Even though I’ve gotten hooked on two-minute video interviews and have kinda taken a personal change-of-interest-pace and started paying attention to actual tournaments … big names are starting to win at the LAPC, WSOP-Circuit Tunica is kicking it old school, everyone wants to know how the Venetian Deep Stacks is gonna shape up with PokerStars heading to town, and I really gotta make it over to the M Resort to check out this whole PartyPoker Premier League thing … I still tune in almost-weekly to APCW Perspectives Weekly for a little catch-up on the international poker and online-gambling-related political scene for 10 minutes at a pop:

This week J Todd keeps us abreast of California and New Jersey’ desires to get in on the online gambling game from a state-size perspective, updates us on the online gambling fund-transfer cat-and-mouse game with MasterCard and Visa getting more serious (just three months before they are legally required to do exactly what they are trying to do), fingers the Eldorado Casino as a potentially shady site to avoid, and tease me with some affiliate business stuff that I don’t really care about but am interested to watch because of the hidden-camera + foreign-accent nature of the upcoming interview.

Here are a few other semi-related newsy links about how things are going elsewhere in the poker world:

The Mayor of Baltimore is pushing for poker+table games despite the governor of Maryland having less of an interest in making expanded gambling a priority.

Michael Barnier, the newly appointed EU Internal Markets Commissioner, promises to straighten out inconsistencies in European online gambling laws.

Police in suburban Alabama are cracking down on / raiding the real-money tournament scene there.

We all know how difficult and complicated poker-related legislation can get/be in the United States … and we often look at Europe as providing a model of how things could and should be. However, things can actually get pretty complicated across the pond — different languages and all — and if anything, what we have to compare is how actively engaged so many different countries are in dealing with difficult online gambling legal matters … while we in the US seem much more content moving slowly as we figure out how we really will handle billions of dollars worth of online, multi-jurisdictional financial transactions in the 21st century … you know, in a way that doesn’t get the NFL’s fantasy panties in a wad.

Seriously, if it weren’t for the PPA — which we all know is a mere infant, toddler at best, amongst American political organizations — I’m not so sure we’d be moving at all on these matters … and the United States would be leaving it to the Europeans to establish frameworks for what ultimately will prove to be trillions of dollars worth of virtual finance in the future. That’s the undercurrent of why we’re all here in Washington DC right now … as much as we say, and many believe, it’s just about the freedom to bring more dead money into the game.

It’s a lot to chew on, I know. And while you may not have the inclination or scratch to lay down for Gambling Compliance‘s new book on the online gambling situation in Europe, you can click here to read a 5-page summary of Market Barriers: An impartial and comprehensive evaluation of the current legal, regulatory and market landscape for online gambling in Europe:

An entirely new and independently researched 80,000 word survey, the report provides an impartial and comprehensive snapshot of the regulation of Europe’s online gambling sector – a market that the European Commission estimates to be worth US$10.1bn by 2010.

Detailed analysis of all 27 EU member states underlines how the proliferation of national level rules is steadily balkanising Europe’s gambling market and creating new conflicts and regulatory risks for operators:

Europe’s online gambling map is being redrawn with unprecedented speed. 19 of 27 member states across Europe are currently addressing online gambling through reform, while seven of these have made concrete plans to shift towards local licensing models.

Financial transaction (FT) and ISP blocking restrictions are gathering momentum. Since the introduction of payment blocking regulations in the United States in 2006, seven EU member states have introduced mechanisms for blocking online gambling, and a further eight jurisdictions are presently considering blocking measures as part of broader reform debates.

As the nature of European licensing changes, existing land-based casinos and national lottery monopolies are starting to move online while previously excluded private operators are entering markets as B2B service and payment providers.

A product of GamblingCompliance’s international legal research team, the report cites legislation, much of which is not available in English, and uses over 50 primary sources including exclusive consultation with regulators and legal experts on the ground in each jurisdiction.

Price costs £899 for non-subscribers and £799 for subscribers.

This story seems to have legs. ABC News has a piece — where they lede with a guy who so far is unable to buy into the WSOP main event. I found this story at the top of the Drudge Report … which means everyone in the mainstream media (who doesn’t read Pokerati) is also well aware of the situation. (FWIW, the ABC News story ups the number of banks targeted from four to five.)

Feds Order Banks to Freeze Millions in ‘LEGAL’ Online Poker Winnings…

Even the EU is getting involved again, threatening to take the European Commission’s discrimination claims to the WTO if they can’t reach a settlement with the US to allow their companies to compete without this sort of harassment from the US Feds. In their view, the recent actions in New York’s Southern District Court are merely a continuation of the protectionist policies that began three years ago:

“Internet gambling is a complex and delicate area, and we do not want to dictate how the U.S. should regulate its market. However, the U.S. must respect its WTO obligations,” said E.U. Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton in a statement.

[…]

“The report comes to the conclusion that these proceedings are legally unjustified as well as discriminatory, because the activities of E.U. companies took place under the cover of U.S. WTO commitments,” the Commission said in a statement.

At a minimum, this guarantees that federal authorities (beyond a lone Assistant US Prosecutor) should be taking a real look at how “American-friendly” online poker sites process the dollars that transact in peer-to-peer poker games taking place on offshore sites before being shipped to American banks.

News every American needs to hear! If you thought the UIGEA and Patriot Act were bad, you won’t believe what your government has for you next! Plus, European online gaming news from Scotland, Holland, and Switzerland.

Been gathering a few gems over the past week…

Lawsuits are so easy and fun. Well, ask Clonie and she might deliver a different response, but that hasn’t stopped the lawyers in other cases from filing some very poker-centric lawsuits.

Gambling Times Inc. has filed suit against Scott Lazar, executive producer of Deal, the almost-embarrassing poker movie that flopped (pun inevitable) in movie theaters in 2008. According to super reputable tabloid TMZ, Gambling Times Inc. was promised prominent product placement in the film, and for the lack of it is suing Lazar for $1 million, about ten times more than what the movie garnered in revenue.

More…

Why was the Washington State Gambling Commission ordering PR Web to cease and desist? And what’s the good news from the Bodog camp? We cover these stories, plus interesting online gambling news from Europe.

This week I come to you from Holland! Topics include the European Union, as they prove you don’t have to be an American to be a hypocrite! Plus, Harvard Medical takes a look at online gambling addiction.

Online gambling news from Party Gaming and the state of Texas. Plus, we follow up on our look at the European Union’s ever-changing stance on our industry. What does all this mean? Is it good news or bad?

Online gambling gets some good news in America, as the new US Trade Representative promises to follow the WTO rules! This as the European Union puts the online gambling in the back seat. Plus, what the hell is wrong with the government of South Carolina?

Could cracks in the European Union spell trouble for the online gambling industry? The free trade protection afforded to our industry could be in jeopardy if member nations begin to pull out of the alliance. Also this week, J Todd takes us on a fishing expedition!

We wrap up the week in online gambling with our exclusive interview of Nick Jenkins from Betcha.com about his battle with the Washington State Gambling Commission. Plus, breaking poker news from South Carolina and the European Union’s next move!

In this week’s the February 1, 2008, episode:

Complete Coverage of the CAP Euro Conference in London…
We went… We saw… We drank our butts off! Yea yea, I know that sounds unprofessional. But this event had some great parties! And both had an open bar… for a few hours at least! LOL!

In all seriousness, however, there were many things to learn, and many meetings to attend. See our highlights from the event, including an interview with CAP staff!

Positive News from America? That’s a change…
We’re following two interesting stories from the States… and both have a connection to Washington State, where former professional poker player turned lawyer Lee Rousso says he will make a run for governor! And Mr. Rousso is already challenging the states online gambling ban!

Also, Representative Jim McDermott is floating an online gambling study in the US Congress!

Finland Makes Online Gambling News… AGAIN!
Here’s the absolute proof that government has no clue… Just a week ago, Finland was talking about a new online gambling ban that would allow players in that country to pursue civil recovery from online gambling websites, players at those sites, or credit card companies that process payments for those sites.

This week, they want to run an online poker room?

I think this story — about the Austrian state gambling entity going into business with the Swedish online poker oligarchy — will go under the radar but is much bigger than it appears for the future of poker … in a good way.

Spaceman apparently couldn’t stay off the poker-bloggy horse, and he’s got an interesting article in Poker Listings about the Mathematics of International Finance and its effect on high-stakes tournament players. Way too high-brow for me to understand, of course — and I imagine the Euro players are saying, “Hey, we’ve been paying out our bloody Vegas arses forever!” — but still good to see something resembling real journalistic analysis of where poker fits in the world and life, er, beyond the table …

The WSOP is about 4 months away, so naturally people are starting to make plans — including PartyPoker. Two interesting things about their latest WSOP announcement: 1) win your way in early so you can buy your own plane tickets for cheap; and 2) Party continues to try and further embed themselves with Phil Hellmuth.

Party used to be the site that didn’t attach themselves to any pros other than Mike Sexton. And they used to pay for your travel when you won a satellite online. Now they are trying to put it in your head that it’s normal for the player to take care of that.

Click below for the full press release.

More…