While other states that are actively seeking to legalize intrastate online poker drag their heels, Nevada plan to be accepting applications for online poker licences starting February.

Controversy surrounded the lenient sentence handed down to the thief who stole 65,000 people's personal data from an online bingo company's database.

One of the world's leading creators and providers of online gaming software, Microgaming have launched mobile gambling software for Android powered devices, called Android Air. 

As online gambling protagonists press Congress to legalize the industry in the United States, Donald Trump intends to be ready to reap the potential windfall.

There is mounting pressure being placed on the US government to legalise Internet gambling from a number of interested groups and with a growing national debt of over $1.5 trillion to pay back, they are fast running out of options. Many believe that the time is now right for the US to make that all important change to the law that will allow registered, regulated and accountable US based gambling companies to operate there. This will generate the many millions in needed tax revenue that should be flowing into US Treasury coffers and not away to offshore based, unregulated companies.

It is this state of affairs that has, not surprisingly led Donald Trump to set the wheels in motion to create an online gambling option for US players that they will know and trust because of the famous Trump Entertainments brand. To that end, he has assembled a joint venture with billionaire owner of Avenue Capital Group, Marc Lasry and his daughter Ivanka. He is well aware that he already owns what many call "the world's hottest brand" and that it will do very well because of it.

Together with Lasry, the father and daughter Trump team are in the last stages of making a management partner selection. At the same time they are in negotiations with several third parties that can bring their experience of operating online gambling companies in countries where it is legal. 

These preparations are clear indicators that Trump is expecting a change in the law either at the Federal level or at least initially in a forward thinking state that already has a big gambling infrastructure such as New Jersey. He is keeping a close watch on the progress being made by Senators Harry Reid and Barney Frank who are pressing congress for changes to federal laws on Internet gambling. He is also keenly monitoring New Jersey lawmakers who are still working confidently to bring about a change in that state. However, Trump and Lasry will not move forward until such time as a regulatory regime is put into place either at Federal or State level.

The billionaire casino bosses such as Trump or Steve Wynn have publicly shown no interest in the online gambling industry until this year. They may have seemed disinterested and unperturbed that so much money was being left on the table for offshore companies to grow rich on. But you can safely bet that behind closed doors, they have been busy preparing to swoop in and take it the minute the lawmakers say they can.