Online Casino News and Information

It is happening again, more arrests or as they say detained, we will see if they hold them! When will all this end? I think if the UIGEA bill is thrown out here in the US, all this will stop. It seems what ever the US does, the rest of the world follows.

The Turkish authorities have detained a number of people working for online gaming group Sportingbet (LSE: SBT.L - news) and its Turkish affiliate Superbahis.

Sportingbet said that two of its employees, both in middle management, were detained when returning home to Turkey for a break over the recent bank holiday week-end.

A larger number of individuals related to the Superbahis sports-betting and casino games site have also been detained, as have persons related to Maslin Properties, the Sportingbet’s former marketing partner in the region.

Sportingbet said it is awaiting formal clarification of events from the Turkish authorities.

The company is continuing to take bets from Turkish citizens but has gradually been reducing its reliance on the market.

Net gaming revenue (NGR) from Turkey in the three months to April 30 2008 (the third quarter of the group’s financial year) accounted for around 14% of the group’s net gaming revenue, down from around 28% in the preceding quarter.

Since 1 March, NGR from Turkey has accounted for about 9% of group net gaming revenue.

New laws were introduced in Turkey last year which prohibit unauthorised operators from accepting wagers from Turkish citizens.

However, the Internet offers jeux sans frontieres - games without frontiers - which has made it hard for governments to control online gaming as tightly as they would like.

One method of bringing pressure to bear on Internet gaming companies has been to arrest their personnel whenever they travel to locations under which the authorities hold jurisdiction.

Sportingbet’s own chairman, Peter Dicks, was detained in New York in September 2006 under a warrant issued by the state of Louisiana which accused Dicks of running a gambling enterprise by computer. Dicks was subsequently released when Louisiana’s extradition order failed.

The share price fell on the announcement, despite the company declaring it is confident of meeting market expectations for its fourth quarter.

It is a shame people associated with a gambling site can’t even take a vacation anywhere without fear of being arrested, when they are letting all the porn sites and pedophiles are out there on the loose. What kind of world are we living in?

The EU States are lightening their opinion on competition and online gambling. That makes eCOGRA even more important. Here is a commentary from the CEO of eCOGRA Andrew Beveridge. 

The year 2008 could prove a watershed for the online gambling industry, as pressure from leading betting companies prepared to litigate against state monopolies, and the compliance efforts of the European Commission start to create a persuasive climate for liberalisation.

The EU’s compliance arm currently has investigations against 10 of the 27 member states in progress and appears prepared to take recalcitrant governments to the European Court of Justice if required, where case precedents suggest an outcome may be favourable to the concept of free movement of goods and services between member nations.

Now, more than ever before it is important that eCOGRA accredited operators adhere to the eGAPs that have taken so much international expert input and effort to construct, providing a set of best practice standards across the operational spectrum that will meet the scrutiny of the most discerning jurisdictions.

The regular FGA quarterly dispute reports indicate strongly that the eGAPs are effective, with the average number of disputes per venue per month at very low levels unheard of elsewhere.

There is cause for optimism as the liberalisation of European markets unfolds.

Last year the Italian government executed a brisk about-turn on its anti-online gambling policies, instead introducing a draft licensing and regulatory system that is being steadily refined as both land and online possibilities are realised. Spain followed towards the end of the year, allowing its autonomous provinces to introduce individual licensing regimes.

This year we have seen firm indications from the French political leadership that the bad old days of PMU and Francaise des Jeux exclusivity may be numbered as prime minister Francois Fillon’s office studies a detailed report compiled by former MP Bruno Durieux, and mulls over ways to bring the country into compliance with European Commission requirements. Three possibilities exist: issuing licenses limiting online betting to sporting events; permitting betting on card games or licensing all games except lotteries.

The new rules will open the market, and Patrick Partouche, head of the Partouche land casino group, welcomed the possibility last month. His company already has an interactive gambling division.

Although the German states remain recalcitrant, bwin has triumphed in important litigation, and given the changes in train by other leading EU members and the threat of European Court of Justice appearances, there is room for reconsideration there, too.

Taking most industry people by surprise, one German state - Lower Saxony - will soon have an online casino operation up and running in partnership with Chartwell Technology, a significant breakthrough. Spielbanken Niedersachsen GmbH (SNG), the exclusive Lower Saxony state licensed and regulated casino operator, has already signed up for an online gaming system from Chartwell.

Finland and Norway are proving equally resistant to change, but neighbouring Denmark has in recent weeks signalled a radical rethink, with minister of taxation Kristian Jensen studying a regulatory regime that will likely moderate the aggressive and lucrative monopoly for so long held by Danske Spil.

Minister Jensen is quoted as saying: ”That’s (licensing and regulation) a possible situation, if the foreign bookmakers can live up to the strict regulations we have (in mind) for those who want to offer legal gambling in Denmark. I do not wish any Wild West situation. I want a regulated market.”

In Poland the Deputy Minister of Finance, Marek Kapica has made a public statement that his country plans to regulate and license online gambling as early as the second half of 2008. Minister Kapica told Polish media that the government was being pragmatic on the issue, saying: “We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the budget at least derives some revenues from it.”

Kapica’s ministry is apparently drafting legislation to introduce a regulatory regime, and this will be sent to the European Commission to ensure that it meets EU requirements for the free passage of goods and services between EU member states as required in the trading bloc’s treaty.

In the Netherlands the fight goes on between De Lotto and large betting companies that have challenged its state monopoly over Dutch gambling. Whilst the local courts have thus far favoured the monopoly, the Dutch are clearly feeling EC pressure, and the Senate refused to grant an exclusive online license to the state-owned Holland Casino earlier this year.

The Dutch are proving to be especially obdurate in hanging on to the lucrative monopoly concept, and recent news is that the government is actively considering an UIGEA-like intervention aimed at halting financial transactions with online gambling companies.

The latest court ruling is the 17th occasion on which Dutch judges have ruled against EU companies seeking to access the Dutch online gambling market, but the court acknowledged that the state is at odds with EU law on the issue and could find itself in a higher court.

In Greece, the OPAP monopoly has signalled its preparedness to enter discussions with the European Commission, an early but positive move that could lead to a more EU-compliant dispensation.

In South Africa the pace toward legalisation of online gambling continues to be agonisingly slow, but progress is being made, and a licensing and regulatory regime could be in place by 2009. Victor Chandler, bwin and other online gambling groups have already expressed an interest, according to media reports.

Across the pond, the American situation remains mired in a hodge podge of confusing federal and state laws and exceptions for certain types of online gambling that are clearly being protected (horseracing and state lotteries, for example). It is unlikely that online gambling will see true liberalisation there anytime soon, but despite that there have been encouraging moves to regulate and license.

Congressman Frank and 47 other members of Congress are pushing the IGREA which if eventually accepted would effectively overturn the UIGEA by introducing a licensing and regulatory system.

The UIGEA itself, still without supporting regulations some 18 months since being enacted, has been subjected to heavy media and congressional hearing attacks for its ambiguities and the impractical nature of expecting the financial services industry to enforce it for the government. Federal officials have admitted to difficulties in drafting the regulations, and last month Congressmen Frank and Paul launched HR 5767, which seeks to halt federal officials from further drafting.

Meanwhile, Florida Representative Wexler has a proposal seeking to exempt poker from the UIGEA on skill grounds, and Nevada Representative Shelley Berkely has called for an independent enquiry to study all the implications of online gambling, a concept the American Gaming Association has supported. And in California, another proposal going through state legislative processes is aimed at a state-wide study on legalising poker.

One question testing the minds of industry observers is how the drastic economic slowdown in the United States will influence both political and business thinking. When the UIGEA was signed into law, the US business was conservatively estimated at around $7 billion a year - a tempting source of extra revenues for American land businesses now feeling the pinch, and for possible tax generation for increasingly cash-strapped individual states. Only time will tell.

What is certain, though is that the global regulatory landscape is in a dynamic phase where some significant changes are likely, especially in Europe. The indications are sufficiently strong to warrant serious consideration by online gambling operators of their positioning in the industry, particularly with regard to superior and integrity driven operational standards and a commitment to professionalism, player protection and responsible gambling.

eCOGRA’s eGAP standards have been carefully crafted and continuously reviewed to achieve exactly that, and we believe that “Safe and Fair” seal operators who comply with eCOGRA’s requirements can meet most licensing conditions and inspections with confidence.

Make sure you check for the eCOGRA seal on the sites you play on! With their standards you are assured it is Safe and Fair!

Here is some good news for the Online Gambling Industry. We need to email and tell our Congressmen and Senators the way we feel on this issue!

The Bill presented by Barney Frank, to stop the enforcing of the UIGEA by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department, has gotten more support from Congressmen.

Five new supporters have joined with Frank, to give a big push. Among these new supporters is, Russ Carnahan from Missouri, Michael Capuano from Massachusetts, Ed Perlmutter from Colorado, Charles Gonzalez from Texas, and Joe Baca from California. All of these want to undo the damage the UIGEA Bill caused.

After hearing testimony at the Financial Committee in April, it showed all the flaws and the lack of efficacy in the Bill, created a lot of confusion, especially from Bankers. This all showed the impossibility of enforcing this bill.

Other Nations around the world are protesting the unfair trade practices created by the UIGEA Bill. They are and have presented cases to the WTO (World Trade Organization) and are under review.

A Quote by Tom Weston of the Online Casino Advisory says it all:  Is this really even debatable? Should the country fight to enforce a problematic prohibition, spending millions, or accept the popular will as well as reality and allow freedom to citizens while generating monies for the Treasury?
 
I could not have said it any better Tom!!  Let’s all ban together and let our country know how we feel.

For the Whole Article by tom:
http://www.onlinecasinoadvisory.com/casino-news/online/frank-online-gambling-bill-grows-1707.htm

The small Islands of Antigua and Barbuda may be small, but they are standing up to the USA for their rights according to the WTO on internet gambling. These tiny islands show they are not afraid to go up against a big nation!! You bigger nations should take notes!!

Minister of Finance from Antigua and Barbuda is in Washington today. They are to meet with US Trade representatives in a last-ditch attempt to settle out of court, with their dispute in regards to the provision of online gambling.

Antigua and the US agreed to hold back on legal proceedings before the WTO, to try and resolve the issue. They now have till June 6th to have a solution, and if not they will be the First in history to go before the General Council of the WTO.

Will it get resolved? Or will we see history in the making? I say a BIG THUMBS Up to these small islands. We will be waiting to hear what happens with this and hope they will set a trend for other nations!

Whole Article and more on this:
http://gamingintelligencegroup.com/gig/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1068&Itemid=2

The South Asian Market is booming, and Cryptologicis right there to help develop a new gaming brand. This is interesting reading.

May 15, 2008 (Dublin, IRELAND) – CryptoLogic Limited, a world leader in Internet gaming software, has signed an agreement with Khel Galli – one of South Asia’s fast-growing on-line gaming companies – to develop and launch KhelGalli.com, a new Internet gaming brand for this high-growth market.

“In 2008, CryptoLogic is on the move — launching new games, building new partnerships and entering new markets — and of course South Asia is near the top of our list,” said Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic’s President and CEO. “For CryptoLogic, it’s exciting to earn the confidence of Khel Galli, a rapidly expanding Asian gaming brand. Khel Galli will offer South Asian players a truly unique gaming experience — our best global products tailored to local tastes and needs.”

The new agreement, made through CryptoLogic subsidiary WagerLogic, provides Khel Galli with one of the Internet’s most extensive online casino and poker offerings.  The Khel Galli poker site is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2008, followed by the release of a mini-casino which will include a subset of CryptoLogic’s top-performing casino games later in the year. CryptoLogic will implement full gaming suites on this site, including more than 200 casino games and non-downloadable poker and casino products in 2009.

“For Khel Galli, we wanted a respected partner who could understand the market and develop an exceptional experience for our target audience – and CryptoLogic is an ideal fit,” said Ganesh Mallya, Khel Galli’s CIO. “CryptoLogic’s industry expertise and reputation for integrity will help us expand and broaden our competitive edge for the South Asian market.”

The combination of Khel Galli’s marketing expertise in South Asia with CryptoLogic’s proven ability to produce exciting games and deliver them on a reliable and secure platform creates significant potential for a market-shaping partnership.

“CryptoLogic’s agreement with Khel Galli is another clear demonstration of CryptoLogic’s ability to tailor our software to the specific needs of different customers, different players and different markets,” added Antony Demetriades, Managing Director of WagerLogic.

About CryptoLogicâ (www.cryptologic.com)

Focused on integrity and innovation, CryptoLogic Limited is a world-leading, blue-chip public developer and supplier of Internet gaming software. Its leadership in regulatory compliance makes it one of the very few companies with gaming software that has been certified to strict standards similar to land-based gaming.

WagerLogic Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CryptoLogic, is responsible for the licensing of CryptoLogic software and services to customers who offer their games around the world to non-U.S. based players. For information on WagerLogicâ, visit www.wagerlogic.com. CryptoLogic’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CRY, CXY), the NASDAQ Global Select Market (CRYP) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (CRP).

The U.S. needs to take heed and follow suit. They don’t realize what they are missing out on. With any hope they will soon!

The Patent enforcer is at it again!  This time it is 1st Technology’s turn to file action. All these patent laws need to be watched carefully. Anytime you start a website, make sure the name or any of it does not have a patent already.

Seven more online gambling companies find themselves undergoing the unwelcome patent attention of Dr. Scott Lewis and his 1st Technology company this week, with the costly Bodog dispute apparently at a stalemate.

The St. Louis law firm Simon Passanate has filed patent enforcement suits on behalf of 1st Technology in the Eastern District court of Missouri, citing four Costa Rican, two Norwegian and one Netherlands Antilles companies, according to a report from the online gambling information portal Gambling 911

The companies were named as Digital Gaming Solutions SA, Costa Rica International Sports, Action Poker Gaming Enterprises and SBG Global in Costa Rica; Playsafe Holding AS and eCom Enterprises in Norway and Digital Gaming Network, Ltd., in the Netherlands Antilles jurisdiction.

As was the case with Bodog and an earlier and now settled case against Sportingbet, the plaintiff alleges infringement of the 1st Technology US patent 5 564 001, issued in 2001 and entitled “Method and System for Interactively Transmitting Information Over A Network Which Requires Reduced Bandwidth.”

According to the 911 report, the plaintiff seeks an immediate halt to further patent infringement, treble damages and the impoundment and destruction of all infringing products.

Anthony G. Simon, representing 1st Technology commented: “1st Technology is a leading technology licensing company that invests considerable resources in developing its intellectual property and is dedicated to protecting and enforcing the same.” Simon’s law firm has an impressive track record in intellectual property actions.

Dr. Lewis, who heads up 1st Technology, told 911: “Our initial goal here, as in all of our cases, is to reach swift and fair settlements that respect our intellectual property rights for companies with U.S. facing operations and utilize our patents…if we are unable to reach a swift resolution of the dispute, we move forward quickly and apply all of our resources to enforce all of our U.S. legal rights.”

Dr. Lewis and his company have been embroiled in a long running and bitterly acrimonious dispute with the Bodog group and its erstwhile CEO Calvin Ayre in recent months (see previous InfoPowa reports) following the award of a $48 million default judgement against Bodog and the confiscation of its domains, forcing an extensive re-branding exercise by the online gambling group. Ayre has consistently claimed that service of the court documents was not affected.

So make sure when you do a website to check and recheck to see that no one else has a patent on it! That way this will not happen to you!

If the US Government would go after real criminals as hard as they try to get people in the Gambling Industry, there would be no terrorists for us to worry about. They would all be in prison. I think the US has their priorities in wrong places.

Kaplan was arrested over a year ago on several charges, including tax evasion. Kaplan says he did not violate tax laws, saying “no wagering excise tax was owed by him because the wagers either were not accepted in the Unites States or were not placed by a person who was in the United States”.

The court documents state: “The government further alleges that defendant Kaplan caused and directed that wagering funds be sent outside the United States. There are no allegations that persons in the Eastern District of Missouri were directed to send funds outside the United States.”

The whole story:
http://www.egrmagazine.com/item/2526/23/5/3

We will continue to keep up updated on these proceedings as they develop. For those who don’t know, Kaplan is the founder of Betonsports.

U.S. needs to take heed to these other countries! They have realized how hard it will be to enforce the UIGEA Bill. Wake up America and smell the roses, this is one bill that is almost impossible to enforce.

Jacek Kapica the Deputy Finance Minister stated in April there were plans to legalize online gambling by end of 2008.The previous conservative Law and Justice(PiS) ruled against legalizing online betting a year ago, saying the cost to the state would be tremendous.

According to the analysts any budget revenues from online gambling would be a lot lower than at first suspected, and that the cost of regulating it would be to high.

Kapica said: “We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the budget at least derives some revenue from it,”

The Polish Press suggested that Poland’s change was influenced by European Court of Justice ruling that said that Italy may not use criminal law to ban foreign online gambling companies from attracting Italian players.

Now if the rest of the world would see it the same way, all of this could be settled quickly and easily!! Shows some countries are smarter than others huh?

Whole story:

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=40961

We have all been waiting to see the next step in this saga of the UIGEA, well we can now see the next step. This article is a step in the right direction. We all need to stand behind this and to let our Congressmen know where we stand on this issue.

The proposed rules of the UIGEA Bill are ambiguous and are not going to stop millions of Americans from gambling online.

“[R]epresentatives from the regulatory agencies themselves admitted that there are substantial problems in crafting regulations to implement the UIGEA in a manner that does not have a substantial adverse effect on the efficiency of the nation’s payment system,” wrote House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Ranking Member Ron Paul (R-Texas) and committee members Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Peter King (R - N.Y.) in a letter sent to all members of Congress.
H.R. 5767 was introduced by Reps. Frank and Paul on April 10. It would prohibit the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System from proposing, prescribing or implementing any regulations required by UIGEA.
“These bi-partisan congressional leaders understand that the proposed regulations can’t work. Their legislation would relieve U.S. financial services companies from the burden of policing the Internet and implementing a ban on Internet gambling that is doomed to fail,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “U.S. financial services companies should be focusing their undivided attention on the economy, not trying to stop people from exercising their freedom to use the Internet to play poker, bet on horses, or engage in other types of gambling activities.”
Earlier this week, Reps. Frank, Paul, Gutierrez and King called on the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System to cease implementation of regulations related to UIGEA. In letters addressed to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, they wrote, “Given the many other priorities that are pending at your agencies…we believe it would be imprudent for you to devote additional agency resources to this Sisyphean task.”
Representatives from the Credit Union National Association, Financial Services Roundtable, American Bankers Association and Wells Fargo & Co. testified about the burden they would unnecessarily face before the House Committee on Financial Service’s Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology on April 2. They testified that both UIGEA and the proposed regulations were so ambiguous that they made it impossible to determine what may or may not be illegal activities.
Their comments reflect the concerns echoed in the more than 200 comments submitted to the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System.
Frank introduced legislation last year, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2046), that would regulate Internet gambling. The bill would require licensed Internet gambling operators to put in place safeguards to protect against underage and compulsive gambling and ensure the integrity of financial transactions.
A companion piece of legislation to the Frank bill introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 (H.R. 5523), would ensure the collection of taxes on regulated Internet gambling activities. According to a tax revenue analysis prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, taxation of regulated Internet gambling is expected to generate between $8.7 billion to $42.8 billion in federal revenues over its first 10 years.
A copy of the letter on H.R. 5767 can be found here.
Contact your Representative to thank them or ask for their support for regulated Internet gambling. Visit www.safeandsecureig.org and take action today.

Everyone who enjoys gambling online in their own homes need to get off your bohunkus and be heard. Let them know how you feel!!

The online poker site Pokertrillion is leaving the Boss Poker network, and is filing a law suit against Boss Media. Therefore Boss Media has had millions of Euros frozen in their accounts. So will Boss Media have enough to pay their players who decide to cash out?

That is a question everyone is asking, and how this will be settled. Pokertrillion has just released this press release. This details the reasons of the law suit.

April 12, 2008 Malta – Trillion Limited (POKERTRILLION.com).

There have been a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation, and a lot of questions surrounding the current position between POKERTRILLION.com, Boss Holdings Limited and Boss Media Malta Poker Ltd. This statement seeks to clarify everything.

On Friday 11th April 2008 POKERTRILLION.com achieved a freezing order of the bank accounts of Boss Holdings Limited and Boss Media Malta Poker Ltd. The freezing order was executed at five of the banks where they hold accounts, and it will be executed at the reaming two banks early Monday morning. The freezing order has been made in conjunction and relating to a €45million initial law suit being taken by POKERTRILLION against Boss Media and Webdollar for alleged fraudulent, and potential criminal activities of various personnel and/or the management of Boss Media, or their associated companies in various jurisdictions including but not restricted to, Sweden and Malta.

It is anticipated that this will have a serious detrimental impact on the players who have money with Boss Media or any of its associated companies including Webdollar, because obviously the accounts have now been frozen so it is likely that when the freezing order is executed across all the Webdollar and Boss Media accounts, players will find it impossible to withdraw funds.

POKERTRILLION.com as a small and new entrant to the market is taking a zero tolerance approach to being mistreated by Boss Media, furthermore, owing to the massive irregularities surrounding Boss Media and their handling of POKERTRILLION.com this led to a number of contractual issues that led to POKERTRILLION.com making extremely exciting and important developments in the way in which it operated its business.

Further information will be released as and when the courts give permission for POKERTRILLION.com to discuss such developments. In the interim, all players who hold accounts with POKERTRILLION.com have an unconditional and unlimited guarantee on all funds they hold through POKERTRILLION.com.

It is highly likely, if Boss Media follows the proper code of conduct as it should do, it will have to make a full and complete disclosure to the Stockholm Stock Exchange where they are listed. This invariably will have a catastrophic effect on their share price, and may even lead to the arrest by the authorities of certain members of their management team and the possible suspension of their sharers. This in turn, would mean that players not in the POKERTRILLION.com stable would find their funds in serious jeopardy yet again.

POKERTRILLION.com however is delighted that this situation has created the ability to develop some fantastic new opportunities which are to be revealed in the coming week.

Should you require any further information please contact manager@pokertrillion.com or the judicial courts in Malta.