The two independent administrative authorities will begin on-site inspections of the thirty-five French-licensed online gaming operators to ensure compliance with regulatory objectives including the fight against addiction, protection of vulnerable populations, the fight against criminal activities and ensuring fairness.

An assessment will be drawn up and any operators found breaching provisions of the law may see the CNIL using its powers of sanction.

Driven by state senator Ray Lesniak, the bill sailed though the state senate and was due to be presented to the House of Assembly on January 6. However, it appears that the proposal has not appeared on the official schedule, meaning that it is unlikely to make an appearance before January 10.

No explanation was available for the delay.

Gross win fell just short of $29.93 million, and the consultancy notes that even if the bonanza that was World Cup Football is deducted, the rise would still have been a creditable 11.5 percent.

Predictably, online casino and bingo sites were a major component, with bingo putting in a particularly good performance at $2.67 billion – a rise of 28.4 percent over 2009. Online casinos contributed $6.24 million, up 13.3 percent on gross win.

The perceived slow decay of online poker nevertheless generated a rise of 7.1 percent to $5.06 million, H2 reported, noting that the liberalised French and Italian markets had saved the day for the vertical.

The sector’s biggest business generator at $12.06 billion was without doubt sports betting, up 10.8 percent including the World Cup Football booster.

H2 Gambling Capital is the industry standard supplier of data and consultancy information regarding the gambling industry, boasting a professional team with an extensive knowledge of both the interactive and land-based sectors. The company, which started operations in 2000, uses proprietary and dedicated software to monitor the business, and claims 500 international companies on its client list.

The number of online gambling websites has declined slightly since 2009, according to the statistical specialist, with fewer than 2 400 operational sites still active. H2 attributes this to not only weak economic conditions, but harder competition for business and industry consolidation in what it describes as a maturing market.

Positive regulatory changes in Europe, notably in Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Spain, would help the industry maintain double digit growth going forward, the researcher opines, noting that here could be more participation in the business by large, well-established land gambling corporates.

The rising appeal of mobile gambling is also flagged as an important driver of growth, with this trend is likely to continue in the years ahead.

The Manchester-based club sponsorship is effective from July 1 2011 and 12BET’s logo will appear on all Wigan Athletic replica shirts and training apparel, excluding juniors, for the next two seasons with an option of continuing for a third season.

The sponsorship includes 12BET becoming Wigan Athletic’s official betting and gaming partner and a high profile brand presence in and around the DW Stadium.

Neil Ryan, Head of Marketing, Commercial and Retal at Wigan Athletic said: “We are really pleased to have agreed this major new commercial partnership.

“To have secured such a substantial fee from a high profile brand like 12BET demonstrates clearly where the club is going and we are looking forward to working with them to achieve our collective objectives over the next two years”.

Rory Anderson, CEO, 12BET Europe said: “We are delighted to join forces with Wigan Athletic – a sponsorship that will give us great exposure both in the UK and globally, providing the perfect platform to promote our core proposition; in-play football betting.

“We have always been impressed with the club’s ethos associated with loyalty, commitment and team spirit, values that sit closely with our own. We look forward to working closely with the club and its supporters to make this partnership a huge success”.

“The two groups competing to buy the company each upped their offers today in a Camden hearing.

“The bondholders increased their offer to $225 million from $175 million. Donald Trump, the reality TV star and real estate mogul, increased his bid from $100 million to just under $114 million. Trump is bidding with his daughter, Ivanka, and Dallas-based Beal Bank.

“Federal bankruptcy Judge Judith Wizmur denied a request by Trump to throw out the bondholders’ new offer. Wizmur said she would be weighing both in picking the best plan for the gambling company to emerge from bankruptcy.

“Trump Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 17…”

The £5,300 buy in tournament was the biggest ever held in the UK attracting 730 players from all over the world. Gustavson, a 23-year-old online pro, was one of 149 players who won their seats on PokerStars.

He and Eastgate, who takes home £530,000 for second place, started their heads-up battle straight after the dinner break. The duel could have taken hours but it lasted only seven hands and 15 minutes as Gustavson’s AQ beat Eastgate’s A9.

Gustavson, who plays online as “Aguskb” and has a string of successes on PokerStars, said: “I’m speechless, totally overwhelmed. I don’t think it’s going to hit me for a quite a while. Having this title is amazing – a dream come true.”

Gustavson plans to spend some of his prize money buying a house in Vegas and “perhaps a Porsche”. He also wins a seat to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo as part of his prize. His online results include winning the PokerStars Sunday Warm Up in July for $135,000 and 12th place in the PokerStars $530 NLHE World Championship of Online Poker event last month.

Eastgate said: “It’s been an amazing ride. I made it to second place, which is far more than you hope for going into a final table. Big applause for Aaron who won – he deserved it. I’m pleased I made it to heads-up.” The final also featured PokerStars qualifier Martin Gudvangen from Norway (4th place, £227,000), British PokerStars player Dominic Cullen (5th place, £173,000) and Raymond Wu from Taipei, a member of Team PokerStars Asia, who finished 7th for £87,000.

Among the 104 players to cash were Kevin Schaffel, the PokerStars-sponsored World Series of Poker “November Nine” finalist, Friend of PokerStars Darus Suharto, Team PokerStars PROs Maria “maridu” Mayrinck and Arnaud Mattern, as well as the PokerStars-sponsored former England footballer Teddy Sheringham.

This season’s EPT London Poker Festival, which took place at the Hilton Metropole for the first time, featured 16 different events spread over eight days. Side event winners included Team PokerStars PROs Joe Hachem, Jason Mercier, and William Thorson. The Main Event numbers staggered players and media alike and topped last season by more than 100 players. In season one, 175 players entered, creating a total prize pool of £524,000; this year the prize pool was seven times that at £3,540,500.

The last two days of EPT London were broadcast live on PokerStars.tv in seven languages; the event was also filmed for television.

1. Aaron Gustavson, USA, 850,000
2. Peter Eastgate, Denmark, 530,000
3. Nikolai Senninger, Germany, 285,000
4. Martin Gudvangen, Norway, 227,000
5. Dominic Cullen, UK, 173,000
6. Rui Milhomens, Portugal, 124,000
7. Raymond Wu, Taipei, 87,000
8. Karim Bennani Smires, France/Morocco, 50,100

If the luck of the table is on the player’s side, the roulette wheel will reveal instant rewards and prizes, unsurpassable by other table games on offer. In order for players to reach their highest potential in roulette online, the Platinum Play Online Casino roulette guide will definitely guide players to understanding everything there is to know about this popular casino game, as well as tips and tricks to amplify the winning succession of the game being played.

For those players still unsure of placing bets and roulette games involving monetary obligations, Platinum Play Online Casino has an array of free roulette options to take-part in. The free version of the game will allow players to try out the game with no credits being placed that will require money spent. For those attempting to test the waters in terms of roulette play online, this is the best option in which to do so in. Offering all the same exquisite graphics and attention to detail in the game presentation, the free roulette option boasts a comprehensive gaming affinitive to advanced levels of online gambling experience.

As a prominent game feature within the Platinum Play Online Casino forum, roulette is proving to be a force to be reckoned with, in terms of superior gambling and captivating thrills surrounding each game on offer. Spinning the wheel to glory and prestige has never been this easy with roulette gambling at Platinum Play Online Casino.