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Welcome to Bet Sage's
Online Gambling News Section, featuring the latest breaking
gambling industry news courtesy of
InfoPowa
News. This is your
one stop source for all
and any of the latest
developments concerning
all aspects of the
Online Gambling
Industry. InfoPowa News
headed up by senior
partner Brian Cullingworth
are recognised as one of
the leading and most
respected independent
gambling news services
in the online gambling
industry.
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| 7 SEPTEMBER 2007 : HEADLINES |
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Twice as many staff, but an apparently reducing workload, opines UK newspaper
The UK newspaper The Guardian has published an op-ed article critical of the gambling reform developments in Britain and the impending control of the Gambling Commission, which will regulate UK gambling from September 1.
Commenting that the Commission now has, at 200 twice the staff of the old Gaming Board, the newspaper points out that two of its originally intended workloads have already disappeared - prime minister Gordon Brown has killed off the supercasinos and the world's online poker and casino companies have declined the invitation to come to Britain to be regulated.
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"Lack of jurisdiction" and "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." cited as grounds for dismissal
The upcoming legal tussle between the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association [iMEGA] and US Justice authorities appears to be gaining momentum with details of a US application to have the case dismissed out of hand, promising lively legal argument.
Although the parties have mutually agreed to a hearing on September 26th in a New Jersey federal court (see previous InfoPowa reports) it has now become apparent that the U.S. government has filed a cross-motion for dismissal, claiming that iMEGA lacks standing and its case lacks substance. This could he heard as early as September 4.
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105 entrants for GBP 2 500 H.O.R.S.E. event
World Series of Poker Europe presenters Betfair.com report a star-studded field of 105 top players entered the first event, staged at The Casino at The Empire, London Clubs International�s newest casino in Leicester Square.
Play began at 2pm Thursday with a three-day, GBP 2 500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament; the title is an acronym for five different versions of poker. Many of the world�s highest-ranked professionals entered, including poker legends Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth Jr.
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Patriot Act investigators must obtain court orders before demanding ISP records
Internet Service Providers were given some relief from the draconian provisions of the Patriot Act this week by a federal judge, who struck down parts of the revisions to the Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court's approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.
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Swedish gambling monopoly withdraws online casino license application
Sweden's state-owned gambling monopoly, Svenske Spel appears to have shelved plans for an expansion into online casino operations, at least for now. The organisation has withdrawn an application for a license for an online casino and has halted development of new gambling products.
Svenske Spel and the Swedish government have been at the centre of a growing European Commission row recently due to its exclusionary policies against other EU nations entering its lucrative gambling sector.
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No more waiting for downloads for online bingo fans
Party Bingo.com has fully launched the new flash version of their bingo platform, simultaneously announcing new improvements and promotions.
The introduction of the Flash bingo games means that fans can instantly start playing bingo as soon as they open Party Bingo.com on their web browsers - no more waiting around for downloads. Enhancing the new platform, the Party Bingo.com lounges and rooms have received a colourful lick of paint.
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Exclusive contract signed with stylish poker diva
Chilipoker.com signed an exclusive partnership deal with stylish international poker ace Liz Lieu this week.
According to spokesman Alexandre Dreyfus "The partnership between Liz and Chilipoker is the perfect synergy of the aspirational poker lifestyle . Liz fits the concept perfectly. She has a flair for style and has created a unique personal image notwithstanding an aggressive and winning approach at the tables."
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Former Bell exec takes the hot seat
The embattled Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission's hassles with overly fortunate ticket retailers will soon become the responsibility of a new CEO following the appointment this week of former Bell Canada executive Kelly McDougald, reports Canadian Press.
McDougald, who takes over her duties on October 15 from interim CEO Michelle DiEmanuele (see previous InfoPowa reports) is widely respected as a seasoned executive with a reputation for impeccable values. Her experience includes working at Nortel Networks. Since 2005, McDougald has been an independent business consultant and a director of the Allstate Canada Group and the Toronto Board of Trade.
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US considering international claims arising from its intention to withdraw online gambling treaty obligations
The World Trade Organisation argument over online gambling between the United States and Antigua and Barbuda....and by extension now the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Macao and Japan...continues to develop, according to an article in the Antigua Sun this week.
The article reports that the US is unlikely to back down from its position on online gambling, despite facing billions of dollars in claims. Instead, it is maintaining that withdrawal from World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade obligations to grant market access to Internet gambling companies is the best way to resolve the ongoing dispute with Antigua and Barbuda.
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Clash between poker companies hits the headlines
The well-connected information portal Point-Spreads.com is currently airing what appears to be an acrimonious dispute between Playsafe Holdings AS and an unidentified poker licensee who claims that he is owed over $16 000 in rake, and that his players are owed over $55 000 by Playsafe, which he alleges continued to operate his site after he closed it in March this year.
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Internet gambling was expected to involve only about 2 percent of the gambling population compared with the 80 percent engaged in land-based casino activity
The South African publication Business Day reports that Internet gambling will involve only about 2 percent of the gambling population compared with the 80 percent engaged in land-based casino activity, according to the South African government's Department of Trade and Industry.
The figures were used to rebut claims by the Casino Association of SA that the introduction of online gambling would have a negative impact on its land casino members.
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Boss Media and Pharaoh's Casino come up with a better plan.
The Internet gambler who hit a $117 248 Jackpot Poker win at Pharaohs Casino last week (see previous InfoPowa report) will be breathing a sigh of relief after an original offer to pay him in monthly instalments was abandoned.
The player has posted that after consultation Pharaoh's has reversed its decision and will pay him in two equal tranches - one immediately and the other as soon as his identity has been fully proved and publicity agreed.
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Microgaming Poker Network adds another poker room
The Gibraltar-based 32Red.com subsidiary Betdirect.com launched its recently revamped new website this week, along with new poker facilities powered by Microgaming.
The software comes with a host of new features and a new look designed to ease the way in which users navigate through the site's pages and selection of games.
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Absolute Poker launches 9 percent interest accounts for Elite VIP Members
The latest marketing move by Absolute Poker - the availability of interest bearing gambling accounts for Veep players - is currently making waves in the online poker sector as a service long advocated by regular players.
Starting September 1st, Elite VIP members at Absolute will earn 9 percent interest per annum on their account balances under a newly introduced policy.
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A little risque, a lot of action in new games releases
Four new games have been launched over a wide range of online casinos this week. Two complementary 5 reel, 9 line video slots - one with a deft feminine touch and the other with more masculine appeal head up the list of new games from Microgaming, augmented by the latest 4 handed video poker game in the Power Poker series and a big 5 reel 20 pay-line slot with a circus theme.
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Svenske Spel monopoly defended against EC Article 49 opinion
It is beginning to look as if the Swedish government gambling monopoly Svenske Spel could find itself in court after rejecting the European Commission's claim that it was acting contrary to European Union law in excluding gambling services from other EU countries.
In justifying its exclusionary gambling practices, the Swedish government has claimed that its laws are proportionate, prevent crime and provide social protection to Swedish gamblers. Earlier this week Sverige Radio International revealed that gambling, and state profits from Svenske Spel is booming in the Scandinavian country.
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More focus on retaining customers at Australian group
The Australian bookmaker Centrebet.com has released its full year figures to the end of June 2007, revealing an impressive 26 percent growth in revenues to A$58.9 million (2006: A$47 million). Pre-tax profits rose to A$12.5 million from A$2.million in 2006. Net profit after tax hit A$11.8 million - slightly up on the forecasts.
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First virtual gambling license applicants will soon find out if they have been successful
September 1st is the date on which the UK Gambling Commission takes over control of the British gambling industry, and the 14 online gambling companies that have applied for licenses under the new dispensation will soon know whether the applications have been successful.
Advertising will be opened up to gambling companies subject to some time and content constraints, a major advantage for applicants like William Hill, the Gala Group and other online gambling firms. And in the land sector over 300 firms have applied for licenses for bookmaking and casino activities. The liberalisation of advertising has another dimension - gaming operators in other European Union countries will be empowered to advertise in Britain for the first time, and the Commission has already publiciosed its list of acceptable licensing jurisdictions (see previous InfoPowa report)
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New gambling laws to protect children and vulnerable people, cut crime and keep games fair now in force
With the passing of midnight Friday, gambling regulation took on a new purpose and appearance in the United Kingdom as the Gambling Commission took up the reins and the responsibilitiy for control.
The Gambling Act 2005, replaces legislation dating as far back as 1845, and governs nearly all forms of gambling including: gaming in arcades and adult gaming centres; betting; bingo; casinos; gambling in clubs and pubs; lotteries (except the National Lottery) and remote [online] gambling.
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14 pro-hosted events drew 24 901 entrants and featured more than $10.5 million in prize money.
FTOPS V guaranteed $7 million in prize money over 14 tournaments, but the series� popularity overwhelmed expectations, drawing huge fields for each event and swelling the total combined prize pool to more than $10.5 million. Every pro-hosted FTOPS V event bested its original guarantee, with four events growing to over $1 million in total prize money.
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European ambitions for US facing online poker room
In a move that is interpreted widely as a growing ambition to corner more of the European market, Full Tilt Poker is currently launching multilingual versions of its poker offering.
Full Tilt is one of the few sites daring enough to continue servicing US online poker players from its offshore base, and has reaped significant business rewards for doing so. Now it will be available in French, German, Spanish and Dutch language options.
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Industry and politicians alike look forward to latest Gambling Commission study.
A "Gambling Prevalence" study commissioned 2 years ago by the UK Gambling Commission and conducted by the National Centre for Social Research in collaboration with Birmingham University academics is due for publication in two week's time, and will be the centre of lively debate and comment.
Reporting on the survey, which focused on problem gamblers, over the weekend The Telegraph newspaper seems to have accessed a leak from the organisers, for it claims that the new research "...has found a massive increase in 'problem gambling' in just eight years."
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Now The Observer seems to have pre-release information
It may only be due for publication later this (September) month, but the results already appear to have been widely leaked from the Gambling Prevalence research study among problem gamblers carried out by Birmingham University academics working with the National Centre for Social Research.
Commissioned by the UK Gambling Commission, the study is a follow up to a similar project carried out some eight years ago which found that problem gambers made up between 0.6 and 0.8 percent of the adult population. According to several news sources, the new level is nearer 2 percent of the adult population.
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Easier deposit function claimed
The major online poker company still servicing US players, PokerStars.com has announced that it is about to return the eCheck service to at least some of its American clientele. The exclusive instant deposit service became popular with US players after the Neteller exit from the US market.
"Instant eChecks are now available to a limited number of players, with plans to make eChecks available to all U.S. players in the near future," says a message on the cashier section of the PokerStars website.
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Best of 543...and a million Euro winner's cheque to prove it!
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Championship reached its climax in that Spanish coastal city this weekend with Danish player Sander Lylloff taking home a giant winner's cheque for Euro 1 170 000.
The Copenhagen-based player started the final day action only third in chip count in a final field of 13 players - all that remained of the original 543 entrants in the competition. Those 13 survivors hailed from 11 different countries, showcasing once again the universal appeal of poker tournaments of this calibre.
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$1,634,865 in prize money, a $25 000 WPT championship event seat, and a $10000 seat in the 2008 Legends of Poker the reward.
The fourth stop of Season 6 of the World Poker Tour, and the first major tournament since the 2007 World Series of Poker, took place at the Bicycle Casino in California last week, with a healthy turnout of experienced poker players ready to give battle for the big money and kudos attached to the top "Legends of Poker" tournament.
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280 percent revenues growth over past year
According to the media section of The Guardian newspaper online bingo has been generating significant business - GBP 3.8 million of it in the last financial year - for News Group Digital. NGD oversees the operations of the Sun Online, Page3.com and the News of the World website, which saw a 280 percent year-on-year increase in revenues for its commercial partnerships.
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4.3 percent fall reported in six month results
Betbull.com, the Europe-facing online bookie has released its numbers for the six months ended June 30 showing an after tax loss of Euro 500 000 after net revenues declined by 4.3 percent to Euro 6.7million. The betting firm's EBITDA increased significantly to Euro 300 000 against a loss over the same period last year.
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Revenues almost back to pre-UIGEA days
Playtech's release of its half year figures this week carries the hopeful message that the company has been able to fight back to revenues only $ 2.2 million short of those achieved prior to the imposition of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The online gambling software development and turnkey provider group reported an 80 percent hike in total non-US revenues and said revenue was almost back to where it was before last year's ban on internet gambling financial transactions in the United States.
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Mainstream press claims that bots are increasing...and so are the dangers
The American mainstream newspaper USA Today reports that millions of compromised computers remotely controlled by crooks, otherwise known as (ro)bots, are increasingly the agents for various forms of fraud, including money laundering.
The newspaper interviewed RSA senior researcher Uriel Maimon, who says that over the past five months there has been a spike in the use of bots on gaming sites with the intention of moving money. The newspaper claims that $200 000 to $300 000 is being moved monthly - a reflection of a crackdown on online gambling financial transactions through UIGEA.
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Successful run of sporting results has boosted operating profit over 100 percent
The Dublin-based gambling group Paddy Power will be in celebratory mood this week on the back of an exceptional first six months 2007 that have seen operating profits soar by over a hundred percent.
A Paddy Power statement said that an extraordinary run of favourable sporting results was behind the huge boost to operating profits in the first six months of the year to over Euro 40 million. Online operations alone saw profits rise over 50 percent to Euro 15 million.
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Now cleared to advertise in the UK
Online gambling companies InterCasino and InterPoker have been granted online casino gaming and online poker licenses by Lotteries and Gaming - the licensing agency for the government of Malta.
In a press release this week the companies said both had successfully completed the stringent requirements of the Maltese government to operate their online gaming business from the Mediterranean island.
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New software platform for growing Norwegian online poker operation
Poker-mad online players at the fast-growing Norwegian online poker site Berserk Poker.com will have a significantly bigger and more international field to play following an agreement to join the Microgaming Poker Network this week.
The agreement gives Berserkers access to over 40 other quality poker rooms on the network and thousands of globally distributed other players.
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Betting group to use key tool in software development
Online betting group Betfair.com has inked an agreement with Palo Alto, California-based Fortify Software for the use of its Source Code Analysis (SCA) product.
The product is described as a key tool in the software development process, and will enable Betfair to develop applications more quickly by automating the time-consuming manual processes that are associated with finding and fixing software bugs.
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VfB Stuttgart can carry advertisements from BWIN again
The football sponsorship and advertising row continued in Germany this week with a successful challenge by VfB Stuttgart football club against a previous ban on Bwin online gambling group advertising by the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Reuters reports that the administrative court in Stuttgart ruled in favour of the football team, opening the way for continued advertising agreements between VfB Stuttgart and BWIN Interactive Entertainment AG, particularly regarding team shirt branding.
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Branded betting, casino gaming and bingo appears on ITV websites
Publicly listed online gambling group Party Gaming has scored a major coup with a white label deal to provide television broadcaster ITV plc with branded betting, casino and bingo games on its websites, the Reuters news agency reports.
A Party Gaming spokesman said the games were already up on ITV's website, confirming a report in industry magazine eGaming Review.
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Manx advocate takes over from Jane O'Rourke
The Gambling Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man has a new chairperson following the appointment this week of Manx solicitor and advocate Claire Milne.
Announcing the appointment the island's Chief Minister said that Milne has a background in intellectual property, IT Law and data protection, including e-money, e-commerce and e-gaming. She replaces outgoing chairperson, Jane O�Rourke.
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Police urged to get tough on poker operations
Swedish media reports this week indicate that government bodies remain determined to maintain the monopoly on gambling enjoyed by the state, currently calling for tougher action against private poker clubs.
The Swedish gaming board Lotteriinspektionen has issued a report in which it claims that "....illegal poker playing in the country is getting out of hand." The board has consequently called on the police to adopt a tougher and more active approach to what it terms "underground poker clubs."
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Poker Stars' fourth World Cup of Poker is now in progress
Online poker fans can expect some major league land action this week with the start of the fourth Poker Stars World Cup of Poker, which features 40 top players from eight different countries competing for honour and a healthy cash prize.
The four-player teams qualified earlier for the final rounds now taking place at the Casino de Barcelona. Each of the eight teams have been joined by a fifth team member selected by Poker Stars, including players of the calibre of Greg Raymer (USA), Daniel Negreanu (Canada), and Katja Thater (Germany).
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One stop online gambling venue re-launched
The Littlewoods website has undergone a major revamp and now carries football pools, bingo, poker, casino, instant-win, lotteries and fixed odds games content - a one-stop venue for online gamblers.
Parent group Sportech plc commissioned Stockport marketing firm KMP Associates to handle the rebranding and revamp project, which took several months to complete. The site will serve the 700 000 or more customers of the group, with the launch timed to coincide with the start of the new football season.
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Big names and big money in UK version of poker's greatest tournament
Wednesday 6 September sees the start of the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe in London - the first time that the globally famous brand has been presented outside Las Vegas.
The series is being held over three venues, all within a few London Underground stops of each other. The Sportsman, The Casino Empire and Fifty London have been chosen by Betfair, the UK presenter for the event, as the venues in order to handle the large number of competitions and players that this sort of mega-tournament involves.
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Two leave, but experienced exec appointed
eCOGRA independent director and ex-BDO Stoy Hayward partner Bill Henbrey (61) has accepted an appointment as a non-executive director on the board of mobile gambling specialised firm Probability Games plc.
Henbrey was head of the UK Betting & Gaming and Leisure & Hospitality units at BDO for some 30 years until his retirement in June 2006, and has advised a range of UK and international land-based and on-line gaming operators. Other directorships he has held include Best of the Best plc and GexTech Holdings Ltd.
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Recently acquired by an Australian consortium and put up for sale, UK site generates strong interest
The popular UK online gambling site Cyberslotz is up for sale and attracting a great deal of attention, according to a report this week in the Express on Sunday newspaper. Apparently there are so far 14 potential suitors interested in making a deal with the Australian consortium of Tattersalls and McQuarie Bank, which acquired Cyberslotz when they took over the Talarius plc group recently.
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Download suite of over 90 games added to online offering
The Mansion online gambling group has confirmed industry speculation (see previous InfoPowa reports) that it has become a Playtech licensee.
In a press release this week, the Gibraltar-based company disclosed that a download gambling suite of over 90 games is being supplied by Playtech, fully integrated with Mansion's own proprietary portfolio of 70 "instant play" casino games, which will remain on offer.
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Barcelona bound
If you haven't booked your flights and hotels for the upcoming European Interactive Gaming conference in Barcelona, you're leaving things awfully late! Hotels in the city are filling up fast as delegates from around the world finalise their arrangements to attend one of the industry's key events for the exchange of knowledge and networking.
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