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CASINOS WITHOUT WALLS
NY Times: "American position on Internet gambling is becoming an object of derision"
The New York Times carried a major article on Internet gambling titled "Casinos Without Walls, Or Rules" this weekend, covering the successful defiance of Party Gaming to threats from federal authorities, and the more regulatory frame of mind of foreign governments like the UK.
The well balanced piece commented that Party Gaming unusually included in its prospectus that its Gibraltar based directors faced the threat of legal action in the US due to that countrys federal interpretation of law that online gambling is illegal.
But it quoted the Party Gaming view that the activity was not illegal per se - federal prosecutors just say it is, and their opinion remains legally untested.
Although 90 percent of its customers are in the USA, Party Gaming operates from Gibraltar.
The article traces the remarkable success story of the company to the present, where annual revenues easily exceed half a billion US dollars and a successful public offering in London has just been completed, making billionaires for its founders.
It quotes US analysts, who predict that the total online poker market will mushroom to US $ 6 billion by 2009 from only $1 billion last year, despite the uncertain legal climate in the USA.
"The World Trade Organisation and foreign governments alike are siding with companies like Party Gaming and against the United States," the story continues. "Indeed, among international bodies and foreign governments, the American position on Internet gambling is becoming an object of derision."
The author of the article quotes from the 2003 report by the British government Department for Culture, Media and Sport saying, "There is a growing gambling market for online gambling where national boundaries no longer have any meaning.
"Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the USA, where despite the apparent illegality of cross-border gambling more of its citizens gamble online than anywhere else in the world.
"To deny this appears in many ways to fly in the face of the reality of international banking and the inherently international nature of 21st century telecommunications."
The edition also carries stories on poker legend Stu Unger, Gibraltar and on remote gambling from hand-held devices within casino resort premises in Vegas.
eCOGRA CASINOS FIRST TO RECEIVE RESPONSIBLE GAMING EDUCATION
Casino managements shown how to deal with problem gambling issues
Management delegates from online casino operations around the world converged on Cape Town, South Africa last week for a unique educational seminar on problem gambling.
Organised by independent self-regulator eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA), the course was held to coincide with new responsible gaming requirements recently approved by its Board.
The programme, believed to be an industry first for a collective group of online casinos, was designed to brief eCOGRA seal casino managers on the new regulations and provides them with sufficient information to set up policies and training programs in preparation for the introduction of the new safety precautions contained within the eGAP requirements.
40 delegates, representing general management, support, audit and marketing disciplines for 55 seal-bearing casinos, attended the event. The programme included expert tuition on the prevention of underage gambling, the psychology of problem gamblers, how to identify compulsive players and the best way to handle cases of this nature.
The custom built course was conducted by specialised Swedish psychologist and researcher Thomas Nilsson together with senior G4 executive Pieter Remmers and senior trainer Rob d'Hondt.
eCOGRA's regulations have been framed in consultation with the G4 (Global Gambling Guidance Group) organisation which recently introduced responsible gaming policies and operating parameters at eCOGRA approved PokerRoom.com. The regulations provide minimum standards and requirements in respect of warnings and options regarding problem gambling, self exclusion and control mechanisms for gamblers, and promotional and advertising best practices in this area.
Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA told delegates that responsible gaming was a critically important element in online gaming operations from both a moral and practical industry viewpoint and eCOGRA was yet again leading the way in setting gold standards player protection practices for the industry to follow.
He said, "Apart from a firm moral obligation to prevent underage or addictive gambling, we must remember that the industry’s detractors are increasingly focused on the dangers of underage or addictive gambling, and this is a potential Achilles Heel for the industry."
He added, "Your commitment in joining eCOGRA has its roots in a real desire to be professional, responsible and above-average in your operational practice. The responsible gaming aspect has now been made an integral part of the eCOGRA standards required to achieve this level of business conduct."
14 NEW GAMES FROM WAGERLOGIC
9 line Millionaires Club, more Rapid Fire and scratch cards in new gambling suite
Cryptologic games development subsidiary Wagerlogic was keeping up with the opposition this week with the launch of 14 new games.
The companys Bonus Pack 7 includes 12 variations of multi-line video slots and two scratch card games – the first ever developed by WagerLogic’s parent company, CryptoLogic.
There are 9 new 20-line video slots, branded Treasure of Isis, Around the World, Masquerade Ball, Daily Horoscope, Reel Renovations, Emerald Isle, Congo Bongo, and Haunted House.
A.J. Slivinski, the md at Wagerlogic says the new 9-line video slots, Mr. Rich, Barnyard Boogie and Jade Idol, are sure to be a hit among players, especially Mr. Rich, which is the latest addition to the popular Rapid Fire Jackpot group of progressive slots.
The new suite also introduces the first scratch card games, where winning is through matching three identical symbols. In High Fashion, these symbols include clothing, make-up and jewellery, and in Money Farm, the symbols are farm animals.
A major game in the range is a multi-line version of Millionaires Club – a 9-line video slot designed to give players a chance at a dream jackpot. Millionaires Club has already paid a substantial US$774,024 jackpot.
The launch of the new games brings WagerLogic's full games inventory to over 150 games across progressive slot and casino table games, multi-player bingo and player-to-player poker.
William Hill Casino.com, Littlewoods Casino.com and InterCasino.com are already offering the new games.
FRESH ITERATION OF PLAYTECH SOFTWARE?
"New Generation Platform" due soon
The week saw more than a little hype going down on something the Playtech sites are terming "The New Generation Platform," which seems to be an update on the companys download gambling software system.
Official press material had not been issued as we went to press, but it is believed that the launch is imminent.
Monaco Gold Casino claimed that the new software "...marks an unprecedented advancement in online gaming software for players the world over," and went on to boast a range of updated and innovative features that apparently include a wider range of games with greater quality and graphics.
Describing the feature as a "special benefit" the casino says that Playtech's latest enables the playing of several games simultaneously through a multi-window facility. And with new HTML-based support systems, players will now be able to see detailed playing histories on past bets and wager outcomes.
Depositing into a cashier window whilst playing is another improvement, together with new customer support layouts with help topics made easier and communication with casino operators better.
AUSTRALIAN WINS WSOP
Joseph Hachem takes Steve Dannenmann in marathon session
"Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy, Oy, Oy" was the roar from Australian spectators early (Vegas time) on Saturday morning as their countryman Joseph Hachem was declared World Champion of the 36th (2005) WSOP, winning $7.5 million and fame in the world of poker.
9 players took their seats at the final table at Binions at 4.00pm local time in Vegas last Friday with Aaron Kanter holding the most chips after a gruelling week of poker that resulted in 9 players surviving from a field of over 5600.
Every one of them would leave the table with at least a million dollars.
As previously reported, the following were the first to leave the final table in this order:
Mike Matusow - 9th
Brad Kondracki - 8th
Daniel Bergsdorf - 7th
Scott Lazar - 6th
By the early hours of Saturday morning Irishman Andrew Black had gone with $1 750 000 in prizemoney for his 5th placing. The highest blinds in WSOP history - $120 000 to 240 000 with an ante of $40 000 were declared.
Then it was the turn of 27 year old Aaron Kanter, who departed with $2 million, leaving the field to Barch, Dannenmann and Hachem.
By 6.18 am last Saturday Tex Barch was on his way out the door in 3rd place with $2.5 million, leaving Dannenmann and Hachem to fight it out in some very exciting poker that saw record pots of $16 million and all-ins of $15 million at hand number 212.
Hachem was in a strong position, with more than twice Dannenmann's chip count, and around half an hour later at 6.46pm it was all over - Dannenmann walked away 2nd with $4.5 million....and those Australian victory chants were rolling around the room.
Hachem (39) is a former chiropractor turned professional poker player who was born in Lebanon and lives in Australia. He has been playing poker for 10 years. Married with four children, this is his first World Series of Poker.
UNABOMBER BEATS PROBOT
Humans rule, OK!
Renowned for their at times inane if eye-catching publicity, Golden Palace online casino came up with an interesting PR exercise recently when they held a contest to recognise the top poker robot, and then matched the winner with a really good human player.
Whilst it did not generate as much coverage as the historical confrontation some years ago between IBM's Deep Blue and the best chess player in the world, Gary Kasparov, it was an entertaining update on the concept.
The World Poker Robot Championship brought together six of the world's best programmers to compete for $100 000. Created by Hilton Givens of Indiana, Poker Probot took the top prize after routing its opposition and was then matched with professional poker ace Phil "Unabomber" Laak.
The result was a human victory to balance the record books (Kasparov lost his match with Deep Blue) Cheered on by an audience chanting, "Humans, Humans," Laak won the 300 hands, three-hour contest. The Unabomber finally killed off Poker Probot with a game-winning pair of aces, beating his competitive computer counterpart, who had a pair of kings.
There was an interesting footnote to the story - Laak won a $100 side bet that he made with the bot's programmer.
SCORES ONLINE?
Wireless sports in new Score Runner.com deal
Las Vegas entrepreneur Wayne Alleyn Root signed another gambling deal this week, this one to provide sportsbook fans with email or cellphone access to the latest U.S. scores.
Branded Score Runner, the venture is in partnership with top film producer Warren Zide, who's movie successes have included American Pie and Final Destination. Zide is the founder of the Score Runner concept that empowers sports gamblers to receive scores in real time and as frequently as every two minutes using the convenience of text messaging on cellphones or email.
Users customise their personal scoreboard by choosing the games and teams they want to follow, the delivery method they prefer, and the time interval they wish to receive updates. ScoreRunner also allows subscribers to stop and start their scoring alerts instantly from their cell phone and PDF devices.
Root, who is chairman of the GWIN Corporation and a widely followed TV personality said that
ScoreRunner will give sports fans and gamblers everywhere the edge by giving them the freedom and flexibility to follow scores without being tied down to a television set or computer.
"It’s like having your own personalised scoreboard with you wherever you go," he said.
GWIN has agreed to advertise and promote ScoreRunner on its multiple media properties and to its databases of sports gamblers. The agreement also provides ScoreRunner with access to GWIN’s database of 250,000 serious sports gamblers.
GWIN will also utilise the ScoreRunner technology to deliver their new “WinnersonDemand” advice services to ScoreRunner subscribers, offering Root’s handicapping advice to a significant new audience. GWIN will receive a revenue share and minority ownership of ScoreRunner.
VIRGIN TO ACCESS U.S. MARKET VIA SKILL GAMES
SkillJam contracted to supply games
The recent agreement between Virgin Games and FUN Technology's subsidiary SkillJam had industry observers speculating that Virgin was about to access the major U.S. market, taking advantage of the legal status of games of skill in that country.
That speculation was vindicated this week when Virgin director of marketing Russ Sleight was quoted in the media as saying Virgin Games plans to welcome the US playing community for the first time, using a skill gaming site.
In deference to UK sensitivities Virgin has previously barred US players from its casino and poker websites, and this policy is to remain in force when the skill games site starts operations.
“We will not be cross-selling our gambling products to our US players,” Sleight confirmed, although he made the point that Virgin’s US position was the subject of regular reviews.
Such reviews could be influenced by developments flowing from the reformed UK Gambling Act, which when promulgated around 2006 / 2007 is widely expected to permit UK licensed operators to accept US casino and poker business.
Sleight revealed that his company would invest marketing budget on skill games commensurate with that committed to bingo and online casino advertising.
“Skill gaming is a very Virgin proposition and we are going to enter the market running," he said.
“This is a mass-market product and it is ready to be taken forward by a major land-based brand."
THE FUTURE IS GLOBAL FOR EMPIRE ONLINE
Marketing specialists latest trading update shows major gains
Recently listed Internet marketing group Empire Online released its latest trading update this week, showcasing another strong quarterly performance with a gain in profits to US $13 million.
By the end of year 2005, management has plans to generate at least 50 percent of revenues from sources outside the United States, where presently 60 percent of its revenues originate.
Net gaming revenues from the group's casino and poker sites were estimated at US$25.3 million, a rise of 83 percent on the same period last year. The majority of these came from subsidiary Empire Poker's website, which contributed US$20.3 million.
CEO Noam Lanir said Empire was showing strong growth internationally, and has begun above-the-line advertising campaigns in the UK with plans to launch offline campaigns in four new countries during the next six months.
Casino revenues, which are derived from affiliate deals with major gambling sites like Starluck Casino fell 9 percent to US$5 million, a result attributed to an extraordinary series of big jackpot wins by players.
PLAYING BUT NOT GAMBLING ON THE INTERNET
Foxwoods comes up with an ingenious gaming concept.
News Channel 8 in the USA reported a clever business move by the Indian tribe owned Foxwoods land casino this week - but the state Attorney General does not seem to like it.
Foxwood's latest initiative, due for launch next month is to increase business through a new product called Foxwoods Playaway....and it involves the Internet and empowering gamblers to play from home.
The management at Foxwoods claim that Playaway is a game and not gambling.
Foxwoods Playaway games will allow people to play in the privacy of their homes. Players buy tickets on the Foxwoods casino premises that come with an access code that they can use to log in and play from home via the Internet.
However the results of the game are already predetermined by a computerised drawing that takes place on the casino premises.
Foxwoods spokesman Arthur Henick, says, "Nothing the player does from his or her computer can impact the outcome of the game. Unlike illegal offshore internet casinos, no financial transactions of any kind ever take place on the Internet. There is no betting...and no pay out via the medium."
Players may only redeem winnings in the regulated setting of the casino.
But state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's concern is that gaming is only allowed within the boundaries of the reservation, something Foxwoods argues is exactly what will happen when players over 21 begin buying tickets for the play-away games...at the casino.
Blumenthal does not seem to be convinced, saying "Under federal law in the compact with the tribe gambling can take place only within the reservation boundaries. Clearly this gambling is anywhere, any time. That is exactly their pitch and those circumstances make it severely problematic.
"One of the great problems that is raised by this practice is that it appears to condone or perhaps promote underage gambling because there is no face to face check as to who is actually playing the game."
Foxwoods responds to that by pointing out that underaged gambling is monitored by the same methods as any other game at the casino. The tribe says they plan to meet with the Attorney General to clear up any misunderstandings.
CYOPS LICENCES FIRST POKER SITE
Red Felt developed software for first licensee
CYOP Systems International Inc. and RDC Services Ltd. have inked an agreement whereby the former will license its poker software, developed by subsidiary Red Felt Software, to the latter.
RDC is an experienced interactive marketing and management outfit, and will pay a set up fee and a percentage of the net rake to Red Felt Software Inc.
Completion of the new licensee site is expected by the end of August 2005 with marketing commencing toward the end of summer; historically a good time to begin interactive gaming site promotion.
The Red Felt package includes a full website, no-download poker software backed by real time reportage, hosting and server monitoring and credit card processing.
CYOPs claims that more than 200 online poker sites collectively are generating some $3 billion a year in revenues, with an estimated 1.7 million players active online as Internet poker players in the past six months. 150,000 people play on an average day, according to PokerPulse.com.
Online gaming will continue to be an explosive cash generator. Gaming consultants Christian Capital forecast that gaming revenue will rise to $22.7 billion (US) by 2009, from $8.2 billion in 2004, a growth of 22 percent. Online gaming is also expected grab an 8.1 percent share of the global gaming market.
The CYOP - Red Felt poker software can be previewed at Red Felt.com, and the proprietary play for cash site Ten Seat Poker.com.
GAMEBOOKERS BOUGHT FOR US $ 43 MILLION
Isle of Man based group acquires top European sportsbook
It appears that the owners of Betbug.com, the Isle of Man based Trident Gaming group has racked up another profitable acquisition this week with the purchase of leading European sportsbook Gamebookers for a cool US$ 43 million.
The purchase price is to be paid in a cash and shares financed by US$ 34.7 million in cash funded by convertible debt and the issuing of over 9.3 million shares in Trident Gaming and is equivalent to roughly eight times historic earnings.
Gamebookers is one of the strongest performers in the European sector, with a turnover of around Euro180 million. It was recently named the 33rd most influential firm in online gambling by eGaming Review and posted an annualised pre-tax profit of GBP 3.2 million based on the past six months trading.
New owner Trident is run by industry veterans Antony Novac and John O'Malia who founded the US-focused betting exchange firm Betbug, which was acquired by Trident in June this year.
O'Malia, Trident's chief executive, said the combination of the two betting platforms gave the firm a strong position in the global gaming market.
“BetBug is the only legal way to offer online sports betting in the US,” he said. “By adding Gamebookers and its hugely successful sports book and three active European gaming licenses, the directors believe that Trident is uniquely well positioned for global success."
Trident is not affiliated with the two executives previous software business 1X Inc, although 1X Inc may provide some software support services to Trident for an interim period of 3-4 months.
Trident will now seek white label partners for both the Gamebookers and Betbug systems, according to O'Malia. "We expect to build on our current licensee base and rapidly expand our white label partnerships with major online gaming providers," he revealed.
GAMING CORP LAUNCHES ONLINE POKER
Ongame software on the PokerNetwork chosen.
These days it seems hardly a week goes by without Gaming Corporation appearing in the headlines with a new acquisition or expansion. This week it was the announcement that the company is moving into the lucrative online poker sector through a deal with Ongame, which recently joined the eCOGRA self-regulatory fold.
Dynamic, London-based Gaming Corporation took over the popular Got2Bet and Gambling.com portals and search engine earlier this year, and also owns Casino.co.uk.
CEO Justin Drummond said that agreement had been reached with Ongame's PokerNetwork that will enable his company to enter the fast growing online poker market.
Under the terms of the agreement PokerNetwork will provide fully customised poker software that will enable Gaming Corp to offer its rapidly growing database of customers a state of the art and highly liquid multiplayer poker application that can be accessed both online and via a mobile device.
Gaming Corp will undertake all responsibility for customer support and financial transactions but will pay PokerNetwork an ongoing license fee for the use of the poker software.
“This is a key deal for Gaming Corp; we will be able to offer our extensive customer database multi-player poker that can be accessed on the internet or via a normal mobile handset. Mobile poker players simply log on to a live poker table in the same way they do online joining thousands of simultaneous players competing from the internet or mobile device,” Drummond said.
The PokerNetwork includes the massive Poker Room.com, making available literally millions of players and hundreds of tables to poker players seeking the variety and excitement of international poker action.
AND A FLASH CASINO FOR GAMING CORP, TOO!
Virtue Fusion powers new operation
Hard on the heels of their announced entry into the online poker sector through PokerNetwork, the London-based Gaming Corporation has launched a new Flash-based no-download online casino with both online and mobile capability.
Gaming Corporation plc owns the Got2Bet.com and Gambling.com portals and search engine, and the major British portal Casino.co.uk.
The casino site is located at Games.casino.co.uk, and uses software that has been jointly developed over the past 18 months with Virtue Fusion, including fifteen online casino games and nine state of the art mobile java games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Stud Poker, slots and scratch cards.
The java mobile games can be downloaded from the website or via the Casino.co.uk WAP site at Wap.casino.co.uk. Play is available in both practice and real cash mode.
Registration and deposits can be made either via the mobile handset or online by either credit of debit card. Over 40 leading handsets are currently supported by the casino software and this number will increase as new phones are launched. The games are accessible across any mobile network in the UK.
Gaming Corp plans to market the new casino across its network of sites.
Sara Vincent, Commercial Director of Casino.co.uk commented,
"We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of our new flash based multiplatform casino. It not only further enhances the Casino.co.uk product portfolio, but with such a high percentage of the population owning mobiles, it expands our reach and market penetration."
MAJOR TV NETWORK HAS NEW POKER PLANS
Several shows in production for Fall airing in the US.
Several big, poker-related shows are in the works from the popular American TV network GSN, formerly known as the Game Show Network.
The shows are an extension of the current fad for broadcasting live poker events, and will air in the U.S. Fall.
GSN will begin taping its first show, "The James Woods Gang Vs The Unabombers in Poker Royale," on Monday, July 25 at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.
The show features an all-star line-up with James Woods and Kathy Leibert leading a team of players in a No Limit Hold'em match against Phil 'Unabomber" Laak, his partner and 2005 Women's WSOP champion, Jennifer Tilly and actor Brad Garrett of "Everybody Loves Raymond," fame. The series is scheduled for Friday nights as part of GSN's Casino Night.
On July 27, GSN production starts on "Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages," a unique event that pits the world's top players over age 60 versus the top six poker players under 30.
Among the veterans will be TJ Cloutier (six WSOP bracelets), Dan Harrington (earned $2.14 million in consecutive WSOP appearances), Gabe Kaplan (Welcome Back Kotter, commentator from NBC's Heads Up Championship), Barbra Enright (Best all around player 2002 Legends of Poker), Maureen Feduniak (2003 winner World Poker Tour Ladies Night), and Wendeen Eolis (4th place at 2004 Legends of Poker Ladies Night).
The under 30 line-up features some of today's hottest players with hotshots like Michael Gracz (2005 WSOP bracelet winner), Erin Ness (2nd place Poker Royale: Young Bloods), Evelyn Ng (2nd place WPT Ladies Night), Kasey Thompson (poker pro), and Dutch Boyd (11th place in 2003 WSOP).
GSN has also ordered a pilot shoot for "Annie Duke Takes on the World," a Duke-produced show in which four amateurs compete to play Duke heads up.
There's no shortage of talent in the GSN productions - the highly respected Phil Helmuth and producer R.J. Culter are teaming up to create a series that teaches amateurs the skills of poker. No futher details are available on this project yet.
A 'TROUBLESOME CHILD' FOR PARTY GAMING
A different perspective on an old relationship
One of the more interesting views on online gambling relationships surfaced this week in an opinion expressed by a respected analyst in a review of online gaming.
Discussing the relationship between Noam Lanir's growing Empire Online marketing group and the (online poker) market leading Party Poker with which it does business, along with other major companies, Citigroup Smith Barney opined:
"We see Empire as like a troublesome child to PartyGaming, small but growing faster and taking more than its fair share of the budget.
"We think PartyGaming’s best option is to tie Empire in by buying it.
"Empire ( empirepoker.com) finds online poker players who then play on PartyGaming’s systems in return for which Empire pays PartyGaming a royalty. Empire’s players account for around 4 percent of PartyGaming’s EBIT.
"This EBIT share appears unimportant. However, PartyGaming makes less profit on Empire players than players that come to PartyGaming direct. We estimate that PartyGaming’s 2005 EBIT would be some 11 percent higher if it achieved a “normal”profit on Empire’s players.
"One assumes PartyGaming would want to renegotiate the deal with Empire. PartyGaming has the biggest online poker business and Empire benefits from the liquidity it can offer its players. However, Empire has the option of taking its +/- 9 percent share of the online poker market elsewhere, beefing up a new partner’s poker room, reducing PartyGaming’s dominance a little and perhaps getting an even more favourable revenue share from the new partner.
"If PartyGaming bought Empire the inefficiency of competing with each other could be eliminated, Empire’s market share could be secured for PartyGaming and Empire’s successful non-US player recruitment could be expanded, reducing PartyGaming’s dependence on the US.
"We calculate that PartyGaming could pay a 30 percent premium for Empire without EPS dilution.
"Empire would get the best deal from a new poker partner if it agreed to bring all of its poker business with it. We estimate that the pro forma effect of Empire leaving the PartyGaming network would mathematically be only a 5 percent reduction in 2005 estimated earnings. However, the damage to PartyGaming from the implied re-jigging of market shares in the online poker market is uncertain.
"We would like to see PartyGaming acquire Empire; consolidation is one reason why it floated and a deal could make financial and strategic sense. However, our valuation is based on the status quo being maintained and Empire leaving would not be a major problem for PartyGaming.
"With the World Series of Poker due to be on TV in August and September driving even more online poker participation, we believe that the newsflow will be excellent in the short term.
"We reiterate our 1S (Buy/Speculative) rating and 185p target."
EXECUTIVE MOVES AT RTG
Head techie becomes CEO Michael McMain, who formally headed software development for turnkey provider Real Time Gaming has been appointed CEO of the company with immediate effect. He replaces one of the co-founders of the group, Michael Staw who will take up the position of chairman. McMain has extensive management experience and his leadership and industry knowledge make him the ideal choice for the position, says a company press release. Staw said, "We are accelerating, and there is no-one in the industry more qualified to lead our company forward in the years ahead. It's a small change that should do big things to spur our continued growth and leadership in the industry."
McMain's promotion should ensure commercial continuity and the management change will have little or no impact on productivity. The company has not announced who McMain's successor as head of software development will be.
SKY TV GETS INTO MOBILE GAMBLING
Probability Games providing the games
Another mobile gambling milestone was reached this week when Sky TV subscribers in the United Kingdom were told that they will now be able to download and play free versions of a new range of games direct to their cellphones.
Customers can opt to play the games for real money once they have downloaded the free version to their handsets and passed an age verification test.
A company called TV Commerce is working on the project with Sky TV, using Games Probability Corporation to manage and develop a range of specially branded casino and slot games. The games all carry the station branding and related content, such as programme schedules and promotions.
The games have a particularly British feel, including a fruit machine titled ‘Fortune Teller’, which also provides players with a daily horoscope.
TV Commerce has provided an initial budget of up to GBP 100 000 to market the new games using television, database marketing, press and TV arrangements with other media owners.
The main marketing campaign will start in September, growing in intensity in the build up to the Christmas period. The backers anticipate that the venture will render a significant return as early as end 2005 and going forward.
AND PROBABILITY IS WORKING WITH QUICKSILVER, TOO
Quicksilver Mobile Casino starts operations
Probability Games Corporation also featured in news of another mobile casino deal this week, this one with Quicksilver, a subsidiary of UK listed gaming group Talarius plc.
The partnership led to the launch of Quicksilver Mobile Casino which offers a suite of branded, mobile telephone casino-style games. The start of operations establishes Talarius as the first High Street operator to offer “gaming on the move” to its bricks-and-mortar customers in 142 high street outlets.
The Quicksilver Mobile Casino is open to anyone in the UK who is over 18 and has a Java compatible phone, on any UK mobile network. Registration, which adheres to a robust age verification process, is entirely through the cellphone medium and customers can choose from a range of games, including Slot machines with fixed and progressive payouts, Roulette, Blackjack, Stud Poker and Hi-Lo.
Low-stake, “little and often” game players are being targeted with bets from as little as 10p. In a pre-launch trial to a small section of its database, Quicksilver found that customers like to play in dwell-time and down-time for short periods. A national rollout of the service through Quicksilver shops and to the Quicksilver membership is now under way.
Commenting on the launch, Nick Harding, CEO of Talarius, said: “Slot machines and table games are the largest single slice of the UK gambling industry and attract the broadest spectrum of people. By offering a fun and value for money service on mobiles, we believe that Talarius can take the Quicksilver brand into places and to people that we could not otherwise reach.”
Probability Games Corporation, who are regulated in the UK, designs and operates casino games for mobile phones.
It was established by Charles Cohen, the founder of beenz.com and John Scaife with development capital from Vincent Tchenguiz. The company has agreements with T-Mobile, Monstermob and Last Minute.com to supply mobile games, compatible on at least 70 percent of British cellphones.
BETSSON SUPPLIES GAMBLING OPTIONS TO EUROPEAN PORTAL
White label casino, betting exchange and poker solution for Victory 247 site
The Betsson betting exchange company has announced a three year deal with Victory247, a new gaming portal with powerful connections to a major European TV company that plans to specialise in interactive gaming in the region.
The terms of the agreement call for Betsson to provide a white label casino, betting exchange and poker games package, backed by full support and financial services from Betsson.
“Victory247 is, through its owners, uniquely positioned to succeed,” says Betsson President Anders Holmgren.
OCTOBER DATE FOR NEW WILL HILL POKER TOURNEY
Major table tournament will have a prize chest of GBP 450 000
The major British gambling group William Hill announced plans this week to sponsor a major televised poker tournament between 17 and 25 October 2005 where the winner will receive GBP 150 000.
The William Hill Grand Prix Poker Tournament is the group's first move into the major table tournament sector, with a GBP 100 000 in sponsorship being added to the players' stakes to create a prize chest of GBP 450 000, with the winner taking home GBP 150 000.
One of the UK's top TV poker production teams, Presentable Limited has been signed up to showcase the programme, which will be aired in early December on the Poker 425 channel on Sky TV. Presentable has extenstive experience in the poker TV field, having produced the successful Late Night Poker series.
Will Hill's plan is to invite only world leading players to play in the event, the whole concept behind the tournament being to put the skill back into the technical game, and move away from what it calls "...a 'blind structure' that is made for speed."
With 7 heats of 8 people at each table, comprising 8 online qualifiers and 48 top international poker professionals the event promises to be a fascinating exposition of the art of skilled poker play.
Entrants will be allowed to wear logos and branded merchandise, and Internet qualification for the 8 online entries, began this week through the William Hill Poker.com website.
BELLE ROCK BUDDY A POPULAR CRM INNOVATION
New instant messenger service enjoys fast take-up
The Gibraltar-based Belle Rock Gaming group of online casinos reports that its recently introduced "Belle Rock Buddy" facility is attracting widespread sign-ups.
The facility is based on Instant Messenging and adds a new dimension to the customer relations activities of the group. In just three weeks since launch, over 25 percent of Belle Rock Gaming players have downloaded the application.
The Belle Rock Buddy acts as a 'personal gaming assistant,' providing instant, fingertip access to all of Belle Rock's casino games and promotions, as well as other personalised and exclusive services. The application received overwhelming player support during the trial period, with players highlighting its ease of use and ability to simplify the gaming experience.
One of the goals is to enable players to keep track of promos, together with their gaming transactions, accessing what they have wagered, won and withdrawn. The latest games releases and other news is also available. The system will be updated daily to ensure the very latest account information is available.
Belle Rock Buddy was introduced following extensive player studies through an independent research company. Players were able to review the service during a pilot phase and were invited to provide personal feedback through a series of online chat forums.
CLOSING THE GAP
Ladbrokes GBP 76 million takeover of 141 Welsh betting shops
The rivalry between William Hill and Ladbrokes intensified this week with the announcement by the latter that it had bought 141 family run betting shops to close the gap in outlet numbers.
The deal brought Ladbrokes into equal contention with William Hill as the UK’s biggest bookmaker following the deal.
By acquiring control of the Jack Brown network, Ladbrokes increased its presence in Wales five-fold to 156 outlets, bringing a windfall of GBP 76 million for the sellers, which include members of the Brown family who have run the business since 1927.
Unfortunately, it may have put a question mark over the jobs of 70 staff at the head office of Jack Brown in Pontypridd, South Wales, which Ladbrokes intends to close.
The Jack Brown brand will disappear as all the betting shops, comprising 127 shops in Wales and a further 14 shops located in the Birmingham area, will be rebranded as Ladbrokes over the next six months.
Talks over the deal lasted more than a year and took place at a time of considerable consolidation in the betting industry.
William Hill overtook Ladbrokes as Britain’s biggest bookmaker in May when it struck a deal for 624 betting shops from rival Stanley Leisure in a deal worth GBP 504 million (see InfoPowa report).
It then sold 28 of the sites to the Tote earlier this week as it sought to ease competition concerns from the deal.
William Hill has 2,174 shops in the UK and Northern Ireland, giving it a slight advantage over Ladbrokes which will now trade in 2,111 outlets.
Ladbrokes – owned by leisure giant Hilton – expects the Jack Brown group to contribute GBP 4 million to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between July and December.
The group will install its state-of-the-art technology in all the shops being acquired, enabling gamblers to watch and wager on international horseracing and sports as well as all UK track meetings.
Around GBP 12 million will be spent by Ladbrokes on refurbishing the stores in a process lasting 18 months. Jack Brown employs a total of 520 staff.
CARIBBEAN 21 BUG SHORTS PLAYERS ON SPLITS
Casino spokesman confirms fault in RTG software has been fixed.
There were probably a few red faces at Atlanta-based gambling software provider Real Time Gaming this week as players started complaining on the fora that the companys Caribbean 21 game appeared to be short-paying on splits.
Although clearly not intentional, the issue was embarrassing, as a casino spokesman for Geisha Lounge and Grand Aces affirmed in a public statement on the fault.
Confirming that the fault had been across all RTG powered casinos and had already been addressed by RTG, the spokesman said, "The issue is an embarrassing thing for RTG and for us obviously and we will be taking this up with RTG.
"The issue was as follows: The 21 games split function was not paying out correctly for wins.
"I welcome any and all people who played the 21 games to contact us and we will take a look at your account and apply the necessary winnings if you have lost out plus a comp."
RTG were due to issue a press release early this week but at press time none had been received.
BONUSING GALORE IN NEW POKERPLEX TOURNEYS
$400 000 in prizes and a 300 hand bonus
Poker Plex will be a tempting venue for bonus and prize hungry poker fans soon - the site is about to start running No Limit Hold'em daily guaranteed tournaments with a prize pool of $400,000.
The tournaments are scheduled to take place four times every weekday, together with guaranteed Sunday Tournaments offering an additional prize pool of $50,000 each week.
All players will also layers pickup a $50 monthly bonus for every 300 hands played, and planning is well advanced for satellite tournaments to major poker championships like the Caribbean Poker Classic in November.
POKER A GREAT BET, SAY ANALYSTS
Growth is just starting in this industry
Dow Jones reports that Party Gaming, which recently enjoyed a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange has been listed as a "buy" recommendation by UBS.
The listing advises that PartyGaming is a global market-leading online poker group with an estimated 54 percent market share and is "...likely to be incorporated into the FTSE 100 in September."
The advisory takes a bullish view on the industry, commenting that "...the growth in poker is just starting, and from a standing start in '01, the group now has 400,000 active customers per month - a small fraction of the estimated 50 million players in the US alone."
LISTING FEVER
Is Jackpot Joy on the IPO trail too?
For the past several months, especially when Party Gaming was on the run-up to its successful IPO in London, there has been media speculation that other major Internet gambling companies like 888.com (Casino On Net) and Betfair will be going for public listings.
This week a new name emerged following news in the Sunday Times which reported that Jackpotjoy.com is in talks with advisers about a possible GBP 100 million flotation on the London stock market as it seeks to become the latest firm to capitalise on the online gambling boom.
Jackpotjoy, which runs internet bingo and other "instant win" games, is in the final stages of assessment by financial advisers and apparently intends to set a date over the next two weeks.
"I can confirm that we are in discussions about our strategic options, but I cannot comment beyond that," the finance director at parent company Gamesys, Michael
Mee, reportedly told the newspaper.
Jackpotjoy is licensed in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. The site was launched in 2001 and claims it has 500,000 players on the books and pays out over GBP 20 million a month in winnings.
While a float on AIM is the board's preferred option, a sale to a larger gaming group could not be ruled out, The Times said.
WORLD POKER EXCHANGE SURVEY RESULTS
How US poker enthusiasts play
The World Poker Exchange published the results of its survey of US poker players recently, revealing some interesting facts.
For example, 75 percent of US pokerheads play at least three times a month, while 39 percent play five times a month.
And good news for Internet poker rooms and networks - 45 percent of poker players preferred to play online. Another 45 percent preferred playing face-to-face with friends.
The fairer sex seems to prefer playing online, too. Women were 6 times more likely to play online than in a casino.
Internet poker playing clearly has considerable appeal - according to the overall assessment, more than three out of four US poker players regularly play online each month.
CASINO CAUTIONS
Personal privacy is definitely a player concern...
The casino manager (identified only as "Rick") from Crown Vegas and Sunset Palace online casinos has not been doing himself any favours this week with a rather aggressive response to being caught soliciting private information databases on Internet gamblers.
Alert players monitoring the Start Casino forum picked up the solicitation...and several responses from the unsavoury sort of people who sell this detailed private information such as player names, emails, phone numbers etc. usually without the players' consent or knowledge.
One of the monitoring players challenged "Rick" on the ethics of such a quest, only to be told he was an "idiot" and a "loser", and out of place on an industry message board.
Here's a quote:
"I imagine that I make more in a day than you make in a year. So please keep your comments to yourself, loser. Cheers, Rick." and "Why are you involved in this thread in the first place? This is an industry board, idiot. Nothing here concerns you, run along now."
Personal privacy is a great concern for players, as any experienced and professional operator should know.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
2003 AOL case finally comes to a conclusion
Readers will remember the shocking reports two years ago of the AOL techie who stole 92 million personal email addresses by using another employee's access code at AOL's Virginia headquarters.
Then he compounded the crime by selling this private and supposedly confidential information to a Vegas spam merchant for online gambling called Sean Dunaway, who used it to send unwanted gambling advertisements to subscribers of AOL. Charges are pending against Dunaway
The thief, Jason Smathers was caught and taken to court on a guilty plea, but last December Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the plea, saying he was not convinced Smathers had actually committed a crime.
Fortunately, the matter was finalised last week, with Smathers again entering a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where the judge said prosecutors now had sufficiently established a criminal case.
By selling the addresses to Dunaway for $28 000, the 24-year-old former American Online software engineer is estimated to have set off an avalanche of up to seven billion unsolicited spamming emails.
Smathers could face up to 2 years jail time, together with mandatory restitution of between $200,000 and $400,000, the amount the government estimates AOL spent as a result of the e-mails.
Federal prosecutor David Siegal said Smathers had engaged in the interstate transportation of stolen property and had violated a new federal "can-spam" law meant to diminish unsolicited e-mail messages.
AOL has since launched a major assault on spam, significantly reducing unsolicited e-mails.
INVESTMENT EXPERT JOINS EMPIRE ONLINE
IPO adviser now investor relations exec
A key member of the Numis Securities professional team that guided Internet gambling marketing company Empire Online through its GBP 512 million London IPO last month has now joined the company as investor relations adviser.
Andrew Burnett is a skilled leisure and gaming analyst and latterly corporate financier who will also play an important role in Empire in its future business strategies pertaining to acquisitions and mergers.
Noam Lanir, CEO of Empire Online, said: "Following our successful IPO we are rapidly rolling out our operations throughout Europe and will also consider making strategic acquisitions. We intend to play a leading role in the anticipated consolidation (of the industry) and we are looking to Andrew Burnett to spearhead this for us, working closely with our existing financial advisers, Numis."
Burnett predicted that the gaming sector is set for a period of tremendous growth and consolidation over the medium term.
TROUBLE BREWING OVER WPT TAKEOVER OFFER
Suspicions mounts that offer was not genuine
With the World Series of Poker championships placing poker firmly in the media headlines earlier this month, the timing was thought by many industry observers to be right for poker news and announcements.
One announcement that really grabbed everyone's attention was a report that one of the best known poker legends, Doyle Brunson had offered to buy control of Steve Lipscomb's World Poker Tour for $700 million. Speculation was that Brunson was financially backed by some big poker company names, although this was never clarified.
The offer had a deadline less than a week ahead, and although WPT were taken by surprise their executives say they attempted to professionally assess the offer by requesting more detail. Surprisingly, it seems that Mr. Brunson failed to meet their requests and the offer was allowed to expire. However, news of the offer initially caused a surge in the WPT share price, which then turned southward as it became clear that the proposed deal was in trouble.
There was speculation that the offer was not sincere and this week angry complaints were lodged with the Securities and Exchange Commission, triggering an official investigation into what some Wall Street analysts suspect may have been a bogus offer. The results will make for interesting reading when made public.
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