Gamblog.co.uk - Gambling & Casino Blog

18 Months after Noam Lanir took his company to a US$ 900 Million IPO on the LSX, he is selling his remaining shares to rival gaming company for US $40 million. Lanir's company, Empire Online, was valued at over US $928 million when it first traded on London Stock Exchange. However its shares fell significantly in months after the U.S. Government passed a law in September making it illegal for US banks and credit card and companies to take online gambling transactions.

Today, Empire Online's worth is estimated at USD 244 million, a devaluation of 80 percent. Lanir is quoted as saying he will use profits from the sale to Party Gaming to invest in real estate. The deal is expected to be inked within week's end. Industry analysts have said that this deal is an indication of the future of Israeli owned publicly traded companies, and that online gaming giants 888.com and Playtech, will probably look to sell in the near future.

spread the igamingnews

The Thanh Nien, a Vietnamese daily newspaper, has reported that Vietnamese Police have arrested 18 people suspected of illegal online betting. The wagering allegedly took place on High profile English Premier League soccer matches police said. A police official in Ho Chi Minh City said "We arrested several people early Sunday,". No further details were given. The raids took place in 13 different locations. 18 people were arrested and almost US$437,000 was seized. It is alleged by Vietnamese authorities that the detained men received wagers from local gamblers and then passed them to bookies abroad.

It is well known that major Asian syndicates wager amounts in the millions of dollars on international soccer matches. Since the 2000 football season, the Vietnamese domestic Soccer League has also been tainted by allegations of corruption and match-fixing among officials and players.

posted by Ina of egamingpulse

The German Federal Constitutional court has rejected a constitutional challenge to a ban on internet sports betting. The challenge was brought about by an online gambling operation. The online gambling company making the challenge cited a 1990 ruling in the German state of Thuringia which allowed sports betting. This 1990 ruling pre-dates Germany in its current form, as it was made in the former Communist East Germany. A ruling in 2004 then banned betting over the internet with immediate effect. The company making the challenge was not named in court papers or during proceedings.

The German state of Saxony along with two other states imposed a ban on commercial online betting earlier this year. All 16 of Germany's states are in the process of drafting a law to make illegal Internet gambling altogether. Furthermore they seek to uphold a German state monopoly on lottery ticket sales.

Online betting companies face increasingly stringent regulations in both the U.S. and Europe as governments seek to protect state-run horse-racing and lotteries.

spread the igamingnews

Russian MPs yesterday passed a law that will effectively drive casinos and slot machines out of Moscow and other major cities

The law effectively means that any gambling must be located in several regions far from Moscow.

The law had been proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October and was passed overwhelmingly by the lower house on Wednesday.

Slot machines can be found in many locations across Russia, including airports, supermarkets and apartment building lobbies. Under the new legislation, this would be illegal also.

The law also bans online gambling anywhere in the country.
Several online poker and bookmaking companies have aggressively courted Russian customers in the last 12 months, including Gamebookers.com and EuroPoker. Austrian based Bwin.com has reported that Russian based players make up a large percentage of their customer base.


spread the igaming news

"Perspective's Weekly" is a production of the Association of Players, Casinos, and Web-masters (APCW). A recent edition of Perspectives Weekly carried an interview between Jay Todd of the APCW and former Absolute Poker employee Gian Perroni and the subject was the RCMP and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "raid" on the Vancouver office of the Absolute Poker marketing arm. Egamingpulse quoted a source close to Absolute Poker at that time, who said that following the raid employees are working remotely as the office is effectively closed. The source also said that (vital employees) have been given 3 months to relocate to Costa Rica or find another job."

We have since been told by another insider that the "raid" was triggered after the DOJ found information on the Absolute Poker Vancouver office’s location during a routine domain registration check. That check revealed that the AbsolutePoker.com website was registered using details that included the street address of the now-closed Vancouver office. The domain now carries a Corozal Town, Belize location. Using a domain registration detail search is not a technique known only to federal law enforcement agencies. Most internet marketers have used GoDaddy.com or a similar site to track down contact details of a company they want to get in touch with. The Online Gambling industry as a whole has been at the forefront of all internet marketing techniques and can lay valid claim to being the first to develop certain principles and ideas that were then employed outside the sector.

Given that, it is a little surprising what a quick domain search will turn up on some gaming operators.

spread the igaming news

In Malaysian cyber-cafés, there’s a new way to avoid being busted gambling online. A button that can completely erase or change a computer monitor’s screen puts many Malaysian gamblers at ease, especially when authorities step into the outlets. The function is not hot-buttoned to individual keyboards, but located at the reception counter. This way the cyber-cafe operator can instantly erase any trace of online gambling from all of the screens in the room on the arrival of law enforcement.

For regular customers, the sudden change from online gambling site to search engine homepage is nothing to be worried about. They know that it is all part of avoiding a hefty fine from the authorities and an embarrassing social situation. Acting cool and typing something mundane into the search area such as “Malaysian News” is usually the reaction by those who were about to wager black or red on roulette just a couple of seconds earlier.

In fact, some online gambling den operators in Malaysia are now spending thousands switching video arcade gaming machines to computers with Internet access. This way gamblers may bet online while looking like they are playing something far less incriminating.

These new tactics were discovered by Selangor police during a raid in Seri Kembangan. Conducted by the anti-vice, gaming and secret societies division, the authorities seized 15 computers that had the “screen-changing” function. Six patrons were detained during the raid and police are tracking down the owner while continuing to monitor cybercafes.

spread the igaming news

Justice Thayne Forbes ruled today that Fergal Lynch, and six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon will go on trial at the Old Bailey in London on September 24 of next year.
Fallon was one of 11 people charged by police in July as part of Britain's biggest race-fixing investigation. Known as "Operation Crypton," Brittish authorities collected information on a group of racing identities for several months.

Fallon has denied all charges and is banned from racing in Britain. He has however competed in Ireland, Australia and France since being charged.

Fallon was suspended for 10 race meetings for careless riding while in Australia. Last month in France, he was banned for six months after testing positive for cocaine.

knowledge is power, so spread the igaming news

The Optimal group is a Montreal, Quebec based online payment services provider, which owns 74.2 percent of FireOne Group Plc.

Today it released a statement that it had agreed to but the remaining quarter of FireOne.
This comes some 18 months after Optimal sold shares in FireOne.

New legislation aimed at outlawing Internet gambling in the U.S. was introduced earlier this year. The impact to the industry was immediate and forceful, with the sector’s largest companies losing some US$7 billion of market value the day after the US Government Congress passed the law. FireOne themselves lost close to 25% of their share value on October 10th after the company announced it would stop processing U.S. transactions.

Commenting on the announcement, Optimal said that the "synergies and benefits of scale" of the acquisition would improve the company's performance.

This acquisition is subject to approval by FireOne's shareholders.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

Interlogic is a gaming operator who provides an Online Backgammon product where players may wager money upon the results of the game. Now the head of the Israeli Police Investigations and Intelligence Unit has notified Interlogic that the attorney general considers the operation of a gambling site for backgammon games a criminal offense. Interlogic was further told by the authorities that they must cease to allow players on the site to gamble money on game outcomes. Under Israeli law it is not stipulated that the game of backgammon itself, whether online or not, nor gambling with virtual money, is prohibited.

Interlogic response was: "The company has tangible proof that the legality of the game has been approved by the world's leading statistics and legal experts in the field, who have opined that the game is one of skill and cannot be defined as a game of chance. The comparison of backgammon to a game of chance such as cards or bingo is strange, and raises many questions about those who are behind it."

Interestingly, Play 65 provides sponsorship to Channel 1, a leading Israeli broadcast company. Earlier this year the Israeli Government "formed an opinion" that internet gambling which targets Israelis constitutes an offense. From this determination, the police began to also investigate internet sites that advertise online gambling web sites. These include the top tier Israeli site Walla.com.il. Now, the Israel attorney general's office says that these investigations will include credit companies which provide services to internet gambling sites.

Mifal Hapais is the Israeli state lottery, and its chairman welcomed the announcement. He was quoted as saying: "A ridiculous situation had been created, where the lottery, which transfers all of its profits to the community, cannot operate games on the internet because it was not able to receive authorization to do so, while the black market and private operators are getting rich. I hope that the police's decision will be legislated, and solve the problem once and for all."
Legal council for one of the internet gambling companies under investigation said that: "The attorney general's declaration against internet gambling is an attempt to enforce a prohibition that does not exist in the law." He added that in current legislative conditions, there is no specific prohibition on internet gambling.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

In the next few months the European Court of Justice shall rule on whether EU member states can outlaw online betting companies that are licensed in other EU member states. In May of this year, the Court's Advocate General proposed to not allow member states outlawing such companies. This will be a landmark case indeed, as it will determine the direction of many well established Euro targeted online sports books and internet casinos.

In an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Standard, Bwin Chief Executive Norbert Teufelberger said that his company's business model would become "obsolete" if the Court of Justice ruled against online gaming companies.
"In principle, the Advocate General's recommendation reassures us," said Teufelberger.
"If the European Court of Justice didn't follow suit, the effect would be that national lawmakers can do as they want, and then you've got to say that a business model such as bwin's wouldn't make sense anymore," Teufelberger continued.

It has been a tumultuous year for Bwin. The company, along with many publicly traded online gaming operations voluntarily abandoned their U.S. business, after that country's government introduced legislation effectively outlawed Internet gambling. Norbert Teufelberger was detained by French Authorities for several days earlier this year in relation to his company's offering online gambling to French citizens.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

The RCMP's visit to the Vancouver marketing office of Absolute Poker came to the broader gaming industry's attention via Youtube. There, as part of Perspective's Weekly, a regular video production of the Association of Players, Casinos, and Web-masters, viewers can watch an interview with Gian Perroni, former Vice President of operations for Absolute Poker. During the interview, Perroni talks about how "A couple of weeks ago the RCMP and (US) Department of Justice came into an independent marketing office and asked questions about the operation". Mr Perroni is sure to underline the fact that the company visited by these authorities is separate from Absolute Poker on more than one occasion during the chat with Jay Todd of the APCW. Perroni went on to say that the company "provides marketing services to Absolute Poker and many other companies." Both comment on the incident and express shock the fact that something like this could take place in Canada.

Vancouver is home to several high profile Online Gaming related companies. Absolute Poker is one, Riptown.com, the marketing arm of Bodog is another. In fact in Burnaby, a city just a 15 minutes in driving time from Vancouver, another company runs a customer call centre for Bodog customers. The company is know as Triple Crown Customer Services and is thought to employ over 100 people in their 24/7 call centre. In fact there is over 20 Online Gambling related companies that have offices each employing between 2 and 200 people in Vancouver or close vacinity. So why did the RCMP and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) come knocking at the door of the company that provides marketing services to Absolute Poker? To some Online Gambling insiders there is only speculation, to others it just does not make sense. After all, Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre, featured in a Forbes magazine article was described as having "dodged and taunted those enemies, the main one being the U.S. Department of Justice". So why did the RCMP and DOJ not make a real statement and visit Riptown or Triple crown? The title of the Forbes article is "Catch Me If You Can" and can be found here: http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2006/0327/112.html

Whatever the reason the RCMP and DOJ acted the way they did, the message has been sent to that particular Absolute Poker marketing provider. A source close to Absolute Poker said that employees are working remotely as the office is effectively closed. The source went on to say that "(vital employees) have been given 3 months to relocate to Costa Rica or find another job." The incident has also put those 20 plus Online Gambling related companies in the Vancouver area on notice. Until more facts surrounding the Absolute Poker RCMP raid come to light, many employees in those offices will wonder who may be visited next.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

European Challenge Cup

Dragons v Bucharesti

Dai, you’re an idiot, a complete head the ball, what are you doing betting on the Dragons again?

Look, I just can’t help myself. We are putting out our strongest possible team tonight and I just can’t see how we are not going to be the might of Bucharesti by more than 50 points. Ok, so Bucharesti beat an Under 11 Reserve Bayonne XV and they ran a Bristol 2nd Team reasonably close in the Romanian capital which I can only applaud….but this is Rodney Parade.

This my friends is a decent team:


Dragons Kevin Morgan (c), Gareth Wyatt, Nathan Brew, Ashley Smith, Aled Brew, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Cooper, Adam Black, Ben Daly, Lee Harrison, Ian Gough, Luke Charteris, Andrew Hall, Jamie Ringer, Colin Charvis
Replacements Kieran Crawford, Jamie Corsi, Michael Owen, Nic Fitisemanu, Alex Walker, Mike Hercus, Richard Fussell.

The vast majority of the side are rested as it was the Academy lads who played against Worcester in the EDF Cup last weekend. We are a physical side, very physical and whilst I’m sure Bucharesti will be up for this in their own way I can see them being beaten up by just not being used to the intensity and when they start to reel in the second half we have the players in Morgan, The Brews Brothers and Ceri Sweeney who can certainly carve out numerous scoring opportunities….Nic Fitsi will scare the life out of them when he appears in the second half.

I know a lot of you don’t like betting on big caps and I do understand the reasoning behind this but this, in my opinion, is a gimme. We are a good side and we punished a Bayonne side by 50, again with just our Academy lads. Just for the record – Gloucester beat Bucharesti by 106 points last year. Also…..”Billy Smart” – Mike Hercus the Circus isn’t starting and that’s worth 14 points.

Recommendation: Dragons –50 at Blue Square. All other books are operating around the –60 mark so I’m seeing it as a bonus 10 points for us

Televised Premiership Matches
Saturday 9 December

Manchester United vs Manchester City
With Chelsea not playing until Sunday, United have the opportunity to go nine poiints clear at the top of the table with a win against bitter rivals City. The problem is, United have not beaten City in the last two meetings at Old Trafford, with both matches ending in a draw. In fact, four of the last five meetings at the Theatre of Dreams have ended all square. However, United are on fire at the moment. Bar a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, they have won nine out of their last 10 Premiership fixtures and local rivals or not, Stuart Pearce’s side are one they should be able to beat.
Walker’s Word
1x2: United @ 4/11
AH: United – 1 ½ @ 20/21
OU: Over 2.5 goals @ 7/10

Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United
Bolton could push West Ham closer to the relegation zone with a win at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday evening. Despite losing five of their last seven in the league, the Trotters are still ninth and face a Hammers team without an away win all season. Alan Pardew’s side have lost seven out of eight on the road this term and Bolton have won the least three league meetings.
Walker’s Word
1x2: Bolton @ 5/6
AH: Bolton – ½ @ 10/11
OU: Under 2.5 goals @ 3/5

Sunday 10 December

Chelsea vs Arsenal
The plum fixture this weekend, but in form Chelsea won’t have it all their own way against inconsistent Arsenal. Faced with the possibility of being nine points behind Manchester United going into this fixture, Chelsea will be under more pressure than usual. Jose Mourinho’s side won this fixture last season, but the previous nine meeting at Stamford Bridge have seen five draws and four wins in Arsenal’s favour. The Gunners won their first league match in four attempts against North London rivals Tottenham last weekend and will be confident when they face the second place Blues.
Walker’s Word
1x2: Draw @ 12/5
AH: Arsenal @ 21/20
OU: Under 2.5 goals @ 4/7

Monday 11 December

Sheffield United vs Aston Villa
Following back to back wins against fellow strugglers Watford and Charlton in recent weeks, Sheffield United are out of the bottom three but could be brought back down to earth by visiting Aston Villa. This season Martin O’Neill’s side have been stubborn on the road, drawing six out of eight so far this season. Despite having numerous strikers in the first team squad, the Blades are notoriously shot shy and could be hit with a sucker punch on Monday evening.
Walker’s Word
1x2: Villa @ 8/5
AH: Villa level ball @ 7/8
OU: Under 2.5 goals @ 8/15

Read Walker's Word
Betting Previews For All This Weekend's Premiership Fixtures (9, 11 Nov, 2006)
Posted by David Walker From Bet Bonus.co.uk

Internet wagering has emerged as the gambling industry’s top performer according to a report by Christiansen Capital Advisors. Compiled for International Gaming & Wagering Business, the report showed that Americans gambled away $83.6 billion dollars in 2005, up 6.1 percent over the previous year. In fact, if legalized gambling revenues were combined then they would rank as the nation’s 11th-richest company. But some sectors of the U.S. gambling economy are doing better than others.

Commercial and tribal casino revenues increased 6.8 percent combined on last year to $53.5 billion. This represents close to 65 percent of the U.S. total gambling expenditure. Lottery revenues increased 5.79 percent to $22.8 billion. While traditional lottery games such as scratch tickets grew by 4.8 percent, revenues from video lottery terminals grew by a substantial 11.8 percent.

Legal bookmaking, card rooms and charitable bingo experienced slower growth, with a combined increase of just 1.9 percent on 2004. Card rooms, no doubt fueled by the popularity of live poker, enjoyed double-digit growth. Bingo revenues declined 3.1 percent, to $825 million.
Christiansen Capital Advisors said in the report that the long-term effects of the U.S. crackdown on Internet gambling are not fully project-able. What is clear is that the new federal legislation barring cash and credit transactions with online casinos will prevent any U.S. based companies from profiting from the worldwide online gambling explosion.
“Consumers want more casinos and more gambling online” Christiansen said.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

Parents and friends of players watch Manitoba Junior Hockey League games for love of the game and some flashes of amateur brilliance.
But others have been taking an interest in the games for financial reasons.
Pinnaclesports.com, based in Curacao, is well known to the more informed online sports bettor. Pinnacle offers wagering on the NHL and lesser leagues including the MJHL.
The discovery that an offshore betting company is offering wagering on the league shocked many in the sport.
Kim Davis is the Manitoba Junior Hockey League commissioner. "Our league does not condone that sort of act and it is unfortunate our games are offered for sale," said Davis, who also admitted that he did not know betting was offered on the league. "We don't know if wagers are being made, but we do know they are available."

Surprise was expressed by many involved in junior hockey when they learned that betting was offered. Some were a little angry also.

But what can really be done to stop gambling companies profiting from customers wagering on amateur sports? Not much. Betting on professional sports is big business and the professional leagues have not yet been able to stop offshore companies offering customers a place to put ten bucks on their favorite teams. The NFL has tried other ways of impeding offshore gambling companies. It is estimated that the NFL serves around 100 cease and desist orders to companies and individuals. These range from blatant copyright infringements to use of similar colors in uniforms to that of existing NFL franchises. BetUS.com, another well known offshore book was forced to take down bill boards in the Boston area as the NFL threatened legal action over the use of a well known New England Patriots player. If the Manitoba Junior Hockey League has a beef against offshore betting, then they better get in line.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

The Las Vegas Sands Corp is the No. 1 US casino company by market value and it plans to launch a UK focused casino Web site. Working with Cantor Gaming, The Sands expects to open its casino gambling website in Q2 2007.The site will feature the company's Venetian, Sands, Palazzo and Paiza brands but will not take US gamblers. It is reported by the UK government that European online gamblers wager close to $6.9 billion a year, an average of around $2,200 each.

Las Vegas Sands Chief Operating Officer Bill Weidner said "This is another opportunity for our company to create greater awareness of our global brands and further establish our presence and interest in the UK market," Weidner went on to say that "As the Internet gaming landscape continues to evolve, this effort will put us in a strong position to evaluate and react to other potential opportunities."

The Sands is no the first Vegas brick casino to venture onto the Ethernet. MGM Mirage?s online casino Web site was launched in 2001. It was closed in 2003, with some analysts pointing to some questionable marketing techniques and its decision not to take US gamblers as its failing.

posted by Ian of

English paper The Sun reported today that corruption investigators have established a strong case against former racehorse owner Ajaz Khan, a trainer and four jockeys. Khan, 35, now runs an internet horseracing tipping service. Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA) agents say that Kahn wagered over GBP1million for favorites to lose. HRA agents examined some 40 races that Kahn bet on, where he netted a profit of GBP100,000 on 37. The HRA claim that the jockeys and the trainer gave Kahn inside information and colluded with him for reward.
A source was reported as saying: "Investigators will seek to get the authorities to draw the inference that information was supplied to Khan that the jockey would, if required, ride to ensure his mount did not win."

HRA supplied evidence shows that Kahn controlled six separate internet betting accounts, none of which was in his name. Investigators say they found no suspicious activity on just two of those accounts. Investigators examined a race where one of the four jockeys was riding a 2-1 favorite. Kahn has staked money for the horse not to show and the horse subsequently finished 12th in a field of 14.

It is also claimed that phone records indicate a strong link between Khan and the five on days when these races took place. A source was reported as saying: "We hope to prove these calls were around the times bets were placed." The allegations come at a low point for the British horse racing world. already reeling from corruption claims which involve other key figures in the sport, including Earlier this year former champion jockey Kieran Fallon and other key industry figures were indicated in wrong doing.

posted by Ian of egamingpulse

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is located on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec, Canada. The Commission issues licensees to online betting companies and Mohwak Internet Technolgies (MIT), a collocation service, hosts servers on the same reserve. Now, the Gaming Commission has removed a Quebec company?s access to a betting server at MIT after the company's owner was arrested during a recent series of RCMP anti-Mafia raids. The owner of the server, WSC Management Inc. is listed as a software development company and is owned by Marco de Pasquale. Rosario de Pasquale, 29, and his twin brother, Matteo Rosario de Pasquale were among 10 Montreal-area residents arrested Nov. 22 in connection with an alleged Mafia bookmaking scheme. Commenting on the suspension of the server, Alan Goodleaf of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission said that ?the allegations are sufficiently serious and extraordinary that an immediate suspension of WSC?s access was necessary.?

posted by Ian from egaming pulse

Poker site Doylesroom.com was built on the reputation and legend that is Doyle Brunson. The man is often referred to as godfather of poker, he has published several books and won many high-profile poker tournaments. His endorsement, along with several highly successful marketing campaigns, including allowing new customers to transfer VIP points earned with competitors to Doylesroom.com, made the brand one of the most high profile in the industry. But Doyles was left in damage control after Tribeca Tables, its software provider, announced it would no longer take US players. This demographic is critical to Doyles, as it represents over 95% of its player base.

Now, according to an insider at Doyles, the Poker site is considering going back to poker provider Dobrosoft. ?Leaving Dobrosoft for Tribeca was a good move at the time. Tribeca offered a better product and a rapidly growing Network.? The source said. ?We are Tribeca's biggest skin. After (Tribeca's) announcement that they would not take US players, we started to examine other providers.?

It was reported earlier that Doylesroom.com was in talks to buy the Tribeca source code, but that the interest was quickly rejected. Insiders feel that the move to Dobrosoft could make sense for Doylesroom.com and would strengthen Dobrosoft?s position and attractiveness to other poker skins who need to switch to a US player friendly provider.

Full Contact Poker.com re-launched on the Dobrosoft software platform after Ongame Network's announcement that is would halt all US online poker action.

posted by Ian from egamingpulse