I’ve returned from Spain after attempting to live-tweet a very informative conference with some great minds on the forefront of gaming law. Here’s a look at some important legal developments from @GamingCounsel over the past week …

1. American Midterm Shuffles – Today, everyone is thinking about the US elections. Are the pundits right? Are the Democrats headed for heavy losses? Will Harry Reid prevail in Nevada? What does it all mean for Internet gaming, specifically for poker? Whatever happens today, the trend towards legalizing and regulating Internet gaming will continue in the United States. The focus may move to the state level – although some are saying that a new Reid bill could  be passed before the end of the lame duck Congressional session on December 31^st – and, if Senator Reid loses (which is unlikely), things may be slowed down. However, the push for poker by many interested groups is too big for one person or one election to derail entirely. Some see today as crucial to the industry (see: Offshore Gaming Association); taking the long view, however, I’m a bit more sanguine.

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2. Kentucky vs. Microgaming – Things always seem to be developing in the Kentucky domain name seizure matter. Several weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Kentucky denied the writs of IMEGA and the IGC, sending the questions of standing and jurisdiction back to the Franklin Circuit Court (that was only a waste of 6 months); recently the Commonwealth added Microgaming to its list of defendants in the separate but related suit against Pocket Kings (FullTilt Poker) and PartyGaming for damages. Kentucky is seeking to recover triple the amount of losses of those located within Kentucky against these three “and unknown defendants. [EGR Magazine]

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3. New Bank Seizures – Circumstances continue to challenge those servicing the US-facing Internet poker market. In Seattle, federal prosecutors have sought to cause the funds of Secure Money Inc. (a payment processor based in Canada) to be turned over to the US government. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

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4. Boyd Gaming Fundraisers – On October 26^th, Boyd Gaming Corporation announced that it’s seeking to raise $500M through 8 year senior notes in a private placement. The bonds will be guaranteed by certain Boyd subsidiaries. Boyd will use the funds to pay off existing debt. This continues the recent trend of gaming companies reaching out to the broader markets (some through IPOs – see Betfair) to raise funds. [Boyd Gaming]

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5. IMGL Conference Summary – The International Masters of Gaming Law had their fall conference in Madrid last week. It was a great series of sessions and contained lots of stories and gossip (lawyers are as bad as judges and schoolgirls for thriving on gossip). Snippets on the US: rumours about Harry Reid working on his own poker regulation/tax bill; predictions about New Jersey and Florida being the most likely to pass intra-state gaming bills among the states; and, forecasting that current US-facing operators will still have a significant role to play post-US regulation. [Gaming Law Masters]

Barrister Stuart Hoegner is an expert but not quite a “master” in international gaming law whom you can follow regularly @GamingCounsel.

Why has the well respected online casino, Intertops, parted company with the worlds largest online gaming software provider, Microgaming? Find out why, and see what Harrah’s Entertainment and the National Football League are up to!

From APCW.org:

Many of you already know that the Grand Prive Casino Group has elected to steal webmaster commissions. These guys have shut down their affiliate operations while maintaining all the casinos where webmasters sent their traffic. Their casino are eCogra Approved, licensed by Kahnawake, and powered by Microgaming… so what do they think of all this?

The Grand Prive Casino Group recently shut down their affiliate program. However, they continue to run their casinos and profit from the players their webmaster partners sent to them in the past. They have cut their “partners” out of the deal they made with them, and are keeping all the profits!

Webmasters should be informed and take the action they feel is best. Players, do you really want to trust people like this with your deposits or your winnings?

From APCW.org:

As many of you have probably noticed by now, Microgaming casinos are dropping US Players quickly in a mass exodus from the US Market! Plus, a few weeks ago we warned you about “big trouble” coming for Bodog. Guess what? It arrived this week!

Not only that, but we finally make the biggest announcement in APCW history! This is one episode you must see!

In this week’s episode:

The Man Behind Poker Dream… Meet John Dutchak…
The “dream” is over, but the nightmare has just begun. John Dutchak swears he’s not the owner of the now destroyed Poker Dream Network, but family, friends, and former co-workers all say differently. And did we mention that the hundreds of thousands of dollars in player deposits are missing as well? Yea…

Tusk Gaming Gone… Players Money is Safe… APCW Member Saves the Day…
We tried to tell players not to worry! Even though the Tusk Gaming group folded, we knew that MicroGaming would honor the player’s cash on deposit. What we didn’t expect was that Rewards Affiliates would step in and manage the casinos left homeless by the collapse… but that’s just what they did!

UIGEA Enforcement to be Debated Within Weeks… Barney Frank Expected to Speak…
It only took one year, six months, and five days, but it looks like Congress will finaly discuss how to enforce the regulations they passed into las on September 30th, 2006. Barney Frank is expected to speak, and we know he’ll remind them all just how stupid this law is… we just hope he uses really small words to do so…