The British "High Street" bookmaker, Ladbrokes, is making headlines once again with plans to enter the lucrative Chinese sports betting market. This nearly exclusive deal for Ladbrokes follows other successful expansions into countries such as Italy, and with simultaneous expansion plans set for Spain and other locations.

Ladbrokes is widely recognized as one of the premier sports betting companies in the European market. The company has grown to boast more than 2,200 bet shops in the UK, Ireland and Belgium. In addition to expanding within it's traditional borders, Ladbrokes has also been aggressively expanding in other European countries as well. This was recently evidenced by the fact that the company opened 12 additional betting shops for it's Italian betting operation.

Police in Vietnam have conducted a series of raids on upscale hotels that have casino operations. Hotels rated 4 stars or higher are allowed to operate casinos in Vietnam, but only for foreign guests. Hundreds have been caught in the police dragnet for illegal gambling in Vietnam's upscale hotels.

Vietnamese police have conducted a series of early morning raids in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as in Vung Tau town. The target of the raids was a series of high-end hotel properties that offer live casino gambling to foreign guests. The gambling raids were the result of a number of complaints to police that the casinos would allow local Vietnamese to gamble, and then cheat them out of their winnings.

Entertainment City To Be Built On Manila Bay.

State-operated Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is preparing to break ground on a $20 Billion entertainment city to be built on the coast of Manila Bay. As part of it's initial talks with foreign investment groups, PAGCOR has entered into discussions with Greece's Loutraki Casino.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, known simply as PAGCOR, is a government owned and managed company that was established to oversee all games of chance in the Philippines. Created in 1976, the company manages the operations of the 13 casinos licensed in the Philippines, and is the country's second largest producer of revenue, with taxes being first.

The Cricket World Cup is an international sporting sensation watched closely by cricket fans around the world. In an age where sports and betting go hand-in-hand, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep a lid on bookmakers looking to cash in on such events. Authorities in Pakistan are having a particularly difficult time with bookmakers, with the bookies apparently winning the war of wagers.

The ICC Cricket World Cup is commonly referred to simply as the Cricket World Cup. The event is recognized as the international championship of the sport. Organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the final events are hosted once every four years.

Genting International announced earlier today that they will be removing all ties to Macau casino mogul, Stanley Ho, following concerns expressed by authorities in Singapore. As part of this effort, Star Cruises will be selling it's stake in the Singapore Casino Resort project to Genting, who will now own 100% of the property.

Malaysian amusement company Genting International had won a concession last year to build a casino report on Sentosa Island. The concession is one of two casino projects approved by the Government of Singapore. In many ways, the Sentosa resort is more favorable than the other bid, which was won by Las Vegas Sands Corp, due to it's location in the city's tourism center.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp, Sheldon Adelson, spoke out against China's critics on Thursday. Adelson, one of the wealthiest men in America, stated that the Chinese are living a good life, and that the United States should not take on the position of being the world's police force.

Adelson and various trusts for the Adelson family own as more than 60 percent of Las Vegas Sands Corp. As Chairman and CEO of the company, Adelson is in charge of notable properties, such as the Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas, which was built on the site of the original Las Vegas Sands Casino. Adelson is also credited with the Palazzo Casino next door to the Venetian, as well as the Sands Macau casino in China.

Officials of the Chinese Government have announced a new initiative to crack down on illegal internet gambling in the country's mainland. Although the activity is illegal in China, it enjoys widespread popularity in most areas of the country.

The drive to flush out internet gambling in China is a combined effort of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Press and Public Administration. The four administrations began their combined efforts by jointly distributing a circular across the country on Sunday.

"The prevalence of online gaming has ruined the online environment and harmed young people's growth, which runs against the policy of building a harmonious society," the circular stated.