I’m kinda glad I didn’t respond to that spammish email trying to sell me pokerati.cn … the Commie reds are about to embark on a six-month, eight-agency crackdown on online gambling. Chinese officials did not respond to inquiries on whether or not running the campaign between now and August had anything to do with timing of the World Series of Poker.

Not sure how deep any in our industry have dug into the possibilities in China yet, but hey, that “Bodies” exhibit could probably use some new prisoners to pose playing poker.

More on the China crackdown, where you may notice vague similarities to what’s gone down in the US of A:

Online gambling “has caused large cash outflows from the country and seriously disturbed social and economic order,” said a statement posted on the public security ministry’s Web site Monday.

The campaign aims to “bust a number of syndicates from home and abroad that collude to organise gambling activities on the Internet and severely punish the illegal rings,” it said.

Authorities will also clamp down on underground banks and third party payment platforms that provide cash transfer services for gambling sites, as well as Internet operators that provide Web access services, it said.

“(We) will clean up gambling information and Web sites across the board,” the statement said.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on in one of the hungriest industries out there, and, game of skill or not, the parent biz of our beloved little poker world:

ALABAMA — A small little gambling fight is going down in the land Spencer Bachus represents, over a matter of semantics, technology, and the millions of dollars bingo machines represent. Bingo is legal in ‘bama … but should video bingo be? The fight is a dirty — complete with one agency repeatedly trying to raid a well-monied operation that believes it’s on the right side of the law.

CHINA — After a slow start, gambling revenues in Macau are reaching record levels.

IOWA — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission’s computer system got hacked, and they’re blaming China:

Chinese foreign ministry officials strongly disputed the report, issuing a statement calling it “full of bias and ulterior motives.”

Personal information in the breach included names, Social Security numbers, home addresses and dates of birth. Most of the people in the licensing database are Iowa residents, but it also includes residents of Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and other states, Ketterer said.

The list includes workers such as card dealers, slot machine technicians, jockeys, trainers and owners of horses and greyhounds.

LOUISIANA — The New Orleans-to-Shreveport casino-biz is in a definite recession, one not planned for when the state planned on becoming the central-coast alternative to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. They blame Texans for not gambling enough Oklahoma and Mississippi for cutting in on their action.

NEW JERSEY — Big fight going on over laws related to the building of Revel — the east coast’s $2.5 billion version of CityCenter. Should be an interesting development to watch go up (or down) as New Jersey fights to stay competitive with the smaller casino operations set to open shop in Delaware and Pennsylvania, but not Maryland.

MARYLAND — Gov. Martin O’Malley is saying Maryland’s not gonna jump into the gambling expansion fray, despite assertions that his state is gonna lose out as neighboring locales up their casino offerings to include table games + poker.

OHIO — As we know, Lyle Berman has effectively bought himself a piece of all the newly legalized action to come in Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Toledo. But he’s run into some blowback over the location of a new casino in Columbus. The constitutional amendment voters approved in November called for a full-blown casino-resort downtown, but now a referendum on a May ballot will decide if the Penn Gaming development should be moved to a blighted part of the city.

Related: “It’s Lyle’s Ohio Now”

UNITED KINGDOM — Once upon a time, Great Britain was leading the world in all things online gambling. But regulations and tax issues are messing that up — and it’s turning into a battle of Labour vs. the Tories for the UK’s gambling future. Good rundown on some British gambling-law history and where the different parties stand on gambling in the UK … as the rest of Europe catches up.

Interesting op-ed in the New York Times today about the WTO and China, particularly pointing out the need for China to not just stop pirating American music and movies, but also to respect WTO rulings outright:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/opinion/14fri2.html

China has also increasingly turned to the W.T.O. to defend its interests. Last month, it challenged an American ban on Chinese poultry imports. It has another case against American anti-dumping policy. And there will be more. China has as big a stake as the United States in a well-functioning, lawful trading system. If it wants to protect its own rights, it will accept the W.T.O.’s rulings.

Funny. You’d think in the world of trade, this might be a two-way street. Perhaps the NYT is just a bit clueless on the US’s thumbing its nose at the WTO as it pertains to online gambling? And considering that we owe China more than they owe us … who’s really in the driver’s seat on this one?

From the PPA:

We have just received word from our attorneys in Kentucky that Judge Thomas Wingate has ruled against us on all points. In his conclusion he orders the 141 online gaming sites to geographically block and prove that they have done so before the Commonwealth of Kentucky will release ownership of their domain names.

Click here to read the court decision.

(Funny-ironic that I put up my first affiliate link in like forever shortly before this decision?)

UPDATE: In addition to Kentucky’s semi-unprecedented action, Turkey is blocking websites left and right, China is cracking down at internet cafes, and it appears that net freedom will not be an issue of any weight in the homestretch of this election season.

MEANWHILE: Italy has updated its laws and just granted a license to PokerStars.

In this week’s episode:

The United Kingdom, where they LOVE this industry…

Better late than never, right? Sorry it’s taken a few days to send a “simple” email, but this time difference has been kicking my bum, as they say… =0)

Well this weeks show is here, and it is the first APCW show brought to you from two continents! Watch J.Todd’s race to London as it unfolds!

China, where they LOVE TO HATE this industry…

What are they doing now? We know they are not the greatest when it comes to human rights, and that intolerance extends to online gaming as well, where this industry is viewed as “undesirable”.

Hope the US Government is proud to emulate one of the most repressive nations in history when it comes to playing online poker.

Finland, where they have NO CLUE about our industry…

Imagine that you’re sitting at home… and you get a letter from the government of Finland! They say you owe one of their citizens money because you beat them in online poker!

Don’t laugh! This is real! And the government in Finland wants to allow players there to recoup losses from other players, credit card companies, and online gaming sites!