The global incomes of casinos in Macau grew 16.5% during the first quarter of 2006, compared to the last three months of 2005, according to the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Office.

Altogether, the revenues generated by the 19 casinos that are operating in Macau reached 1,5 billion dollars, most of which came from Chinese tourists who visited the small peninsula from the rest of the country.

Mississippi Gaming Commission recently approved the new casino plans presented by Leucadia National Corp., a New York based enterprise, which is interested in rebuilding Biloxi’s Hard Rock Casino and Resort. The floating Casino was scheduled to open the same day that hurricane Katrina destroyed it. The casino value was $235 million.

GTECH Holdings Corporation announced that incomes for the first four months of the current year have reached $368,3 million; that is 9% more than the incomes registered in the same period of 2005.

GTECH is a leading gaming technology and services company that provides integrated technology, creative content, and business services to effectively manage and grow today's evolving gaming markets. In targeted economies, the company also leverages its operational presence and infrastructure to supply commercial transaction processing services.

The III Castilla & León Gaming Congress, held on the 18th and 19th of April in Burgos (Spain), referred mainly to legal aspects, taxes and advertising in the gambling industry, besides other hot topics related to bingos, rooms and casinos.

The Congress, organized by the Ministry and Territorial Administration of the Castilla y León’s Board, was also sponsored by Burgos’ city and county council. About 150 experts gathered in this event “to create a forum of debate and reflection about the problems that affect this market”, according to a press release sent to MediaGambling’s newsroom.

A casino established in Oklahoma and its manager agreed to pay fines for up to $2.5 million for violations of the federal precautions destined to fight financial crime.

However, the government authorities informed that, in spite of the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma and Edward E. Street, the man that guides the daily operations of the game’s precinct, agreed to the imposed sanction, neither denied or admitted the committed accusations.

Australian casinos are pressing the federal government to reach an agreement and be exonerated from the “Know your Clients” bill. The bill has been proposed by the government to fight money laundry and terrorism. The bill says that all Australian financial institutions and casinos must check all their clients’ background.

However, Chris Downy, CEO for Australian Casino Association, plans to argue the bill. According to Downy, casinos should be treated differently.

Las Vegas Sands, the American casino operator, announced this week its 3,600 million investment for building Marina Bay Sands, the first casino-resort in Singapore. The establishment will have 2,500 rooms, shopping centers, an auditorium, luxurious restaurants, theaters and a museum.

Marina Bay Sands would be inaugurated in 2009. It will be a really huge resort-casino: its shopping mall will be as big as five Wal-Mart supermarkets. Las Vegas Sands owns Venetian Hotel and Casino, the only place in Asia where gambling is currently legal.

Cirsa, the Spanish entertainment company, is planning to invest 169 million euros in Chile, in order to continue its expansion all along the country. About 96 million will be used for building seven new casinos. Besides, the firm will make other investments in the Caribbean and Macao.

Manuel Lao Gorina, vice president of Cirsa, said the company has presented several projects for the 18 current biddings that are open today in Chile, in order to build new establishments.

Don Quixote’s Kingdom is waiting for the necessary permissions in order to start building what will be the first Harrah’s Casino in Europe. It will be a casino, hotel and golf club, but also a group of luxurious houses and apartments. If Harrah’s, the world’s biggest gambling operator, manages to fit all legal requirements soon, the construction would start at the end of this year.

The hotel and casino project, that will look like the Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, will have 850 rooms and an auditorium for 3000 people.

The authorities of the World Trade Organization (WTO) were waiting for an answer from the United States, with regards to Internet gambling in Antigua and Barbuda. However, the government of the North-American country only said that they are “working hard in order to find a solution for this situation”.

During a public audition which took place this week at the WTO, the government of the United States didn’t give much information about the way the Organization should solve the problem of Antigua and Barbuda allowing citizens to gamble online.