ï»¿Gamblin<span id="more-6242"></span>g Ex-Wife of Sultan of Brunei Accuses Bodyguard of £12m Theft

Miriam Aziz in better days, when she still shared a throne along with her now-ex spouse, the Sultan of Brunei (Image: AFP/Getty)

In a tale worthy of any great novelist’s plotlines, Miriam Aziz the 59-year-old ex-wife regarding the Sultan of Brunei has fessed up in court to some major gambling arrears played away in London’s toniest gambling enterprises, plus the subsequent sale of £1million ($1,652,593) worth of fine jewelry to pay off some of her accrued gambling debts.

The hijab-covered woman testified in Isleworth Crown Court a week ago although she denied having once lost as much as £3 million ($4,957,781) in just one night of wagering that she had indeed sold some of her gems to pay the IOUs.

According to Aziz, it had been only £500,000 ($826,296), which probably for an ex-Sultaness is merely chump modification. But wait, because the plot thickens in this tale of broken hearts, broken allegiances and broken bank accounts.

Former Bonded Birdies Sing

Aziz also gave testimony against her female previous badminton-coach-turned-bodyguard Fatimah Lim, who stands accused of herself stealing £12m ($19,831,126) worth of diamonds from Aziz, substituting phony and essentially valueless copies within their stead.

The 35-year-old Lim says that during a spree that is 20-month Aziz took her sizable retinue of support staff with her to gambling venues around the globe. Lim said she ended up being later instructed by Aziz to sell the jewels on Aziz’ behalf whenever several gambling enterprises reportedly threatened to sue the ex-queen.

Aziz denied this in court, saying, ‘No, https://aussie-pokies.club/players-paradise-slot/ I never ever asked anyone, especially Fatimah Lim, to offer the diamonds, it myself. because we would do’

Lots of Dough to Spread Around

To put this in context, the Sultan is considered the wealthiest man in the world; so the ex-Missus’ visits to casinos in popular spots like London, Singapore and Macau could hardly have raised an eyebrow. At first, anyway. Having a £2.5m ($4,131,484) credit limit at upscale clubs like London’s Clermont in Berkeley Square, Aziz could obviously play limits that are high make extravagant bets without anyone feeling alarmed.

More over, it appears the supposedly devout Muslim Aziz a Royal Brunei Airlines journey attendant before becoming the Sultan’s wife prodded Lim to gamble herself, saying she would give both Lim and several other feminine bodyguards bankroll that is gambling the tune of £1,500 ($2,479) a pop. Their London casino sojourns would sometimes cover as much as three casinos nightly.

‘There were people in your wider circle not as enthusiastic about gambling that it was not in accordance with the activities of a Muslim,’ said Lim’s defense attorney Rupert Pardoe as you there was a perception. ‘You have hatched a plot to blame Fatimah Lim for the theft of these bands and also this diamond bracelet.’

Lim stands accused of three counts of theft in the trial that is still-ongoing.

Aziz’ ex-husband Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah divorced Aziz after a 21-year wedding and four young ones, in 2003. It’s difficult to keep track of their various and sundry matrimonies and his progeny, but it appears like the rating is: one royal consort that is long-term the stripped-of-all-titles and now ex, Aziz; and a former Malaysian television hostess who only made it five years with her royal ex, and who was also stripped of all of the titles and her allowance, as apparently was Aziz.

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Proposes Jail Time and Fines for Online Gambling

One Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to make online gambling an offense punishable with jail some time fines (Image: AmericanMafia.com)

Pennsylvania might be one of the largest states population-wise that is seriously considering on the web gambling, but that doesn’t mean everyone there was on board quite yet. Even though the Keystone State studies the matter and watches how things work in neighboring nj-new jersey, one lawmaker not only opposes online that is putting gambling practice there, but actually desires to jail whoever tries to place a bet on the web.

Threatening Society, Scavello Says

That’s the plan from State Representative Mario Scavello, who believes that online gambling is really a threat to families and children. He’s also concerned that problem gamblers could access web sites and have nobody and no mechanism to stop them from throwing away everything they have right from the comfort of the own areas.

‘Here again, online gambling is best referred to as the crazy West,’ said Scavello. ‘on the web, there’s no one around to keep attention on some body who doesn’t understand when to stop.’

But while opposition to on the web gambling isn’t precisely news that is breaking the specifics of Scavello’s proposal have definitely drawn attention.

The bill he has put forward would actively punish online gamblers with fines and potentially even jail time. That would offer Pennsylvania a number of the nation’s harshest punishments for online gambling, rivaling Washington State for that title.

Under Scavello’s bill, a first violation is a summary offense and would carry a fine of up to $300 or over to 3 months in jail. Things get much even worse on a offense that is second at that point, the crime turns into a misdemeanor, the maximum fine rises to $2,500 and offenders could be jailed for up to a 12 months.

‘I think that if you hit people inside their wallets, we can begin to split straight down regarding the lawbreakers,’ Scavello stated.

Adelson Backs Bill

Needless to say, Scavello’s bill was instantly supported by Sheldon Adelson’s Coalition to Stop online Gambling (CSIG). That group pointed to A quinnipiac that is recent poll discovered that 62 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania opposed the regulation and legalization of online gambling in their state.

‘We call on the Pennsylvania Legislature to vote and only this bill and send a message that is powerful online gaming has no place in American society,’ CSIG stated in a declaration.

Along with concerns throughout the ease of access to online gambling web sites, Scavello additionally argued that online gaming could siphon money away from Pennsylvania’s effective land-based casinos, potentially costing the state income and jobs. He also claimed that online gambling could be used for criminal purposes, such as for example money laundering.

The proposal comes at any given time when Pennsylvania is ways that are actively seeking expand the state’s gaming industry to compete with neighboring states. They have already authorized allowing bars and other venues to host gambling machines, and Governor Tom Corbett has stated that the state lottery should also offer keno games to Pennsylvania residents. Online gambling has not yet been placed in to the continuing state spending plan, but lawmakers have already been studying it for future consideration.

Scavello’s bill has found some supporters within the continuing state legislature, particularly among fellow Republicans.

‘We realize that online gambling contributes to plenty of exploitation by various dubious characters that are out there,’ said State Representative David Millard. ‘Being addicted to gaming is such as a cancer in our community.’

UK Mobile App Gambling Growth Going Strong

Mobile gambling particularly sports wagering has been growing exponentially in the UK, while traditional Internet play has dropped (Image: Courier-Mail)

What goes up, must come down. But in the case of great britain gambling market, two recent studies are making it appear that the industry is both down and up at the time that is same. In reality, it’s simply a matter of what you would like to view it, as the globe of gambling is changing, and gaming that is mobile becoming exponentially larger 12 months after year.

Slight Drop in Gambling Numbers Overall

First, there’s a new report out from the UK Gambling Commission that displays fewer residents gambled in 2013 than in 2012. It is just a small drop, however: 55 percent of UK residents said before they were surveyed in 2013, compared to 57 percent the year before that they gambled over the four weeks.

That report also gave a view who is gambling and how frequently they’re doing it. An overall total of 60 per cent of male respondents reported gambling at least once a while that number was just 50 percent for women month. Most gamblers said they only played as soon as a or less week.

The commission also looked at online gambling, and saw that participation in Internet betting was up even as general participation had dropped. Some 15 % said they had participated in online gambling over the final a month, up from 14 percent a before year.

A percentage that is large of on line gambling is done through great britain’s National Lottery, which is also the most popular form of gambling in the world overall. In-person gambling was still the many popular kind of betting though, with nearly three-quarters of those who stated they gambled stating that had only done so offline.

Cellphone Gaming Keeps Growing

What do those true numbers actually mean? They show that online gambling continues to grow, but still has a great deal more space for expansion. Plus one thing that was not covered in the Gambling Commission report was mobile video gaming, which includes grown extremely in simply the last year.

That growth that is expansive illustrated in a report by OddsWinner.com, which studied the web and mobile revenues of the top UK bookmakers. Searching at just the largest companies, it becomes clear that mobile video gaming is the future for online operators and that the long term may, in fact, be here currently.

For instance, William Hill has seen fast growth in how much of these recreations book income is now coming from mobile players. In 2012, just 26 percent of their sports guide return arrived from mobile betting. But by the quarter that is second of, that number had already raised to 33 percent, and the organization expects that to go above 40 percent by the finish of 2014. Extremely, William Hill reported that year-over-year revenues for mobile gaming had increased 298 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Other companies saw lower but still dramatic prices of mobile growth. Paddy Power saw a 112 percent enhance in mobile revenue in 2013, while Betfair said activity that is mobile up 64 percent year-over-year. And sports guide Bet365 says that 50 % of their customers now come from cellular devices.

Based on the OddsWinner report, the development in mobile betting is a result of many facets, including the usage that is increased of in the UK. More companies are also apps that are releasing rather than forcing customers to link through their mobile browsers by itself.

‘Smartphones are now able to deliver the services needed to allow customers to bet in the move,’ said Push Technology CEO Sean Bowen. ‘they are carried by us everywhere and therefore can bet at anytime, anywhere. There are more people with mobiles than PCs.’

Other factors are the rise in interest for in-play gambling on recreations, and marketing that is mobile-specific by the major UK bookmakers.