According to a comprehensive new AP report, New Jersey’s casinos are optimistic that online gaming will “revive the market’s flagging fortunes.”

This week, a panel of Wall Street analysts addressed the East Coast Gaming Congress and strongly asserted a collective view that internet gambling may hold the key to ending the city’s “seven-year losing streak.”

“I’m probably one of the more bullish people on this,” professed David Berman, senior managing director of Macquarie Capital. “It’s a big boon for Atlantic City and New Jersey.”

Online games will mark the biggest expansion of gambling in New Jersey since the state’s first casino opened in 1978.

“That’s where the big savior can come from,” Robert Heller, president of Spectrum Gaming Capital, chimed in.

Some estimates suggest that internet gambling could be at least a $500-million-a-year market for the state of New Jersey.

But this week, as the Mobile Host Summit for Hospitality and Retail gets underway in Sin City, there’s a good chance that plenty of announcements, insight, and news will leave Las Vegas and better educate marketers and industry professionals all over the world.

The Mobile Host Summit for Hospitality and Retail is a leading event dedicated to mobile strategies for the hospitality and retail industries. The one-day event brings experts from around the world together in order to discuss how to develop and deploy effective mobile applications and mobile web strategies to grow business in today’s always-connected world.

The Summit will also focus developing mobile strategies for couponing, loyalty programs, CRM software and in-car apps.

And, best of all, the Mirage Hotel & Casino will play host to an impressive array of speakers, including David Jones of Shazam, David Offierski of Konrad Group, and mobileStorm’s Darren Withers, who serves as head of marketing and casino client services for the company.

All of these knowledgeable industry insiders will be on hand to explore and discuss successful strategies with SMS and Email Marketing.

In his presentation, for example, Withers will focus on solid email and SMS strategies that he’s successfully executed for retail and hospitality clients like Zappos in Las Vegas, Caesars Golf, Landrys, Tao Group and Cannery Casinos. He will then expound upon how others can apply these winning marketing tactics to similar businesses of all sizes.

MMW will provide all the news and insight fit to report out of Las Vegas this week when the Mobile Host Summit for Hospitality and Retail commences.

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that the site has registered “thousands of users” from every U.S. state and 20 countries.

Within the first three days, the website had dealt its 100,000th hand of poker.

As MMW reported last month, Ultimate Poker is the first legally regulated pay-to-play online gaming website in the United States.

Ultimate Poker’s website, however, can only accept wagers from gamblers playing on computers or mobile devices inside of Nevada’s borders.

The initial success of Ultimate Poker is not only a healthy sign for the company and its industry, but also for the state of Nevada.

Nevada will earn 6.75 percent of the revenues through gaming taxes from online wagering.

On Tuesday, UltimatePoker.com becomes accessible only on computers or mobile devices located in Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirms.

State gaming authorities signed off of the company’s technology last week and allowed Ultimate Poker to move forward in what is considered a test period.

Since last October, however, Ultimate Poker has been gearing up for this moment, securing proper licensing for interactive gaming.

The site is expected to offer no-limit Texas hold ’em poker, sit-and-go events, and multi-table tournaments.

“This is an important day for the gaming industry,” says Ultimate Poker Chairman Tom Breitling. “We’re the first, not only in Nevada but in America, to offer real money poker in a regulated environment.”

As more states adopt similar laws and the Federal government eases restrictions on online gambling, it’s a safe bet that today’s news is just the start of an online gambling boom that could soon sweep the nation.

In the first draft of Senate Bill 1739, introduced by state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, PokerStars and sister company Full Tilt Poker would have been barred from obtaining an Internet gambling license in the state because they had “accepted wagers” in violation of U.S. law.

Last month, however, the bill was amended to read that companies had to be “convicted of accepting” wagers for a disqualification to be handed down.

According to the report, PokerStars settled these charges last year for $731 million.

“We admitted to no wrongdoing,” said Eric Hollreiser, a spokesman for PokerStars and Full Tilt. “And in the process of that, we were given the assets of our biggest competitor, Full Tilt Poker, by the Department of Justice. And the settlement states that nothing in the agreement should prevent us from applying for licenses in the U.S.”

Naturally, obtaining a license could mean significant revenue opportunities for the poker behemoth. PokerScout.com reports that Americans spent $16 billion in 2010 on Internet-based poker sites outside the U.S.

Beginning Wednesday, Zynga will open ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino to all eligible U.K. players.

Although the games will initially be downloadable or available on the web, Zynga plans to bring them to Facebook and other mobile platforms before 2013 draws to a close.

“Our long-term vision is to offer our players the next generation of real money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets worldwide,” says Zynga chief revenue officer Barry Cottle. “We take responsible gaming seriously and are proud to partner with Bwin.party, an industry leader and a reputable company that is fully licensed by a premier regulatory authority.”

These and other real-money games could eventually come to the US, so long as state and federal laws are revised to permit their entrance.

“This is just the beginning for us and we’re looking forward to seeing what our UK players think about ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, and creating the most valuable casino games and social experiences for them,” says Cottle.

Online gambling is becoming more attractive to women than drugs or alcohol, says the UK’s leading female addiction specialist.

Liz Karter, the aforementioned specialist, says work stress is a major cause of gambling addiction for women.

“Instead of going out drinking, women are coming home from work and switching on the PC. Many are in demanding careers and want to be able to escape at the end of the day while remaining in control in a way they would not be after drinking or taking drugs,” Kartner explains. “Then they can return to the real world and at first there are no side effects – only later do the problems really start when the habit sets in.”

Experts say that spiraling numbers of women are admitting to gambling problems in the wake of the explosion of online gambling. GamCare, the industry-funded organization, said it received more than 54,000 calls last year – up almost 4,000 on the previous 12 months.

Today’s report indicates that half of all women callers to their helplines “had problems with internet gambling compared to a third of men.” That’s up from 44 percent on 2011 figures.

The Gambling Commission regulator’s January omnibus survey indicated that 55 percent of women questioned gambled in the previous month.

To read the full report and interview with Karter, click here.

In the background of statewide efforts to legalize online gaming, efforts to pass a national bill pertinent to the cause are gaining steam. Legislation that opens the door to online gambling in the U.S. could be introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives within weeks.

Recent reports indicate that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is in the process of building a coalition to support sweeping legislation related to online gambling.

“I think the states’ passage gives some incentive to the federal government to act,” Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), author of the failed 2011 online poker bill, recently said in an interview. “Whether you’re for or against Internet gambling… you don’t want 50 sets of state laws. You want uniformity.”

In recent years, proposed federal legislation has only been aimed at the regulation of Internet poker. Other forms of online gambling have remained prohibited.

According to the American Gaming Association, approximately 85 nations have already legalized online gambling with an estimated $35 billion bet worldwide (online) on an annual basis. The AGA projects that the U.S. market will touch $10 billion annually by 2017 (that’s up from $4 billion in “unauthorized gambling” in 2011.)

A leading global developer and publisher of freemium games for mobile devices, Glu Mobile says this is the company’s first real-money mobile gambling offering.

Samurai vs. Zombies Defense is now available to mobile real-money gamers in the UK through Probability’s distribution network.

“We are pleased to expand our mobile portfolio to include real-money gambling,”  says Niccolo de Masi, Chief Executive Officer of Glu Mobile. “We anticipate that real-money gambling will continue to gain momentum globally and believe that with this offering, Glu is well positioned to capitalize to the extent that additional markets adjust regulations. We plan to leverage Probability’s extensive partner network to further extend Glu’s successful original IP to new demographics.”

According to details presented in today’s announcement, Glu and Probability entered into a strategic relationship for real-money gambling in 2012 and they “plan to offer additional Glu-branded mobile gambling games.”

The augmented reality wearable computer with a head-mounted display is expected to be released by the end of 2013. And you can count on it being a hot commodity. But since Google Glass may also be capable of counting cards, don’t expect to roam freely around Las Vegas wearing it, say tech security experts who believe criminals and other devious minds may look for ways to capitalize on the technology for underhanded deeds.

Privacy is another concern, as illustrated in Seattle this week at the 5 Point Cafe. The establishment, according to a report from Geekwire, is one of the first in the nation to declare a ban on Google Glass. The reason?

The eatery’s owner wishes to prevent the risk of her patrons being recorded by the futuristic glasses.

Google’s high-tech augmented reality “Project Glass” spectacles are still in development and not available for purchase by the general public. But the bar’s pre-emptive ban, announced on its Facebook page this past week, has been getting national attention, and fueling a debate over privacy.

If we’re already hearing about Google Glass bans months before the product arrives, is it fair to assume that a large number of local and national businesses – if not entire industries – will prevent Google Glass from being used on their property? What about places of employment?

No one, naturally, is suggesting that technology’s evolution and advancement should be put on hold due to the uncertainty that looms over such a revolutionary product release. But there will be myriad concerns and questions. And there’s a good chance that privacy and security concerns could initially inhibit the adoption of Google Glass.

Do you expect resistance to the technology upon release, or will Google Glass be the must-have “next big thing” right from the start?