Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

The Cytech mystery deepens

Probably one of the most interesting stories this week came from the respected RGT Online 'zene where veteran gambling writer Fred Faust presented a piece on the escalating competition in the turnkey casino business. Centered on recent moves by several Microgaming licencees to other suppliers, Fred's investigations unearthed new and interesting information regarding the activities of software broker Aquaonline and its Cytech and IMS software contacts.

To briefly recap, the casinos Geisha Lounge, King Solomans, Lucky Liner and Columbus departed the Microgaming fold for a mysterious "Cytech" software brokered by an outfit called Aquaonline. Aqua used to turn a substantial buck providing casino support for many Microgaming-powered operations so their relationship with the Big Four provider can be assumed to go back awhile.

KS, LL and Columbus claim they are part of the Empire of Gold group, and there are some puzzling and unanswered inconsistencies in the domain registrations which have all changed, and whispers of licencing problems too. However, we're not going to cloud this tale with those related issues right now.

The English Harbour group comprising English Harbour, Silver Dollar and Caribbean Gold also departed Microgaming and switched to Odds On software which is better known than Cytech and at least has a website.

Microgaming subsequently offered a $500 000 reward for information regarding any pirating of its acclaimed software, and that started tongues wagging in the wake of the casino changes.

Whilst English Harbour spokesmen were open in their reasons for leaving Microgaming, which centered on pricing and what they perceived as an unsatisfactory level of client service, The Empire folks were more non-committal, perhaps feeling that they were between a rock and a hard place.

However, Fred persevered and finally connected with an Aquaonline official who proved to be a mine of information. Raj Ramanandi is the top gaming and customer relations manager at Aquaonline and revealed that his company has become the exclusive worldwide distributor of gaming software developed by a Montreal-based outfit called IMS, International Merchant Services.

He also cleared up a mystery that has been bugging online observers for months - IMS software is used, he said by the notorious Golden Palace, which departed the Microgaming stable with its thirty-some casinos in October, 2000.

It looks as if there may be more competition from Aqua in the future too. Ramanandi says that Aqua will still do support and back office software business with gaming sites that run on software from other developers, “But we’ll be the only guys selling IMS software. The decision to sell gambling software, and thereby compete with Microgaming and every other software developer, reflects a major change in direction for Aqua. Previously, Aqua’s gaming business consisted mainly of providing support services for casinos that used Microgaming’s software. Now, the company will offer support services to casinos that use its IMS -- or Microgaming’s or anyone else’s -- gaming software - and additionally broker the IMS (and presumably Cytech?) software itself.

Adding gambling software to its other services gives the company more flexibility, Ramanandi says. “Now with the new software it’s just an all-around package,” he said. “...we’re in a strong position to actually tailor the software towards what we feel is best for the client and the player.”

Despite what Ramanandi says, Aquaonline seems to have a somewhat ambivalent attitude toward Got2bet. In a long article on its Web site, Aqua says it “has generally kept quiet about its involvement in the gambling industry.” An executive says Aqua “did not want to be recognized only as an Got2bet service provider.” But with its brand established, Aqua says, it will more aggressively pursue the Got2bet market. At the end of the blurb, Aqua rather curiously says, “Gambling may not be the most noble of industries . . . .” Yet a research report by ABN Amro reveals that this "ignoble" industry accounts for 65 percent of their revenue!

Well, at least we now know where the Golden Palace gambling software hails from, but we find it very strange that turnkey software providers of (presumably) obvious substance such as the mysterious Cytech and this hitherto unheard of IMS do not appear to have websites in a very competitive field. There are over 160 software companies vying for online casino business and one would think that coups such as these would have led to much hype and public crowing...instead any questions are met with no responses or rather fast tap-dancing, which leads us to conclude that not everything is being disclosed here.

Coincidence or market response?

Observers could be forgiven for seeing a connection between the departing casinos story and a press release from Microgaming which came out as we were going to press. In the release Microgaming announces the availability of "significant" price reductions particularly in the case of established and successful licencees.

Issued by the Microgaming Isle of Man office, the release says that "The rapid increase in our revenue and operator base this year has allowed the company to achieve substantial economies of scale. It has always been our intention that once we reached a certain critical mass, we would pass the savings on to our customers. This is now being done.

"The new structure is tiered, allowing for operators to receive reducing prices as they grow their customer and revenue base. Those operators whose revenues are in excess of the highest tier will receive discounts of up to 50% (fifty percent) off Microgaming’s current fees.

"Microgaming will continue to add value to its operators and new customers. We look forward to making additional fee reductions in the future should we achieve further efficiency gains."

There you go - you be the judge...but it is mighty encouraging news for the 60 some licencees which are on Microgaming's books, and it may give Aquaonline food for thought. After all they are now in competition with a veteran leader in the business that offers a widely tested and acclaimed gambling software package. Taking another bite out of them may be more difficult in the future...

More progressive gambling approach pays dividends

According to a report this week in CNET, the United Kingdom could lead Europe in online consumer revenue by 2005 thanks to its relaxed attitude toward Net gambling. And that's despite lagging behind it's European partners in fast internet access.

According to research from Schema Consulting, $38 billion will be spent on online entertainment in Europe in 2005. Got2bet will be the largest industry, Schema says, making up 39 percent of the total, with multimedia second, at 29 percent, and games providing 13 percent.

Surprisingly, the Brits will take a lion's share 35 percent of the European overall spending, said Schema, because it is more accepting of gambling, and other countries are more likely to have laws restricting it. Germany will take only 15 percent and France 14 percent.

But still worth waiting for...

For the many online gamblers who have been eagerly awaiting the launch of CasinoAtlantis.com, there's some disappointing news. Word on the street is that the owners, Sunonline have pushed the launch date back slightly which may even mean that we will not see it before Christmas.

Sunonline is headed by exec Tobin Prior and owned by the successful land-based casino giant Sun International, which boasts the uber-casino resort Atlantis in the Bahamas as the jewel in its crown. In the luxury resort hotel business, the company operates eight beach resorts in Mauritius, Dubai, the Maldives and The Bahamas. The new online casino is based on this superior operation and is to be powered by Big Four provider Boss Media, with quality licencing from the Isle of Man - only the third company to be awarded this privilege.

In the meantime, Sunonline has been busy lining up a sportsbook partner and has chosen British public company ukbetting plc. The agreement is that ukbetting will become the chosen provider of sports content and fixed odds betting to SunOnline, accessible by SunOnline's customers. Likewise, ukbetting's customers will be able to access SunOnline's gaming site through ukbetting plc's online brands.

Reciprocal profit sharing agreements for referred business and collaborative marketing are part of the deal.

SunOnline brings considerable know-how and capital to the industry and will be the first U.S. land-based casino operator to launch international, non-U.S., online gaming operations.

Tobin Prior, Chief Executive of SunOnline said earlier "With the launch of the Atlantis online casino product before the year-end we expect to be one of the first major brand casino operations to participate in the Got2bet business, which is currently estimated (by Christiansen Capital Advisors) to be a US$2.2 billion market and projected to grow to over $6 billion by 2004.''

For those not familiar with ukbetting, it is a major U.K.-licensed digital wagering operator providing fixed odds betting, mainly in relation to sporting events. The company listed on AIM in August 2001, and intends to build a premier gaming brand. Acquisitions include gambling portal and media interests and financial moves toward a gambling credit card.

The company currently has approximately 60,000 betting customers, 20,000 credit card customers, a database of more than 300,000 sports enthusiasts, and services more than a million unique users in its sports content site. The company also has 5.5 million Pounds of cash with no debt.

This is what you might call a marriage made in Gambler's Heaven!

Casinojazz.com joined the poker room trend this week with the announcement that they have partnered with the Ultimatebet.com poker site to make a range of games available to Jazz clientele. Players will additionally have a chance to win high hand jackpots and great bonuses in terms of the deal.

Jazz also announced the availability of a new CD version of both the Casino and Sportsbook. The CD is the size of a credit card, and allows players to quickly play online without the wait of downloading the software. Other software developments include a "Flash" version of the casino that will be ready for play early next year, and for the horse fans, an on-line Racebook is now under construction, and should be available by midyear.

Jazz is owned by a Costa Rican company which also runs four land-based casinos in that country. Ultimatebet is a specialized poker site owned by Khanawake-domiciled eWorld Holdings and uses software from iElogic.

Welcome Global Edition.

Here's a great Christmas present for players and casino operators alike. CryptoLogic stepped up a gear this week with the launch of its fifth generation software. Global Edition boasts innovative new features to help licensees build one-to-one relationships with players through enhanced games and back office performance, new jackpot games, multi-currency and loyalty features

"Internet gaming is more competitive than ever, and that's why CryptoLogic's new software is designed with marketing in mind,'' said Jean Noelting, president and CEO of CryptoLogic. ``Our licensees have some of the biggest and best casinos on the Internet, but with competition from 1,400 other sites, success depends on big jackpots, great promotions and personal marketing.''

GE comes with new tournament and VIP loyalty features that will enable operators to reward their top players with preferential status, special contests, higher "comps'' and prizes.

Multi-currency payouts now extend to US dollars, British pound sterling and euros, offering greater convenience for the growing European user base. Players will also enjoy more chances to win big with new progressive jackpot and slot games, whilst technical advances bring enhanced graphics such as animated and information-enabled avatars and easier full screen viewing to the experience, despite new and easier downloads.

The launch of the new software follows Crypto's recent development of customer relationship management software for comprehensive player analysis, and more player-oriented goodies are in store too - look out for Java no download games for instant play options, a wider array of currencies and international languages, and the introduction of bingo and poker - all aimed at moving the company into higher margin game segments, global markets and extending its reach to mainstream, recreational players.

Are we interpreting this right?

Several players pushing for overdue payments received an unusual letter this week which seems to indicate that The Casino Online.com has something of a cashflow problem. You be the judge:

Dear Player,

Thank you for your e-mail.

First of all I would like to apologize about the delay in your payout, and also any e-mail you may have sent going un answered. There is no excuse for that, and I will get to the bottom of why that happened. As you may know The Casino Online suffered a great loss due to chargebacks. It was such a problem that we had to put all payouts to a stop. We are slowly but surely getting out of the hole we were in and we are now slowly but surely paying out our winning players. It is horrible that honest players like yourself have had to pay for the dishonest players who basically cheated the casino. We are doing our best to pay out everyone as quickly as possible and I assure you, you will receive your check. I will send you an e-mail as soon as I am able to send you your winnings, and would like to thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. If there is anything else I can be of assistance, do not hesitate contacting me.

Kind regards,

Karina Jensen
Casino Manager
The Casino Online

This raises yet again the spectre of underfunded casinos not being able to deal with financial crises, and expecting the player to hold the ball whilst they try to sort themselves out. No reserves and slow payments which are dependent on incoming deposits is a recipe for disaster in most cases...

Oscar Wants to Deal!

That deja-vu feeling is back! The mayor of Las Vegas is talking to an Got2bet company again about using the mecca of gambling as a powerful internet brand - remember the (abandoned) exercise with the Australians last year?

The Las Vegas Sun reported this week that Mayor Oscar Goodman is intent on seeking out new ways for the city to market itself and increase revenues, and met last week with officials from an Got2bet industry company interested in using the city's name and official seal.

Mayor Goodman is reported to have held the second of two meetings with officials from Virtgame.com. Headquartered in San Diego, Virtgame has publicised itself widely as the developer of eBorder, "....a technology that identifies the geographic location of a customer, allowing Internet gaming to be offered only to targeted markets in targeted geographic regions," according to its website. As we went to press the company remained tight-lipped about the meetings and its intentions.

Goodman has touted the idea of lending the city's name to a casino website since last year, when VegasOne.com, an Australian-based Internet site, proposed the idea. Goodman, however, abstained from the debate after learning of a possible conflict of interest -- his law firm had once represented a likely investor, Bob Stupak.

After Goodman discovered his conflict, two council members who supported the proposal also abstained. Other council members worried about liability issues, including how the city would restrict the use of the site by teens and residents of countries where gaming is illegal and the matter seemed to wither on the vine.

If the city had sold its name to the proposed Internet casino based in Australia, it would have received 25 percent of the company's profits.

If the city served in a regulatory capacity it would have received 5 percent of the gross gaming revenues and netted an estimated $90 million annually, the company estimated.

Nevada has the most progressive approach to internet gambling in the USA. During the 2001 legislative session, Nevada Assembly members acknowledged that online gaming is on the horizon, and in June passed Assembly Bill 466, which allows Nevada regulators to establish rules for casinos in launching interactive gaming. This latest move by the Mayor has potential and we will be following it with interest.

Experienced online gamblers' advice needed

Webmaster Max Drayman over at Cryptologic-owned Winneronline.com this week appealed to experienced online gamblers to come forward with their secrets for success at the games tables, slots, or VP machines. And participants can earn themselves a few freebies in the process!

The best tip each month will receive an authentic Vegas Prize Pack from Max and the boys at WOL, which includes:

1 Vegas Edition Monopoly Game
1 Deck of Cards from Hard Rock Hotel
2 Shot Glasses
20 Chocolate Casino Chips

Contributors can send in as many tips as they want, and the best tips will be showcased at WOL for the benefit of less experienced gamblers.

Diamond lounges and coffeeshops provide unusual venues

Wading through the usual stream of sub-standard, rush-job new casinos we thought these were better than the general run and might be worth a visit:

Diamondlounge.net owned by Golden Casinos Limited, this neat and clean site is powered by iWorld software and features 12 games of good standard in Java and Multiplayer configuration. There's a full 24/7 Support and the licencing is from Belize. They are offering a 100 percent signup but the wagering requirement at 8 x deposit and bonus is higher than the norm.

CasinoCafeonline.com has a warm, coffeeshop theme which is well presented on an easy to use, World Gaming-powered site. As you might expect there is the usual full download and java Starnet gambling software suite of 23 games, backed by a free CD, fully contactable Support and reliable and safe e-cash through EFS Caribbean. The site also offers a little extra in the shape of a gambling glossary and a school for newbies - good move, that. The sportsbook links to usafootballbetting.com and the owners are E World Bets out of Tampa, Florida.

Acepoker.com is another well designed and presented World Gaming-powered site with a general gambling theme. All the Starnet favorites are in the download and java gambling suite, fully backed by the customary Starnet service facilities. The owners are up there in Montreal and the sportsbook side connects to 007sportsbetting.com.

An unfortunate association from GoBet

It may be big money, and there may even be some synergy at the lower levels of Got2bet but does the industry really want to be associated with pornography? Well at least one casino marketer would seem to think so regardless of the human degradation which porno so frequently portrays.

Tyler Van Buren, a director of Go Bet wrote a pretty self-serving "op ed" article which was published as a press release this week. In it he uses the recent involvement of Boss Media with a porn star sponsored casino called Jennascasino to bring porn and internet gambling together and has this to say:

"With the news of Jenna's Casino, Go Bet International www.gobet.net is betting that it can marry two vices of the Internet. Go Bet is not alone in thinking that these two vices make perfect bedmates. Internet gambling and adult websites are here to stay."

This is just the sort of "bedmate" which the anti-internet gambling legislators in the US would like to use as another reason for banning rather than regulating Got2bet, so in our view this is a short term approach to making bucks which does not serve the best interests of the business.

GoBet is a casino consulting and marketing company owned by an outfit called Resurgam Enterprises Limited. It may be coincidence or an attempt at humor that their domain admin contact is one "Bond, James" GoBet consults to around 18 online casinos and according to their website they work with respectable names in the industry such as Cryptologic, World Gaming and Boss Media. Even at one or two removes it is surprising that those Big Four companies would want to be associated with Mr. Tyler's comments.

Hong Kong lawmakers still struggling with the internet

The influential Hong Kong Jockey Club was hammering away for an internet gambling ban again this week and it seems that the Hong Kong lawgivers are still muddling along on the issue.

The Thoroughbred Times reported the Club has renewed its call for changes in the gambling laws in order to fend off unregulated competition from offshore bookmakers, claiming that at least four Internet companies offer wagering on Hong Kong racing, the latest being British bookmaker William Hill. Other operators include Darwin All Sports and CentreRacing, both based in Australia, as well as Antigua-based Easybets. ”The Jockey Club paid $1.6-billion in taxes for the 2000-‘01 financial year and contributed more than $128-million to charity", whined the Club.

Amendments to the existing HK gambling laws call for the criminalization of offshore bookmaking if the player is in Hong Kong, with penalties of up to $640,000 and seven years in prison. It is not clear how such changes could be policed.

William Hill and CentreRacing have continued to accept wagering on Hong Kong racing, citing what they perceive as a legal onus on the bettor, not the bookmaker, and the unceasing momentum of the Internet...

If the Club was smart it would surely consider the benefits of adapting to a world in which regulated Got2bet in a respected international finance and trade capital like Hong Kong could be a major and complementary moneyspinner.

Land-based parent has big hopes for the internet

The Australian land-based gambling giant Jupiter released upbeat annual results this week with a profit of $67 million and bullish predictions for the current financial year. But the really interesting part of managing director Rob Hines' speech was the faith the company has in the future of their internet gambling ventures.

Hines said that as the company focuses on international growth, its Alice Springs-based online betting agency Centrebet and its international division – which provides technology to the gaming industry – have become the two most bullish prospects.

Centrebet continued to exceed expectations after generating more than $250 million in turnover in 2001, he revealed.

The Bob and Jim shows continue...and would you really flock to a casino in Afghanistan?

It looks as if the US Justice Department is somewhat less than enthusiastic about the Goodlatte and Leach Bills, although they have not yet said why according to latest reports on the attempts to ban internet gambling in the States.

It will be interesting to see their detailed reasons, because despite Goodlatte's assurance that he worked closely with Justice officials in framing his Bill, some influential people including Frank Fahrenkopf of the AGA don't think it will enjoy easy passage.

However it has to be said that the banning of internet gambling, recently thought to be a dormant matter in the US, is now the center of renewed attention since the Sept. 11 attacks as federal law enforcement officials have testified to Congress that online sites could be exploited by terrorists to launder money.

The reservations at Justice appeared in recent presentations to the House crime committee, where a Justice official said the department favors an approach to update illegal-gambling statutes to cover the Internet and wireless communications, but has "technical and other concerns" about Goodlatte's bill and another Internet gambling bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach, and will reveal those "following additional interagency consultations," according to the official, Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff.

Chertoff's written remarks were delivered to the House crime subcommittee, which held a 1 1/2-hour hearing on separate bills by Goodlatte and Leach that would effectively ban online gaming.

Sen.Goodlatte said afterward he was encouraged by Chertoff's testimony and expects the Bush administration to support his bill. "We've worked with them closely in writing this," he said.

But Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, predicted the Justice Department will unveil major concerns about states rights among other issues. "I've already talked to some people in the administration and they have some real questions about the bills and they haven't made a decision yet," Fahrenkopf said.

Goodlatte on Nov. 1 introduced a new version of an Got2bet ban that is viewed as tougher than previous bills that came before lawmakers. He said it would make it impossible for a gambling Web site to legally accept a wager that crosses a state line. Sen Jim Leach has proposed making it illegal for credit cards, bank checks and other financial instruments to be used for Internet gambling. While Goodlatte's bill contains similar provisions, Leach says his have more teeth.

"The two together would represent, I believe, the maximum result," Leach told leaders of the crime subcommittee. Goodlatte and Leach have "informally discussed" combining their bills, according to a Leach aide.

Goodlatte and Leach explained their bills to the subcommittee, where they were challenged by Rep. Bobby Scott, Democrat-Virginia. Scott questioned whether any online gaming ban can be enforced.

Also testifying were Tim Kelly, former executive director of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission; and Frank Catania, former director of New Jersey's division on gaming enforcement who now consults for the Interactive Gaming Counsel, an online gaming association.

Kelly advocated a ban on Internet gaming. Catania, on the other hand, said Internet gaming sites can and should be regulated.

Catania said gamblers would frequent brand-named, regulated casino sites over others that do not carry seals of approval. Kelly disagreed, citing research suggesting that gamblers will flock to the best deal.

"They will gamble at Afghanistan.com if they can get better odds," he said.

We have the full text of Frank Catania's presentation to the House so if you would like to receive a copy email us at InfoPowa and we'll return email it to you.

Press information from the Aspinalls internet gambling division punts another online casino destination called The Sporting Casino.

According to the blurb, this new-look casino offers all your favorite casino games right in the middle of 12 of the world's most popular sports. Players are urged to "play Blackjack on the golf course, enjoy the Sumo slots, try Keno Soccer, and shoot craps on an ice hockey rink."

Sounds new and certainly different enough for a visit by sports lovers - and to give the launch that extra zing all new players can pick up a 100% bonus; deposit $50 and receive another $50. You can get there on this url: here

Who got the contract?

There was an interesting message board exchange this week which heralds a software change at VegasUSA casino.

Apparently prejudiced by restrictions and pressure from their current and unidentified software provider to stop US and Canadian wagers, VegasUSA decided it was time to go elsewhere, and an employee picqued everyone's interest by revealing the following:

"In October we interviewed a number of excellent casino software providers. We narrowed our choices to three very reputable companies; Boss Media, CryptoLogic and MicroGaming. They were all very interested in having us upgrade our existing and future customers to their software. After exhaustive investigation, planning and negotiating, we have made our selection. If all goes as planned, in January 2002, we will be upgrading VegasUSA's existing and future customers to one of these excellent software providers! We can not disclose which one we have chosen right now since we are currently in final contract negotiations."

As we went to press there had been no further clarification, but the hints were there when VegasUSA said " We have selected a provider that has THE MOST POPULAR GAMES out there. We have surveyed many, many players and our selection was by far the most highly recommended.

"Here are some things that WILL change :
1. Much better games
2. Larger selection of games
3. More options for depositing and withdrawing
4. New games will be added EVERY month
5. VegasUSA will always have the latest technology available
6. Better administrative tools so we can take better care of our customers
7. Better marketing tools so we can offer our players much better bonuses, comp programs and specials"

If you guessed Microgaming you are probably in tune with the majority but it's still pure speculation so watch this space!

VegasUSA says that all existing player accounts will be automatically transferred to the new casino software once it is ready to go live.

World Gaming goodies,

Our selection this week numbers only two - both World Gaming (Starnet) sites:

Casinocortez.com
The owners hold IGC membership which is always nice to know, and this one comes in English and Greek language versions on a professionally designed and easy-on-the-eye site with a vaguely Conquistador theme. The gaming suite is Starnet - World Gaming's latest version 3 in both java 10 game and full download format, with lotteries, bingo, racetrack and sportsbook as well. All the usual Starnet services are included. Good.

Americanflagcasinoonline.com
Perhaps underscoring the current wave of patriotism in the USA, this is another Starnet-powered operation, this one with the older software which has 23 games on download and java platforms, supported by their customary range of service facilities. The patriotic Stars and Stripes theme is strongly and competently presented and the sportsbook side links to footballbasketballsportsbetting.com. The owner is a Canadian - LV Enterprises owned by Lambroa Vassiliou of Montreal, Quebec. Good.

Interesting background to gamblinginsurance.com

We mentioned the advent of gamblinginsurance.com in our last show, but being kinda nosey we poked around for more background on this interesting and innovative internet gambling business.

It looks as if Green Room Media, the Canadian company which seems to be handling the marketing has good industry experience - for example they claim to market portal Gamblingtour together with a number of top online casinos and Canbet/BetVegas. The owners of the gambling site are more difficult to assess and the only Acorn Capital outfit we could find has a Californian address but a Canadian phone number!

There was a brief appearance on the WOL message board during the week by a gamblinginsurance spokesman extolling the virtues of the product, but when he was asked about ownership and how participating casinos in the scheme contributed to the insurance company there was another of those pregnant silences.

If anyone out there knows more we would love to bring our database up to date!

It's taken far too long but player payments are starting to arrive...

We've been among those who have slammed TVS (The Vegas Strip group of RTG-powered casinos) for the way overdue payouts to players which has resulted in a hornet's nest of hundreds of OPA and message board complaints.

This week we're happy to report that increasing numbers of players seem to be receiving payment, and the Online Players' Association reports that steady inroads are being made into the scores of TVS payment complaints. This does not excuse the appalling way in which TVS has expected its clientele to carry it's obvious financial or processing problems, but it is laudable that they are paying and not disappearing over the horizon leaving an unpaid shambles in their wake.

The indefatigable Julie at Gambling Grumbles reports similar paying activity and correctly observes, "We do not have 100% closure as of yet, but an impressive number of cases have been completed."

The Vegas Strip consists of: Americas Online, Cleopatra's, Club Regal, E-World and Mardi-Gras Casinos, and we'll ne monmitoring the situation to let you know whether it is a sustained effort or merely a flash in the pan.

Bentley offers the internet option to land-based Nevada operations

Reseller Bentley Communications has big ambitions following the signing this week of an online casino software license agreement with Global Internet Technologies of Rhode Island.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bentley will have the right to market, broker and receive income from the ``turnkey'' e-commerce solutions and back-office proprietary operating systems owned by Global Internet Technologies which Bentley intends to license to ``brick and mortar'' brand name casinos operating in the State of Nevada. Bentley claims to have done a heap of research to identify the major ``brick and mortar'' casinos in Nevada that would be good candidates for this gaming software, and the selling point is immediate access to millions of persons who now use the Internet for online gaming from countries throughout the world.

Without raining on the Bentley parade it seems to us that they are a little late arriving at this particular ballgame.

Whatever, all of the popular casino games will be featured in the Global / Bentley package including video poker, slot machines, roulette, craps and blackjack. To showcase the software, a full demonstration has been put together at Playersroom.com. It is interesting to note that playersroom.com has a relationship with the established Grand Dominican casino according to their domain registration.

Wisconsin 'sting' brings new prosecutions

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel carried news this week which gave readers an insight into the money that can be made in internet wagering - $400 million over four years to be precise. The report centered on the conviction of two sports site operators who are resident in Wisconsin and Nevada and operated an Internet sports betting site from a Caribbean island. The Sentinel revealed that as much as $400 million in bets over four years were taken by the duo, who pleaded guilty in federal court in Madison to gambling and tax charges.

Gold Medal Sports took bets by phone and the Internet from August 1996 to April 2000 and was based on Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. The case was part of a three-year investigation into illegal offshore sports bookmaking and sports handicapping telemarketing services, according to authorities. An undercover agent from the Internal Revenue Service in Beloit called Gold Medal Sports in Curacao to place a $1,000 bet on the Green Bay Packers to beat the Seattle Seahawks by more than five points on Nov. 1, 1999.

Duane Pede and Jeff D'Ambrosia of Gold Medal Sports agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in back taxes. Gold Medal is to forfeit $3.3 million in earnings so it rather looks as if they're way ahead!. The pair pleaded guilty to violating the Wire Wagering Act, racketeering and filing a false federal income tax return because they failed to let the IRS know that they had foreign bank accounts.

The case represents the first successful Wisconsin prosecution for internet gambling

Your online "voice" CAN make a difference...

The less desirable elements out there in cybergamble land would have you believe that message boards are a waste of your time and have little power to influence events. They will assure you that these important communications avenues are largely ignored when it comes to heeding opinions and suggestions.

Don't you believe it. There are thousands of gamblers who either post or lurk on message boards, and the smart and savvy monitor them constantly to see what the gambling community is currently pleased or pissed about. Make no mistake, the top message boards like Winneronline, Gamemaster, Gambling.com and Casinomeister are effective, influential and essential education for newbies wandering starry-eyed into internet gambling.

By now you will have gathered that it is a subject close to our hearts, and this week we came across a good article by Steven Nover in the Las Vegas Sun on the subject. Among the highlights:

For watchdog-type sites having quality, credible posters is an absolute must. But it can be tricky, since probably around 95 percent of the people who visit a posting forum don’t contribute

Those who do post usually use a nom-de-plume. There can be name-calling, uncouth language and agenda pushing and the better boards control that. But there also can be entertaining, well-written posts and timely insights. Misperceptions can be set straight. Bettors can be helped. Frauds exposed.

It's a useful source of business intelligence - "It’s definitely the best place to get information if somebody is in trouble," says Scotty of Pinnacle sports in Curacao. "As soon as someone doesn’t get paid, bam it’s all over the Internet. It’s just like a bookie mistake. If you get a bookie who goes bad and doesn’t pay someone, that one person tells 50 people and that guy’s out of business. Same thing with the Internet, except it’s a lot bigger market."

Another operator says "If your book is sound, and your customers are happy, and anybody says anything bad about you, your players will go to your defense."

The quality of offshore posting forums has been diluted since they were pioneered in the mid 1990’s. Credible, sophisticated posters can be hard to find on some sites. But there are a number of them out there, and they’re worth cultivating for any serious gaming site interested in covering the offshore industry. They are knowledgeable, honest, sometimes humorous, and provide excellent, reliable information. They are the superstars of this relatively new genre.

No evidence, no appeal just an arbitrary robot reply

A recurring issue which hotted up this week is the penchant by some casinos and software providers (notably Unified Gaming but RTG have also pulled this one) to avoid paying out on the grounds of undefined "robot play" on negative expectation games.

This action is usually brought into play when a big win is due for payout, and seems to be an arbitrary and unappealable decision by the software provider - some say that 4 bets a minute indicates robot play. Experts like the Wizard and Gamemaster say that this is quite within the range of skilled players and that before such "rulings" are unilaterally made the logs should be opened for independent inspection if desired in order to prove consistency and frequency.

It is too easy to invoke "robot play" to disqualify without producing proof. And few internet casinos specifically prohibit robot play anyway.

The specific problem with Unified Gaming is that they will not communicate on the issue despite being approached by individual players and watchdogs like the OPA on a number of occasions. The casino declining payment blames the software provider ruling, and the software provider stonewalls the query to its "legal department". The fact that the owners of Unified shelter behind private anonymity adds to the difficulty in getting a dialog going - and honest dialog is urgently needed to resolve a dispute which has deprived players of thousands of dollars and resulted in UG casinos going onto the NOT RECOMMENDED list at OPA.

Jamaica Bay tops the PWC list again

The monthly Price Waterhouse Coopers list of top casino payout percentages - always a useful gambler's guide - is out and as always we can email a copy to you if you would like that.

This month Boss Media-powered Jamaica Bay again heads the list of 42 online casinos at an incredible 99.17 percent payout, with Microgaming's Home Casino, Cryptologic's Intercasino and Microgaming's Grand Venice Casino closely behind. The Sands of the Caribbean (another Cryptologic casino) records a very creditable 98.08 percent and Casino-on-net rounds off the top six at 97.98.

The lowest percentage payout on the list this time around is Microgaming-powered Floridita at 95.19 percent.

But they're still in there pitching.

A few short months ago - June this year in fact - British company Gaming Internet announced their change of name to Gaming Insight and confidently launched a bid to raise over 8 million pounds sterling (around 12 million dollars) by making their stock available at 16 pence a share.

That didn't come off as planned, and hard times befell the internet gambling company. This week they announced the achievement of a somewhat less ambitious target - they managed to raise 900 000 sterling at 9 pence a share, which will presumably be used to support the company although specific details are not given.

Among other achievements, Gaming Insight runs Zap casinos network and was commissioned by the prestigious Harrods of London to develop their Got2bet casino.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa