Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

The USA might have tried to ban online gambling simply to regulate it down the line, at least that's what Italy is in the process of doing. The latest news from that government is a plan to auction off as many as 17,000 gambling licenses including permits for online casinos and poker rooms. The start of 2007 will mark a complete turnaround by the Italian administration on online gambling. The biggest European gambling firms are lining up to bid for licenses in this rapidly growing sector of the market. Coral have an Italian-language sports betting website up and running and also have established a B&M presence in Genoa, while William Hill is partnering up with Codere in Spain and is known to be very interested in the prospect of moving into Italy. Finally Ladbrokes has already done a deal with Pianeta Scommesse several months ago and followed that up in November with the purchase of three betting shops in Turin (home of Juventus). There is a split down the middle in the EU when it comes to online gambling. In the one corner we have the United Kingdom now joined by Italy, Belgium, and Spain as proponents of the regulation of the industry. On the other side with rapidly diminishing support we find Germany and France (what a surprise for anyone with a knowledge of European history) with a reactionary stance of local protectionism. Our pick? The Allies will win this one as well - besting the Hun and his Froggy pals on the battlefield of free trade! The small European nations will fall into line once the big guns have decided which way to go and sooner rather than later Europe will be the global leader in online gambling.