnings from Plainridge.

"One might infer from this story that they may impart a sense of risk-taking that lowers individual inhibitions to committing certain crimes," the application states.

The application notes that traffic accidents, especially along Route 1, which leads to the casino, were up significantly.

Traffic stops by police went from 5,772 in 2011 to 11,648 in 2016, a 102 percent increase over six years.

The city backs up its application with a report on police incidents done by a consultant to the commission.

The city received a cost estimate on a dispatch center from Pomroy Associates on Jan. 30, and applied for the grant on Feb. 1.

The estimate is based on a facility with 2,500 square feet of space, including a break room, lockers, a bathroom and a computer room.

The city's application was posted online by the commission Thursday afternoon. It has not set a date on when to vote on the request.

Plainville was the only other local community to apply for funding in the current round of grants. It is asking for $148,750 to buy a small fire truck for use within the casino parking garage.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0399, at jhand@thesunchronicle.com and on Twitter @TSCPolitics.

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Attleboro seeks gambling grant for new dispatch center - The Sun Chronicle

The Florida House of Representatives quietly released its gambling overhaul for 2017 Thursday afternoon, setting it for a hearing next Thursday.

As expected, the 81-page bill (PCB TGC 17-01) includes arenewed blackjackdeal, or compact, between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, as first struck by Gov. Rick Scott.

No Casinos, the gambling expansion group, soon tweeted: Still analyzing bill, but at first blush @MyFLHouse seems to have found a way to renew compact without turning FL into Vegas/Atlantic City.

But the House already is at odds with the Senates 112-page measure (SB 8), which is set for its second and last committee hearing next week before the Appropriations panel.

In onesignificant example, the House bill outlaws designated-player card games, but the Senate wouldlet all cardroom operators offer designated player games.

In banked card games, players betagainst the house, or the casino, and not each other. In traditional poker,people play against each other for a pot of money.Designated-player games area hybrid, where the bank is supposed to revolve among the players.

Moreover, the House would prohibit the expansion of slot machines, retroactively to Jan. 1 of this year, by barring state regulators from issuing any new slots licenses.

The Senate generally expands theavailability of slot machines, including allowingany licensed pari-mutuel facility toget slots.

Last month, House Speaker Richard Corcoran suggestedhis chambers approach to gambling would be different.

Ive seen the (Senate) bill, and look, its not where were at, Corcoran told reporters. The three things weve said are, it has to be a contraction (of gambling) we want a constitutional amendment that bans the expansion of gaming; the Senates said they have no interest and we have courts that keep encroaching upon our ability to make those decisions.

TheHouseTourism & Gaming Control Subcommittee will hear the bill next Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in a meeting scheduled for two and a half hours. Its chair, St. Cloud Republican Mike La Rosa, could not be immediately reached.

And the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear its chambers bill that same day at 9 a.m.

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House gambling bill teed up for next week - SaintPetersBlog (blog)

Baseball is back and so is Pete Rose, as he continues defending his gambling habits.

The Major League Baseball hit king and current Fox Sports 1 analyst made an appearance on the season 3premiere of Joe Bucks talk show Undeniable, which airs on the AT&T Audience Sports Network. During the interview, Rose offered some particularly strong words for those who criticize his continued legal gambling on sports by stating the following:

Who cares if I want to make a legal bet and go home and watch it? Who am I hurting? Im not hurting anybody, Im living my life.

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Rose, who was denied reinstatement to Major League Baseball by commissioner Rob Manfred and remains shut out from the Baseball Hall of Fame, also questioned the Halls selection process and its guidelines based on members who are already in.

I know a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is not full of altar boys. You want me to reconfigure my life? Tell me what you want me to do.

Its the same song and dance weve heard and seen for many years with Rose. Though with each passing year it seems hes somehow further removed from the understanding that his actions were damaging to the integrity of baseball.

Pete Rose continued defending his gambling habits during an interview with Joe Buck. (Getty Images)

That Rose continues gambling today is not the biggest concern of the parties he criticizes. Its the lack of remorse hes shown as the evidence hebet on baseball as a player as well as a manager continued to grow, even as Manfred considered overturning his ban from 1989. Its also the fiery manner with which Rose lashes out year after year.

Theres always a path to forgiveness, yet Rose continues to take detours rather than taking responsibility or acknowledging the possibility he may have been wrong.A lot of people root for Pete Rose regardless, which is fine. A lot of other people would love to get behind him, but find it difficult when he constantly positions himself as a victim.

One thing seems certain though. Pete Rose is never going to change. Not for his critics. Not for anyone.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Pete Rose defends legal gambling: 'Who am I hurting?' - Yahoo Sports - Yahoo Sports