Blackjack seminars hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are to make a comeback ahead of a new feature film about the famous team, it has been revealed.

The MIT group hit the headlines in the 1980s and 1990s when their policy of counting cards enabled them to take millions from some of the world’s leading casinos, a tale that is now being made into a feature film, 21, starring Kevin Spacey.

Now two highly respected blackjack players are offering students the chance to learn from their tactics. Mike Aponte, a World Series of Blackjack champion, and David Irvine, also a member of the MIT team, have announced that they are bringing the seminars to New York for the first time.

April 28^th will see the W Hotel Times Square host the New York event, with June 23^rd the date for a Las Vegas version.

New proposals due to go before the US Senate within the next few weeks could see an influx of tourists into popular American destinations such as Las Vegas, it has been suggested.

The proposals centre on a suggested change to the Visa Waiver Program, which would increase the number of nations for whom it is easier to enter the US due to an absence of stringent visa requirements.

The move would be welcomed by the Las Vegas casino industry as, despite posting large profits for 2006, is now finding Macau to be a strong rival for its status as gambling capital of the world.

Avoiding lengthy interviews and paperwork would be of benefit to both the tourist industry and the tourists themselves, according to an MGM Mirage spokesman.

“All they want to do is come here and spend money. For that we are putting them through an interrogation. An interrogation that, I might add, no American would put up with,” said Alan Feldman, according to the Las Vegas Gaming Wire.

The third annual European Gambling Briefing Conference is set to take place on May 8^th and May 9^th at Le Meridien in Brussels, with a number of speakers for the event now announced.

Aiming to address the future of regulation within the European gaming industry, the conference will have particular resonance this year due to a number of recent gambling initiatives.

Governments in the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have all recently announced, or are rumoured to be considering, new legislation, with the general trend tending towards an acceptance of gambling venues that are well-monitored by officials and industry bodies.

Currently the list of speakers includes representatives from a number of countries, including lawyers from Spain and Italy. Wayne Lurie, of South African’s Lurie law firm will provide insights into regulatory issues on other continents.

Software developer CryptoLogic this week announced that it had signed a contract with the Dutch government to provide games for the officially sanctioned Holland Casino website.

Online gaming has taken a financial hit worldwide after new US legislation prohibited citizens in the country from using funds on the sites.

It is estimated online gambling companies have lost over half of their value on the London Stock Exchange since the decision by the US congress was made.

Businesses such as 888, the largest web-based casino, have indefinitely discontinued services in the US. PartyGaming, another large gambling website, says that it will play a similar hand once the bill is officially passed.

Commenting on the new laws, Adam Pliska, general counsel of WPTE, a company responsible for the poker boom over the past few years due to the introduction of televised games, says that the new law does not mark the end of online poker.

“The Justice Department has been very clear that it believes online gaming to be illegal in the United States and our policies have been always been tailored accordingly,” he said.

CEO and founder of WPTE, Steve Lipscomb, agrees that the industry will continue to flourish.

He said: “WPTE remains committed to growing the domestic poker market through traditional franchise opportunities like consumer products, sponsorship and events.”

Several online gamers have been hit by a spate of phishing scams which target Neteller users.

The online money and payment transfer service has this week warned consumers of a new scam designed to target their funds.

The site claims a criminal has set up a fake Neteller site where customers are told a company representative will call them up to check their details.

As with many phishing scams, customers are encouraged to enter their account details on a fake website.

Neteller is now urging customers only to use the official domain name when getting in contact with the firm.

Soon online gamers need no longer worry as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 is expected to offer an advanced phishing filter.

Award-winning software provider CryptoLogic has posted record profits for the second quarter of 2006.

The new figures from CryptoLogic have shown revenue increases of 52 per cent, which according to a company statement were “better-than-expected” given that the second quarter is a traditionally slow one for the industry.

A $30.4 million total revenue amount is a 12 per cent increase on the figures for the first quarter and significantly above CryptoLogic’s predicted revenue for the period of between $26.4 and $26.7 million.

Lewis Rose, CryptoLogic CEO, said: “CryptoLogic’s new casino games went head-to-head with the World Cup and warm weather – and won. Our Q2 revenue and earnings were far ahead of expectations and surpassed our results in Q1 2006, which is a typically stronger quarter.

“Players have embraced our new games and industry commentators agree that we have taken the online slot experience to the next level. CryptoLogic’s player-centric, product diversification and innovation strategy is paying off.”

Recent highlights for the online gaming software manufacturer include an increase in casino fees due to release of 11 new games by the group and also the expansion of its high-margin online slot portfolio.

Wayne Stenehjem, the North Dakota Attorney General, is letting local native Americans open an electronic bingo casino despite his personal objections.

Although he has reservations about the idea, he said that he cannot prevent the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa from going ahead with their planned action in Grand Forks.

Tribal officials moved from wanting to operate slot machines to wanting to operate electronic bingo devices because unlike slot machines, these are considered Class II gambling devices.

Class II gambling devices require no change in the state gambling compact, website dot-bingo.com reports.

Despite Mr Stenehjem giving his consent, he warned that Governor John Hoeven could veto plans to operate the video bingo venue anywhere near Grand Forks.

A Las Vegas casino owner has paid over $10 million for a Ming dynasty vase at auction.

Steve Wynn, owner of the casino and resort-group that bears his name, forked out HK$78,500,000 at Christies in Hong Kong and immediately donated it to a Macau museum.

He has now set the highest ever price paid for a Chinese ceramic, near double the previous record.

Already thought by some to pay over the odds for artwork, Wynn has previously spent $25 million on Picasso and Cezanne pieces in just one day.

The same vase had previously been auctioned for $2.8 million just nine years ago.

It will now rest in Macau, which is where Wynn is building his latest resort.

Online gambling standards body eCommerce and Online Gaming, Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) has announced that it is holding its second global training session in London at the end of May.

The player protection group has given its stamp of approval to more than 100 top internet casinos and poker rooms worldwide and is promoting the benefits of self-regulation of the online gambling industry.

Online casino and poker room managers will travel to London to discuss issues such as underage and problem gambling, take part in two days of intensive training run by specialists from the international Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4) and meet other delegates.

The London training session will include lectures, homework and practical workshop sessions aimed at helping delegates identify problem gamblers.

A similar eCOGRA training session was held last year in Cape Town, South Africa for websites with the eCOGRA Play IT Safe seal.

Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA, said: “We are pleased with the commitment of our ‘Play It Safe’ operators, who have now included specific responsible gaming measures, aids and advice on their sites and appointed staff to look after this critically important operational requirement.”

This September will see the launch of the first ever gaming affiliate magazine.

CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com (CAP) will be collaborating with iGaming Business to produce the quarterly magazine.

Both companies believe the magazine will aid affiliates to improve business results and its design will be influenced by CAP and IGaming Business, iGaming’s website reports.

Around 5,000 free copies of the magazine will be given away to both gaming and non-gaming affiliates this September.

Magazine content will focus on online marketing, gaming trend analysis and also new business strategies and utilization.