The new President-elect of Taiwan has informed that he intends to encourage the casino business in his country, as a way to enhance economy. Ma Ying-Jeou said he is prepared to open the doors to the gaming world, since it could be the only solution for Taiwan’s financial problems.

Ma Ying-Jeou has made his intentions clear: when he takes office in 20th May, a new gaming era will start in Taiwan. “Local governments will have the right to issue gambling licenses,” the President-elect said. “The measure will be an effort to improve the country’s economy."

The French government has been considering for some time whether or not to legalize the online gambling market in France. Finally, the decision to legalize online gambling has been made; this will enable them to compete with other major European online casinos, allowing a general increase in the country’s income.

The French lottery Francaise des Jeux and PMU, have been monopolizing the entire gambling market. In their websites, they offer online betting and scratchcards. Any other games apart from these two which involve money are considered illegal. In consequence, some major foreign online gambling operators have been arrested in France for violating its gambling laws.

The tournament, which began recently and will end on 30th April, gives players the opportunity of registering free in the All Slots Casino. By doing so, they will be able to take part in the semifinal tournament, that will be held daily.

In spite of the announcements made by Harrah’s Entertainment a few months ago about the development of a $1.2 billion casino in Slovenia, the company has decided to withdraw from the project. A spokesperson for Harrah’s said the decision was made because they were unable to reach an agreement concerning a management contract.

“It was really coming to an agreement on how we could have management strength and they could have ownership control,” Jan Jones, Harrah’s senior vice president of communications and government relations explained.

Apart from its virgin forests, elevated mountains, mystic valleys, exuberating green landscapes and spectacular mountain rivers, the Himalayan kingdom prepares itself in order to receive visitors with world first class casinos that include avant-garde technological equipments.

The representative of the Tourism Department in Sikkim, Sr. Upadhyaya says: “The project will surely end this year. The legalization of casinos resulted in an increase in the tourism section. The state can expect to come across tourists that will not hesitate to spend large amounts of money in one go.”

This 2008, between March and December, the famous Conrad Resort & Casino of Punta del Este, Uruguay, will celebrate the Conrad Poker Tour. In the first encounter of the year, celebrated last March 7th, the U$S 345,000 jackpot was disputed by more that 140 players.

The tourney has 16 rounds, each of them celebrated in two days (Friday and Saturday). The last round was celebrated last Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March, in this opportunity, the casino contributed with U$S 1.000 for each one of the participants enrolled up to a U$S 100.000 top.

Casinos Austria International announced its plans to cross the oceans during 2008 in two spectacular ships: the Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager and the Silversea’s Silver Shadow. The cruises will navigate through the Panama Canal and the Mexican Riviera, following a route that will lead passengers to tropical hideaways in Hawaii.

In only 110 days, the Silver Shadow will visit 26 countries and 52 harbors, including the mysterious islands of the Pacific, the amazing desserts in Egypt and the millenary Far East. On the other hand, the Seven Seas Voyager will visit 26 countries and make stops in 51 ports during a 115-night trip.

The first casino to operate in Israel will open soon, since an agreement has been reached between the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Yitzhak Aharonovitch and the Israel Land Administration for the acquisition of almost twelve acres of land on the northeast coast of the country for the construction of the first legal casino in the country.

The casino will be part of a complex that will also have a conference center, malls and hotels. A reduction of illegal gambling – which is estimated to move over 3.600 million dollars a year - is expected thanks to the construction of this new complex.

In the middle of a great debate and controversy regarding the possibility of building casinos in England and therefore increasing the gambling offer in the country, it was announced this week that the English government would finally be willing to permit the construction of big gambling centers.

Gordon Brown, England’s Prime Minister, has always showed interest in reaching a solution to the conflict over the advantages and disadvantages that the construction of gambling centers will carry. Since the beginning, it seemed that getting the approval would be almost impossible due to the lack of consensus at the Parliament.

This week Holland Casino received the international award “Socially Responsible Operator of the Year” granted by the gaming industry. Johan van Kastel, Security and Risk Control Vice President, attended the Gaming Awards 2008 celebrated in London on behalf of the casino.

“We are very proud to receive this international acknowledgment,” Holland Casino’s spokesman Dick Flink said. “Holland Casino has adopted the Responsible Gaming Policy as part of its strategy, with the aim to put the organization ‘in the center of society’.”