Nearly all European online gambling firms, including the poker sites, have shied away from the U.S. market for the past 3 years following passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) back in October 2006.  The first step towards appealing that law took place Wednesday with a markup in a House subcommittee.  Now it’s off to the House and Senate where further amendments are likely.

PartyGaming’s announcement that they will be merging with Austrian online gambling powerhouse has the industry abuzz with excitement.  The new company, which is hungry to enter the U.S. market, will be worth a whopping $3.7 billion.

Austrian sports betting firm Bwin and the world’s 4th largest online poker company, PartyGaming, witnessed their shares jump Thursday morning following news that the two companies may finally merge following months of speculation.

The online poker community was abuzz with excitement over the news that Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 online gambling bill had been marked up in the House Subcommittee with a vote of 41-22-1.  This was being heralded as the most positive outcome the online poker sector has seen in years.

Troubled online gambling website World Sports Exchange (WSEX.com) has begun issuing checks to customers once again this week and offered some ray of hope to at least one individual suggesting that the payment issues should be resolved in the next 30 days.

The Las Vegas Sands Corp. consolidated second quarter adjusted property EBITDA increased by 91.2% to record $473.5 million on record net revenue of $1.59 Billion.  Meanwhile, the online software and poker platform Playtech also witnessed strong second quarter results with gross income climbing 2 percent from the previous quarter, a result of strong casino and bingo growth.

It should come as no surprise that when Sportsbook.com broke away from the Cake Poker network that they would lose a good chunk of their customer base.  Sportsbook.com is after all the largest North American facing online sports betting company in terms of overall customer volume.

In the U.S. today (July 27), a markup of an online gambling legalization bill authored by Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass) was to be voted on during a hearing in Washington, D.C.  

Bodog Poker, a one time power house, has fallen from the 16th biggest online poker room in the world based on “real cash” players to number 21, its lowest position since rankings began atPokerScout.com.

No wonder Atlantic City is suffering, Pennsylvania is making quite an impact on the gambling scene, at least if collected taxes act as an indicator.

The United Kingdom’s second largest bookmaker, William Hill, is moving its telephone wagering to Gibraltar, citing high taxes on the mainland.  The move was well forecast in recent weeks.

Harrah’s may be one of the most recognizable names in the gambling sector.  The company, however, is in some serious financial trouble according to Moody’s, which issued this warning last week: