Category Archives: Gambling

For the third month in a row, New Jerseys online gambling industry took in record revenue. According to numbers shared by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the total online win for the month of September was $41,138,257.

The totals narrowly beat out Augusts high of $41,101,587, and is a nearly 60 percent increase year-over-year from 2018, when the state brought in just $25,752,461.

The Golden Nugget continues to lead the way, with a record $15.6 million in September. Incredibly, this is just $547,763 shy of what the land-based casino brought in during the same time period.

Atlantic Citys smallest brick-and-mortar property earned $16.2 million during the month, showing just how important online revenue has become to the industrys bottom line.

Of course, the vast majority of online gambling revenue comes from other casino games. Poker represented less than four percent of revenue, totaling $1.64 million.

New Jersey is one of four states that offers legal internet gambling. Online gambling made its debut in 2013. Last year, revenue reached a record $298.7 million, which marked a 21.6 percent increase over 2017.

The state taxes online gaming revenue at 17.5 percent.

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New Jersey Breaks Online Gambling Revenue Record For Third Month In A Row - Poker News - CardPlayer.com

Thats an approximate metaphor for the business side of Minnesotas craft beer scene over the past few years.

This is where Ramsey Louder and Joe Alton come into play.

When Alton departed his role of editor-in-chief at The Growler magazine in May 2018, there were, by his estimate, nearly 160 breweries operating in Minnesota. During this time, Louder had brewed for one of the most formative (Dangerous Man) before working as a cellarman at New Holland Brewing. Now, together with their third partner, marketing professional Sally Schmidt, the team might just conquer the North Loops supersaturated beer landscape by sidestepping your traditional brewery altogether.

Their brainchild is called ONE Fermentary & Taproom. Despite pedigreed backgrounds in the craft beer world, theyre not opening a brewery; ONE is a brewpub. And its that choice, as some dude once wrote, that makes all the difference.

Louder and Altons strengths complement this venture to a T. While Alton, the more verbose of the pair, waxes on about the gold zinc bartop and unique glassware, Louder is reserved until called upon to discuss, counterintuitively, the freedoms a brewpub lends compared to helming a full-fledged brewery.

Operating a 10-barrel brewhouse in conjunction with an array of specialized fermentorsfrom oak barrels and foeders to a unique concrete fermentor usually found at wineriesis essential to ONE, given their mission to ferment wort in-house by collaborating with local breweries.

Thatll be a first for me to see what we can do with [the concrete fermentor], says Louder. Because its just straight cast concrete thats been polished and sealed, it wont be like pouring beer onto the ground; it will, over time, give an extra minerality to the beer.

Alton explains this as, basically, the essence of the community theyre hoping to attract at ONE: The reality is you cant evangelize somebody whos stuck on not drinking beer. But Ive also seen so many opportunities in my time in the service industry and through The Growler magazine, opportunities where, like, lines were opened through little gateways. He envisions a familiar scenario of someone like your aunt, hell-bent on her evening glass of white. We can be like, Cool, heres some wine! only to later slide over a sample of a cask-brew made by Louder, which might include Nelson Sauvin hops, known for having characteristics of white wine grapes.

Guy walks in and hes had a shitty day and just wants a Hamms? Heres your Hamms. No judgments. Hopefully we can get you into one of our beers.

Louder, meanwhile, is poised to do some inventive shit for folks who are already into craft beer. We had the really awesome opportunity to go to the U of M and spend an hour and a half in their pre-modern food library, and they had these recipes from the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries on people brewing wine, beer, ciders... all these beverages with unique ingredients, and it totally piqued my interest in doing modern spins on these things.

Partnering with local breweriesnot to mention Tattersall, which will have four cocktails plus their Fernet on tapremoves any pressure Louder once felt to keep up with beer trends. If my time was spent having to keep up with the hazy IPA production, or whatever else was popular, stout production, I wouldnt have time to entertain any of that, yknow?

Ultimately, the goal of ONE is to provide a space for real people from all walksnot the idea of peopleand send them home happy. As Alton put it: Everyone I know likes going into a taproom. And only about 40 percent of the people I know like beer, so solving that problem with one license seemed like a no-brainer to us. Honoring their individual strengths while catering to The Real World seems so simple it hurts.

So I asked them why more people arent doing this.

To a certain degree, Ramsey and my resources in this industry have allowed us even more access to even cooler shit, Alton conceded. But as far as we know, nobody has really taken a brewpub license and applied it to something thats more like a bar. We actually thought wed run into some obstacles because nobody else was doing itthat there was something right around the curtain that was gonna be a big, huge hurdle and it never ended up being.

It helps that no one in the partnership had any interest in distributing, a key prohibition in brewpub licensing. Per state regulations, to be a brewpub ONE also must be a functioning restaurant. In this, Alton once again drew from his deep Rolodex of connections and experience.

Alma Groups Alex Roberts is consulting on our food program and menu, says Alton. Theyre in the process of expanding their commissary and catering business, which will allow them to produce fresh food daily for [us]. Though ONEs menu is still evolving, Alton was quick to praise New Orleans legendary wine-and-snack paradise Bacchanal for their noshes ability to accompany spirits without weighing down its revelers.

When ONE opens, which the owners hope will happen before Thanksgiving, visitors will find a taproom aesthetic meant to entice both young professionals and those workers whove built the North Loop with their bare hands. To Alton, this means hosting a happy hour for people in hi-vis and for people that are working the blue-collar jobs downtown, and then elevate to a certain degree at night... like a pair of really shitty-looking selvage denim is, right? Like, that is a $300 pair of jeans that has been loved a lot, you know what I mean?

That vision manifests most readily in the lounge area. Though filled with oversized couches, soft edges, and warm wood accents, at its center sits a functioning fireplace surrounded by a hearth made from bricks the owners themselves pulled from Third Street. There are, of course, cheaper ways of getting bricks in this town, but those bricks mattered to Alton and Louder.

It was important to be able to tell the story, says Louder. These are from the neighborhood, from a couple blocks away.

When lofty dreams of inclusion and house brews teetering on arts edge are cast aside, its touches like those bricks they hope will go the extra mile as ONE aims for something more fixed in a fickle world.

ONE Fermentary & Taproom618 N. Fifth St., Minneapolis

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'ONE' taproom for all: How craft beer vets are gambling big in the North Loop - City Pages

A year and a half after a Supreme Court decision legalized sports betting across the country, California so far stands pat not yet letting state residents get in on the action and leaving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue on the table.

With the NFL season 7 weeks old and the NBA season starting this week, millions of football and basketball fans are unable to place bets on the 49ers, Raiders, Golden State Warriors or any other teams. While there are efforts to legalize sports gambling in the nations most populous state, its no sure bet, as concerns raised by established gambling industries stymie legislation.

Any plan to legalize sports wagers will require the cooperation of those interests and the approval of California legislators and, ultimately, voters.

A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down a provision in the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which prohibited states from authorizing sports wagers. Since then, more than a third of all states have rushed to cash in on the opportunity.

California is still not among them, but residents will get a chance to voice their opinions on sports betting in a series of hearings expected to be scheduled this month. State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, plan to announce hearings for later this year after introducing bills in June.

Casey Clark, a spokesman for the American Gaming Association, said the past year has been a time of monumental change in the sports betting industry. In a little more than a year, 17 states and the District of Columbia have legalized wagering on sports.

Theres been rapid, rapid growth, Clark said. Its been a remarkable time.

Gaming experts estimate that $150 billion in illegal sports wagers are made annually in the U.S. Legal sports wagers in California could generate a couple hundred million in tax revenue from about $10 billion in bets, said Paul Payne, a spokesman for Dodd.

So, whats the over/under on when California will allow fans to place bets on games? Where will these bets be placed? And who stands to win? Here are some possible answers to those and other questions.

What types of gambling are legal in California?

Californians can legally bet on numbers through the state lottery, card games at card clubs, horses at race tracks and most types of casino games at tribal casinos. Bingo games and charity raffles are also permitted. Bets between friends are fine; taking bets like a bookie is not.

Why would California legalize sports betting?

People betting on sports in California do so through bookies and offshore betting apps. Making sports wagering legal would give bettors better options and allow the state to collect millions in taxes and fees.

We know illegal sports gambling is happening, so why not bring it out of the shadows, regulate it and use it to raise money for educational programs? Dodd said. Its something that is now authorized under federal law and in other states, and I look forward to vetting ideas on how best to do it in California.

So far, there is no organized opposition to legalizing sports gambling in California. But groups that help problem gamblers are concerned that the spread of legal sports betting could worsen the problem. Online wagering, which would make gambling even easier, is a particular concern.

Where is sports betting legal?

In addition to Nevada, where sports wagering has been legal for decades, bettors can gamble on games in Oregon, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Lawmakers have given the go-ahead in Montana, Tennessee, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., but the details are still being worked out.

Online betting, with geofencing to prevent out-of-state bets, is legal in Nevada, Oregon, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia, and Rhode Island is expected to roll out an app.

Active bills are in play in six more states, including California, and discussions are going on in nearly every state but Utah, which has historically avoided all types of legal gambling.

No one knows whether California will allow online bets or restrict players to brick-and-mortar casinos, race tracks or lottery kiosks. Mobile betting is considered likely, though.

What has to happen for sports betting to be legalized here?

California will require a state constitutional amendment before gamblers can legally bet on sports. Two-thirds of the Assembly and Senate would need to approve placing an amendment on a statewide ballot. Then a majority of voters would need to sign off. A 2018 attempt by Gray went nowhere.

The currently proposed amendment permits the Legislature to authorize and provide for the regulation of sports wagering. It makes no mention of who could take bets, what type of wagering could be allowed or how it could be regulated and taxed. Those details would be worked out by the Legislature after the amendment passes, but its more likely a plan would be negotiated beforehand to have better odds of winning approval.

Who wants in on the action?

At least three institutional players want a stake in controlling bets: tribal casinos, cardrooms and horse tracks. Pro sports leagues the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA and Major League Soccer are also angling for a share.

A number of entities exist in the gaming space as well as in the sports space, said Adam Capper, a spokesman for Gray. The two worlds will have to come together and figure out how to exist.

Steve Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said the states 68 tribal casinos are interested in sports betting, but only if the state can properly regulate existing commercial gambling. The association is in a dispute with state regulators and card clubs over the types of card games and betting allowed in the clubs.

The tribes understand the industry and are positive about growth and expansion, but not expansion that would jeopardize tribes exclusivity (to offer casino games) or things we do now, Stallings said. We told the legislators we will discuss it, but we want details on tax rates, who would be eligible, how it would operate.

Becky Warren, a spokeswoman for the California Gaming Association, which represents the states 66 licensed card rooms, said her members are supportive, but the devils in the details.

The horse racing industry is interested as well, according to representatives of Golden Gate Fields in Albany. Enabling sports wagering could be as simple as the track reprogramming its race-betting machines to allow wagering on sporting events.

The machines are ready to go and so are we, said Ryan Hilton, a marketing manager for the track. Its the next step for us, basically.

But for anyone to take that next step, said Sam Spear, a Golden Gate spokesman, it will take an agreement among the tribal casinos, card clubs and horse tracks.

Weve been told that unless we get all three of the groups unified, it wont happen, he said. We shouldnt come to the legislatures until we have our act together.

What do the sports leagues think?

Most leagues used to oppose legalizing sports betting, fearing it would undermine the integrity of their games and leave fans uncertain the outcomes were real.

But as more states move toward legal sports wagering, the leagues have softened and said they want similar rules and regulations in each state. And, of course, theres money to be made.

The leagues have proposed integrity fees, which are essentially taxes on bets paid to the leagues, and theyre also looking at sales of data: everything from live statistics and information on betting lines at sportsbooks around the world to real-time information on bets being placed.

Such up-to-the-second updates would allow players to place bets continuously even play by play during games.

You could place a bet on whether the next player will get a hit, said Clark, of the American Gaming Association. That could be where were heading.

Will it be possible to legally bet on football in California next season?

Probably not. The proposed state constitutional amendment, if it passes the Legislature, would require an election in November 2020, deep into football season.

If the amendment passes as is, the Legislature will need to implement the new wagering scheme and get the show running. Any constitutional amendment would likely include operational details before going to voters.

What might sports betting look like in California?

Its safe to say it wont look like the sportsbooks of old, though some of those will still exist, perhaps inside stadiums and arenas.

Instead of strolling into a smoky, Vegas-style sportsbook with towering walls of oversize TV screens and electronic signs displaying the odds, many, if not most, sports gamblers will make bets from the comfort of their own homes or seats at, say, Chase Center or Oracle Park, using their mobile phones or placing gets with roving vendors, who might even have a new call: Popcorn! Peanuts! Place your bets!

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

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Sports betting slow in coming to California: Heres what it might look like - San Francisco Chronicle

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The number of gamblers in Macau has dipped to a record low in 2019. According to a survey commissioned by the Social Welfare Bureau, the number of people identifying as problem gamblers also declined.

Based on the answers from 2003 respondents, the report from the University of Macau estimates that 40.9% of people in the Chinese administrative region gambled in 2019, down from 51.5% in 2016.

The Mark Six Lottery game was the most popular form of gambling in the past 12 months with 26.5% of respondents taking part, while social gambling ranked second on 12.6%.

Betting on football and basketball, and the number of people playing Chinese lottery, both increased, but there were drops elsewhere. Participation in lottery games, social gambling, slot machine parlour, casinos and horse racing betting all saw declines. Online gambling participation, meanwhile, remained unchanged.

In terms of problem gambling, just 16 of the 2003 respondents were classified as being probable disordered gamblers, down from a share of 2.5% of respondents in 2016. However, while 73.7% said that they had heard of the local gambling disorder prevention and treatment centres, this was down from 78.3% in 2016 and 83.0% in 2013.

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Number of Gamblers in Macau Tumbles to Record Low in 2019 - European Gaming Industry News

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) hasnoticed a decrease in gambling activity among 11-16-year-olds in Great Britain afterpublishing the results of its 2019 Young People & Gambling study.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI, explores types of gambling and gambling style games in which young people are legally active along with gambling on goods that are limited in age.

The report found that 11% of those surveyed had played with their own money in the past seven days, compared to 14% in 2018.

Tim Miller, Executive Director of the UKGC commented on the report: This report demonstrates that children and young peoples interaction with gambling or gambling behaviours comes from three sources gambling that they are legally allowed to participate in, gambling on age restricted products and gambling style games.

Any child or young person that experiences harm from these areas is a concern to us and we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect them from gambling harms.

Most of the gambling covered by this report takes place in ways which the law permits, but we must keep working to prevent children and young people from having access to age restricted products.

There operators have failed to protect children and young people we have and will continue to take firm action. This year alone, we have tightened rules and requirements around age verification to prevent children and young people from accessing age restricted products, put free-to-play games behind paywalls, and clamped down on irresponsible products.

The UKGC report found that young people were most likely to participate in private gambling for cash (usually with friends), with 5% engaging in the event. In the meantime about 3 million are playing cards for cash with family.

69% of respondents had seen or heard gambling ads or sponsorship deals, while 83% said they had not been influenced by such agreements.

Miller continued: We have been raising awareness about where risks may arise from gambling-style games such as loot boxes and social casino games for some time. Even though we dont have regulatory control in this area we are actively engaging with the games industry and social media platforms to look at ways to protect children and young people.

Protecting children and young people from gambling harms is a collective responsibility and requires us, other regulators, the government, gambling operators, charities, teachers and parents to work together to make progress.

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UKGC Reports Decrease In Gambling Activity Amongst 11-16 Year-olds - Inkedin

Is it fun to gamble on politics? You bet! Pixabay/Jan Vasek

Everybody has a political opinion and a prediction about who will win the 2020 election. But are you willing to put your money where your mouth is, as the old adage goes? Well, you can bet on political outcomes, and the industry has only become bigger in recent years. Not only can you gamble on who you think will win the presidential election, but such bets might also give us a clue about who could win, according to political scientists.

Gambling in America used to be heavily regulated. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, betting on politics was a growing industry, just like it is in sports. But former NBA star Bill Bradley, who served three terms as a New Jersey senator from 1979 to 1997, led the charge to curtail gambling. Enter PAPSA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. It was a federal ban on sports gambling that curtailed betting on sportsand politics. The bipartisan effort passed the Democratic-controlled Congress and was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, going into effect in January of 1993. Only four states were exempt from this: Oregon, Montana, Delaware and, of course, Nevada, as all four already had some sort of statewide regulated gambling.

SEE ALSO: How to Combat the Sinister Role Deepfakes Will Play in the Election

New Jersey challenged PAPSA in the courts, and it went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down the law and handed New Jersey, and gamblers, a big victory. Congress could still get involved in the future, states still need to pass laws enabling regulated gambling, and the Federal Wire Act stands in the way of online betting, but placing wagers on politics is back in business.

As Legal Betting Online points out, The irony of betting on the elections and events associated with those politicians attempting to outlaw gambling is not lost on the American people.

Believe it or not, such predictive markets answering yes or no questions about politicslike, Will Donald Trump be reelected? or Will Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard drop out next month?were allowed even before PAPSA was dumped, as regulators sort of ignored these measures. Why? For the valuable insight they provided,writes Sports Betting Dime. As traders buy and sell their shares, researchers get a better idea at what the collective mind is thinking about candidates and the events surrounding them. The idea is that people are buying shares based on what they truly believe is going to happen, not just what they want to happen. These markets provide real-time insight into political campaigns, and how different events impact them.

To find out more about the nuts and bolts of political bets, I spoke to oddsmaker Mike Pierce with online sportsbook TopBet.eu. I went to their site and asked some questions about how to place a wager and what the numbers mean, as I am a novice gambler.

For example, the site listsDonald Trump at -125. Does that mean hes going to win or lose? Since Trump is a -125 favorite, you would need to risk $125 to win $100 on him to be president in 2020, Pierce explained.

TopBet.eu also lists +200 for Elizabeth Warren, but that doesnt mean they think shes going to win. Conversely, if you [look at] Warren, who is +200 to be the next president, a $100 bet on her would win you $200 net profit.

So how do they determine these odds, who gets a minus (-) sign and who gets a positive (+) sign next to their names?

At the current moment, we win money if Trump is reelected as president and lose money if Warren is elected U.S. president, Pierce said. This is because 37% of cash on the 2020 U.S. presidential future is backing Warren who is a +200 underdog, while 29% of cash on the future is backing the -125 favorite Trump.

The literature from academia on political betting as a predictor is a lot more supportive than you may think. Given that a good theory can describe, explain and predict, why not an independent assessment via betting?

Prediction markets apparently originated in 1988, when the first Iowa Electronic Markets predicted the winner of the presidential election,writes Michael Abramowicz in his article The Politics of Prediction published in Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, an MIT Press Journal. The founds of the Iowa Electronic Markets wanted a vehicle that would better explain the workings of the financial markets, and their approach built on the work of experimental economists who had conducted experiments using simplified financial markets in the laboratory.

But betting on politics goes even further back to the days of post-Civil War politics. In the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf found that bets were a pretty good forecast of elections, even before the era of scientific surveys from 1868 to the 1940s. But an analysis of betting on the 2008 Democratic Party primary candidates by Emily West in the Journal of Politics showed a mixed result for determining the connection between belief in success and bets.

I visited RealClearPoliticsand saw that while Joe Biden is leading the national polls by a littleahead in New Hampshire and even Massachusetts (Warrens state), taking Nevada, winning South Carolina and Texas by a wide margin, losing only Iowahes trailing Warren in betting odds by a 33-point margin. I asked Pierce how that could be.

We feel that while Biden is the more well-known candidate, it appears Warren is starting to be the more popular candidate, he explained. She is starting to receive more money for fundraising compared to Biden. This is a big reason why we think she will be the Democratic nominee for president next year.

Im not so sure, but it is fascinating that the outcomes of betting could be so different from the polls. Well find out next year if using your head and following the surveys is the smart wager, or gambling on your heart and betting on who you want to win could be the best plan.

One final note: Before you lay down a single dollar on a bet, do your research and make sure youre casting your lot with a reputable site that has a good track record of paying off when you win.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgiaread his full biohere.

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Betting on Ballots: An Inside Look at the Business of Gambling on Elections - Observer

Man reading newspaper(Photo: Image provided)

On Oct. 21, 1805, a British fleet commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated a French and Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson, killed in the battle, was shipped home in a vat of liquor to preserve his body.

On Oct. 21, 1879, Thomas Edison invented a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

On Oct. 21, 1917, American soldiers first saw action in World War I on the front lines in France.

On Oct. 21,1967, tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C.

On Oct. 21. 2002, a car packed with explosives blew up next to a bus in northern Israel during rush hour; 14 people were killed in addition to two suicide attackers.

On Oct. 21, 2003, invoking a hastily-passed law, Florida Governor Jeb Bush ordered a feeding tube reinserted into Terry Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die battle.

MORE OUT OF OUR PAST:Push for women's rights in Indiana started in Dublin in 1851

The week of Oct. 21, 1877, the following news was reported locally:

NAUGHTY If that party who boards at the Union House when disrobing for the night, would not stand where the reflections can be seen on the window curtain from the alley, there would not be a congregation there for her.

The Oct. 21, 1877, Richmond Independent noted a strange occurrence on Fort Wayne Avenue.(Photo: Image provided)

IN JAIL The recent attempted abduction of Mr. Abijah Moffits adopted son, Johnnie, under the impression that he was Charlie Ross, has been so fully ventilated there is no need for us to say much about it, but we will. The woman is undoubtedly crazed and her son is little better. The recovery of the boy attracted all the detective talent in the world and the abductors were captured in a twinkling. How a person cant tell Abijahs Johnnie from Charlie, we dont know.The Eds.

BILLS STORY Pious Bill made a short temperance speech at the M.E. church Thursday evening. Bill is earnest in the cause and makes right good doxology, but when doctrinal theologies merge, the Methodist encampment colored-folks lets whoop song went up, and it was too lively for many of the staid Quakers in attendance, who briskly fled.

HATS OFF Harve Lockwood is still wearing his ugly straw hat and wont quit. It aint right, Harve. Buy a cap and cover that ugly headgear! No self-respecting mule would wear a hat like that! The Eds.

WOE Charley Shively swears emphatically he will not buy his whisky where they refuse him peanuts free gratis. This will be a fatal blow to our whisky dealers.

The Evening Item Oct. 20, 1877,(Photo: Image provided)

CANAL TOWN Cambridge is quiet as usual but yesterday showed some stir. The marshal was busying taking in soiled doves, not the kind that fly wing-spread but the kind that sprawl limb-spread, for low sorts. One Mrs. Eller and two daughters, charged.

CARD SHARP There is blood on the moon and Wah! in the air up on North Seventh Street. A citizen of that aristocratic place talked in his sleep last eventide. Among other things, his wife who was awake, heard him say, Fifty cents on the tray, I copper the ace, and deuces aint wild! No jokers! The next morning the wife asked him to explain, and he told her he had been studying to increase his lightning-fast mathematical calculations, and was merely elucidating intricately complicated equations in sequence. - If she finds out what he was really intricately elucidating there wont be much calculating, nor poker wage sequencing, for all the trouble hell be dipped in. The Eds.

GREENVILLES CUSSEDNESS Addison Larimers notorious gambling room at Greenville is vacant at present since the arrest of Reynolds, the notorious cheat, has transpired. It is hoped that the report is true, for Greenville can show more whisky-shops, more gamblers and more thieves proportionate to population than any town in Ohio. The good people there are advised to take out an insurance policy or they will soon become a young Chicago.

MORE GREENVILLE CUSSEDNESS Ed Potter, (Cross-eye) formerly of Richmond, was arrested by Sheriff Hall. Addison Larimer (Hair-lip) was arrested also. After Cross-eye and Hair-lip got their bond fixed, they concluded to get on a drunk and visited various saloons during the evening, oathing vengeance on the grand jury that tries them. Hair-lip in fact became so disorderly that Marshall Hamilton was about to take him in when of a sudden Hair-lip become penitent and begged like a pup, Mr. Hamilton, let me go; I wouldnt be locked up for anything in the world! I wanna go home; I wanna see my wife and babes! The boose being so full of shamrock bruisers, the Marshall mediated that Hair-lip should put up ten dollars to insure an appearance in court Monday morning and let him go. Hair-lip gave the money and departured unsteadily. Cross-eye they said, had by then run like a quarter-horse when they arrested Hair-lip and, some say, is running still.

SHOE FLY Ike Hopper the old shoemaker has moved his shoe shop to Esquire Coats law office at the courthouse. When fresh legalities is discussed in that room, it will be pleasant for Ike to sit on his bench and make shoes, at the same time listening to the beautiful nasal twangs of Harmon Clark, as he expounds jurisprudence to a set of jurymen, who have, in the past, gone sound to sleep. Ike avers he wont go to sleep, as he likes lawyer talk more than his wifes haranguing, and can take it.

BUCKS PLUCK Buck says he will put a sore head on Butcher if he dont bring him that two dollars he owes pretty soon. The Eds.

FOR CLARITYS SAKE Dom Pedor, the Centerville correspondent of the Palladium, reported the bridge near Lymans well was broke down Sunday morning by some cattle the Jarrett boys was driving in; about eighteen, which they shipped to Buffalo. All of this is true except it wasnt Sunday but Saturday morning; and there wasnt about eighteen critters, but over forty, and they didnt ship them to Buffalo, but to Philadelphia. They was cattle though; in that he was correct.

Contact columnist Steve Martin atstephenmonroemartin@gmail.com.

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Out of Our Past: Gambling and 'cussedness' featured in 1877 news - Palladium-Item

How many more allegations of connections between gambling and nefarious activities in Victoria need to come out before a royal commission into this exploitative and underhanded industry is finally called?

Within less than a week weve had animal cruelty charges around jiggers being used in horse racing and at Crown Casino even more allegations about money laundering, along with alleged procurement of drugs and sex workers and avoiding immigration procedures for high rollers.

Then on Thursday we have revelations that a man who was sanctioned by the United Nations for assisting a war criminal has been allowed to gamble millions at Crown.

Only a few weeks ago there were accusations from whistleblowers that the AFL was getting favourable treatment from the gambling regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), in its investigations of gambling by players.

The whistleblowers must be going blue in the face from making all these sordid allegations, yet the Victorian government continues to fail to take any real action against the gambling industry.

Couple all this with how influential the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) can be when it comes to elections; the AHA imposed a special one-off levy on pub poker machines to help bankroll donations of at least $500,000 to Labor and about $300,000 to the Coalition parties in the Victorian election last year. It also funded independents who preferenced the major parties, for a total of almost $1 million in donations.

These payments went to denying the Greens the balance of power in Victoria as the industry feared the partys strong anti-poker machines policies, including the introduction of $1 maximum bets. Some would argue that was $1m well-spent by the AHA in protecting its poker machine interests.

So thats Crown Casino knees-deep in sordid accusations of illegality; a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer allegedly involved in cruel, banned practices; alleged sports gambling messes within the AFL; and poker machines all tied up in controversy and politics. Yet the Victorian government remains effectively silent about gambling in Victoria. Why is that? A royal commission is the only way to get a proper answer to that question.

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The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, hasnt been shy about instigating royal commissions hes to be applauded for the royal commissions into family violence and mental health. But something critical was missing in the terms of reference for both those royal commissions: gambling harm.

There is a real thread running here. Gambling harm can be a factor in family violence, and there are established links between gambling harm and mental ill-health. In fact, gambling harm is estimated to account for 22% of the costs to our mental health system.

With gambling inextricably linked to two royal commissions already under way or completed in Victoria, why is it not being addressed with the same level of scrutiny?

Daniel Andrews is proud of his progressive agenda, yet he seems no different to Jeff Kennett in his laissez faire approach to the gambling industry, and Crown Casino in particular.

Its telling that we are not hearing much from either the Labor or Liberal parties on these alleged instances of the gambling industry flouting regulations and seeking influence. Both parties have strong ties to the gambling industry; both take political donations from the industry; both have former insiders working in the industry now, including former ministers and advisers. Daniel Andrewss own former chief of staff went to work for Crown Casino.

Its funny that when the ALP were in opposition in Victoria they cheered me on for taking on Jeff Kennett over Crown Casino and the fact it is three times bigger than the largest casino in Las Vegas. Yet when they regained power they hosted a fundraiser at Crown.

There are undoubtedly some very tangled webs between both Labor and Coalition governments, Crown Casino, and the broader gambling industry that need to be unwoven as a priority. Both major parties have too much skin in the game to be trusted to have the interests of the community at heart ahead of furthering their own political interests.

If Daniel Andrews doesnt have the strength to take the gambling industry on at a state level, perhaps it is time prime minister Scott Morrison stood up and had a national royal commission into gambling?

There are enough instances of the gambling industry having captured power around Australia to make a national royal commission worthwhile, let alone the devastating harm the industry wreaks as it fleeces Australians of $24bn per year. That $24bn in losses is 2.5 times what we spend on Newstart annually. Imagine untangling the gambling industrys power and getting some of those billions back into our economy to be spent on goods and services instead. How good would that be, Scomo?

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How much more gambling harm can we put up with? We need a royal commission - The Guardian

By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

Coloradoballot measure Proposition DD, if approved, would legalize sports gambling inColorado and impose a 10% tax on profits earned from businesses that conductsports betting operations. The tax levied under the terms of Prop DD would notbe levied on individuals who win a wager but rather on the casinos and onlinegambling businesses contracted by casinos who earn profits on sports gambling.Since the measure seeks to impose a new tax, it requires voter approval underthe Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) law.

Asa result of a 2018 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the case Murphyv. NCAA, the federal prohibition on sports gambling under the Professional andAmateur Sports Protection Act was declared unconstitutional via the anti-commandeeringdoctrine, which states the federal government, lacks the power directlyto compel the States to require or prohibit acts which Congress itself mayrequire or prohibit. Since 2018, eight states have already passed lawslegalizing sports gambling and several others are on track to do likewise.

Ifapproved by voters, DD would permit Coloradans over the age of 21 to placewagers on the outcome of collegiate, professional and Olympic sporting eventsin-person at casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek and onlineby casino-contracted internet gambling businesses.

Thesecond portion of the measure would be to impose a 10% tax on casino profitsearned from sports betting operations and use the funds generated for threepurposes (with percentages of revenue earned). One, create and fund the WaterImplementation Cash Fund (69.5%); two, cover the costs of administration andregulation of sports gambling (27.22%); and three, provide additional fundingto the state Office of Behavioral Health to raise awareness and providetreatment for gambling addiction (1.35%). At least $534,000 annually, or 5.53%,whichever is greater, will go into a hold harmless fund where entities that experiencea financial loss due to sports gambling may apply for funds to recover thoselosses.

Thelargest portion of the tax revenue generated, which is estimated to be around$10 million in fiscal year 2020-21 and increase to $13.5 to $15.2 million in2021-22, would go toward water projects in the state. Per the language of themeasure, the funds here would be used to provide grants to governmental andprivate entities for water storage and supply projects, conservation, land use,and drought-planning projects, water education, outreach, and innovationprojects, agricultural water efficiency projects, and environmental andrecreation projects.

PropositionDD enjoys broad bipartisan support. The measure was co-sponsored in theColorado General Assembly by Representatives Alec Garnett (D) and PatrickNeville (R) and Senators John Cooke (R) and Kerry Donovan (D). A wide anddiverse array of organizations also support the measure, including the ColoradoChamber of Commerce, the Colorado Cattlemans Association, the Colorado FarmBureau, the Environmental Defense Fund, ProgressNow Colorado and the BellPolicy Center.

Oneargument in favor of legalizing sports gambling is doing so would help eradicatethe black market for sports gambling, e.g. the private bookmakers, or bookies,who can have ties to various organized crime groups and engage in other illegalactivities.

Asstate Representative Alec Garnett, a House Democrat and co-sponsor of the ballotmeasure said, Coloradans should have the option of betting on the Nuggetsor the Broncos. This new funding will go toward protecting our precious waterand we believe this is something everyone can support. I also hope this measurewill help stamp out black market sports betting and thank my colleagues on bothsides of the aisle for their support.

Anotherargument in favor of the measure states that with Colorados populationexpected to double by the year 2060, the state will not have an adequate watersupply at current usage rates to sustain the same quality of life. The fundsgenerated from this tax, which is imposed on businesses who provide an at-willactivity, will help ensure there is enough water for future needs while helpingpreserve and protect Colorados natural environment.

Anargument against voting for DD is people can become addicted to gambling,sports wagering included, and there exists no prohibition on how much a personcan lose placing bets. Prop DD will make it easier for someone with a gamblingproblem to wager, and potentially lose, a great deal of money with just a fewclicks on their smartphone or computer.

Theorganizations Coloradans for Climate Justice and Save the Colorado areregistered in opposition to measure and argue the measure will fund,river-destroying dams supported by the Colorado Water Plan. GaryWockner, director of Save the Colorado and Coloradans for Climate Justice,said, This Gambling For Dams bill is a climate-denying,river-destroying scheme pure and simple. To think that Colorado can dam its wayout of climate change is a gamble of the highest stakes.

Ayes vote on Proposition DD is a vote in favor of legalizing sports betting inColorado and imposing a 10% tax on casino profits earned from those wagers anddesignates the funds be used primarily to fund water supply projects in thestate.

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Proposition DD aims to legalize and tax sports gambling in Colorado | - BerthoudSurveyor.com

The 10 scratchcards were pulled in the summer amid player protection considerations (Picture: Rex Features)

Camelot will no longer sell 10 scratchcards over fears they could fuel gambling addictions in some players.

Lotto bosses have told shops to withdraw them, citing player protection considerations.

However, winning jackpots already sold, including two 4 million Black top prizes and a 2 million Diamond 7 prizes, will still be honoured, The Sun reported.

A Camelot spokesperson said: Our decision to stop selling 10 scratchcards back in the summer was based on player protection considerations.

As part of the ongoing work we carry out to ensure all of our players can play in a healthy and enjoyable way, we became aware that, unlike any of our other scratchcards, these particular games over-indexed among problem gamblers.

So, in keeping with that commitment, we decided to stop selling these particular scratchcards and instructed our retailers to remove all tickets from sale.

We believe this was the right thing to do to help protect the very small minority of players concerned.

The spokesperson said Camelot puts the risk of players at risk from addiction at less than one per cent, the i reported.

A Gambling Commission spokesman added: Based on the new evidence, the commission considered that the association of problem gambling with the 10 scratchcard was such that it was not consistent with it being a legitimate leisure activity.

After careful consideration of new evidence both the Commission and the Licensee agreed that all scratchcards at the 10 price point should be removed from sale until we are satisfied that the risks posed to our duties are mitigated.

Whilst there is likely to be some negative impact on good causes, the Commission is satisfied that this decision reflects the primacy of our first two duties and was necessary and proportionate.

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Camelot pulls 10 scratchcards over fears they fuel gambling addiction - Metro.co.uk