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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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| 21
SEPTEMBER 2007 : HEADLINES |
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Findings confound media speculation that study would show significant increases in problem gambling
It would appear that despite considerable growth in the UK gambling market, the mainstream media pundits on the pastime got it wrong in speculating that Wednesday's report on the Prevalence of Gambling in the UK would show dramatic increases in problem gambling.
Advance copies of the report reaching the media show that the number of problem gamblers in the UK has not altered since the corresponding survey back in 1999. According to the study, commissioned by the UK Gambling Commission, 0.6 percent of the adults involved have a gambling problem.
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But the overall number of problem gamblers is not rising
The encouraging news that the incidence of problem gambling has not grown over the past 8 years aside, a closer look at the Gambling Prevalence report released by the UK Gambling Commission today shows that, after the national lottery, video betting machines in bookie shops (FOBTs) and spread betting are areas of concern regarding problem gambling.
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57 percent of gambling in the UK is on the National Lottery
Yesterday's release of the Gambling Prevalence study, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research at the behest of the UK Gambling Commission, may have been an anti-climax after the extensive press speculation on its possible content, but it still contains interesting information.
The central finding was that, contrary to the 'the sky is falling' mainstream media speculation, there has been no significant change in UK problem gambling since the last survey in 1999....and that's despite the significant growth in the industry and gambling technology since that last survey.
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Review of current voluntary funding policy to be carried out
Hard on the heels of the UK Gambling Prevalence report, which showed that problem gambling has not grown in 8 years (see previous InfoPowa report) comes news that the the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has tasked the Gambling Commission with carrying out a review of the effectiveness and level of the current voluntary arrangements that fund gambling research, treatment and public education.
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Growing numbers of players are discussing some suspicious big money plays
Rumbling into its second controversial week as we went to press is a superheated debate on some unusually good fortune (for some!) at the popular Absolute Poker.com website. To describe the widespread message board discussions as 'lively' would be an understatement as highly experienced players exchange notes and hand histories at leading poker fora like 2+2, Pocketfives and the poker section of Casinomeister over what is alleged to be cheating running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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Megaz Mania makes its debut
The popular online gambling progressive game 'Megaz Bucks' has been re-branded Megaz Mania by Dublin-based developers Veridigm Inc, which has additionally launched a bingo offering. The company claims that the new branding more accurately reflects the global popularity of the game.
Veridigm boasts that Megaz Mania is the largest progressive jackpot game to ever be offered on the Internet, starting at US$ 5 million. The proprietary software that powers the game allows operators to offer not only cash jackpots, but prizes of all types and size, a unique play-off format and an increased number of winners.
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New media firm IMCI to get mobile games soon
Microgaming associate and mobile gambling specialist company Spin3 is to provide the Spinlite suite of stand-alone, play-for-fun casino style mobile games to International Marketing Concepts, a Netherlands-based company active in the new media, telecoms and ICT-organisation sectors.
The two companies inked a deal this week that will see the quality Spin3 games operational later this year.
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Another victory for online gambling
European Union nations are facing tighter European Commission scrutiny on betting license procedures, a press release from the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) revealed this week. The release applauds the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the case (C-260/04) concerning the renewal of horse race betting licences in Italy.
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56 people interviewed by Italian Financial Guard police.
Early, and scanty, reports just in indicate that the Italian financial police have been active in busting an illegal and unlicensed online betting ring that stretched over 20 centres.
The names of 56 people were taken by Taranto Financial Guard officers following the investigation on allegations of unauthorised online betting.
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The US government appears to have a real fight on its hands over UIGEA
When the largely unknown Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association [iMEGA] burst onto the online gambling scene earlier this year, challenging the US government's Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, there was some scepticism about its motivation and ability to stay the course. In recent months those sceptics will be reconsidering their opinions as the nascent organisation has shown an impressive legal capability that has US officials on the back foot.
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Getting the word out could have far-reaching benefits
The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association [iMEGA] has been hitting global headlines in recent months with its determined legal action against the US government over the validity and constitutional propriety of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. With more action promised as the two sides clash again in a federal court hearing on September 24, the non-profit body is keeping the pressure on with a new ally - high-powered and internationally respected New York public relations firm Ogilvy.
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32Red subsidiary may be acquired by Irish group
The Gibraltar-based quality sportsbook Bet Direct.com may be acquired by an as yet unidentified company, owners 32 Red plc have confirmed following rumours of negotiations earlier this week....and judging by industry personnel movements reported lately, the buyer may be Irish company Boyle Sports, although that has yet to be clarified.
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Brush up your golf
The fast moving newcomer to the skill games sector, Skillground has released another new game in beta format that will appeal particularly to the legions of golf fanatics out there - utourGolf. Reports are that the presentation has delivered a remarkably realistic game that can be played for free or for money with the prospect of competing for and winning prizes.
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Top US players fail to make the cut
The exciting Grand Finale of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event will soon be decided as 9 players assemble later today (Sunday) at The Casino at the Empire on Leicester Square - just a short walk away from Buckingham Palace in London.
The competition, which has taken four days of hard, professional poker playing to reach this stage is making history in that it is the youngest final table ever assembled for an event of this magnitude. Female Norwegian player Annette Obrestad is only 18 while Johannes Korsar is 20 years old. If either of these players wins the bracelet, they will be the youngest bracelet holders in WSOP history. And the average age at the final table is only 25.
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Talented 18 year old wins a million in London
Norwegian player Annette Obrestad became the youngest bracelet winner in World Series of Poker history early Monday this week by conquering the Main Event at the first annual WSOP Europe presented by Betfair.com.
The 18-year-old online poker prodigy from Norway outlasted the strongest field in European poker history at the tough, five-day GBP 10 000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event in London's Leicester Square.
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But be cautious - there could be skeletons in this cupboard
The weekend launch of a new online gambling group managed by some impressively experienced Internet gambling execs will attract the attention of the information portals not only for the personalities involved, but due to the histories of their former companies.
Lazer Wager.com offers sportsbook, poker and live casino action and is the Costa Rican based property of unidentified UK investors who have a corporate office in Cyprus. The software in use is ASI for the Sportbook, GPS Global for the Live Dealer Casino and DGS for the Digital Casino, and the holding company in Costa Rica is Trailhead SA.
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Young WSOP star has an exciting future
One of the young gun players who sprang into sharp focus at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas was Norwegian poker prodigy Annette Obrestad, an almost nineteen year old Internet player who has been making online poker waves under the handle "Annette 15."
At the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe currently running in London she has continued to impress, and this week the Betfair group which organises the European spectacular announced that it had signed Obrestad up as a poker ambassador.
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All Africa Poker Channel presenter takes million Rand Southern African title
The Sun City One Million Rand Heads Up Challenge in South Africa earlier this (September) month shone the spotlight on a poker commentator who can walk the walk as well as talk about the game.
All Africa Poker Channel commentator and online poker player, Ryan Brauer showcased his expertise by winning the million Rand challenge against some impressive opposition. He went on to place sixth in the Sun City main event for a further R231 000 ($33 000).
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Silicon Valley and Hollywood lobbying US government over possible WTO consequences
The World Trade Organisation dispute which the tiny island nation of Antigua has won against the unbalanced posture of the United States on Internet gambling has generated mainstream world press coverage for the pastime like never before, and continues to do so.
This week, a Newsweek report on the David vs. Goliath nature of a struggle that has the United States on the back foot was picked up by several leading mainstream publications, again drawing attention to the consequences for the American government of taking the unprecedented step of withdrawing its WTO treaty obligations agreed in the Uruguay Round.
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Two year exclusive agreement
Publicly listed software developer Playwize plc (formerly Bits Corp plc) has inked a development and supply agreement on Internet 3D poker software with Ladbrokes International Limited, a subsidiary of top UK gambling group Ladbrokes plc.
Under the terms of the agreement, Playwize will develop and licence to Ladbrokes an exclusive version of its innovative online 3-D poker for use by players on the Ladbrokes poker network.
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But how were the questions phrased in this lotteries and sportsbetting study?
The protective stance taken by German politicians when it comes to the country's state monopolised gambling industry is well known and the subject of warnings from the European Commission, but does the German man-in-the-street support a greater liberalisation of the industry?
Apparently not, according to a report in Interactive Gaming News this week, which reveals that during a television debate a study commissioned by the Deutscher Lotto und Totoblock claimed that only 10 percent of German residents were in favor of gambling liberalisation.
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Poker School Online adds T.J. Cloutier to its coach roster
California-based Poker School Online.com (PSO) had added an internationally respected poker ace to its roster of top poker coaches. T.J. Cloutier is the newest professional poker player to join the PSO team as a content contributor and instructor.
Famous in poker circles around the planet, "T.J." is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and holds six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. During his 51 years as a professional poker player, he has reached the final table during 39 WSOP events and was the winner at 59 other major tournaments, bringing this modest professional's live tournament winnings to more than $8 700 000.
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3D online poker site keeps pulling 'em in....
One of the leaders in online 3D poker gambling, PKR.com reached an historic milestone last week when it signed up its one millionth user. Passing the one million mark caps an exceptional year of growth for PKR.com, the company claims.
PKR's high quality 3D graphics and immersive game system, which allow players to customise characters and interact with opponents using a range of body language and emoticons, have proved to be major attractions for poker players everywhere, who have visited the site in record numbers since the PKR launch in August 2006.
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6025 poker players signed up for No-Limit Hold'em event
The 5th Poker Stars.com World Championship of Online Poker tournament continues to generate huge prize money as it continues this week, with event number 5, a No-Limit Hold'em competition, attracting a record 6 025 entry field generating a significant prize-pool which Poker Stars boosted to over $3 million.
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Problem gambling body seeks further funds...just prior to release of UK Gambling Prevalence Study.
Wednesday's publication date for the Gambling Prevalence study commissioned by the UK Gambling Commission has focused the spotlight directly on the important issue of problem gambling, and the Responsibility in Gambling Trust is making sure it capitalises on the opportunity.
The raison d'etre of the Trust is to tackle problem gambling in Britain through the funding of treatment, research and education programmes, and it has raised millions to do that.
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Online gambling portal took the initiative on Washington project
Whilst many complain about US political ignorance when it comes to the multi-faceted online gambling phenomenon, few have taken proactive steps to address the apparently yawning gap in US political education on the pastime. Not so the information portal Casino Gambling Web which has just completed a commendable initiative to better inform Congressmen.
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Bodoglife debuts in aftermath of 1st Technologies patent dispute
The marketing people at Bodog must be running themselves ragged with the fast pace of domain and branding changes that has emerged from the online gambling and entertainment group's patents run-in with 1st Technologies (see previous InfoPowa reports)
When its domains were closed down earlier this month in a default judgement from Nevada and later Washington courts, Bodog had to react quickly, creating "New Bodog.com" as a holding tactic, and quite remarkably managing to push the new domain rapidly up the search engine results pages. At the same time the company revealed that it had clinched a deal with the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group company which involved that entity taking over its North American Bodog brands under an exclusive license.
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Five European locations involved in electronic bingo deal
Reno, Nevada-based electronic bingo developer GameTech International, Inc. has received a purchase order from an unidentified customer to develop and place server-based wireless gaming systems and platforms in five locations in Europe.
The gaming system will consist of the new GameTech Elite server-based operating system and Wi-Fi based applications to manage all applications.
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Heads-up clash at a $200/$400 No-Limit Hold'em table produces biggest reward for September thus far
According to the poker information site High Stakes Poker Database, a Swede named Ingrid boosted (her?) bank balance by a very useful $330 000 this week on the Microgaming Poker Network.
Nicknamed "Ingrid_Swede" and playing heads up in mid-September in a $200/$400 No-Limit Hold'em final confrontation with competing finalist "I_Knockout_U," the player took down the largest pot of the month so far, collecting a paycheck of $330 000 in a single hand.
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ISW negotiating a contract to provide sports betting software to Canadian provincial gaming operator.
The embattled Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation seems to be expanding its activities, according to a press release from New Jersey-based Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc. which reports that the company is in negotiations to supply the Canadian provincial authority with its sports wagering product.
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Article 38 of law 248/2006 will be watched closely by EEA poker operators
Online poker operators in the European Union will be watching for an announcement on the Italian government's official definition of skill gaming, and whether it will embrace poker when Article 38 of law 248/2006 is signed, possibly as soon as next week.
Discussing the upcoming law, Interactive Gaming News this week examined the remarkable December 2006 turnabout by the Italians who had formerly strongly resisted Internet gambling, but instead decided to license and regulate it. Subsequently some 17 000 remote gaming licenses were created, covering horse racing, sports betting and skill games. But exactly what qualified as a skill game, and whether poker would fall within the definition, was not clear.
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Media fixation with youth in poker can result in distortions
The apparent fixation of mainstream media with portraying Internet gambling as a prominent danger to youth often results in uninformed or occasionally downright inaccurate interpretation of the many surveys carried out on the pastime, and it was therefore satisfying to read a factual dismantling of such reports this week in an excellent article by Pittsburgh poker blogger Gene Bromberg at http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/viewarticle.php?id=2234
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Are DoJ officials and the industry headed for a confrontation?
The legislative carve-outs for horseracing by the United States in its attempts to hamstring Internet gambling are at the centre of much criticism and potentially very expensive legal hassles such as the currently high profile US vs. Antigua dispute in the World Trade Organisation.
Adding fuel to the fires this week was a Financial Times article, picked up by a wide range of other mainstream media, which suggests that a legal wrangle is developing between the horseracing industry and US enforcement authorities.
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Belgian Gaming Commission lays complaint against Unibet
The online gambling group Unibet found itself at the centre of another European controversy this week as the Belgian Gaming Commission filed a complaint regarding its political proposition betting policy on the formation of Belgium's new government.
The commission said it filed a complaint with the Brussels prosecutor's office claiming Unibet's game of chance on when Belgium's deeply divided political leaders will form a new national government was against the law. Elections were held June 10.
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Online gambling group bets it can improve IT energy savings by 84 percent
Online gambling group Betfair is aiming to boost its IT energy efficiency in support of its rapidly growing data centre by adopting environmentally sound policies, reports PC World this week.
Betfair receives more than four billion page impressions per week on its web site, and reaches more than 22 000 transactions per second during a big horse race. But the power required to support such high-performance systems places a heavy demand on energy, says Betfair service quality director John Hegarty.
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Aussie puffers are reducing gambling problems, it appears
The Australian broadcaster ABC carries an interesting report this week on the possibility that anti-smoking laws may have helped curb problem gambling in land casinos.
Lifeline's Wide Bay problem gambling branch, in south-east Queensland, has reported a drop in people seeking assistance for problem gambling since anti-smoking laws were introduced.
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Provided it is done properly, regulation is the best way to go, says Kwa Zulu Natal politician
The National Gambling Amendment Bill, which introduces a regulated and controlled online gambling regime in South Africa in preference to banning the Internet pastime has received the support of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
In a speech to the National Assembly this week, the party's Professor E.S. Chang said that with the great technological developments and the rapid expansion of the Internet and other interactive communications, it was inevitable that gambling would move to this domain.
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Two weeks to a Barcelona lift-off.....
At the rate hotel rooms are being booked close to the CCIB in Barcelona over the 2nd - 4th of October, the European Interactive Gambling conference is going to be bigger than ever.
Can you afford to miss this singular gathering of i-gaming executives from around the globe and the exchange of vital industry information that it represents?
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