News & Updatesd 30/5/11

Posted on May 29, 2011 by admin

Spain Issues First Online Gambling License

In noticeably stark contrast to the protectionist legislation being acted upon in the United States, European countries continue to expand the world of online gaming in a fairly cautious way.  Last week Spain’s Congress passed a bill marking the start of online gambling in Spain.

Gran Casino Madrid

Several years after the idea was first mooted, and following much research, Casino Gran Madrid (CGM), a bricks and mortar casino in Madrid, has been awarded the license to begin offering online gaming.  It’s going to be a relatively soft opening – only Madrid residents will be able to play to begin with -  and the new regulations have been designed with players welfare in mind, for example anyone currently excluded from the the bricks and mortar casino will also be excluded from playing online.  Poker, Blackjack, Roulette and Slots will be the first games available.

In 2009 Playtech reached an agreement with CGM to provide the technical expertise for the project.  Playtech already provides the infrastructure for many of the world’s most popular online poker rooms and the backup architecture required.

First Black Friday Defendant Pleads Guilty

Bradley Franzen

Bradley Franzen, one of the eleven defendants named in the original package if indictments on April 15th, had pleaded guilty to the charges laid against him.  The charges include bank Fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering and could land Franzen with anything up to a thirty year jail sentence.

Thirty years may seem a little harsh for providing American citizens with a way to transfer money to online casinos – after all there are still legal ways to do it, and playing poker is not illegal anyway, many states have bricks and mortar casinos where one can play the tables 24/7.

The real story here appears to be protectionism.  Stop offshore based companies operating online gaming because the profits then go to pesky foreigners.  Eventually replace them with good old taxable American-based online casinos but in the meantime dissuade anyone else from trying.

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News & Updates 23/5/11

Posted on May 22, 2011 by admin

Nevada OK’s Poker Legalisation ‘Lite’ Bill

The state of Nevada has now ratified an online legalisation gaming bill but it’s hardly what proponents of new laws would have wanted.  Essentially it allows for a timetable of preparations ultimately linked to federal legalisation.

Nevada is saying it’s has no intention of legalising any form of online gaming on its own in case it clashes with federal law.  However it wants to be ready if/when the time comes that the government repeals UIGEA.

Nevada’s bill mentions the need for any online provider to partner with an existing

William Horne, Nevada

non-restricted license holder (i.e. bricks and mortar casino) and for their to be in place a licensing process by January 2012.

Bill sponsor, Assemblyman William Horne said that “…..it highlights that there’s a need, where there’s a void of regulation, there’s corruption.”

BOOM Poker Documentary Released in 2012

Since 2007 two poker pros – Jay Rosenkrantz, Taylor Caby – and filmmaker Ryan Firby have been putting together a documentary charting the story and the rise of online poker.  Of course it will also chart the occasional “blips” such as the recent U.S. crackdown on online gaming sites now known as Black Friday.

If the trailer below is anything to go by it looks a well put together effort, and the story of the mother who has now lost her only source of income looks like it may play a central part in the film.

The release date is still some time away but in the fast moving world of online poker much could still change in the next twelve months so the filmmakers will have to decide to draw a line under filming at some point and get on with post production in time for a 2012 release.

Full Tilt Poker Updates

Full Tilt Poker, one of the poker providers in the firing line of the U.S. federal authorities, continues to issue statements complaining about  “numerous challenges and hurdles to ensuring the smooth operation of its international business and the orderly return of US player funds.”

It doesn’t elaborate on the ‘hurdles” or “challenges”, much to the chagrin of many players who have money tied up in the company but it does promise “… that US players are refunded as soon as possible.”

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News & Updates 13/5/11

Posted on May 12, 2011 by admin

2011 World Series of Poker Almost Upon Us

It’s that time of year again and the WSOP annual championship almost with us once again.  The entire schedule lasts just over five weeks and this year’s competition sees around 70,000 contestants from 115 different countries entering competitions that encompass more poker variants than ever before.  There are now fifty eight varieties of poker on show and if you can name them all give yourself a gold star.

As has been the case for some years now, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will be hosting the

Tables at the Rio

event and the prize pool is a pretty impressive $180,000,000.  380 tables will be available for play and for those just wanting to turn up and have a go, buy ins are available from $115 at the various 24 hour cash games being organised.

Have a look at the schedule highlights here.

It will be interesting to see whether the recent Black Friday online poker room indictments have any impact on attendance. While there is still a fair amount of player cash tied up in the systems of the online casinos involved, there may be some professionals who just do not have the cash to enter some of the bigger buy in events. Organisers say that judging by Vegas room bookings and confirmed entrants, the numbers should be at least the same as last year and may even exceed them.

As a slightly bizarre addendum to this WSOP story, they have announced a sponsorship deal

Mmmmm.......fluffy!

with Dearfoam. If you are unaware of what this company does, and many outside the U.S. might well be, it makes slippers. Main Event finalists will receive complimentary pairs, as will Ladies Championship entrants, dealers and ESPN camera crews. WSOP VP Ty Stewart managed to manufacture one of the most tenuous marketing links ever when he said that…..

“……players can now feel truly comfy as they pursue their dreams of winning the WSOP and going on to live a life of leisure where it will be appropriate to wear Dearfoam slippers 24/7.”

Great stuff Ty.

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News & Updates 9/5/11

Posted on May 8, 2011 by admin

Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Not Costa Rican Targets

Two of the big names at the centre of the Black Friday events are still struggling to fend off rumours that are connecting them to investigations in other parts of the world.  The parent company, Blanca Games, first had to deny they were filing for bankruptcy after a story emerged that one of its creditors was doing just that in Norway.

More recently they have had to answer questions as to why the Costa Rican authorities appear to have targeted their offices there as part of a different investigation.  It is all connected to Blanca however and the offices which were raided by the Organismo de Investigaciones Judiciales (OIJ) are the previous location of Blanca’s customer support centre.  This service centre was run by Innovative Data Solutions (IDS) before the two organisations parted company.

Three individuals are being investigated on suspicion of misappropriation of severance (redundancy) payments and interestingly one of these is Scott Tom, also named by the U.S. DOJ as one of the 11 indictees involved in the Black Friday events.

Black Friday Assets Seized – Fill Tilt Announce Payouts

As the saga grinds on, it has emerged that federal authorities have begun to seize assets

Destiny Davis

belonging to those named in the Black Friday events.  Of the five homes seized so far one belongs to Chad Elie’s wife Destiny Davis and the other four are owned by Ray Bitar of Full Tilt Poker.

On the subject of Full Tilt, the company announced recently that they will begin paying out player’s money that has been ties up in the online gaming room since Black Friday (April 15th).  Reaction from some players has been that while this is good news, there’s still no time line or date for the payouts to begin.  All they know is how much they will receive if they hold tournament tickets and the like.

The companies involved have been able to pay out customers since having their domain names returned to them by the Department of Justice for that express purpose.

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News & Updates 3/5/11

Posted on May 2, 2011 by admin

Fallout from ‘Black Friday’ Continues

In terms of serious online gambling news at the moment, there’s really not much to break the constant coverage of Black Friday, as 15th April has come to be known.  That was the day four of the world’s biggest online poker rooms were taken offline (in the States), their URLs were confiscated and various high ranking employees were indicted.

The latest person to be arrested is Ira Rubin and he is the one accused of tricking the banks into believing that certain transactions were for genuine items, rather than a casino deposit disguised as something else.  Actually arrested in Guatemala. he is no being held at Miami Detention Centre.  He is charged with three crimes relating to the UIGEA and they are conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.

The others to have been arrested so far – Chad Elie, John Campos and Bradley Franzen – have all been released on bail.  Additionally the various poker providers have all been given their URLs back and this has allowed U.S. customers to withdraw their cash.

A Good Day For Will & Kate – A Bad Day For The Bookies

Last week we told you how British bookies were gearing up for the biggest Royal betting event ever – in fact one worth the same amount of betting money as all the others out together.  How did it go?  Not well for the various bookmaking companies, that’s for sure.

When the dust had settled and items were officially declared to be this or that colour, it was

the punters who came out on top.  The Queen’s hat turned out to be yellow (8/15 from 12/1), the wedding dress turned out to Ivory (8/15) favourite and Kate actually arrived at the venue at 11.02am, one of the best backed times.

A spokesman for Betfred said:

“Having daughters weddings have always been costly but today was a disaster. Royal punters are celebrating with a King’s ransom but of course I wish the couple the very best for the future.”


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News & Updates 27/4/11

Posted on April 26, 2011 by admin

PPA Says Next Few Months Critical

Poker Players Alliance spokesman and executive director John Pappas has said that in the wake of recent legal action against some of the biggest online poker providers, the next few months may well determine the direction lawmakers will take for the next few years. and whether each Casino will be still be operational.

Pappas fears a new jerk, populist reaction to the indictments but also feels that given the time to think the matter over, congress will press ahead with the legislation needed to make sure poker players in the U.S. are not criminalised.  After all playing poker is not illegal, nor is betting money on poker – it’s only the mechanism for depositing money in an Online Casino which is the criminal bit.

Papas will also have been encouraged by recent legalisation activity in Washington D.C. and Iowa which may in turn encourage other states to follow suit.

Royal Wedding Bets Being Taken

You may like it, hate it or be completely indifferent about it but much of the world appears to be completely taken with the upcoming British Royal Wedding between future king Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Now clearly this is not strictly a poker story but it’s worth mentioning that the big day is only three days away and that means only three more days to place your bets.

Yep it’s true – a number of British bookies are offering odds on any number of bets revolving around the wedding day – here’s a few examples:

- whether it rains

- the colour of the Queen’s hat

- whether the royal limo breaks down

- who’s designing the brides dress

So you get the general idea.  Average bet amounts are small but many more people are placing wagers than for some other events.  A spokesman for Paddy Power says that this will be the company’s biggest non-sports event ever while a spokesman for William Hill, provider of Playtech Slots said that:

“In terms of royal betting, the wedding blows it out the window, I think we will take the same amount as we’ve taken on royal betting in 30 years.”

As ever though, for the really unusual bets, head over to one of the betting exchanges and you’ll even be able to offer your own odds.

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News & Updates 20/4/11

Posted on April 19, 2011 by admin

Online Poker Rooms Accused Of Fraud In U.S.

In the middle of attempts to to overhaul the United States somewhat draconian laws against online gaming, several of the world’s biggest online poker rooms have been named and accused of fraud. Those names include PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker & Ultimate Bet.  The defendents are Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckley, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie, and John Campos, a list which includes some of the companies founders.  Visitors to the sites were met with the following:

Late last week a number of U.S. and non-U.S. citizens were named as indictees in the action and it all centres around the sneakily introduced Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) 2006.  That bill prohibits financial institutions from processing payments from online gaming companies.  Gambling online is not illegal as such but almost all ways to deposit money are.

What the various poker rooms have been accused of is setting up elaborate schemes to circumvent this law.  The most widely mentioned appears to have been disguising customers deposits as purchases for normal items.

Several of the poker providers had been in talks with Las Vegas casinos regarding future online partnerships (read about it here)but these look on shaky ground now.  Wynn Resorts has already distanced itself from PokerStars.

Washington D.C. Passes Legalisation Bill

Amongst all the legal action and alleged fraud however, there was also some good news for gamblers in the state of Washington D.C.  Lawmakers there quietly passed a bill early in the week which actually legalises some forms of online gambling in that state.  It’s very early days and the business is not one which major poker rooms are going to want to get involved in just yet.

It will be run by the state lottery provider Intralot and to being with, players will only be able to play by taking their laptops to one of a number of sites which will be set up around Washington.  This will be a kind of test run before the scheme is opened up to general home use.

The really interesting part?  The bill also passed through congress with no objections – perhaps the future is a little brighter for America’s poker players.

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The European Poker Awards

Posted on April 17, 2011 by admin

The European Poker Awards are what can only be described as the ‘Oscar night’ of poker. Held in Paris every year since 2000, these award ceremonies feature the creme de la creme of Europe’s major players in the world of poker. A black tie event featuring champagne, they are usually held at a five-star hotel. It is a chance for these high rollers to get together and celebrate their own and each others achievements and have a little non-poker fun Book of Ra online.

The categories have five nominees each and feature such things as you would expect, like Novoline Casino, Staff Person of the Year,’ ‘Player of the Year,’ and ‘Best Tournament Performance.’ There are also a number of specialty categories. ‘Europe’s Leading Lady’ of course is given to the best of the female players. There is a lifetime achievement award and a rookie of the year award for the best new player.

The most prestigious award would be the Rob Gardener Award for innovation, which is given out in honour of the late Rob Gardner, who successfully brought professional poker to television through the program Late Night Poker.

Automaten online spielen

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News & Updates 7/4/11

Posted on April 6, 2011 by admin

Online Link-Ups Foreshadow Legalisation

The past few weeks have seen a veritable flurry of activity between giant, Las Vegas, bricks and mortar casinos and the world’s major online gaming providers.  The most recent has been The Fertitti brothers Station Casino group announcing a possible hook-up with Full Tilt Poker, one of the planet’s biggest online poker venues.  Previously we have become aware that Caesar’s Entertainment  has reached some sort of agreement with 888 Holdings and that Wynn Resorts has agreed on a deal with PokerStars – they already have a name for their new website, PokerStarsWynn.

The interesting thing about all these announcements of course is that largely, online gaming is still illegal in the United States.  There seems currently little will at a federal level to change that situation but it may be at the state level where things are starting to move.

This writers opinion is that Nevada, with its history of legalised gambling, will be the first to push through it’s own laws which will legalise intrastate online gambling.  It now appears to have the weight of the bricks and mortar casinos behind it – previously they had been opposed to this threat to their tourism industry.  What prompted that change of heart?  Quite probably the old saying “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” is apt.

So there’s a political and business will there – there’s also no historic or ethical opposition to gaming.  Nevada is also the only state to have drafted a bill allowing for a link to other states which will have legalised intrastate gambling.  This could eventually create a country-wide network which would completely side-step the 2006 UIGEA.

So it should be no surprise that the big casinos want to get in on the act and prepare for legalisation.  They also see no need to develop their own sites and software when the expertise is already out there.  A slight stumbling block could be the UIGEA ban on companies which operated in the U.S. prior to 2006, but 888 Holdings in particular have already started the appeals process against this restriction.

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News & Updates 22/3/11

Posted on March 21, 2011 by admin

Sahara Casino Closing

Probably the saddest, but not the most unexpected piece of news from Las Vegas and the world of poker recently has been the announcement that the Sahara Casino and Hotel will be closing on May 16th.  This legendary venue, built in 1952 on Fremont St in Vegas, pioneered the city’s style of late night entertainment with a host of famous performers in the 1950s and 1960s.  The Rat Pack performed and socialised there and it was also a venue for The Beatles, Don Rickles and Liza Minnelli among others.

For the gamblers it held the distinction of being the only big casino to run 24 hour $1 minimum Blackjack games.  Recent years have seen its fortunes begin to fade as bigger resorts opened up at the other end of the strip and it is increasingly isolated on an island surrounded by failed construction sites and bankrupt casinos.  We advise you to visit this piece of history while you still can and it’s worth noting that the website is offering a limited number of $1 rooms.

The Battle for Legalisation

As Iowa, Nevada and New Jersey continue their attempts to legalise online, intrastate betting, a coalition of poker players, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), will head to Washington to attempt to lobby everyone they possibly can in an attempt to repeal the 2006 UIGEA legislation which banned online gambling in that state.

Attempts have already been made through the courts (all the way up to the Supreme Court) but these have all failed and the PPA now feels lobbying for a change in the law would be the most productive tactic.

At the same time, the aforementioned states are continuing with their own intrastate methods.  Nevada looks like an interesting case as its white paper explicitly discusses the possibility of connecting its gamblers with those of other legalised states.  This would effectively bypass the 2006 UIGEA federal law.  Interesting times are ahead!

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