When lawmakers raised the state casino tax in 2003, they raised the stakes for the entire riverboat gambling industry in Illinois.
Even before the rate increase, the state's graduated tax system topped out at 50 percent, then the highest rate in the nation.
In 2003, that top rate went up to 70 percent — doubling the next highest rate, in Indiana.
The impact quickly has trickled down to gamblers.

As Kansas lawmakers consider casinos as a way to pay for education, they could learn from 10 years of riverboat casinos along Louisiana's Red River.
By law, the boats are supposed to be able to cast off and cruise the languid waters of the Red River. In real life, they don't move, and never have.
Instead, these riverboat casinos sit in the water, glowing and flashing their neon allure in the heart of the Bible Belt while a river of gamblers flows into them from Texas and Arkansas.

There have been some recent murmurs about the possibility of operating online casinos on American soil. So far the anti online casino lobby in the US has managed to keep online gambling operations out of the US.
But with mounting pressure on the rapidly expanding business it may only be a matter of time before the US changes its policy. So far the online casino industry has been kept out of the US and has had to set up operations in other countries that have not banned them.

City officials are fighting for control of millions of dollars in riverboat casino revenue that flows to community foundations they call a vestige of East Chicago's "old politics."
East Chicago City Attorney Ned Ruff said the city's new mayor, George Pabey, wants East Chicago to take control of the casino revenue. He said there are questions about how the foundations have spent their share of casino revenue.

Vegas gambling giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has reportedly halted operations at its UK Lucky Me.com online gambling site following losses of $9.3 million last year.

Introduced in November 2003 for British bettors the site was first suspended in October, Harrah's revealed in its annual report to shareholders this week. Spokesman David Strow said that the virtual doors of Lucky Me had been closed because it was losing money.

UK -- A rapid proliferation of mobile casinos, lotteries and sports betting services should see gross revenues from mobile gambling mushroom to more than US$19.3bn by 2009, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The report reveals that lotteries will be the largest money-spinners, with gross revenues of nearly US$7.9bn worldwide by 2009, followed by sports betting (US$6.9bn) and casino-style gaming (US$4.5bn).

London - Shares of UK companies that own online gambling sites had soared this year on speculation of mergers and acquisitions and the profit potential of online poker, said Dresdner Bank analyst Andrew Lee.

The businesses were "hugely cash-generative in an explosive growth market", said Lee. "The market is finally rerating them to reflect their organic and acquisitive growth prospects."

The amount of Britons that are gambling over the Internet has increased more than six times in the last year, according to a survey on Tuesday by online casino 888.com.

Ten per cent of British women and 16 percent of men said they would consider gambling all of their worldly possessions for a $5 million jackpot, said 888.com, which analysts say may be the next online casino to list on the London Stock Exchange.

Casino operator Stanley Leisure has made yet another investment in the growing online gaming market, securing its foothold in the $20 billion dollar interactive gambling industry.

Stanley, which purchased the Acropolis Casinos brand (www.AcropolisCasinos.com) in 1999, has re-launched the site to the US market using technology provided by gaming software giant Playtech.

As reported by the UK Independent: "Casino groups had hoped to get their bulldozers going in 2005, concreting Britain to make way for thousands of slot machines. But after the Government cut back on its plans to open up the gaming market, the bulldozers will be standing idle while companies instead go all-out to win the jackpot prize of a new operating license.

"Only 24 new casinos will be allowed after changes to the Gambling Bill - eight small, eight large, and eight 'mega', Las Vegas-style locations. Decisions on who will get what will not surface until late next year.