Lawrence Lessig will examine regulation in address

The hot topic of discussion in both player and operator circles this year has been the question of genuinely regulating the borderless online gambling industry, and this interest is reflected in the choice of speaker for the keynote address at the industry's most important conference event.

Expert Internet academician Professor Lawrence Lessig will deliver the address to the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo (GIGSE) to be held May 16-18 at the Palais de Congres in Montreal.

Lessig is one of the world's foremost experts on intellectual property in the age of digital communication, the founder of Stanford's Center for Internet and Society and the authority on "cyberlaw" - the evolving law of the Internet. He has written several books, including "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology" and "Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity."

In his two previous books, "Code" and "The Future of Ideas," Lessig concentrated on the destruction of much of the original promise of the Internet. Blending knowledge, insight and eloquence, these books are profoundly important guides to the care and feeding of innovation, intellectual property, free speech and privacy.

Lessig's keynote address will focus on the unique issues the industry faces. In this lecture, titled How Regulation Will Happen: The Leviathan Is Coming - The Only Question Now is How, Professor Lessig will draw from a range of work in legal theory and technical design to draw the map of his approach, outlining how those who depend upon liberty for their livelihood can survive in the perfectly regulated world that could be.

Expected to be the largest event ever for the interactive gambling industry, GIGSE will attract close to 2,000 individuals from 45 countries. Headed by this year's Platinum Sponsor, WireCard, over 120 companies will be exhibiting or sponsoring activities at the tradeshow.

From elegant roulette to a slot that will have you in a whirl, a great new selection

King Neptune's Casino (www.kingneptunescasino.com) and Trident Lounge Casino (www.tridentloungecasino.com) in the Trident group have four superb new games in the April releases that will surely meet the most exacting demands for variety and quality.

Featuring traditional, mythical and humorous themes, together with high action video poker the games combine fast action and smooth operating characteristics.

Leading the releases is a standards-setting fresh version of the popular European Roulette Gold game, in which the latest technologies have been used to present an outstanding example of an easy to use and brilliantly themed traditional casino game with real ambience.

European Roulette is the result of intensive player research in order to achieve the ideal balance of elegant and sophisticated atmosphere married to hi-tech efficiency. The result is an improved offering that is far and away the best of its genre currently on the Internet.

Outstanding graphics showcase the razor sharp quality and true colour reproduction of the walnut-rimmed table through to the wide choice of player controls and assists, and the game delivers fast and positive action and the feel of solid quality.

Control buttons such as Call Bets, AutoPlay, Redo and Undo are sized and positioned for maximum convenience, together with zoom in snapshot windows to ensure that players remain in the picture and on the numbers.

Through the use of new wheel animation technology, interactive chip selection, animated 3D chip action, precision graphics and crystal clear ambient sounds this online game has an authentic feel, and the new ‘brass’ frame buttons and the inclusion of a useful Bet Timer add to the quality and the realistic experience of the game.

Extending Trident's selection of big, epic-themed games, is the new video slot Avalon which summons back the mythical past when chivalrous knights roamed the land doing good deeds and magic was everywhere.

All of this history is captured in beautifully rendered graphics in the 5 reel, 20 pay-line Avalon – a game in the highly entertaining Australian style, with free spins, mystery multipliers, Scatter and two Wild opportunities and a Gamble feature where the intrepid can double or quadruple wins on the right selection of suit or colour.

With up to 15 Free Spins (with the possibility of up to 7 times multipliers) this is a game that ranks high in terms of excitement and opportunity.

The fifth in the popular series of six 100 Play Power Poker VP games, the new Double Joker multi-hand video poker offering sets new levels of excitement and action in this popular genre, on which thousands of players have found hours of solid entertainment and reward.

Up to 100 hands of video poker at a time can be played simultaneously with a wide choice of wagers. For the gambler with a good bankroll and a penchant for action this is the ideal game, and it comes on the features-rich Viper software platform with autoplay and a range of player assists..

There’s an major thrill warning from Trident with the launch of Twister, a 5 reel, 15 pay-line video slot that is set to blow players away! With Wild and Scatter symbols, a Free Spin bonus feature with spins within the free spins, together with a double-your-money gamble opportunity with a $10 000 ceiling, it’s easy to see why this one could have slots fans in a whirl.

If 3, 4 or 5 of Twister’s TV scatter icon appear across the reels, look out for excitement of 20 Free Spins capable of doubling all winnings. And for those ready to “Gamble” with the forces of Mother Nature, a chance to double their windfall winnings on the colour of the cards is available.

This tornado of fun and thrills has a humorous airborne trailer park theme that has everything from pick-up trucks to outhouses up in the air and an amusing cast of characters populating the lines, all executed in bright, clear graphics and backed with easy to use player controls.

Twister will keep you on the edge of your seat, with hours of great entertainment and the possibility of substantial rewards – for example the top jackpot in the base game is a cool $75 000, and that can be lifted by the Twister to 150 000 with free spins.

Poker magazine's expansion plans reach the land of Oz

Bluff Media's popular poker magazine, Bluff has extended its reach Downunder with the announcement this week that the first edition of Bluff Australasia will hit newsstands around the country today (on April 27.)

Bluff Australasia publisher Alan Hyman said the magazine would follow Bluff’s tradition of taking a unique look at poker.

"We’ve been waiting for the right time to launch Bluff in Australia and we’re finally able to share this fantastic magazine with a brand new audience,” Hyman said. “Unlike the USA, the poker phenomenon is just taking off in Australia. This means that we can help people just starting to make decisions about where to play, which games are best suited for them, and show them why poker is such an exciting sport.”

Managing editor Sean Callander said Bluff Australasia would combine the best of the US material with all the latest news on the local poker scene.

“Bluff already has an awesome line-up of columnists like Andy Bloch, Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon and Mike Caro,” Callander said. “These writers will continue to present their thoughts on strategy and guides for assisting players with their games. But you’ll also find profiles, features and stories from the latest happenings in Aussie poker.”

Highlights of the first edition of Bluff Australasia include:

• Our reigning world poker champion Joe Hachem talks about life as the most visible man on the world poker stage in the lead-up to his WSOP title defence later this year.

• They don’t call Lee Nelson ‘Final Table’ for nothing! The reigning Aussie Millions champion shares the secrets of his success in a revealing chat.

• The pub poker craze that’s swept Sydney has started its march across the country. We speak with those at the heart of the pub poker movement, and feature all the news from the Australian Poker League’s huge Freeroll event.

• We highlight the local players who’ve been starring in the US and Europe.

Plus: results from the NZ Poker Championships, the latest news in Aussie poker, coverage of Joe Hachem’s battle against some of the AFL’s biggest stars, plus more.

Now Fox Sports is being dragged into the litigation, too

Calvin Ayre, the CEO of Bodog may have dismissed the Blue Moon Entertainment litigation with contempt and threats, but the TV doccie company showed this week that it meant business by adding Fox Sports to the list of defendants in its plagiarism action against the gambling group (see earlier InfoPowa reports)

In an amended statement filed this week in a Los Angeles County courthouse, Babette Pepaj, a documentary-maker doing business as BlueMoon Entertainment, clarified and increased by one count of action her complaint against Bodog Entertainment Group, Calvin Ayre, Fox Sports Net, Inc. and other entities.

The case arises from claims by Blue Moon that Ayre's new TV reality show Wild Card Poker is a rip-off of an earlier "Poker Showdown" concept that Blue Moon came up with - allegedly at Bodog's request.

Last week Bodog boss-man Calvin Ayre claimed the case had been thrown out, and said that Bodog.com was not through fighting it just yet. "We are actually not through with them (BlueMoon) yet," Ayre insisted. "I am going to make an example of these people to show what happens when you frivolously sue me."

Ayre explained that Bodog.com asked BlueMoon to submit a proposal for a television reality show just over a year ago, requesting the parameters involve poker and have Calvin Ayre appear in it. "Those are the only two similarities," Ayre insists.

The first episode of Bodog's show, which is hosted by Ayre himself appeared on Fox Sports TV last week. Attempts by BlueMoon to stop the show airing failed when a judge turned down an application for an injunction suspending the screening.

"Wild Card Poker" is a six-episode reality series about a $500 000 poker tournament, intercut with Costa Rican lifestyle elements and the activities of Bodog's billionaire founder and top man, Calvin Ayre.

Media reports on the latest developments suggest that [Blue Moon] Pepaj's lawyers have cleverly worked a comparative table into the amended version of the complaint. This allows the media to report specifically on the nature of the complaint and the similarities in concept.

Clearly the case has not "gone away" and more fireworks can be expected as lawyers on both sides carry the battle to the media as well as the courtroom.

STOP PRESS: As we went to press this week the following comment was received from the Bodog legal team:

"Fox was always a party to the lawsuit. Initially, the only relief being sought as against Fox was an injunction to prevent the show from airing. The Plaintiffs went to Court the week before the airing of the initial show to request an injunction. After hearing their argument a Justice of the Superior Court in California dismissed their application for an injunction and allowed the show to go to air.

"Since that time the plaintiffs have elected to bring an additional claim as against Fox. We take the same view of this new claim as we do of all the plaintiff's claims; that is it is completely without merit.

"Other than amending their claim the plaintiffs have taken no further steps to move the matter forward and as of this date none of the named defendants have even been served with a copy of any claim."

Sportingbet quick off the mark in offering Payne for interviews

The publicity guys at Sportingbet were ahead of the field this week in linking an announcement by the American Gaming Association with the availability for interviews of their high profile CEO Nigel Payne.

Yesterday's announcement by the American Gaming Association (AGA) recommended the creation of a one-year Congressional study commission that would evaluate the effects of online gambling in the United States, something which responsible US politicians like Rep. John Connors has been suggesting for some time as an alternative to a precipitous ban on the $12 billion industry.

Payne says that American tax collectors are losing out on billions of revenue dollars because they do not recognise this lucrative and booming industry. And, the US government refuses to license and regulate it, thus missing out on the opportunity to collect taxes and ensure responsible gaming.

Payne has offered himself for media interviews in which he is prepared to address:

* Why regulation of online gambling is the best thing for the internet gaming industry
* How regulating the internet gaming industry will benefit the American public
*How online gaming companies use state of the art technology to impose betting limits and identify underage and problem gamblers
* The popularity of gambling online

XXL Club launched its new online casino this week at xxlclubcasino.com, marking the first step in an ambitious plan for a future multiplatform operation.

Choosing Playtech as the turnkey provider, the Club said that online casino operations will be followed by an online poker platform, mobile gaming and an intriguing new and revolutionary land based gambling service, which is being kept under wraps until its launch later in 2006.

The announcement would appear to imply that in the XXL Club project, Playtech is moving toward the trendy "one stop gambling" site concept.

A XXL Club spokesman said this week that the Club had extensive requirements to create a new level of online gambling experience for customers. "Playtech acted like a partner during the buildup and realisation phase," he said. "Their technical experts and management team gave us critical professional advices on how to best meet XXL Club's ambitious project goals."

Describing the new venue as "...a new level of product sophistication to the online gambling community," Frank Lloyd, director of operations at XXL Club Casino said: "Today marks the start of a new era in the world of multiplatform gambling”, and revealed that XXL Club will primarily target customers in the European Union, with a special focus on the dynamic and vibrant Russian market.

XXL Club has established a dedicated office in Moscow, in addition to its headquarters in the British Virgin Islands, for quick, responsive service to Russian customers. A third office will be opened shortly to support the most common languages in Europe like German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

“We believe that a professional customer service department that offers a high quality standard of attention, a very user-friendly and attractive multilingual web site and fast and hassle-free payouts, 24/7/365 combined with state of the art, irreproachable and trustful software are the key ingredients for success in today’s highly professional and competitive online gambling industry”, Lloyd opined.

With over 85 casino games, including live gaming using advanced video streaming technology XXL Club Casino has a sophisticated, European Club theme backed by the full range of player and financial services. XXL Club Casino N.V. is based in Curacao, and the venture is backed by a "multi cultural" group of investors spread across Europe which makes it a unique powerful player in the fast growing PAN European gambling market.

More European players and revenues climbing

Turnkey provider Playtech has released impressive first quarter trading figures for 2006, indicating a very positive start to the year with revenues up almost 150 percent over Q1 in 2005.

Revenues overall were up 147 percent on Q1 2005 at $20.767 million, comprising a 136 percent increase in casino revenues and a phenomenal 1159 percent rise in poker revenues, albeit from a low base. New poker software is currently under further development at the group's facilities in Talinn, Estonia.

Licensees increased from 31 to 39 over the same period last year, providing a total of 115 sites using the Playtech software and services.

The origin of revenues showed a significant drop of 14 percent from players from North America (from 67 percent in Q1 2005 to the current 53 percent) whilst European and Asian Pacific players action increased by 6 percent and 14 percent respectively. Revenue contribution from the Far East has more than doubled over the past year.

Playtech’s Chief Executive Officer Avigur Zmora said, "During the quarter, which has included the company's IPO, we have significantly increased revenues across all of our sectors, both year on year and compared to the previous quarter. Based on this increase, and the underlying growth of existing clients, we are delighted to have traded in the first quarter of 2006 ahead of market expectations.”

He continued: "It is particularly encouraging to see that our drive into the exciting and fast growing Asia Pacific market is showing clear results. Revenue contribution from this region has more than doubled within the year whilst US players this quarter contribute approximately 50 percent of revenues, down from 67 percent this time last year. This clearly illustrates the ongoing success of our strategy to create a more balanced geographical business portfolio.”

No Foxwoods hassles here

The Nevada Appeal News reported on closer convergance between (illegal in Nevada) online gambling and playing games for reward using the Internet this week in a story on the PlayAway concept.

This caused grief for Foxwoods earlier this year when the huge land casino got into a wrassle with the local law over the concept, but apparently in Northern Nevada it's no problemo.

The story reports that Carson City residents who prefer to gamble on a PC no longer have to do business with an off-shore company.

But it's not really online gambling; it just seems that way. Northern Nevada land casinos are targeting the substantial group of players who like to spend leisure time at land casinos, then go home and continue gambling in front of the computer screen.

The Department of Justice advised the Nevada Gaming Commission in 2002 that the federal Wire Act prohibits Internet gaming. The law doesn't criminalise the online player, just the site that has the product. But, as one gaming control board member said, it's hard to prosecute an online company in the Caribbean.

Nevada's substitute for online gambling is called PlayAway, and it's catching on. In February this year, Casino Fandango was one of the first casinos in the state to roll out the system.

It works like this: Players go to land casino Fandango's keno desk and purchase PlayAway tickets in fixed denominations. They go home and log on to play the games. The player returns to the casino to pick up any earnings. Sound like Internet gambling?

"You've already won or lost before you turn on the computer," said Mark Clayton, a member of the gaming control board. He said Internet gaming is different because the player wins or loses based on how he or she plays online. "It was determined by the gaming-control board that this system did not determine the game outcome, and merely was a method to reveal the results of a game outcome determined at the licensee," Clayton said.

"We're seeing more and more folks playing on it," said Chris Plummer, marketing analyst for the casino.

"Customers are really playing keno, but it doesn't feel like it," said John Taylor, president of GameLogic, the company that developed PlayAway. He calls it virtual play. "You have bought a multi-race keno ticket, What you're doing on Internet is merely revealing the results of the outcome of the keno races," he said.

Taylor said his company is providing its casino customers with new ways of using the Internet, something players want to use, but regulated casinos are prevented from using because of federal laws.

Six casinos in Northern Nevada are using the PlayAway system. It is set to roll out in casinos in Southern Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi. The company even has a version for tribal casinos.

Tough final tourney round featured 30 women

Betfair's Poker Goddess tournament culminated in the Poker Ladies Night Live final this week, hotly contested by thirty very skilled and aggressive players.

This event was the highlight of a month of online tournaments and promotions as Betfair Poker searched for the Betfair Poker Goddess.

The players had a diversity of experience from professionals to first-timers, flying in from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland to meet for a chance to win a seat at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Event 2006 in Las Vegas. There was a GBP 3000 prize pool on offer for those unlucky to miss out on the top prize and everyone on the final table got a slice of the action.

Despite having never been involved before in a live poker event, Angela Thacker, 30 from Halifax, was crowned the Betfair Poker Goddess. She was presented with a giant plane ticket by Betfair's Head of Poker Ben Fried.

At the close it was Thacker against two other tough cpompetitors: Francine Brandler and Vera Duffy. Angela had a large chip lead and was playing with a confident and aggressive style which backfired when she allowed short-stacked Duffy to double up. But Angela knocked out Brandler (with three-of-a-kind two's) who had played consistently well up to this point.

Duffy, a 61 year old grandmother from Ireland, fought back to level chips before her all-in on a flush draw was called by Thacker with a pair of fours. Duffy, who had played superlatively throughout the night, was knocked out as the flush failed to appear.

Angela Thacker commented, "It's brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I've never been to London before, let alone Las Vegas. This is my first experience and I've absolutely enjoyed it. The world is wide open."

Betfair Poker's Ben Fried was impressed by the positive atmosphere surrounding the event. "The sportsmanship and camaraderie between the players was fantastic. Remember poker is fun, and these ladies certainly had some of that. Well done to Angela - she's done brilliantly and we will be supporting her all the way at the WSOP."

Fresh from the Battle at the Bellagio, Schoenberg to be sponsored by Mansion gambling group

Erica Schoenberg gave a spirited and skilled performance before being knocked out at 16 in a field of 606 starters at the recent 4th WPT World Championships in Vegas, one of the last two women still in the fight with Vanessa Rousso.

Recognising this and other great gaming by the 28 year old top player, Mansion, the international Poker, Casino, Sportsbook and Sports Exchange gaming entertainment company, has provided a multi-layered sponsorship for what it describes as poker's newest rising star.

The Mansion sponsorship is a three-year partnership with Schoenberg. The endorsement requires that Schoenberg devote more time to live tournament play as a roving poker ambassador for Mansion, to compete on the international circuit in prestige land-based tournaments, plus represent the gaming brand at key industry conferences, exhibitions, and events.

Schoenberg will receive front line support from Mansion that offers her more than just a generous bank-roll. The glamorous Schoenberg will be groomed as a Mansion spokes-model and on-air media presenter, and will be actively promoted as the face of Mansion at the forefront of some very exciting projects for the company in the future.

"It is with great excitement that we welcome Erica to the Mansion team. Mansion is thrilled to endorse a player with Erica's obvious talents and skills that extend far beyond the poker table, and we look forward to developing a successful partnership with her," says David Kinsman, Chief Operating Officer of Mansion Limited.

Winning at cards is definitely not a new phenomenon for the former Blackjack professional, trained by the notoriously successful MIT Blackjack outfit. Competitive by nature, with a tournament beach volleyball career also on her resume, Poker is Schoenberg's new game of choice. Her results at the Bellagio and Foxwoods prove her ever-evolving style of poker will be a formidable force on the Texas Hold'em Tournament circuit.

"I am so excited to have joined with Mansion, and thrilled to have shown a top-twenty result at one of the most respected poker events worldwide. It is truly a premiere event with all the best players in the game," Schoenberg enthuses.

The partnerhip between Schoenberg and Mansion is both well-timed for the gaming giant, coming on the eve of the launch of MansionPoker.com, and preceding a multi-million-dollar roll out of a portfolio of sponsorships, investments and marketing initiatives set to substantially raise the company's global profile.

Editor's note: Mansion Casino just joined Casinomeister's Accredited Casinos section.

First quarter revenues dip, but plenty of cash in the bank for Israeli group, and casino revenues triple

The sale to Party Gaming of Empire Poker may have slowed down revenues in the first quarter, but it has provided the Israeli Internet gambling group Empire Online with an extremely healthy bank balance...and they're out looking for acquisitions according to its latest trading report.

The group reported a slight decline in first quarter gaming revenues this week, but said it now had up to $259 million (GBP 145 million) available for acquisitions.

Total first-quarter net gaming revenue was $21.1 million, compared to $22.5 million in the preceding quarter and $24.4 million a year ago.

The number of new real-money player signups in the period totaled 44 217, with more than half of the new customers resident in countries other than the U.S., where Internet gambling has uncertain legal status, the statement says.

Casino revenues nearly tripled year-on-year to $15.3 million, but poker revenues fell by 69 percent to $5.8 million, following the $250 million sale of Empire Poker to industry leader PartyGaming in February.

Empire said it now had $259 million of cash on its balance sheet at the end of the first quarter.

"The company now has the financial strength to diversify both its product and geographical exposure outside of the USA through value enhancing acquisitions," it said in a statement. "Empire Online is actively seeking to acquire complementary gaming businesses in such areas as sports betting, skill-based gaming and soft-gaming niches such as bingo," it added.

The company has not given up on poker - it runs the successful Noble Poker operation and a spokesman said: "In addition, the company is exploring further poker and casino acquisitions."

Canadian Gambling Association says $500 million is sucked out of the Canadian gaming business every year

Bull Rutsey, the head of the Canadian Gaming Association and top man in that country's $14-billion land gambling industry is not happy with the Internet gaming business, claiming it sucks $500 million a year out of the Canadian economy, which he would presumably prefer to see gambled in land-based ventures.

This week the Vancouver Province newspaper reported on his address to more than 600 gambling industry representatives in Vancouver for the Association's national conference and trade show to hear from experts and see the newest gadgets to lure customers to bingo halls, casinos, lotteries and horse-racing tracks.

Rutsey told delegates that Internet gambling represents the biggest threat to Canada's gambling industry: "Millions just disappear - the money is sucked right out of the economy," he claimed. "Internet gaming is a real competitive threat, and law enforcement needs to take steps to deal with the issue. It seems to be a case of benign neglect at this point."

The gambling chief said that online casinos, sports betting and horse races are illegal in Canada and the U.S., but in the past five years, Internet gambling has grown from a $5 billion business worldwide to $12 to $14 billion today. The Canadian portion of the business is estimated at $500 million a year.

And instead of provincial governments getting their share of the bets - $7 billion last year - Internet gambling revenues disappear into the pockets of organised criminals and private companies, often with offshore addresses, he said.

"Who knows what's really going on with these games," Rutsey said. "You could have underage gamblers playing, and if you've got a problem with gambling, the Internet is a perfect place to exploit it."

Rutsey admits online gambling is difficult to stop, but says that land casinos are fighting back by providing more than a place to play cards and slot machines. "To compete, we need to create compelling experiences for the public with live entertainment, food and beverages," he urged.

In Canada, the gambling industry employs more than 50,000 people. Casinos take in the biggest share of gambling money, followed by the lotteries. Bingo has been losing players, but the lottery corporation is trying to revitalise the game with Chances, its new brand for "community gaming centres" featuring bingo as well as slot machines and licensed facilities.

Millionaires Club jackpot is the one to hit

Much of the action on big win progressive slots shifted to Cryptologic casinos this week as the Millionaires Club jackpot climbed through $2 389 999, setting new Internet gambling jackpot records by the day. The huge popularity of the Millionaires Club 9-line bonus slot machine has already driven the jackpot over historic levels and is currently growing at a rate of over US$35 000 per day.

Anyone winning over $2 million on InterCasino.com progressive will get a special bonus - a brand new BMW as well! This sporty little BMW is worth $35 000 to match the first double millionaire's new lifestyle.

Politicians demand stricter enforcement of anti-gambling law on minors

Philippino politicians alarmed by the incidence of underage gambling in the nation have passed a resolution urging police and local government units to strictly enforce the law prohibiting minors from gambling establishments.

In filing House Resolution 1214, Palawan Representative Abraham Mitra cited a recent study, which showed that "...some students were already gamblers and that as many as 85 percent had tried their luck at some form of gambling while in the course of their schooling."

Commenting that school authorities were alarmed after receiving what he described as "...a crescendo of complaints from concerned parents about schoolboys squandering lunch money on bingo, lotto, horseracing, cockfighting, and casinos," the politician noted that: "If treated with indifference, such activity may interfere with a student's personal relationships, school or work activities, and they may even incur debts of substantial amounts due to addiction or continued patronage of gambling activities."

Mitra said it was the duty of the police and the LGUs to keep students out of gambling establishments since gambling operators turn a blind eye to juvenile gambling in order to generate large revenues.

And eCOGRA certification could be achievable for B&W operations

Swedish gambling software developer and turnkey provider Ongame will benefit significantly from its recent acquisition by Bet and Win, it seems. Europe's largest gambling group has decided to concentrate on using Ongame's poker going forward.

From mid-2006 Ongame will be the platform of choice for Bet and Win online operations, to the disadvantage of previous provider Boss Media. It is believed that as much as 10 percent of Boss Media's current online poker revenues come from licensing its software to B&W. The good news for Boss is that B&W will be extending its casino software license from Boss until the Fall of 2007.

The gains are not solely in Ongame's direction, however. The Swedish company has successfully passed the stringent inspection and probity processes of eCommerce and Online Gaming, Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) which opens the way for B&W online casinos and poker rooms to apply for the eCOGRA "Play It Safe" seal, provided its requirements can be met.

Nicely timed for World Cup fever

The marketers at Cometa Games have impeccably timed the launch of the company's latest product to coincide with World Cup fever, it would appear.

Branded ‘World Cup Shootout’ the mobile phone game challenges players to beat the goalkeeper in a fast-paced game of skill, placing bets on the outcome of each penalty kick.

Players bet cash on each kick and can aim the ball at different areas of the goal, all of which are worth a different reward if a goal is scored in that spot.

‘World Cup Shoot Out’ is one of the first games to be made available on Cometa’s new mobile casino application, which allows players to download and play games, quickly, conveniently, securely input credit/debit card information and request payouts from winnings.

Rob Anderson, managing director of Cometa Games has great hoped for the commercial success of the product and says: “’World Cup Shootout’ has been designed to capitalise on the capabilities of mobile phone handsets and the way users interact with them.”

But does this infringe the Molnick patent?

Unless there has been an unannounced licensing of the Mel Molnick patent for "live over the Internet" gambling, Kiwi Gaming could be the next target for the HGN - i2Corp inventor, who has been litigating in defence of his expansive patents over the past few years.

The reason? Kiwi Gaming has launched live gaming with real people dealing at its tables via a live video feed, enabling Internet players to see and chat to its casino dealers. The games offered include blackjack, roulette, baccarat and sic bo.

Bets are made in the same way as in the standard online versions, but players can chat and see Kiwi Casino’s dealers while they play. With multi-window Support players can enjoy three live blackjack tables simultaneously, or any combination of live and standard games. Players can enhance their live gaming experience by maximising the dealers’ screen, a feature that is also compatible with Kiwi Casino’s full-screen mode. In addition to this the quality of the video can be adjusted to accommodate the speed of an individual player’s internet connection.

It is not at this time known which software Kiwi is using for the new offering. Kiwi Gaming is an independent offshore operation and part of New Zealand's land-based casino group - Christchurch Casinos, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. The operation is currently licensed and operated from Antigua & Barbuda and uses Playtech software.

Kiwi Gaming was in the news for another reason, too this week - its FastWin Casino subsidiary launched Tequila Poker, which combines elements of five-card poker and Blackjack.

Players are dealt four cards, and then have to choose whether they want to go for a Tequila Poker (poker hand) or High Tequila (high-point total hand). The players are then dealt another two cards. The five best cards out of six make up the final hand. Tequila Poker joins FastWin Casino’s current selection of games including a variety of progressive games, table games, video slots, arcade games and regular slots.

But not from gambling software

Not long ago IQ Ludorum powered online casinos seemed to be everywhere as the gambling software developer and turnkey provider signed up licensees across the globe. But it went into a steep decline with financial troubles that now seem to be coming right, judging by its latest acquisition.

In an all shares deal, the company has acquired First Pay, a listed online debit card solution specialist valued at around GBP 3 million. With its sportsbook software in use at growing Betcorp, and First Pay's prime client World Sports Exchange going strongly the arrangement would seem to hold the promise of good returns through a useful diversification that moves away from IQL's traditional approach.

“The developments today reflect a fundamental shift in IQL’s business model towards recurring revenue and sales linked to the dollar volume of transactions," explains IQL head honcho Mike Muscato. "Gaming is expected to continue a double-digit, multi-billion dollar year-over-year growth and IQL is now poised to maximise its participation in this growth.”

Antigua-based gaming operator WSEX, part of the NetBet group of companies, will deliver US$250 million in payment processing volume to First Pay over three years under the terms of the deal.

IQL is now aiming some products and services at individual consumers and, through First Pay, will profit from debt card fees.

Sean Forward, founder of WSEX, has relocated to Antigua from the UK to take up an executive role at IQL, and will be responsible for the First Pay launch. IQL has also announced a deal for its IQ-Softech sportsbook to Betcorp.

The deal with Betcorp sees IQL providing software solutions for the routine management of a call centre and online sportsbook. Betcorp have been using IQ- Softech for five years, something which is predicted to continue.

There is also a planned payment-solutions deal between the two companies

Online poker site gives blonde airhead a chance to recover losses

It has become almost impossible to escape the grinning and rather vacuous visage of American heiress Paris Hilton as the media voraciously follows her latest inconsequential antics in glitterati-land, but this month she hit the silly-ass headlines by losing her GBP 100 000 and some change Bentley car in a poker game at a land establishment.

Whilst many shook their heads that such an airhead should be allowed to roam loose, the folks at Party Poker saw an opportunity in Paris' s folly and have come up with an offer to replace the expensive wheels...if she can beat PartyPoker host Mike Sexton in a heads up No-Limit Hold 'Em game.

This astute marketing and publicity offer is open to Hilton for thirty days, and will take place online at Party Poker, no doubt amidst a high profile media blitz that will appeal to both Party Poker and Hilton, who is a notorious publicity hound. In fact, if Hilton prefers to play the challenge on land, Party will agree to that too.

"Paris has said she is mad about poker and that she always wins in Vegas. We're offering her the chance to get lucky and she doesn't even need to leave her house," stated Warren Lush, the spokesman for PartyPoker. "We're aware that her parents have banned her from gambling at their casino. This online challenge solves all her problems...she can cover her losses without stepping foot in there."

As we went to press, Hilton had not responded to the challenge.

Keep your eyes on those credit cards

Swedish police in Skaraborg, Sweden were closing in on a credit card skimmer this week following reports of losses on Internet poker sites that the real card holders had never visited.

Nine local residents reported that their bank accounts had been hit by withdrawals, apparently through large payments to Internet poker sites that the card holders claimed they had never visited. The complainants told the police that according to their bank statements, each lost an average of 10 000 kronor in the scam.

The police investigators quickly identified a common thread, because all nine complainants had earlier shopped in the same (non-gambling) venue.... and paid with the abused credit cards.

The indications are that a cashier at the shop either wrote down or otherwise recorded the critical information on the credit cards, and then either sold on the information or used the details to gamble in online poker rooms. The fraudster is thought to have registered with false names and addresses and then supplied the details from the cards.

The nine people who were prejudiced in the scam have been reimbursed by the poker rooms concerned, and an arrest is thought to be imminent, according to a police spokesman.

"It seems that the banks aren't putting any pressure on these poker sites to begin checking that the card number matches the name - maybe that's a bit slack," said police Inspector Christer Jönsson in a remarkable understatement.

The case again highlights the need for care with credit cards...and a definite requirement for online poker room operators to tighten up on security checks. The police report did not identify the poker sites concerned.

New Vegas advertising will back airline colours

Readers will recall an earlier InfoPowa report in which the Bodog group's plan to use a private airline to push its branding was in progress.

The marketers' dreams have now become reality, and branded flights into Las Vegas's McCarran Airport are now happening regularly.

This week, the company added to the impact by completing plans to support the flying brand with some Las Vegas billboard advertising. To further remind gamblers offline of their online opportunities a billboard bearing a photograph of a branded Bodog plane will go up next month on East Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas.

Earlier this year, Bodog marketers inked a deal with InterAir Media, a broker specialising in the airline industry, to sponsor branded airplanes flying from McCarran International Airport.

The aircraft belong to Allegiant Air, a low-fare carrier based in Las Vegas that offers service to 32 American cities. The first branded aircraft went into service last week, and five others are scheduled to join it within days.

The six planes are being painted with the bold colours and Web address for Bodog.com, which offers online sports betting, poker and casino games.

The deal is effective for three months and cost the company an estimated $500 000. Included is in-flight announcements about Bodog.com and brochures about the Web site available in seat pockets.

One of the innovative ideas being deployed involves the tray tables on the aircraft - these have been decorated so as to appear to be a blackjack table bearing the Bodog brand - getting the passengers in the mood for that Vegas action.

Another UK big name newspaper adds gaming entertainment

The major UK newspaper The Guardian has added skill games to its website Guardian.co.uk this week, selecting GameAccount as the provider.

Guardian Unlimited users will have access to ten classic real-money multiplayer games and tournaments through GameAccount’s network, joining players from over 130 countries worldwide.

Online skill games are a significant growth area in terms of popularity and revenues and GameAccount’s established industry status offers a natural partnership opportunity, allowing players to register and play for fun or real money.

GameAccount will deliver classic multiplayer and ‘heads-up’ games such as Gin Rummy and Backgammon, as well as unique P2P variants of other games, including tournament Blackjack, Mah Jong, and a variety of popular Solitaire and card formats. The integrated network also supports bespoke tournaments where the multiplayer games lobby allows players to see opponents’ moves in real-time, and is supported by in-game and ‘messenger’ chat functionality.

“We are excited to be adding skill gaming to our online portfolio. P2P games offer our readers a competitive and engaging gaming alternative that enhances our existing games and betting offering,” said Annie Wilson, Online Partnerships Manager at The Guardian.

According to Kevin Dale, Chief Executive at GameAccount, the demand for online skill gaming by blue-chip consumer brands continues to increase. ”The Guardian deal is another milestone for GameAccount. I am absolutely confident that our partnership with The Guardian will prove to be a long and successful one, with customer choice and total satisfaction clearly the number one priority.”

GameAccount powers leading online partners such as Sportingbet, Paddypower.com, SkyBet, FHM.com and Wanadoo.

More consolidation as Ladbrokes lowers the boom on Playboy site

The trend toward industry consolidation has claimed another online gambling site, according to advisories sent out by Ladbrokes to affiliate marketing organisations last month.

In the advisory, Ladbrokes announced its decision to close the Playboy and sportsbook programs on the Tradedoubler affiliate program by 1st May 2006.

Affiliates (and presumably players in due course) will be transferred to Ladbrokes Sportsbook and Casino.

As far as is known at going to press, players have not yet been contacted on the development, but this is presumably being planned. InfoPowa could not get a response from Ladbrokes on the subject.

Another contract for FUNtech subsidiary

FUNTech's fantasy sports subsidiary Fanball was earning it's multi-million dollar acquisition price this week with the announcement of a significant deal with the British SkySports television group.

The agreement is for Fanball to provide British Sky Broadcasting with fantasy sports games on the Skysports site.

The new site is scheduled to be launched this spring before this summer's World Cup soccer and will be built by Fanball who will also host, operate and maintain the online fantasy sports website. The site will be accessible via links from the Sky website, and will be customised to the look and feel of skysports.com.

Skysports.com already attracts more than seven million unique users per month and has recently launched a dedicated World Cup site.

Fanball provides fantasy sports contests, content, strategy and insight, and has exclusive, white-label distribution agreements with leading organizations such as AOL and Nascar.com. The company also creates and provides league-hosting software, content, real-time sports statistics, and interactive games for the web and other convergent media platforms.

Fun Technologies CEO Lorne Abony said, 'This is a terrific step forward in our drive to extend our leading fantasy platform into the UK and Europe."

FUNTech is believed to have paid $12.5 million for Fanball in a series of recent acquisitions that included a $23 million deal to take over a major competitor, WorldWinner.com

Advertising code drafted with ASA help to be assessed for public reaction

The BBC reported this week that UK-based casinos and gambling websites could be allowed to advertise on television and radio under a relaxation of rules as part of the reformation process being overseen by the UK Gambling Commission.

Drafted by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Gambling Commission, the proposed new code will be submitted to the British public for opinion and input in the coming months.

The code will clarify a provision of the Gambling Act 2005 - to be introduced next year - allowing for advertising rules to be relaxed, although the UK government stresses that the new rules will be subject to "very tight controls".

Betting services, bingo halls, gaming machines and football pools will be covered by the new rules, as well as overseas companies operating online gambling sites.

The current rules on advertising gambling are about 40 years old and are seen by some industry observers as restrictive. In print adverts, casinos are limited to printing largely factual information about their premises. Television adverts for all betting, gaming and lotteries - except for the National Lottery - are banned.

The new code is expected to take effect by September 2007 when the Gambling Act 2005, which allows for more casinos to open, comes into effect.

Gambling Commission deputy chief executive Tom Kavanagh said the code was needed to co-ordinate advertising rules for all sectors of the gambling industry, and would mean that "both online gambling and casinos will have more freedom in what they can say", he added.

"The thinking behind it is really that the current restrictions are around 40 years old and do not make a lot of sense in the current regulatory environment," he said.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said casinos were currently "...extremely heavily restricted in terms of advertising. They will, in a limited way, be allowed to advertise more, but adverts will be subject to stringent rules about realism and social responsibility, and controls on when, where and what gambling adverts are allowed to do."

A key provision is that online betting sites based overseas would be banned from advertising in the UK "...unless they meet the same high regulatory high standards we have here," he said.

5 gruelling days of top class, big bet poker against the world's best concludes

With a prize pool of over $15 million and 606 ambitious poker players raring to go, this years World Poker Tour World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas was always going to be exciting, and last night (Monday) Joe Bartholdi finally beat Davidson Matthew in a thrilling heads up with massive bets at stake.

Finishing in the early hours of the morning after an exhausting fight over several days through a field that originally numbered 606 players, Bartholdi won $3 760 165 for first place and entered the WPT annals as one of the biggest money winners in WPT history. Davidson Matthew collected the second placing prize of $1 903 950 after a magnificent final performance where 25K chips were flying and blinds went up to 400K-800K with a 100K ante.

Starting the heads up at 12.33 am Bartholdi held $21.675 million worth of chips and Davidson $8.35 million. It was all over by 1.46 am.

The final table of six top players started the action at 7.37 pm with James Van Alstyne a favourite with a commanding stack of chips. Joe Bartholdi was around a million chips shorter, whilst Claus Nielsen and Davidson Matthew had nearly 6 million apiece and could have easily taken the lead with one big pot. Men "The Master" Nguyen and Roland De Wolfe came in short-stacked but with the ability to jump right back into things. With big blinds (60K-120K) and only 6 players at the table, the stage was truly set for exciting action.

When the eliminations started at 8.17 pm Men "The Master" Nguyen was the first of the champs to head home, taking a 6th position prize purse of $292 915.

At 9.26 pm it was James Van Alstyne's time to depart in 5th place with $439 375 after a skillful performance. He was followed at 10.46 pm by Claus Nielsen at number four with $659 120 and at 12.02 am by Roland de Wolfe in the number 3 slot with $1 025 205 after a fine tournament performance - not bad for a freeroll.

This tournament marked the closest yet that a woman has come to making the Final Table of the WPT World Championship. Vanessa Russo of Miami, FL, finished "on the bubble" - seventh - but took home a consoling $263 625.

New Bingohall survey shows that online players are younger and still economically active

Recent surveys by one of the largest bingo sites on the Internet, Bingohall.com, have found that offline and online demographics of bingo players do not always match up. The study, which was completed by a random sampling of thousands of real money online bingo players at the site, has concluded that offline and online bingo players are definitely different.

Bingohall's vice president of marketing, Scott Logan says that typically, an offline or land bingo hall will feature table after table of mature and mainly retired ladies playing. "However, we've found this just isn't the case when it comes to online players."

Logan says that while the majority of his players are still women, the age demographic drops significantly, to around 35 years old. In line with this, over 50 percent of the players are still economically active and working full or part-time.

"We definitely see an influx of players logging on at the end of the working day in an attempt to relax and enjoy the evening with their online bingo friends", said Logan.

Bingohall.com offers a wide range of fun games such as bingo, slots, video poker and keno and awards over $8 million every month in prizes.

Another language-specific site for online casino

Money-Casino.com continues to expand its multilingual content with the launch this week of its Swedish version PengarKasino.com.

The new operation provides a fully localised gambling experience for the Swedish gambling enthusiast with an entire wagering process translated into Swedish: the website, sign up form, cashier, software interface, and casino games.

Joining Money's Spanish language Casino Dinero, the new venture is part of a strategy to reach out to other valued international markets. Sweden rates among Europe's top three fastest growing online gambling markets, and by adding national languages Money significantly enhances its appeal in the eyes of prospective gamblers, with increasing traffic and conversion rates.

Affiliates on the Money program will also benefit from a new affiliate software currently being launched, offering existing affiliate members and prospective partners improved tracking and marketing features.

The Money-Casino platform features no-download instant play Flash casino software with over 45 Flash games including table games, video poker, slots, and progressive jackpot games. The website is available in English, Spanish, Swedish and Hebrew and accepts Euro, US dollar and sterling.

Variety the spice at popular online poker venue

Riverbelle Poker Room in the BelleRock group moved a significant step further towards the one-stop integrated site this week by adding 19 different casino games to its offerings.

Distinguishing itself from the general run of competition, the Gibraltar-based site now offers its players the capability to play poker and any one of 19 different casino games within the same software.

With one download, players are now able to use one account to play the full variety of online poker and casino games, taking the gaming experience on River Belle to a whole new level of convenience.

With the new arrangement players looking to compete on the challenging poker tables of River Belle will be able to use their poker winnings on casino games and vice versa. As an added benefit the casino games available to River Belle poker players are Flash games, which do not add to the size of the software download and have no adverse effects on the player's connection or system performance.

The list of Flash games now available at River Belle Online Poker includes 4 styles of blackjack and 6 of video poker, 2 types of Roulette and a wide range of the most popular Microgaming card games and slots.

"At River Belle we don't just listen to our customers, we also try to anticipate their demands and be the first to market with the features that become industry standards," said Tim Johnson, Chairman of Carmen Media Group, owners of Belle Rock Entertainment.

"This extended variety of games is a huge step toward creating a one-stop gaming experience that makes a world of difference for our players."

Chinese tech company software behind a popular ancient game

Easybets players can now gamble on the ancient game of baccarat through the 21st century medium of the Internet.

The company has launched a new product branded Live Baccarat which will have special appeal for Asian gamblers, in conjunction with Entertasia Technology .

The six-month-old Chinese software company is already working with the Victor Chandler group and has now won a partnership from the BetOnSports subsidiary.

Entertasia Technology CEO Jason Chan hopes their Chinese background will give them the edge in the Asian market: "If you eat Chinese food, you would eat with chopsticks and not fork & knife. We designed Live Baccarat software based on the Asian mindset, understanding Asian gambling behaviour is one of the most important elements," he said.

"Several European online gambling companies have their eyes on on Asia, and in order to lead to guaranteed success they know they need local product that meets local players’ demand."

Easybets CEO Tim Lambe said there was good synergy between Easybets and Enterasia, Live Baccarat was a good product and this boded well for advancing his companys business in Asia.

Overwhelming opposition to banning Internet gambling

The recent poll conducted for OnlineGamblingMythsAndFacts.com (see previous InfoPowa reports) has now been completed, revealing what Americans really think about online gambling and the federal government’s most recent efforts to ban it.

The significant size of the poll of over 30 000 likely voters was conducted throughout March 2006 and overwhelmingly establishes that Americans do not want the federal government enacting laws that restrict a recreational activity such as online gambling.

Almost 80 percent of Americans are opposed to the pending bills in Congress to ban online gambling.

The poll also reveals that 78 percent do not think it is appropriate for the federal government to restrict what adults do on the Internet in the privacy of their own homes. Conducted by Zogby International, the margin of error in the poll is +/- 0.6 percentage points.

It's not just sinister Easter European networks invading your computers....

Without you realising it, attackers are secretly trying to penetrate your PC to tap small bits of computing power to do evil things, USA Today reports this week in an interesting article on the dangers of youthful hackers and "bot commanders".

And they've already compromised some 47 million PC's sitting in homes and at the office.

Bot networks have become so ubiquitous that they've also given rise to a new breed of low-level bot masters, and the article examines the cases of three teenagers arrested for this criminal activity. Using *armies* of hacked computers (or "bots") in the thousands which they remote control and hire out to anyone with the necessary cash and dubious purpose, these kids with more greed than morals can make good money. The downside is an increasingly severe attitude by the Courts, and the growing risk of being caught.

Budding cyberthieves use basic programs and generally stick to quick-cash schemes. Brazen and inexperienced, they can inadvertently cause chaos: One teenaged terror is facing prosecution in Morocco on charges of releasing the Zotob worm that crippled systems in banks and media companies around the world; another awaits a May 15 trial for allegedly spreading bots that disrupted operations at Seattle's Northwest Hospital.

More elite bot herders, who partner with crime groups to supply computer power for data theft and other cyberfraud, have proved to be highly elusive. But the neophytes tend to be sloppy about hiding their tracks, and investigations leading to the arrests of some of these youths have given authorities their most detailed look yet at how bots enable cybercrime.

Top researchers at Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group often use a 7 percent infection rate as a point of reference. That means as many as 47 million of the 681 million PCs connected to the Internet worldwide may be under the control of one bot network or another.

And it's on the increase. Security giant McAfee detected 28 000 distinct bot networks active last year, more than triple the amount in 2004. And a February survey of 123 tech executives, conducted by security firm nCircle, pegged annual losses to U.S. businesses because of computer-related crimes at $197 billion.

Law enforcement officials say the ground floor is populated by perhaps hundreds of bot herders, most of them young men. Mostly, they assemble networks of compromised PCs to make quick cash by spreading adware — those pop-up advertisements for banking, dating, porn and gambling websites that clutter the Internet. They get paid for installing adware on each PC they infect.

"The low-level guys ... can inflict a lot of collateral damage," says Steve Martinez, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division.

Research into recent arrests has uncovered interesting attitudes. A prominent bot deployer, since prosecuted discovered rxbot, a potent but quite common computer worm, whilst working in an Internet cafe. Easy to customise, novices often start by tweaking worms and trading bots. "I see high school kids doing it all the time," reports one security specialist. "They trade bot nets like candy."

Eventually the youth infected thousands of PCs and started a business, working through a private Internet chat area. From June to September 2004, he made about $3,000 on more than 30 sales of up to 10,000 bots at a time, according to court records.

By late 2004, he started a new venture, signing up with two Internet marketing companies, LoudCash of Bellevue, Wash., and GammaCash Entertainment of Montreal, to distribute ads on commission.

But instead behaving responsibly by setting up a website and asking visitors for permission to install ads, he used his bots to install adware on vulnerable Internet-connected PCs, court records show. Typically, payment for each piece of adware installed ranges from 20 cents to 70 cents.

Working from home, he hired an assistant, and taught him how to spread PC infections and manage adware installations.Cheques ranging as high as $7 996 began rolling in from the two marketing firms. In six months, the two teenagers pulled in nearly $60,000.

The attitude shown in the court record is staggering. Communicating with his helper, he said: "It's immoral, but the money makes it right."

In early 2005 three other youthful conspirators were hitting their stride running a similar operation. From his parents' home an 18-year-old community college student, conspired with two minors in other states to spread bots and install adware, earning $100,000 from July 2004 to July 2005, until the FBI tracked the group down according to a federal indictment. During their hi-tech fling a hospital was almost disabled when its computers were infected and the network broke down.

In another case, an 18-year-old Russian-born Moroccan resident was caught by a university security specialist and the FBI in an international collaborative operation. One of many copycat hackers tweaking the ubiquitous Mytob e-mail worm, he created a very distinctive version designed to lower the security settings on infected PCs, install adware and report back for more instructions.

This hacker was particularly dangerous, because he also managed to convert a security patch test tool into a virulent, self-propagating worm he named Zotob. Much like Mytob, Zotob prepared the infected PC to receive adware. But Zotob did one better: It could sweep across the Internet, infecting PCs with no user action required.

Soon Zotob variants began snaking into older servers at the Canadian bank CIBC, and at ABC News, The New York Times and CNN. The servers began rebooting repeatedly, disrupting business and drawing serious attention to the new worm.

Within two weeks, Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement Team, a group of 65 investigators, paralegals and lawyers, identified the youthful perpetrator and pinpointed his base of operations, together with a suspected accomplice. The latter had been paying the hacker with stolen credit card numbers to create the Mytob variants and Zotob.

The USA Today story says that these examples represent mere flickers in the Internet underworld. More elite hackers collaborating with organised crime groups take pains to cover their tracks - and rarely get caught.

The article reminds Internet users once again of the vital importance of maintaining up to date security measures on their PCs at all times.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

30 percent growth in first quarter

Poker Pages Industry Index reports that the popularity of the game of poker continues to rise, with a 30 percent growth in the first quarter 2006 over a similar period last year.

The PPII for the first quarter of 2006 is currently at 130, indicating a growth of 30 percent over the same period last year - with total buy-in dollars just over $98 million. Growth over the last 12 months remains very strong, with the buy-in Index for the period at 155, pointing to a growth of 55 percent over the previous 12-month period.

Commenting on the latest figures, PPII founder Mark Napolitano, said: "Industry growth is also being helped out by a rising average buy-in per entry. The Average Buy-in per Entry Index for the quarter is 113, showing a growth of 13 percent versus the same quarter last year, with an average buy-in of $1 207 per entry. This also represents a trend with four consecutive months over $1,000."

March buy-in numbers showed a slowdown in growth at $33.9 million as a reslt of a 29 percent decrease in the number of players competing in the Party Poker.com Million Main Event and a slow month for the WSOP circuit, but April is likely to be a good month with the introduction of a new World Poker Tour Event at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, as well as their $25,000 championship event later in the month at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

"Also, watch out for the newly formed International Poker Association's Tour to make a quick impact with its inaugural event in May," says Napolitano, who will be closely monitoring the stats for April, May and June, leading up to the World Series of Poker, to help determine the overall pace for 2006.

However, lest we become too complacent, PartyGaming's securities filings cite a study indicating that the growth of online poker revenue will slow sharply. While revenue grew at an annual rate of 158 percent from 2000 to 2005, the study projects annual increases of only about 18 percent from 2005 to 2010.

An anxious time for this $736 000 winner

Three big betting video poker Royal Straight Flushes in as many weeks early this year would be taken by many as the sign of a truly fortunate gambler, but for one online player it was the start of months of anxiety and stress as the online casino procrastinated over meeting that most important of all casino obligations - paying the player.

Those three Royal Straight Flushes netted the player $736,407.00, but weeks later he had received only $26 000 despite having requested payment in full on at least two occasions. And shortage of cash wasn't the problem - this is a well established and successful online casino belonging to a major, London-listed online gambling group.

The player was subjected to no less than 3 seperate and distinct "investigations" by Starluck Casino, an operation in the multi-billion dollar Party Gaming group. Then the casino stalled by claiming that it had not received the player's documents, despite the fact that those documents were sent thrice without hassles.

The breakthrough came when the player decided to contact an experienced mediator on the message boards, who took the case on some weeks later. He found the casino extraordinarily reticent about the whole affair, surely passing up a grand opportunity to generate some major PR on the event.

Pointing out the possibilities, the mediator, himself a highly experienced gambler, said: "I've never heard of anything even close to it happening before in my eight years of internet gaming."

The lucky gambler started with a wire transfer deposit of $5 000.00 and specifically decided to eschew any bonuses in order to avoid giving the casino any excuses for delays and disputes if he won. After the first Royal was hit he had an account balance of a quarter of a million dollars which from that point provided him with the financial power to continue at the $500 a hand level, hitting two more Royals.

Months after the event the player was finally paid in full, but it left a bitter taste for the many gamblers who had been following the posts detailing progress at leading message boards....and Starluck had squandered a brilliant opportunity to make a positive name for itself.

Online gambling is a strange world, sometimes.

Ayre responds to BlueMoon legal action for alleged copy-catting

Bodog founder and boss-man Calvin Ayre has been quick to respond to the news that doccie maker BlueMoon Entertainment has launched litigation accusing the gambling group of copy-catting it's concept for a poker tournament reality show (see earlier InfoPowa reports)

According to Gambling911, Ayre says the case has been thrown out but Bodog.com is not through fighting it just yet.

"We are actually not through with them (BlueMoon) yet," Ayre insisted last Saturday afternoon. "I am going to make an example of these people to show what happens when you frivolously sue me."

Ayre says that once an individual or company gets to be a certain size, "people start suing you".

He explained that Bodog.com asked BlueMoon to submit a proposal for a television reality show just over a year ago, requesting the parameters involve poker and have Calvin Ayre appear in it.

"Those are the only two similarities," Ayre insists. "The show is about my life. How the hell can they tell me what's going on in my life?"

Ayre also commented that a woman from BlueMoon suggests she spoke with Calvin on two separate occasions during parties.

"I don't remember this. She is one of many people I meet at parties and don't remember them later on I am sure."

The first episode of Bodog's show, which is hosted by Ayre himself is scheduled to appear on Fox Sports TV this week. Attempts by BlueMoon to stop the show airing failed when a judge turned down an application for an injunction suspending the screening.

"Wild Card Poker" is a six-episode reality series about a $500 000 poker tournament, intercut with Costa Rican lifestyle elements and the activities of Bodog's billionaire founder and top man, Calvin Ayre.

Two Party pioneers in the Top Ten

There was an interesting article in the UK newspaper The Independent this week that positioned two of Party Gaming's founding team on the Top Ten Rich List for Asia.

In its introduction, the report says that at the age of 25, Anurag Dikshit (pronounced Dixit) was just another computer engineer pursuing the fortunes of the dotcom bubble. Less than a decade later, the gambling software he created for online casino games has made him one of the world's youngest billionaires.

The 34-year-old co-founder of PartyGaming, which includes the world's most popular online poker site, has entered the Asian Rich List for the first time, ranked third, with a fortune of GBP 1.7 billion.

Dikshit's entrepreneurial drive is representative of many of the success stories featured on the new list. He went into business with the Californian Ruth Parasol in 1998, after studying at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, and developing software for American computer companies. Ms Parasol had sold her online pornography interests, worth millions, and wanted to invest in online gambling, which she predicted would be the next internet growth area. She considered Dikshit's skills crucial to the business, so allocated him shares in PartyGaming.

The company joined the London Stock Exchange last year in the biggest flotation of a British company in five years. According to the company, at any given time 70,000 people are gambling on its web-based system. And Dikshit owns a 32 percent stake.

Philip Beresford, who has compiled the Asian Rich List for the past decade, and is also author of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: "Overwhelmingly, this is a list of self-made people, with 290 people on the list making their own fortunes rather inheriting wealth."

The 58-year-old steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in Kensington, London remains at the top of the list with a fortune of GBP 14.8 billion. The second entry is Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, with a joint wealth of GBP 3.6 billion from their global finance, telecommunications, film and oil businesses.

In seventh position on the list is Vikrant Bhargava, marketing director of PartyGaming, worth GBP 592 million.

Poker Stars rumours growing

The venerable Sunday Times re-ignited speculation in London this week that the second largest online poker site in the world, PokerStars.com is moving toward a public listing (see previous InfoPowa reports)

The highly respected newspaper surmised that the company is preparing to float on the London stock market before the end of this year with a value likely to exceed GBP 1.1 billion.

The Scheinberg family, which owns the major shareholding in Pokerstars has been exploring an outright sale in recent months, and is reported to have been in talks with a number of investment banks, including HSBC and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein regarding advice on either a sale or a listing.

While no banks have yet been mandated, insiders have apparently informed the Times that the company was gearing up for a listing having apparently moved away from its initial brief on selling through NM Rothschild.

Pokerstars, like other recently listed online gambling groups Empire Online Ltd., 888 Holdings and Playtech, is controlled by Israelis. The company’s controlling shareholders are Isai Scheinberg, who lives in Canada and a relatively unknown Tel Aviv based businessman, Pinchas Shapira, who are believed to jointly control a 75 percent stake in the company. The remaining shares in the seven year old company are believed to be owned by employees.

The company, which is licensed on the Isle of Man recently announced the sign-up of its 5 millionth account, doubling the number of players on board a year back.

Party Gaming and Bet On Sports come through for charity

Kudos to Party Gaming and Bet On Sports, which have boosted the charity side of the upcoming Global Interactive Gaming and Expo Summit with generous donations of $25 000 and $10 000 respectively.

River City Group, the organisers for GIGSE which takes place in Montreal in just under a month's time have again included a fund-raising element to benefit problem gambling organisation Gordon House Association, a U.K.-based provider of residential support to gamblers recovering from addiction.

It's not too late for other online gambling companies to show a little heart and make contributions to a good cause. I-gaming companies have thus far come forth with over $50,000 in donations for the third annual charity event at GIGSE to be held between May 16-18.

Bright ideas from Dynasty Gaming

The growing legions of Mahjong fans will have an ultimate competition to look forward to this year - a Mahjong World Cup.

The company specialising in licensing software for this ancient game with a massive modern following, Dynasty Gaming Inc., says that it is to jointly create and sponsor the first World Cup of Mahjong tournament during December 2006.

Dynasty's partner for this first-ever tournament will be the Ho Group, the largest operator of casinos in Macau, off the coast of China, where the event will be held.

Dynasty is associated with Mahjong Mania, which was established in 2003 by Intertops co-founder Ian Sherrington. Ian is a member of the management team and has been a Mahjong aficionado since childhood, when he first played the game at school. Although he never played for money as a youngster, as an adult he wagered the game would be a big online winner. A little research uncovered an unfilled need for real-money, multi-player Mahjong on the Net. Much creative contemplation later sparked the development of the first edition of Speed Mahjong.

Mahjong Mania is a wholly owned subsidiary of Events International Holding Corporation, a company whose shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture market under the symbol "EIH". . The company’s software development team is located in Montreal, Canada while the sales and marketing initiatives are undertaken by Mahjong Systems Limited, a Turks and Caicos registered company.

Other executives involved in managing the rapidly growing stable of mahjong operators include CEO and chairman Albert Barbusci, Adriaan Brink who is president of the company and Anthony Barbusci who is in charge of finance and corporate affairs.

Over half a million dollars invested in 19 players for top tourney

Poker Room.com has assembled, at a total cost of well over half a million dollars, a top 19 player team to compete in the upcoming World Poker Tour World Championships.

The championship starts today (April 18) at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and runs through to April 24.

Poker Room's team spots are worth $27,900 each, a value that includes travel and accommodation expenses and the $25,000 tournament buy-in. The team has been selected from a group of more than 100 poker players who represent PokerRoom.com in some of the most prestigious poker tournaments in the world. Members battle for available spots at major land-based events through online qualifying tournaments.

Overall, Team PokerRoom.com members comprise a diverse group of players, ranging from a sports apparel sales representative from Texas to California-based investment banking analyst, Jim Davenport, who landed an exclusive PokerRoom.com endorsement deal in early March, 2006.

Davenport received the $250,000 endorsement package, including travel expenses and buy-ins for at least 12 major poker tournaments, by winning the inaugural PokerRoom.com "Become a Poker Pro" event.

"Team PokerRoom is as much about the camaraderie among the players and enthusiasm for the game as it is about the competition and earning a seat to play in the biggest tournaments like the WPT World Championship," said Glenn Cademartori, spokesperson for PokerRoom.com.

"It provides a forum for all types of players to learn from one another as they develop their individual skills needed to enjoy, compete and succeed in the game of poker."

Revenues from casino games jump sevenfold - and look out for online backgammon soon

Anticipation that Party Gaming's run of success would continue (see previous InfoPowa reports) was confirmed this week with another stellar set of results from the Internet's largest and most successful gambling group.

The Gibraltar-based company revealed that first-quarter sales climbed 54 percent as advertisements helped the company sign up more customers.

Revenue rose to $342.6 million from $222.6 million a year earlier, Party Gaming said in a Regulatory News Service statement. The number of new poker players rose 23 percent, and 39 percent of them were located outside the U.S., where Internet gambling's legal status is uncertain.

Marketing campaigns, particularly in Europe, helped to boost the number of poker players, PartyGaming said. The company also started running its first foreign-language Web sites in the quarter and in addition to English now offers PartyPoker in six languages including French and German. The introduction of backgammon is "imminent," according to the statement.

"The first quarter has seen continued strong growth in poker on the back of a record number of poker sign-ups,'' Finance Director Martin Weigold said in the statement.

Weigold revealed that PartyGaming will launch online backgammon within four to six weeks and this is expected to attract new customers to other PartyGaming sites such as online poker.

"The launch of backgammon... is imminent and should provide an additional revenue stream for the group as well as broaden the appeal of our Party-branded platform," said Weigold.

Another game will be launched in the second half but few details were available. "This is going to be a more casino style game, with customers playing against the house rather than each other," he said.

Weingold revealed that active player days rose 28percent to 14 milion although the yield per active player fell slightly to $18.5.

Sales from casino games jumped almost sevenfold to $83.1 million, or about a quarter of total revenue, swelled by the introduction of blackjack in October and the PartyCasino Web site earlier this year.

The number of new poker players climbed to 263 254 from 214 108 a year earlier. The number of new customers for casino games fell 23 percent to 11 024 from 14 304. Average daily revenue (excluding skins) for PartyPoker.com was posted at $2 869 414, up from $2 261 492 in 2005.

Investors will be pleased at the impact of the results. The stock rose 6.75 pence, or 4.7 percent, to 151.75 pence in London. Investors originally paid 116 pence each for the shares when PartyGaming, which has a market value of about 6 billion pounds ($10.6 billion), first sold shares to the public in June 2005.

Big paypackets in the Gibraltar boardroom

Business Telegraph has been doing some digging into the pay deals of online poker executives working for industry leader Party Gaming, it appears. In an article published this week the publication says that making a career out of poker can pay...and goes on to show why.

Quoting rewards paid to the PartyGaming board last year, BT says that the Gibraltar gambling group's 10 directors shared a $36 million (GBP 20 million) salaries jackpot.

Most royally flush was Richard Segal (42) who this week stepped down as chief executive after earning $20.2 million last year, of which only $705 920 was basic pay. Finance director Martin Weigold (40) was also dealt a winning hand, with total pay of $8.59 million.

Chairman Michael Jackson (56) came up trumps with $3.28 million, while Brian Larcombe, the non-executive director who heads the remuneration committee, pocketed $2.02 million.

The pay bonanza - revealed in the gaming group's first annual report since its GBP 4.64 billion float last June - is one of the largest for a FTSE-100 board.

Much of it is explained by nil-cost option packages and signing-on fees granted to directors at the 116 pence-a-share float. These were paid for by the group's four existing owners, not the new shareholders who bought stock at the float.

Segal, who quit in February after deciding he did not want to relocate to the group's Gibraltar headquarters, can continue to exercise some of his remaining options after his departure. At the current share price of 150p, he could make more than GBP 30 million for less than two years' work.

His replacement, Mitch Garber (41) who took the hot seat this week, has been enticed with a $1 million salary, a $6 million signing-on package and free options currently worth more than GBP 10 million.

Mr Garber, former boss of online payment group FireOne, also has nil-cost options over 20 million more shares, exercisable in tranches up to 2016, depending on PartyGaming's performance.

Remuneration at PartyGaming dwarfed that of smaller rival 888 Holdings, where total board pay was $3.18 million. To give a sense of perspective, average daily revenue (excluding skins) for PartyPoker.com alone was posted in its recent accounts at $2 869 414, up from $2 261 492 in 2005.

New Cameo from Playtech

Cameo Casino.com has debuted, powered by an 80 + gambling suite from Playtech. Aesthetically, the site is rather bland and comes in tones of brown and cream. It does, however offer all the usual facilities such as loyalty programs, fully contactable 24/7 Support and the biggest range of financial options we've seen for some time - we counted more than 12 different ways they can take your money in Euros, Sterling or Dollars, working through IFUND INTERPAY! The site has an Antiguan license and is offering up to $500 in signup money - but watch out for the T&Cs, which can be tricky on some of these Playtech operations. We have not yet established which ownership group this casino belongs to.

Has the PurePoker mess finally ended?

After months of uncommunicative procrastination, and several attempts to short-change players on what they were owed the saga of PurePoker.com may at last be coming to an end.

PurePoker.com, a Futurebet-powered licensee abruptly closed without a by-your-leave, allegedly because the original owner had done a bunk. Players were left pretty much in the dark for weeks as behind-the-scenes negotiations between another licensee and Futurbet took place. Eventually a rather hard-ass businessman known only as *Pino* started telephoning players and offering them "settlements" for considerably less than they were owed. Not surprisingly, many turned this not-so-generous offer down and the issue escalated to the watchdog forums and continued to drag on.

This week InfoPowa and others received assurances from *Pino* that in private discussions all owed players had accepted unspecified payments subject to 4 conditions, which were not disclosed. This presumably means that Pino now operates PurePoker and that he has on board a happy and contented roll of players despite the unseemly time this mess has taken to sort out, and the regrettable attempts that were made to knock player demands southward.

Pino says that any player who has not been recompensed is welcome to email him at Pino@Purepoker.com. The following recent post is the only public statement to be issued:

"Notice to PurePoker.com customers.Pino has stepped in to help out all Purepoker customers. If you have an outstanding balance and have not yet been contacted send an email to Pino@purepoker.com. All players that had signed up and deposited funds prior to February 7th, 2006 may withdrawal at anytime. Players that signed up between February 7th and 17th will be paid out over the next 4 months with few conditions. Players that signed up after February 17th can also withdraw anytime.This agreement was only possible with help and co-operation of Futurebet Gaming Systems (the software provider). Futurebet has made a huge effort to get his issue resolved to everyones satisfaction."

Without knowing what the *few conditions* are pertaining to the withdrawals (which presumably cover all monies in player accounts) it is difficult to assess the fairness of this offer, and the 4months of instalments will not appeal to everyone.

If Futurebet and Pino have met all the PurePoker obligations to the legitimately owed players (and time will soon enough tell if this is true) then the matter is clearly resolved, although the delays and attempts to bargain players down from what was owed to them will inevitably have damaged the PurePoker brand, and by association that of Futurebet too in our view.

That is purely the fault of management in not bringing this matter to a fair conclusion in a reasonable amount of time and with efficient and open communication.

Instead, we had players subjected to the stress of ignored emails, telephoned "take it or leave it" offers and attempts to reduce monies owed, all over many weeks without direct communication. That does little for trust, and trust is very important from a player perspective.

If the new ownership of PurePoker is smart, it will look after the remaining players and operate in an efficient and honest manner with timely payouts, solid communications and respect for the players.

If not....we wouldn't bet on PurePoker's chances of surviving too much longer.

Better late than never on five figure sum

A five-figure wrangle over bonuses at 25 Sportingbet brands was resolved at corporate level by the publicly listed British betting group this week after months of wrangling at sportsbook level and botched communications.

The player had accounts with around 25 of Sportingbet's diverse sportsbook brands, most of them for around 10 months. "At first I didn't even realise the different sites were related," he said in enlisting the assistance of a mediator from InfoPowa. "I was just signing up with a bunch of places that had good offers. Eventually I came to understand they were all related to SportingBet in some way, where it was okay to have an account at each book.

"I've been playing there for much of that time. I played their casino games, mostly war and blackjack, generally at $25 a hand. As you would expect, I had large swings. Sometimes I would lose a thousand, sometimes I would win a thousand. Overall, I probably wagered close to a million dollars there over the course of those 10 months or so."

Suddenly, the player found his accounts locked for *bonus abuse* despite playing to the rules, and a unilateral decision was handed to him: the sites would return only the difference between his lifetime deposits and lifetime withdrawals. Essentially this meant that the sites were retroactively voiding all of his bonuses and wagers for the entire year.

"I had just deposited about $40,000 between 15 of these brands and they were all fresh deposits," the player alleges. "I actually had not wagered even a penny on those deposits at the time my accounts were closed. They returned $14,000 and according to my records that leaves them still owing me over $24,000."

There followed a long war of attrition, as the determined player who was convinced he had been stiffed, contacted licensing jurisdictions, e-cash processors and watchdogs. At one stage a casino told Neteller that the player had opened multiple accounts, but providing this is not at one brand, it is not contrary to the T&Cs.

After spending some months on the dispute and with Sportingbet's security refusing to further comment on the case, the player eventually enlisted the help of a mediator, who made contact and argued the case at Sportingbet group level with a senior manager.

Happily, the more experienced executive at this level realised that an injustice had been done and this week the player was paid out all monies owed.

In finalising the issue, Sportingbet's Dave Hobday commented: "SportingBet Plc operates over 30 gaming websites across the world and has over 2.7 million registered customers. We strive to deliver exceptional service to these customers and to be honest and fair in our resolution of customer complaints. We operate and fully comply with our "Customer Charter" which is displayed in full at www.sportingbetplc.com under the "Responsible Gaming" section."

For the player it was a red letter day: "Thanks so much for your help! Trying to get this money back was just an unbelievably trying experience. The months of waiting and waiting on something to happen and total non-communication really wore on me, and this was not a small amount of money for me at all. It's an unbelievable feeling to have it back. Checking my email and seeing that... it was just incredible!"

But how long will it last?

World Poker Exchange.com came up with an innovative strategy to pack the players in last month with a rake free business model that looks sure to serve its purpose of attracting new players to sample the site.

The rake on poker games is still collected, but refunded to players once a week, the intention being that the cross-marketing potential of the offer will draw people to place bets on WPEX's other facilities. The rake free promo will last until at least the end of the year, according to sources.

The strategy is based on the principle of cross-marketing; attracting poker room players who generally have a penchant for sports gambling too and then encouraging cross-over gambling on the casino and sportsbook facilities.

Dublin player takes the Irish Open Poker title

With the Euro 350 000 winner's cheque in his pocket, Dubliner Vincent Melinn was on top of the world this week after being crowned the current Irish Open Poker champion.

Live on Sky Sports television, Melinn (54) beat the 6-player final table at the Royal Dublin Society. The champ is an accountant who had only played one live tournament before, and he fought his way through to the final table against a field of 350 players, including a number of top pros, at the sold out event which was sponsored by Paddy Power Poker (see previous InfoPowa reports).

The final table consisted of Melinn, Ian Woodley, Brendan Ruane of Ireland, Jon Wong from the UK and Conor Smyth and Paul Daly - both Irish players.

For Melinn it was the title more than the money: "It's not about the money for me, it's about the title. I've only ever played one tournament before and went out in that in my first hand, but I knew from the early stages of this game I had a chance and I'm really so proud to have my name on the trophy."

Englishman Ian Woodley, who hails from South London took home the second place prize of Euro 182 000.

With a Euro 1 million guaranteed prize pool, this 25th annual Irish Open poker tournament took place over Easter Weekend at Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. Known as one of the richest events on the international poker circuit, the tournament boasted an additional Euro 50 000 in sponsorship money and a Euro 3 200 buy-in.

Kenna James will represent online poker room and captain its competitive team

SunPoker.com has signed up British poker ace Kenna James to be its public face and spokesman. Kenna's duries will include serving as captain of "Team SunPoker" at select poker tournaments around the world.

Unusually for this type of agreement, a donation to charity is built-in through which a portion of the poker pro's winnings will be matched by SunPoker and donated to charity.

"Kenna is the perfect choice to be our poker ambassador," says Adam Smirnis, poker room manager at SunPoker. "His knowledge and passion for the game, coupled with a personality that has made him a huge fan favorite, will enable Kenna to truly help SunPoker players and all fans of the game understand and play poker like a professional."

"It has always been my desire to find a way to give back to the game that has been so good to me," says James. "I was never one to look for and take advantage of the weaker 'fish' in the game, but rather I always looked to elevate my game by playing against the best. SunPoker's commitment to teaching the game, as well providing one of the best places on the Internet to learn, play and win, makes us an ideal team."

Celeb Poker Invitational raises $150 000

The LA Lakers Youth Foundation received a boost to its coffers this week following the Bodog sponsored Los Angeles Lakers 3rd Annual Casíno Night and Celebrity Poker Inv