Online Casino News and Information

Merry Christmas U.S. online gambling!! Last week, right before the Christmas holiday was to begin, U.S. online gamblers got the best present of all. The Department of Justice had changed its stance and is now stating the Wire Act of 1961 only applies to sports betting.

Back in July, Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl as well as Illinois and New York ask the DoJ to clarify its position regarding online gambling and poker in regards to the Wire Act.  With this new official stance, states will now rush to take advantage with new lottery games as well as the possibility of using the same cross state tactics used for the major lottery games to allow online poker back into the United States.

According to the office of legal counsel for the Justice Department;

“We conclude that the Criminal Division’s premise is incorrect and that the Wire Act prohibits only the transmission of communications related to bets or wagers on sporting events or contests.”

Attorney General Ronald Weich said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that;

“…in states that ban various forms of gambling–including Internet poker–the Department will be able to investigate and prosecute those gambling businesses under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and other sections of the criminal code.”

With this new stance, even more pressure is on Congress to have legislation in place to regulate online gambling. This change in stance by the DoJ has cleared a path by which individual states can move forward on setting up their own offerings for online gambling.

The Poker Players Alliance released a press release where it’s executive director, John Pappas applauding the clarification and called for Congress to act now,

“This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law. For years, legal scholars and even the courts have debated whether the Wire Act applies to non-sporting activity. Today’s announcement validates the fact that Internet poker does not violate this law. The PPA commends Assistant Attorney General Seitz for recognizing this. However, this ruling makes it even more important that Congress act now to clarify federal law, and to create a licensing and regulation regime for Internet poker, coupled with clear laws and strong enforcement against other forms of gambling deemed to be illegal.”

To some this may be a case of “here we go again.” Nevada however is trying to position itself to be an important cog if the U.S. takes the leap and legalizes online gambling. As the debate is growing in Congress, Nevada voted to become the first state to allow online poker.

Thursday, Nevada approved rules that would allow companies to apply for licenses to operate a poker website in Nevada. Now, should Congress approve any of the regulations currently up for discussion, Nevada is now positioned to take quick advantage.

Nevada’s casinos, as long as the adhere to the state’s new standards, could be allow for them to have their own websites up with in the end of next year that could cater to Nevada residents only. According to Mark Lipparelli, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the board that drew up the rules that was unanimously approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission;

“I think this is an important big step. This establishes a U.S. foundation for online gaming regulation.”

Nevada has directly addressed the issue of underage gambling that has been so hotly debated in many state governments. New operators must verify the age and location of every gambler within 30 days of registration and cannot extend credit.

There are also regulations directly coming from the DoJ issues with Full Tilt Poker.  Operators must also hold a reserve, either of cash or credit to cover the money held for players in their account and the regulations limit the profits that celebrity poker players could receive if employed by the site.

Thought the large casino companies are still lobbying for a federal law to legalize and regulate online gambling, Caesars has already applied for a Nevada online gambling license. It is still unclear whether they will take advantage of the new Nevada regulations or wait for federal legislation.

There has been a plea from one of the three online poker companies following last Aprils U.S. federal indictments. Brent Beckley, co-owner of Absolute Poker, pleaded guilty today in a Manhattan Federal court.

The charges were conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud as well as conspiracy to violate an Internet gambling law. All related to the deception of U.S. banks over processing online gambling proceeds. Sentencing is set for April 19 and according to his plea agreement, Beckley is looking at 12-18 months in prison.

Before his guilty plea, Beckley told Judge Ronald Ellis;

“I knew that it was illegal to accept credit cards from players to gamble on the Internet. I knew that it was illegal to deceive the banks in this way.”

All total 12 people have been charged when the indictments were handed down.  Beckley hired payment processors between 2008 and 2011 according to the indictment that were disguised as payroll processing, affiliate marketing and online electronic merchant checks to fool U.S. banks into excepting them.

In July a major announcement was made by Bodog Poker to leave the U.S. market. The announcement was made not long after the DoJ’s handing down of indictments to the major U.S. facing online poker sites. Today, Bodog announced that their Bodog.eu will now be rebranded as Bovada Poker and will be accepting U.S. online poker players.

The new website will be run by the former license holders for Bodog in the United States, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG). Bovada will be connected to the main Bodog network as well just like how other poker big multi brand poker rooms share databases.

Residents of the U.S. will be required to download the new Bovada Poker software from the website.  Bovada will be for U.S. poker players only but through the database share will be able to play against players throughout the world.  U.S. players bankrolls, usernames and passwords will be moved to the Bovada Poker site so if you have already registered at Bodog, all your information will remain the same.

In a Bodog press release it says:

“The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture.”

The Bodog Poker Network is expecting only a minor influence in traffic and says they only expect minimal disruption while Bovada comes online.  This is the email sent to some players:

Bodog.eu is changing — New Name, New Look, Same Great Service

The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group’s (“MMGG”) brand licensing agreement with the Bodog Brand is expiring at the end of this year and as a result MMGG will no longer be offering its services using the bodog name or from the website, bodog.eu.

From today, December 14th, MMGG will continue to operate as it has for over 4 years, just under its new name, BOVADA, at www. bovada.lv

Your account and balance has automatically been transferred to the new website and you are able to log in to the site using your existing account details and password.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. have sent out a request for proposals from online gaming companies to seek help in running an online gambling operation in Ontario. The move could bring in an estimated $100 million over five years and says that $450 million is annually wagered over the web by Ontarians.

There are several provinces already in the online gambling market and according to lottery spokesman Tony Bitonti “we want to . . . get this right the first time.”  It is the plan of the OLG to phase in online gambling within the providence starting as early as next year.

OLG promises responsible gambling with features such as self-control options that will pop up asking if they may be playing too much and maybe, according to Bitonti, online chats with counselors. There will also be an age verification system to help control minors coming onto the site.

Not everyone is in agreement however as Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has said;

“The bottom line for me is (that) trusting Dalton McGuinty with a new revenue source is like giving the keys to the liquor cabinet to teenagers and going away for the weekend. The motivation is going to be to try to find another tool to take money out of our pockets. There’s a product out there that’s successful. How is the OLG going to trump that?”

Nevada and in particularly Las Vegas is pushing to regulate online gambling either within the state or on a national level. Many U.S. land based casinos are already making partnerships with online gambling companies to get ready for what they hope is the inevitable passing of some kind of U.S. regulations.

Not everyone however seems to be on the online gambling bandwagon. Sheldon Adelson, chief of the industry’s largest publicly traded company, says he opposes online gambling because he doesn’t think the software available can keep under age people from gambling.

A company spokesperson confirms however this is a personal stance from Adelson and not a formal stance from the company and its worldwide resorts in Las Vegas, Macau, Singapore and Bethlehem, Pa. Other industry companies like the Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International have openly backed the push to legalize online poker.

Adelson shared his view with Frank Fahrenkopf, CEO of the American Gaming Association. Fahrenkopf said in a statement:

“Sheldon has long had concerns about this issue, and it is perfectly within his right to make this decision. However, the AGA, at the direction of our board of directors, will continue to support federal legislation to allow states to license and regulate online poker.”

Though there is not a real consensus among the top casino industry but their top lobbyist has taken a step away from neutral and are now actively trying to lobby for federal legislation that would regulate online gambling or at least online poker.

A new study in Iowa by the Racing and Gaming Commission projects if lawmakers choose to legalize online poker within the state, operators could make between $13-60 million dollars a year.

The report goes on to say that if poker operators would be levied the same tax level that is currently being levied to most of the state-licensed riverboats and racetrack-casinos that the state gambling revenue would increase $3 million and $13 million annually.

According to the Racing and Gaming Commission administrator Jack Ketterer,

“Our goal was fact-finding and information-gathering that could help the legislators who might face bills to be better informed so they could make a public policy decision that was in the best interest of Iowa.”

Ketterer thinks the Racing and Gaming Commission would be capable of regulating online poker activity in the state if it should become legal in Iowa.

“How strictly it could be regulated might differ in different legislators’ eyes,” Ketterer said. “Our goal was to inform them as to what’s out there, what is the status of the industry right now, and then they can hopefully draw conclusions as to whether this is something that can or can’t be regulated to their personal desire and that they would be comfortable with.”

Projections using the commission’s research show that the number of online poker players at between 34,500 and 172,500. Gambling industry officials claim 150,000 Iowa players are playing online poker currently via illegal offshore poker sites.

One of online gambling’s biggest supporters has announced he will not seek another term in office. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced that he will not seek reelection in 2012.

In 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in a last moment add-on to must pass legislation. This angered Rep. Frank and ever since he has fought for online gambling and has sponsoring of several pieces of legislation to legalize and regulate online gaming in the United States.

Some worried that this would hurt representation of online gambling in the United States and even that he would consider becoming a lobbyist for the online gambling industry. Frank denied the thought of becoming a lobbyist and gaming organizations came out with statements that together helped calm the speculations.

Frank stated “My intention is to do some combination of writing, teaching, and lectures.”

Rep. Frank is the top ranking Democrat in the House Financial Services Committee and former Chairman. As Chairman, Frank pushed his online gambling legislation through the Committee but they never came up to vote in the full Congress.

He has proposed several bipartisan pieces of legislation since 2006 involving online gambling and what he saw as the fight for personal freedom for U.S. citizens. Recently he testified again in support of online gambling at the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing and the current proposed legislation offered by Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX).

The Poker Players Alliance issued this statement from Executive Director John Pappas:

 “Congressman Barney Frank has been a champion for Americans’ civil liberties. His longtime support for the freedom of adults to play online poker in a safe and regulated environment has been invaluable to our organization and to the interests of the entire poker community. The introduction and passage of H.R. 2267 through the House Financial Services Committee last year helped build the foundation for the online poker legislative proposals under consideration today.

The poker playing community will continue to build on the foundation established by Congressman Frank and we will forever be grateful for his fight for our personal freedoms. Thanks to Congressman Frank’s leadership our issue has become the topic of serious discussion throughout Capitol Hill. Even with his pending retirement, we are better positioned than ever to succeed legislatively. We have more Congressional champions and momentum now, more than ever.”

A complaint has been filed by online gambling companies with the European Union (EU) regulators against the new Greek revenue-raising law. The new law, according to the complaint would hinder betting firms who would want to start services in Greece.

The European Gaming and Betting Association which represents some of the big names in online gambling including Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc, Unibet Group Plc and the Remote Gambling Association has asked the EU to address the Greek actions that would require new operators to be based in the country as well as process financial transactions through Greek banks.

Those licensed operators already operating in Greece may also potentially pay their taxes on revenue retroactive to Jan. 1. 2010 until the new licenses have been awarded. This is seen to be equivalent to a market entry fee that all new operators currently not licensed in Greece would have to pay.

The Greek Government also granted the OPAP a ten year extension on its license. OPAP in the current monopoly gambling operator for offline games and pays no gambling tax on its activities. This decision, seemingly made to keep OPAP monopoly intact, has also been challenged with the EU as online operators will be required to pay 30% tax.

According to a Thursday article on CNNMoney, a deal was reached between Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) and the US Department of Justice.  The article claimed that this deal was brokered by the DOJ and cleared the way for GBT to purchase Full Tilt Poker.  The article however was taken down quickly after it was put up.

An article on CBS news however has also posted an AP story that also claims that a preliminary agreement has been reached with prosecutors. According to Benham Dayanim, a lawyer for Groupe Bernard Tapie, he has a letter signed by the U.S. attorney’s office that could bring the sale of Full Tilt to fruition.

This may help get gamblers both overseas and in the U.S. get their money back. Dayanim claims thought that, “There’s nothing tremendously fixed in stone. It’s the first step in a process,” Dayanim added. “What it provides is that if the Full Tilt companies agree to forfeit their assets to the United States, the United States will sell those assets to Groupe Bernard Tapie.”

According to Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer for Full Tilt CEO Raymond Bitar, there is a lot to be optimistic about with this deal that will allow the group to pay $80m for the online poker company that has been in a freefall since the DoJ leveled indictments against them.

According to the proposed deal, The Tapie group will pay all players outside the United States, players within the United States would have to file a claim with the Department of Justice. According to Dayanim;

“I’m optimistic that this deal will go forward. This deal offers the surest path toward compensation for players and toward restarting the site as a European-facing poker site.”