The Hampton and the Pirate impasse showed little side of resolution this week as Hampton retreated into silence and The Pirate's legal team reportedly sifted through information from several sources.
The player is now being assisted by a respected player personality who has previously been successful in litigation against Got2bet entities through strong legal representation.
Requests by the player for his gaming logs remained unanswered, with RTG saying that it had these but could only supply them through the licensees. The casinos ignored the player, making this important evidence a dead end so far.
Further afield, another RTG-powered casino that is alleged to owe the player substantial sums of money was apparently ignoring several demands for payment from the player's representatives despite the Caribbean 21 game at the centre of the dispute being cleared by the software provider.
Delanos Casino froze tens of thousands of dollars in wins when the game was taken offline for inspection. As we went to press there were no indications as to whether Delanos Casino would now honour its obligations despite the passage of over a week since the game was re-issued, with no evidence of irregularities according to the RTG executive.
Meanwhile the intense discussion on major public message boards continued, with the RTG disclosures giving added impetus to demands that Hampton and Delanos pay up, and the emergence of a Panama company called Montana SA which apparently handles US-based RTG's royalties.
Over $1.3 million is at stake in the disputes which started when the player came to notice at several casinos (many of which paid him) due to significant losses, but mainly wins playing the Caribbean 21 game. Hampton was particularly hard hit after it permitted the player to increase his wagering limits per hand to the $10 000 to $15 000 range.
The game was withdrawn from service by RTG and subjected to rigorous inspections, which RTG head technical executive Mike McMain says it passed with no evidence of irregularities.
After unsuccessfully attempting to introduce a retroactive wager through requirement of some $25 million a month, Hampton eventually started making payments of $4 000 a week to the player.
These stopped when a controversial telephone call was made by a Hampton manager using the name Ron Lewin in which, inspired by the TV program Law and Order he attempted to extract an admission from the player of using an autoplay robot in contravention of the casino T&Cs. The call was taped, although the player was not warned. The player, who also recorded the conversation did not warn the casino!
The telephone call served to heighten the controversy surrounding this issue due to Lewin's hectoring tone, and his attempt to lure the player into an admission by offering large sums of money and discussing the use of the alleged 'bot on other online casinos for mutual gain. The player claims that he, too was trying to lead the other party on to get information or to get paid, and that his alleged admission was merely a responding ploy.
Hampton then used the tape, and the player's *admission* to invoke a "no robots" rule from their days as a Unified Gaming powered casino. This rule has been criticised by conventional views that an autoplay robot playing perfect basic strategy does not erode the house edge in a negative expectation game but merely speeds up play and leaves the player free to do something else. Cutting edge software like Microgaming's Viper suite, has an autoplay feature built in.
Further confusion and acrimony was caused by Hampton claims in public postings that it was not relying solely on its contentious telephone admission to deny payment to the player. Casino spokesmen said that they had technical proof in the form of mouse movement evidence, but this was debunked by the RTG technical executive who said no such facility was available in RTG software.
It seems certain that this issue, which has become one of internet casino gambling's biggest ever scandals has a way to run yet, with perhaps further disclosures and litigation ahead.
New Bonus Blackjack and Power Poker launched, too.
This week, King Neptunes Casino players are among the first on the Internet to pit their luck, and their wits against The Big Kahuna, a stunning new 5 reel, 9 payline video slot that is the most feature-rich game yet from the Microgaming studios, and comes on the facilities-laden Viper software platform.
Offering brilliant jungle graphics, a wide choice of low to medium denomination wager minimums and the potential for frequent wins in a fast-moving game with plenty of player interaction, this one is a thriller. Wild and Scatter symbols contribute to an exciting hit rate, with the real entertainment coming from the two major bonus features.
In the Volcano Bonus, the village chief awaits your decision on which offering will appease the hungry volcano's rumbling appetite, and save the island villagers from its fiery wrath. This is a simple "Pick x or y" feature with good returns.
Then, hidden deep in the bowels of the mountain, the Magic Mask bonus and hopefully good fortune waits for the player to make his or her selections from ten Magical Masks. In this "Pick until Pop" feature, the player can continue picking masks until a collect comes up. A consolation prize is also awarded, to make the experience still more fun for those making unlucky choices.
Gamblers will definitely feel the heat of the tribal beat at Big Kahuna, which once again raises the bar on top quality Got2bet, at the same time giving gamblers a unique and exciting playing experience. Big Kahuna is the first Microgaming video slot to include these multiple bonus features.
Neptune's second new game is a brand new American Hole Card style blackjack that offers BJ players across the board something a little different and a lot of fun. Bonus Blackjack, a completely new and easy-playing table game that is similar to Vegas Downtown Blackjack, but has the added attraction of an optional bonus side bet offering a wide wagering range with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $25.
The side bet pay table gives 50 : 1on Jack and Ace Spade; 25:1 on Jack and Ace Suited and 5:2 on Suited Two Card Comb. In the rules, the Dealer peeks on cards with a value of 10 and Aces and the game is played with 2 regular decks.
Players have quick and easy access to a game rules pop-up through Microgaming's new "mouse over" facility, and need only mouse over the plaque on the table that says Bonus Blackjack Rules. Presentation and smooth action on the new game are to high quality standards, with sharp, clear graphics and a no-nonsense layout.
Stud Poker gamblers are certain to enjoy a new table game. 3 Card Poker is a variant of the popular North American stud poker game that is easy to play, yet offers fast-paced and exciting action. The player can face off against the dealer by staking the Ante and Play bets, or stake the Pair Plus bet which pays out according to the rank of the cards in hand whether it beats the dealer's hand or not.
Crisp and straightforward graphics make playing the game, and viewing the play rules convenient and simple. The player merely mouses over the plaque on the table graphic that says "Poker Rules" and a rules pop-up appears. To remove the pop-up, the player mouses off the area being displayed.
3 Card Poker suits most budgets with a minimum bet of 50 cents, and a maximum of $2.
Video poker players at King Neptune's can enjoy ten times the fun...and ten times the reward if their luck's in...on a brand new Aces and Faces game just added to the Power Poker gambling suite that enables gamblers to play ten hands at once, with a different 52 card pack for each hand.
Players get plenty of flexibility with this game and can wager between 1 to 5 coins per hand, or up to fifty coins at a time in denominations ranging from as little as a cent to two dollars. With top jackpots of US $ 80 000 possible the new game has good potential for some truly spectacular wins!
Scott Gaines, official spokesman for the Trident Group says that the new games follow extensive research into current gaming trends and player demand. "Our goal is to offer the largest and best games selection we can find for our players,"
"Behind the razor sharp, high quality graphics and fast gameplay of all the new games is Viper, Microgaming's elegant, state-of-art gambling software that empowers the player with a host of optional assists, features and analytical information to enhance the gambling experience. No other software on the market offers as wide a range of facilities as this." he says.
Viper's autohold feature can hold the best cards on a mathematical basis awaiting the player decision, and the analyser tables give guidance on current odds and cover permutations to help gamblers make the right decision - a facility not found elsewhere either in land or online operations. The Viper autoplay capability adds yet another new dimension to these exciting games, and players can set up their own "stop" budgets by win amount, lose amount or credit balance.
Special: To celebrate the release of the Big Kahuna game, Trident Group players are being offered a $10 bonus if they purchase and play $50 or more on any of the new games between 12:01am EST Thursday, February 26th and 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 3rd. Terms and conditions apply.
Fine toothcomb FL's T&Cs
Complaints are coming in from many players that the Fortune Lounge group of Migrogaming-powered casinos has over the past two to three weeks changed their T&Cs concerning wager through requirements. It is of course their prerogative to do this, but players are dismayed that better efforts to communicate the change have not been made. Many point out that as regular players at the casinos they do not check the T&Cs every time they visit, and that changes need to be better advised.
Fortune Lounge's VP Operations is a regular visitor to the message boards and has apologised, making the following statement: "The wagering requirement change was implemented on 11 February and, although it is a big change, it is still in line with our competitors. We realise that we failed to communicate this properly to our players and I can assure you that this will not happen again. It was really a bad oversight.
"We are currently finalising certain issues with regards to the carry over situation and I am hoping to make a positive announcement in this forum before I go on leave Saturday."
Until then, our advice to players is make sure you understand what the current on-site T&C requirements are.
Evil player
The spectre of forged screenshots raised its ugly head again this week when Stefan78 tried to rip off Palace of Chance.com for a cool $45 000. The case goes back almost a year when the fraudster claimed he had been dealt a Royal Flush in the Caribbean Stud Poker progressive, but for some reason his hand was "folded". He made a screenshot of this "win" and contacted the casino. The casino responded that there was no record of the win - that according to their records it never happened. Not lacking in chutzpah, Stefan took the matter to the late Julie Sidwell without success. But following Julie's death, he tried to run the claim through Bryan Bailey at Casinomeister, again presenting his screenshot. He should have known better. It was good, but not good enough to fool the experts or the gaming logs. Noone likes a fraudulent player... apart from the dishonesty they make life tougher for others. Stefan's screwing days are definitely numbered, but he might have other aliases, so casinos are advised to scrutinise big win screenshots very carefully, cross checking them with logs and histories.
There was a time when South Africa seemed full of promise as an Got2bet jurisdiction, and a number of efficient industry companies already operate there.
Although still a developing country at the tip of Africa, it has a first world IT, financial and telecommunications infrastructure and plenty of well talented and educated, English speaking young people. Due to a favourable international currency exchange rate, it is attractive from a financing and cost perspective, and the government was making encouraging noises about a liberal approach to the industry.
But this week the optimism was dashed with the news from attorney Reinhardt Buys that thousands of people in the Got2bet industry would lose their jobs if the new National Gambling Bill is enacted.
The National Gambling Bill will ban Internet gambling and the advertising of online casinos. Not only the operation of an online casino, but also gambling at such a casino will be banned and criminalised. The new legislation is soon to replace the 1996 National Gambling Act.
The bill would in effect criminalise Got2bet, says Buys, an Internet lawyer who assists a number of Got2bet companies.
He says the gambling legislation that is currently in place does not address Internet gambling, but it is accepted that a person may not run an online casino from within South Africa's borders.
A survey in February last year by the National Gambling Board found there were thousands of Got2bet websites and that 0,6 percent of South Africans - about 250 000 - gambled online.
The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board says no legitimate jobs would be jeopardised.
"Only persons who are employed by persons exploiting gambling opportunities accessed through the Internet may potentially be affected," the board said in a statement.
Most gambling websites were based outside South Africa and the gambling industry was not highly labour intensive, it continued, ignoring the potential for South Africa to earn tens of millions in foreign currencies through a legal and vibrant Got2bet industry.
The board's chief executive officer, Rossouw Lubbe, said that under the bill the National Gambling Board would oversee all activities relating to gambling. But there were thousands of gambling websites and officials did not know how they would police them!
Buys says the new Bill could run into unforeseen problems and is unlikely to eliminate Internet gambling. He says it is virtually impossible to police Got2bet, and the law could drive Got2bet underground. The South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) said: “SACOB believes this provision will be very difficult to police.
Merrill Lynch estimates 2001 online gaming revenues to have exceeded $7.106 billion worldwide.
Isle of Man licensed sportsbook releases good results
The Paddy Power gambling chain's online sportsbook is set to become part of the Isle of Man's resurrection as a significant Got2bet licensing jurisdiction, and this week the betting group showcased its success with record pre-tax profits of 20.4 million Euros for the year ended December 2003.
Group turnover rose a creditable 36 percent over last year, reaching 913 million Euros.
The positive result was remarkable in that it indicated a strong shift in PP's fortunes since the first half in the year when it issued a profit warning. Finance director Ross Ivers said the end-year figures showed a marked turnaround from the first half, when it was forced to issue a profit warning after a run of luck for punters at the Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National.
Gambling software provider Games and Entertainment Limited (GET) is adding new products and a new dimension to their business through an equal profits partnership with Electrocoin.
The venture involves GET developing and providing a range of video-based gaming systems that will feature both fixed odd betting terminals for licensed betting offices, and software for the Amusement With Prizes sector.
Electrocoin's part of the deal is to manufacture and distribute the terminals for which GET's software is destined. Special arrangements include easy updating through the use of CDs.
CRYPTOLOGIC QUARTERLY DIVI A GOOD 'UN
27 February 2004
Good news for investors
The growing financial strength of Toronto-based gambling software provider and pioneer Cryptologic was illustrated this week with the announcement of a second quarterly dividend of three cents a share for investors following a 38 percent rise in 4th quarter revenues to $3 million.
The companys year end 2003 results, presented by CEO Lewis Rose reported a 28 percent increase in revenues to $44.2 million and a 22 percent increase in earnings to $9.4 million.
Rose said that the company had met its strategic objectives in the areas of geographical diversification, product innovation and regulatory leadership, with 55 percent of revenues now flowing from international sources, 30 percent from the UK alone. He made special mention of major licensees such as William Hill, Littlewoods, Betfair and UK Betting.
On the product front, new casino games had been developed, but strong growth was particularly obvious in the bingo and poker sectors which together contributed 10 percent of total revenues - a significant increase from the previous year.
He singled out poker in particular, revealing that with revenues now reaching $750 million there was still room for growth in the sector despite a six fold increase in the size of the business. Cryptologic has six poker licensees and is well represented in the top ten poker sites.
Chinese mainland police chalked up a first prosecution on an Internet sportsbook this week, according to the Shanghai Daily.
A local court sentenced a wealthy Taiwanese citizen to 30 months in prison and fined him 300,000 yuan (US$36 145) for offering online wagering on European soccer matches.
The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court also sentenced four accomplices, three from Taiwan and one Chinese American, to jail terms ranging from nine to 18 months and fined them 20,000 to 150,000 yuan each.
The court said Feng Zaizheng, 51, had set up the 'perfect' gambling operation, with his accomplices in charge of book keeping, recruiting gamblers, ensuring payment and investing the profits.
The court heard that Feng's online operations took in 10 million yuan a day at their peak last summer.
While gambling cases pop up in the city from time to time, police say this is the first time anyone in Shanghai has been prosecuted for running Got2bet.
Canada's Atlantic Lottery Corporation President Michelle Carinci says that online gamblers in the Maritime province spend up to $20 million a year with offshore internet gambling companies, and that these offer little in the way of player protection.
Carinci used the demographics in proposing that her company be allowed to expand its offerings with online Lotto 6/49, Super 7 and sports games. She proposes that these would be strictly regulated and monitored to ensure that addicted gamblers and minors were excluded.
Associated Press reported a story which whilst not concerned with Internet gambling, illustrated that scams can happen in the most prestigious gambling venues.
Top Vegas resort casino The Venetian is to pay $US1 million ($1.3 million) in fines and costs for rigging three contest draws.
The Venetian casino agreed this week to settle after an investigation revealed that promotional draws in February 2002 were a sham, according to a complaint by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The complaint and settlement show a casino executive hid the winning ticket for a Mercedes-Benz SUV in his shirt sleeve and pretended to draw it randomly.
Casino officials reported the incident to gambling regulators shortly after receiving information about the phony draw.
The Venetian acknowledged the executive involved in the Mercedes scheme predetermined the winner of the two other draws for casino chips worth $10,000 and $20,000.
The Venetian said in a statement that it fully co-operated with investigators and regretted the actions of "certain rogue employees."
Four Venetian employees were fired, including two senior executives.
In the settlement, the casino agreed to pay a $US663,000 fine and $US337,000 to cover the cost of the investigation.
Best read for us this week was a long MSN article on Asia by Michael Brunker, a writer who has covered Internet gambling in a number of mainstream media stories.
Brunker says that despite difficulties in language, cultures, advertising, money transfers, telecommunications and internet access all of which have hampered the development of Got2bet in the region there is new potential and interest in the Far East...and major players in the business seem to agree with him.
The daughter of legendary Chinese gambling mogul Dr. Ho, Angela Ho says that the dynamic in the region has become significantly more positive in recent years. The president of Dr Ho 888.com, she says "The market is huge and Asian players spend money and are fervent gamblers." Judging by her picture in the article Ms. Ho is not only smart but a serious hottie! Her husband and CEO of the company Peter Kjaer says that monthly wagering increases of up to forty percent have been recorded, with China, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore being particularly strong sources of business.
The patriarch himself, 83 years old Dr. Ho, shows no sign of slowing down and operates the Macau based Macau-slot.com sports site with no legal hassles from the local authorities.
The move east features many big names like Ladbrokes, Coral, Victor Chandler and BetOnSports. Simon Noble, CEO of BetWWTS.com which rolled out a Chinese language site recently reports booming business. " Our numbers in Asia are up 130 percent over last year and Asia now contributes 30 percent of our revenues", he says. Casino On Net with its 888 site are in the area too, as are a proliferation of betting exchanges.
Sebastian Sinclair, CEO of Christiansen Capital Advisors reckons that Asian markets accounted for 16 percent of the total Internet betting market of $5.6 billion in 2003 and this will jump to 40 percent of a 2006 total betting market worth some $11.6 billion. "Asia is growing faster than the US", he says, commenting that the wireless phone and PDA sector holds particular promise.
The article deals in some detail with the competitive damage suffered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a result of offshore operations. The HKJC clearly has clout as it contributes 11 percent of its $10 billion a year revenue in government taxes. This enabled it to get i-gambling banned with heavy penalties, but it does not seemed to have slowed the action down. Lawrence Wong, CEO of the Club says that offshore gambling revenues exceed his!
Astute BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers says that his company spent 18 months researching an entry strategy before making its move. "Everything is up for grabs. Everything is in an evolutionary state. Providing you run your businjess properly it's a huge opportunity".
NEW "LIVE OVER THE INTERNET" SITE
27 February 2004
Another licensee for Adam
Adam Anhang's "live over the internet" CasinoWebCam gambling franchise signed up another licensee this week.
MVPcasino.com, the only casino online offering three different software platforms for client play becomes the latest in a series of online casinos that have selected the CWC system, which videostreams live gambling from a casino studio in Costa Rica. CWC, which is fast becoming the largest centre of this innovative style of Internet gambling hold a license from i2corp-HGN which holds the patents for this concept.
MVPcasino.com now features blackjack, baccarat, sic bo, roulette, and Caribbean poker all dealt from live dealers. Using real time webcast, players are able to see, hear, and play live casino games run by CasinoWebcam's croupiers and floor supervisors in accordance with industry standards for fairness and integrity.
Said Eddie C, Casino Product Manager of V.O. Group, S.A., "When it comes to casino wagering, our goal is to provide a fair gaming environment, and un-matched entertainment value. The addition of the Casino Webcam product allows our sports, horse, and poker clients to cross over to MVPcasino.com and see cards being shuffled & dealt in front of their eyes, talk with their dealers, and play with complete confidence in the game with an unparalleled level of entertainment value. The value proposition of the Casino Webcam product is uniquely different than any other casino product we offer."
MVPcasino.com offers three software platforms, including Flash, Java, and the new Casino Webcam product. All MVP destination sites may be accessed with one funded account, including: MVPcasino.com; MVPsportsbook.com; MVPracebook.com; and MVPpoker.com.
DOS ATTACKS ON GRAND NATIONAL BETTING
27 February 2004
Eastern European hackers at it again
Wagering on the prestigious Grand National steeplechase in Britain was targeted by the infamous Denial Of Service hackers operating out of Eastern European countries this week.
The Irish betting group Paddy Power reported that its site was under attack but refused to give in to extortion demands, instead reporting the matter to the police. The UK’s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit has been looking into the scam since last year, when the first reports came through of attacks on UK and offshore betting sites.
The criminals overwhelm sports betting sites with traffic as part of their threats in order to extort money, frequently rendering the sites inoperable.
Other sports betting companies are believed to have been approached, but no details were available as we went to press. In recent months the timeframes for most major sporting events attracting a large volume of gambling interest have been used as targets. In the run up to this year's US Superbowl a number of betting sites were threatened with DoS attacks if amounts ranging from $10 000 to $50 000 were not paid.
After a disastrous start as the hoped for internet gambling jurisdiction of choice, the Isle of Man lost all five of its big-name casino operators last year but has learned the lessons and is staging a comeback.
IGN writer Bradley Valerius reported this week that months after the island's demise as a premier I-gaming center, the jurisdiction has made numerous changes to return to being a desirable tier-one destination.
The Isle of Man last appeared on the I-gaming radar screen in September 2003 when Littlewoods' left the island to relocate to Curacao. In September 2001, Littlewoods was among the first three operators to receive licenses to operate online casinos in the jurisdiction, but just two years later it was the last of five to shut down or relocate.
The Isle had sought to create a respectable tier-one regulatory environment, but inevitably its requirements were too expensive and time consuming for its operators.
After the loss of Littlewoods, the Isle of Man's government declared that it wished to continue pursuing I-gaming licensees and would remain a tier-one jurisdiction. Regulatory changes began taking place immediately. The first such change was the appointment of an e-gaming "ambassador" to investigate how the Isle could best meet the needs of the industry and work to develop and promote the Isle as a leading e-commerce and I-gaming environment.
The Department of Trade and Industry chose former Rank Interactive director John Gilmore, who has over 30 years of experience in the global gambling sector, to fill the role.
Since his appointment five months ago, Gilmore has advised the Isle of Man's government to make some key regulatory adjustments that should make the jurisdiction a more favorable destination for operators.
The Isle previously prohibited some its operators from offering poker and progressive jackpots--two of the largest money-makers in the business. Gilmore's first major action was to convince the Isle's regulatory authorities to permit poker and progressive slots by proving to them that anti-collusion and anti-fraud software had improved significantly enough in the last few years to minimize the threat of cheating.
Gilmore also simplified what used to be a very tedious and costly certification process. The government no longer requires the inspection of every site adjustment before the operator may initiate a change. Now certified software no longer needs approval for changes unless those changes are made to the random number generator or the rules and regulations of games.
Another crucial change that Gilmore helped implement was the removal of a hefty $2 million dollar surety bond that operators were required to have in place for protection against players with outstanding money. Now an insurance bond, the price of which is negotiable, serves as valid protection, making the Isle a much more approachable place for smaller operators.
Yet despite the changes, the Isle still has no online casino operators and no immediate prospects.
"It would be wrong for me to say that they are clamoring because we are fighting from behind the line on this one, and we're only at the moment telling people how we've changed and how we've made it a lot easier," Gilmore said. "So that's what we're trying to do at the moment--redress that sort of exodus and that bad publicity we had up until September last year. But we're trying."
The recent transfer of e-gaming from the governance of the Department of Home Affairs to the Department of Trade and Industry should help the Isle promote itself.
"The Department of Home Affairs is a regulatory body," Gilmore explained. "They license people and they regulate. So there is no way that they could promote and develop. So I managed to take that away and stick it into the Department of Trade and Industry, which is the commercial arm of the government, where we can do the developing, promoting and advertising and go out and seek people, which has made it a lot easier. It gives a lot more opportunity to do what we want to do and to sort of shout about it as well."
Setting online casinos and their disastrous past aside, the Isle seems well on its way to becoming a burgeoning e-commerce capital, due largely to its very low tax regime. By 2006, there will be absolutely no corporate tax on businesses on the Isle.
Two Irish sports books, Paddy Power and Chronicle, have launched from the Isle within the last few weeks. The bookmakers pay a 1.5 percent tax on their gross gaming yield on all bets outside of the United Kingdom. They must pay a 15 percent duty on bets to the United Kingdom because of an agreement with U.K. Customs that allows the operators to advertise and do business with U.K .citizens as long as they pay an equal tax rate. Paddy Power and Chronicle are the only bookmakers on the Isle, but Gilmore said there are already a couple of other potential licensees in negotiation stages.
Online casino and sportsbook turnkey provider IQ Ludorum's situation continued to deteriorate with the news that BetPanAm has been dismantled, and World Wide Tele Sports has gone elsewhere . The provider has been short of cash for some time, and industry observers are asking whether the company can survive much longer?
IQ Ludorum once had a large licensee base and was reported as dominating up to fifty percent of the sportsbook market. Today this has been reduced to a much smaller number of sites with few if any big names among them. Accommodation adjustments and staff cuts have taken place, and the picture is looking decidely glum.
Following the success of their earlier professional development workshop in London this year, Lyceum Media, Gambling Online Magazine and iGaming Business have arranged the next event in the series for the evening of Monday, March 8th, 2004 at the law offices of Berwin Leighton Paisner in London.
These professional development functions are designed to meet the needs of busy interactive gaming industry insiders and the March 8th agenda summarises February's policy memorandum by the UK Department of Culture Media and Sport on the recommended policy for advertising under the new Gambling Bill.
The executive update will also host the Head of Policy of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to field questions from an i-gaming panel that will include representatives from Betfair and from 888.com.
Return to Top HAMPTON CLAIMS DOUBTFUL
20 February 2004
No evidence of robot, mouse moves
Dramatic developments in the Hampton Casino - Pirate dispute involving
$1.3 million in disqualified winnings took place this week.
Real Time Gaming's top technical man, Michael McMain posted on a top
message board and it was not good news for Hampton Casino, which had
earlier made the unsubstantiated claim that it had mouse mapping
technology and could prove that the player had been using a robot. McMain
said that such technology did not form part of the software, confirming
serious doubts by industry observers.
He further advised that despite 500 man-hours of checking on the Caribbean
21 game and presumably the player logs at the centre of the dispute,
there was no trace of bot activity or other irregularities, and commented
that an autoplaying robot in a negative expectation game was unlikely to
change the house's inherent edge.
The statement and its subtext was widely interpreted as the software
provider distancing itself from the questionable attempts by Hampton to
maintain their disqualification ruling and avoid paying out.
The player renewed his request to RTG to supply his gaming logs, a request
thus far ignored by Hampton.
The Casinomeister, Bryan Bailey who had earlier been attempting a
mediation gave readers a better perspective on the affair by publishing a
chronological summary of the dispute which included previously unpublished
emails that seemed to support the player's claim that no bot or other
improper practice had been used.
Other disclosures revealed that early in the affair, before Hampton froze
the player's payouts the casino had unsuccessfully attempted to
retroactively impose a WT requirement of some $25 million a month with
hand limits of $15 000 to $20 000 which could have eroded the player's
winnings.
No response had been made by Hampton as we went to press, and the player
was pressing ahead with litigation arrangements.
In late breaking news, RTG-powered casinos were starting to inform their
players that the Caribbean 21 game would again be available from Friday 19
February with hand limits that varied by casino. But in a conspicuous
exhibition of bad taste seeing as the player still struggles to get paid,
Phoenician Casino chose to exploit the Pirate theme in its advertising for
the game which, following all the publicity is likely to attract
considerable attention.
Delano Casino is now in the firing line, too. When the Caribbean 21game
was withdrawn from service for inspection the casino froze tens of
thousands of dollars in winnings owed to the player. With an unequivocal
clean bill of health now given the game by RTG, it would appear there is
no justification for Delano withholding payment any longer.
Interest in the dispute has been intense, with one leading message board
recording thread views approaching 25 000 and others also reflecting heavy
activity.
TRIDENT AMONG FIRST TO GET eCOGRA SEALS
20 February 2004
23 Microgaming casinos pass rigorous Seal inspections
Trident group's three casinos King Neptunes.com, Trident Lounge.com and
VegasUSA.com were among the first 23 casinos to be awarded the e-Commerce
and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) quality Seal this
week.
Other successful applicants were:
7 Sultans
Aces High
Bella Vegas
Casino Grand Bay
Fortune Junction
Fortune Room
Gaming Club
Home
Jackpot City
Jackpot Wheel
Jupiter Club
Lucky Nugget
Orbital
Riverbelle
Royal Vegas
Set 2 Go
Showdown
Vegas Palms
Vegas Towers
Vegas Villa http://www.casinomeister.com/casinos.html
Months of rigorous on-site testing by financial and professional services
teams from international audit group Pricewaterhouse Coopers preceded the
award, which has been compared to an International Standards Organisation
listing.
"The inspectors were on our premises for long periods, carrying out
extensive probity and financial checks on both company and management, and
conducting practical examination and testing on everything from our
Support facilities and staff to accounting practices and technical
equipment. It was tough but worth it in the end," says Trident spokesman
Scott Gaines.
eCOGRA insists on the inspections, which cover every aspect of a casino
applicant's operations to ensure that these are in compliance with strict
standards laid down in the Generally Accepted Practices of the
Association.
These have been drafted by international evaluation and compliance experts
to address player protection, fair gaming and responsible operator
conduct, and test player protection policies, technical capabilities and
anti-money laundering measures.
Congratulating the first successful seal holders, eCOGRA chief executive
officer Andrew Beveridge said that the seal is designed to clearly
identify reputable and honest gambling venues for the online gambler.
"eCOGRA didn't rush into this," said Beveridge. "Our independent
directors were determined that we would not award any seals until worthy
sites understood and fully complied with our standards. Together with a
dedicated team from PricewaterhouseCoopers, eCOGRA took the time necessary
to fully check them out."
"eCOGRA seals are a positive development in an industry that has been
trying to build credibility with consumers and regulators. Our mission is
to prove that responsible companies are involved in online gaming and to
make the responsible companies readily recognisable to consumers and
government officials," said Michael Hirst, eCOGRA's chairman.
To guarantee eCOGRA's autonomy from software providers and operators, the
seals compliance committee is comprised of three independent directors who
are not representative of the member software providers or casino
operators. These directors are Michael Hirst OBE, former Chairman and CEO
of Hilton International; Bill Galston OBE, former Chief Inspector of the
Gaming Board for Great Britain; and Frank Catania, a former Assistant
Attorney General in the State of New Jersey and former Director of the New
Jersey Division of Gaming.
Several applicant casinos did not fully meet the criteria this time round,
and these organizations are now working hard on their processes for
re-assessement later in the year, together with a number of other casinos
which are currently being assessed for the first time.
One of the most tangible benefits that online players receive from the
eCOGRA program is access to a dedicated dispute resolution service. If a
player has a dispute with a casino that displays the eCOGRA seal, the
player can easily request eCOGRA's assistance by filling out a short form
at www.ecogra.org/disputes. This is a free service.
The international financial services group PricewaterhouseCoopers is
involved in eCOGRA as a member of the Audit Panel. Apart from initial and
ongoing examinations and inspections on casinos awarded the seal, the
organisation's independent Total Gaming Transactions Review (TGTR) system
is used as an outcomes based verification on software fairness. TGTR works
with raw data from every single gaming transaction at a casino, which is
directed live to a dedicated server. Specially designed analytical
software then balances, crosschecks and trends the information to arrive
at a zero balance and an accurate monthly payout percentage.
eCOGRA is a well-funded, independent, non-profit organisation with offices
and a permanent staff based in London.
Be cautious at Hampton
After weeks of watching the sad saga of Hampton and The Pirate develop we
have now seen enough to convince us that Hampton Casino.com has been
behaving in a questionable manner and should only be approached with
caution...especially if big wins are made. If you're planning on playing
at this operation please be careful and ensure that you carry out a search
on leading message boards first.
Online poker casualties
There's been something of a goldrush into the booming online poker sector,
and as a consequence the industry is now seeing a few casualties. Pro
Poker's website is down, and the word is that World Poker Central is also
offline as of this week. Odds On-powered Big Bet Poker has already told
its players that it is to close February 23.
Not much pride here
There have been grave doubts about online casino, fantasy sports and
sportsbook site Lionbet.com since December last year, when the owner,
apparently in a spat with software provider Futurebet advised affiliates
to stop sending him players because the FB payout infrastructure was so
slow. The key question of course was why that owner continued to accept
deposits despite this. Another warning flag was non-payment of affiliate
obligations and the final crunch came this week when Lionbet stopped
responding to emails complaining about this. A few months back Futurebet
was boasting that it had received new investment which would revitalize
the company, and perhaps some of that should have been directed into the
player support and accounting infrastructure. The site, still powered by
Futurebet is operating, but if the owner is stiffing affiliates, he or she
is probably only a heartbeat away from screwing players.
Gibraltar-based affiliate program BrightShare.com, has launched a new
Online Poker Affiliate Program. Effective immediately, BrightShare
affiliates who currently promote poker can now apply to promote two
PrimaPoker.com sites: Wild Jack Poker and Trident Poker. Andrea Davis,
spokesperson for BrightShare commented, "We're really pleased to include
two PrimaPoker.com multi-player and multi-table poker rooms under the
BrightShare umbrella. Prima Poker is the premiere online poker network,
sending the most players to the biggest tournaments in the world.
BrightShare is looking for ace affiliate poker sites to apply to promote
Wild Jack Poker and Trident Poker and take advantage of the opportunity to
join this successful poker network."
Wild Jack Poker.com and Trident Poker.com are members of Microgaming's
PrimaPoker.com network. Top players at these sites are treated to
all-expense-paid trips to the world's premier land-based tournaments. In
the past year, Prima Poker has taken players to the World Series of Poker,
the Grand Prix de Paris and the Borgata.
The mobile (cell phone) gaming market is opening up at an impressive pace,
and the need for underage filters to protect the vulnerable from gambling
and porn is already being addressed by a technology company.
ProQuent Access is a program developed specifically to filter gambling and
porn content from mobiles.
In Britain, leading mobile operators like Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile,
Virgin Mobile, O2 and 3 have already signed up to a 'Code of Practice'
that calls for filtering of offensive content. The code has been signed
off by Communications Minister Stephen Timms, and will come into force
later this year.
Any inappropriate mobile Internet sites, including videostreaming can be
filtered out at the network level claims Proquent. The technology will
therefore help protect young children or teenagers with easy access to
chat rooms or gambling sites. The content filtering and access control
is managed at the network level, so cellphone users do not have to upgrade
their handsets or download any software.
In operation, ProQuent Access scans and filters data traffic and checks
Internet access requests against the world's largest categorized database
of inappropriate Web content, created and updated by SurfControl. The
database includes more than six million URLs, thousands of gambling and
betting sites and one billion Web pages in 65 languages, is updated every
week and on request filters mobile content in real-time on the network
before it reaches the end user.
Industry businessmen who like to keep up to speed with who's who and
what's what in Got2bet can get their credit cards or check books
out because City Press annual directory is now available.
The Gaming Business Directory is a 700-page reference publication with the
most up-to-date information available on gaming properties, property
owners, gaming industry suppliers and their executive contacts.
The Spring 2004 directory covers over 3,000 gaming properties around the
world with detailed property profiles and names and titles of executive
contacts across more than 35 departments. Over 5,000 industry suppliers
are also included along with agencies and commissions, associations, trade
shows, trade publications, and more. "This directory is a must-have for
anyone doing business in the gaming industry. If you're an industry
supplier, you can use it to grow your business by marketing to casino
executives or gaming manufacturers. If you're a casino executive, you can
use it for competitive analysis or to find a good vendor to work with,"
says Michael Opton, the publication's editor.
The information in the Gaming Business Directory is available in print, on
CD, and online at GBDonline.com for access to up-to-the-minute data.
Casino City Press is a leading publisher and distributor of reference
books and directories for the gaming industry. Other titles include the
Global Gaming Almanac, the North American Gaming Almanac, the Casino &
Gaming Market Research Handbook, the Nevada Gaming Almanac, and the
Colorado, Mississippi, New Jersey Gaming Almanac.
Diamond Club offers attractive loyalty combination
Veteran British bookie Victor Chandler knows a thing or two about the
sports betting market, and his latest loyalty incentive program is likely
to find favour with many of his clients.
Branded the Diamond Program, the scheme offers regular players the
opportunity to enjoy travel to major sporting events around the world.
Clients have to meet preset conditions of play each month to enter into a
draw for seriously attractive prizes such as the Third Test in Barbados,
Dubai World Cup, Monaco Grand Prix, Epsom Derby, Ryder Cup in Detroit and
the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Launching the new plan, Chandler said, "We believe customers now expect
more than just betting products and services. We want our customers to get
more back from us and this is our way of doing that. These rewards are at
the very top end of the scale. They are all once-in-a-lifetime trips based
around some of the world's top hotels and sporting venues."
Gaming experts were feeling gloomy this week as a rumour spread that the
British Government may impose a 15 percent tax on gross profits of
i-gaming sites based in the UK. Bingo and bookmakers already pay the tax.
If the rumour is true, the taxation move could derail plans to attract
Got2bet sites to the UK and regulate same. It would make the
British jurisdiction less competitive, as operators in Alderney such as
SkyBetVegas and Rank Interactive remain untaxed and Curacao based
operations like Littlewoods pay minimal tax.
"It's not something that's going to attract casinos back", said Hilary
Stewart-Jones, a partner in law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner. "All this
elegant precision around the Gambling Reform Bill has no point to it if
the tax structure isn't right"
Tax is becoming a major issue for offshore casinos wanting to return to
the British Isles. Although many are prepared to pay tax for the security
and prestige of a British licence, the extent of that taxation is clearly
a consideration. A Littlewoods spokesperson confirmed this week that many
companies preferred to work from Britain, but only if it was reasonably
regulated with sensible taxation levels. Fifteen percent is widely
regarded as being too high a price to pay.
Austrian public company Bet & Win is one of four companies that have put
together a new European industry body called the European Betting
Association (EBA)...we would like to tell you who the other three are, but
B&W seem to have ommitted them from their press release!
The association has set itself the goal of creating and ensuring fair and
uniform market access conditions within the European single market, whilst
at the same time adhering to self-imposed, high quality standards.
Board members of betandwin, Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner, have
been actively encouraging the association of leading European online
gaming providers to form a non-profit organisation. Stig M. Hebern, acting
as interim secretary general, and Torbjorn Ihre, a highly regarded
lobbyist, are heading up a representation in Brussels. Their job is to
equally represent the interests of both customers and operators in
Brussels.
The EBA formation takes place against a background of a European sports
betting and gaming industry in a state of major transition. In view of the
trail-blazing verdict of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the
Gambelli case, it is anticipated that individual national markets will
have to open up to private operators within the European single market in
the medium term. Pursuant to the ECJ decision announced on 6 November
2003, all EU member states must ensure that providers are permitted to
offer the services they are licensed to provide in their respective
countries of origin in other EU countries, unless national restrictions
are justified on the grounds of public interest.
The European Court of Justice ruled that a member state cannot give the
maintenance of public order as a reason for justifying restrictive
measures whilst at the same time encouraging participation in lotteries,
games of chance or betting with a view to ensuring a revenue stream for
public coffers.
The EBA intends not only to maintain pressure for free competition across
European boundaries, often in the face of State monopolies but will also
concern itself with improved services to gamblers through the introduction
of agreed ethical principles for I-Gaming.
By subscribing to the organisation, members of EBA pledge to observe
ethical guidelines in all aspects of their I-gaming activities. In the
medium term, EBA envisages the introduction of these guidelines as a
compulsory standard for the industry. Based on a quality seal, the
objective is to make it easier for online customers to determine whether
the website of their choice is a trustworthy I-gaming provider observing
EBA guidelines.
The issues of minors and problem gaming are also high on EBA's agenda. As
part of an extensive programme for potential problem players, a
cooperation project with accredited universities is already underway to
develop software products for the early recognition of problem players and
their subsequent care.
In a parallel story, the European press reported that Betfair had become
another victim of an EC "sovereignty" type ruling in Holland...it is still
too early to know whether they will appeal like Ladbrokes.
A Dutch court ruled Friday last week that the online betting exchange is
operating illegally in the Netherlands. Dutch De Lotto, the sports betting
monopoly and exclusive rights holder for Internet gambling in the
Netherlands, subpoenaed the international, U.K.-based betting exchange.
MasterCard International issued a revving up bulletin to its member
financial institutions Thursday last, reiterating the importance of
compliance with MasterCard standards. Numerous references were made to
Internet gambling, although no particular *illegal* activity was singled
out. The bulletin is perhaps a reminder that the major credit card
companies still have Got2bet firmly in their sights.
Mobile gambling continues to attract significant business interest, this
week in Asia where Korea's three wireless carriers, SK Telecom, KTF and LG
Telecom, are making initial moves into the sector.
SK Telecom began to select top-ranking game services last month to renew
its contracts with service providers. The operator changed its focus and
is now in deals with 26 publishers of popular mobile games.
KTF saw its game service revenue rise 25 percent in January and shelved
its Oriental card game service to establish a new mobile gambling
category. The company is also working on plans to develop the next
generation of wireless gaming compatible with its 'WiPi' technology,
expected to launch in mid-2005.
LG Telecom has been focusing on relatively small-scale games targeted on
commuters using buses and subways. Such commuter games now account for 25%
of the total game service revenue. The company is expected to stick to
this strategy for some time, given the limited capacity of Java platform
it is using. The company is partnering with KTF in the adoption of WiPi
technology to increase its gaming portfolio.
Chimera Technology was in the news again this week with positive happenings.
To start the week, Time Investment Corp. ("Time") signed up as the second
licensee for the Chimera suite of Got2bet products. The companies
intend to immediately commence the architecture and construction phase of
the web site, with deployment expected within the next 30-45 days. Time is
expected to launch its site by first utilizing Chimera's sports wagering
platform, to be followed by further gaming platforms such as poker,
blackjack, roulette, pai gau and roulette, among others. The operator
will be hosting the site through Chimera's operations partner, E-Network,
as well as managing all traffic and financial reporting through Chimera's
"BIRDS EYE" system.
Days later the first results from recently launched 724SportsBook.com were
announced. Costa Rica-based operations partner E-Network, reported
significant traffic, account registrations and wagering in its first full
weekend of operation. E-Network reports that many customers have already
placed multiple bets and the complete operating system experienced no
problems under at times significant load.
Chimera ended the week on a high note as the feature company on the AOL
Small Cap Centre site.
Reliable sources inform us that all is not well at The Prescription, a
prestigious portal with a million dollar plus price tag that was bought by
online casino owner Marty Jensen and partners last year.
Former owner Ken Weitzner (The Shrink) stayed on for a limited period and
apparently had to intervene to protect the site's reputation when a two
and a half year old scandal involving Danish players at Jensen's Main
Street Group of casinos resurfaced on The Rx's message board recently.
Jensen was persuaded to contact players with outstanding complaints and
resolve them.
The current tension is apparently over the remaining payment of the
multi-million dollar purchase price, where we are reliably informed that a
significant percentage has not been paid as agreed by Jensen and his
partners. And there are rumours of key technical staff leaving.
InfoPowa asked Dr. Weitzner for comment on this story but none had been
received as at going to press.
We mentioned Diamond Poker Club in our bulletins last week, and we have
been investigating this operation which is operated by Gambling Federation
but does not use their customary iCrystal software.
We have confirmed that iCrystal are not offering poker room software at
present, and that this Diamond Poker Club outfit is actually related in
some way to a software provider called Play World, which supplied the
software for Diamond. The playworld.net site is currently "under
construction".
That's interesting, because it could herald a deal where Playworld supply
Gambling Federation with poker room software for their considerable array
of iCrystal powered online casino sites...
Eternal city - the lawyers know how to pick a venue.
Hosted by The International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) this is one the
legal eagles will not want to miss, so diarise Friday April 16, 2004 - and
the weekend, too!
Gaming attorneys and European operations managers are encouraged to attend
a one-day seminar at the Marriott Grand Hotel Flora in Rome, Italy.
Panels of experts will discuss legal issues such as gaming cases currently
under review by the European Court of Justice, developing European
policies on privacy and database protections, and advertising restrictions
being put in place around the globe.
The one day event is being held in conjunction with a half-day members
meeting of IMGL on Thursday, April 15. IMGL is a non-profit association of
attorneys, gaming regulators and gaming executives dedicated to the
education, advancement of the gaming law profession and exchange of
professional information concerning the local and global practice and
development of all aspects of gaming law.
From poster Jyde, commenting on the issue of Hampton Casino not allowing
autoplay robots:
"(Not allowing robot play) Today makes as much sense as forbidding the use
of Windows 98 or wearing Lederhosen while playing."
Return to Top THE MAN WHO LOST MILLIONS
13 February 2004
The saga of Ron and the Pirate continues
Over the past few weeks we have been carrying the story of a player using the handle Pirateofc21 (geddit?) and Hampton Casino.com, an RTG-powered operation managed by one Ron Lewin.
By way of a brief recap, the Pirate seems to have enjoyed either extraordinary luck, or some sort of system that enabled him to score hundreds of thousands of dollars off RTG's Caribbean 21 game at a wide range of casinos.
His initial predations went undetected, he was for the most part paid out...and then he came to Hampton Casino, where he rather greedily called attention to himself by persuading management to increase his wager maximums and won $1.3 million. Management and RTG clearly went to panic stations and withdrew the game, which was twice subjected to stringent testing yet apparently came through with a clean bill of health.
After a prevaricating attempt to retroactively introduce a new WT requirement, the casino agreed to pay Pirateofc21, who was by now crowing about his good fortune all over the Internet. The agreed rate of $4 000 a week was put into effect, and Pirate received well over $25 000.
The wheels came off when Pirate made some ill-advised jibes on the message boards, and Hampton's manager Ron Lewin called him (and he astonishingly has admitted this) with the express purpose of getting him to admit to using a robot player in contravention of the casinos T&Cs, a hangover from it's UG-powered days.
What followed, and it's propriety has been the subject of intense and widespread discussion over the internet, because Hampton ceased payments on the grounds of the taped telephone conversation, claiming that Pirate had admitted to using a 'bot.
The debate raged on this week, with neither party emerging smelling of roses. Amongst the new developments:
1) The player continued to deny that he had used a robot and said his admission was made in a fishing expedition to ascertain whether the casino really did have technical proof that he had used a bot.
2) The casino claimed that they had corroborative proof that was too technical for release but used some form of mouse mapping which had clearly shown a bot in use. However on being challenged on this claim as extremely unlikely in a technological sense Hampton seemed to studiously ignore the challenge and any further mention of this technology. The player additionally pointed out that he used mousekeys and not a mouse, in any case.
3) Despite site blurb which assured players that they could always obtain copies of their playing logs, the casino steadfastly ignored all attempts to obtain these by the player. This could be important evidence.
4) The player was unable to explain how he managed to build a small initial stake into the huge and diverse wins at various casinos, other than to claim he used The Wizard's basic strategy "and a few hunches"
5) And doubts that a robot playing basic strategy in a negative expectation game could amass such significant winnings raised the spectre of exploitation of a still undiscovered flaw in the software. Speculation ran rife on this, and extended to the premise that Pirate might have been given inside information that enabled him to harvest such impressive rewards.
By the time we went to press it was looking increasingly unlikely, no matter how much the question of real proof was raised that Hampton was going to budge from its refusal to pay the player. And the player vowed to continue the fight.
Once again, this unfortunate affair has highlighted the lack of regulation, compulsory arbitration and control in Got2bet, and the apparent unimportance of justifying questionable actions or providing solid proof by both parties. Certainly some very serious questions have been raised regarding the Caribbean 21 software and the behaviour of both Pirate and Hampton Casino.
Our sources tell us that the "Phone 'em and get an admission" tactic has been recently tried by another large gambling outfit, but the player in that incident did not rise to the bait after he won two progressive jackpots and he was eventually paid in full.
Numbers of puzzled players have been posting that Hampton's sportsbook operation was apparently taken down the day after the Superbowl.
"I have played exclusively at Hampton's Sportsbok until they abruptly took the book down the very day after the Superbowl without ANY notice whatsoever," wrote one gambler. "Up on Sunday, and down the next day without even an email telling its customers that the sportsbook would no longer be operational.
"I had to contact Hampton to be told this. Imagine that. No email. No nothing. In all fairness, I have made several neteller w/d which were all processed within the stated 7 day business period during the couple of months I played there."
We asked Hampton for their comments on this story but despite two reminders there had been no response as we went to press this week.
If your head hurts from the argument, opinions, accusations and counter allegations in the Man Who Lost Millions dispute take a break and visit this thread here for a really good belly laugh at some clever exchanges in a satirical frame of mind....
Some pretty personal allegations were being thrown around this week concerning a US portal administrator and the manager of Twin Aces Casino, a member of Marty Jensen's Main Street Vegas Group.
The relationship between these two consenting adults was not so much at the centre of the reports as the accusation that certain private information concerning particular Twin Aces players had been passed on as a result of a visit to the Canadian based manager by the US woman.
Players outraged by this alleged breach of privacy went public with the information, which was reported by Sports911 and ignited some fiery and threatening telephone calls from Jensen, and unpressed threats of litigation by the woman involved.
911 remained unmoved, citing the public interest in breaches of player privacy, and the right to carry both sides of the story. The story remained on its pages, and a lively forum discussion took place.
InfoPowa twice requested comment from both Playtech and the owner of Twin Aces, Marty Jensen but had received no response as at going to press.
Real Time Gaming staffers must have been pleased with themselves this week as it was announced that the large BoDog gambling group has selected RTG software for its upgraded casino operation.
"A majority of our sportsbook players are also casino players," said Rob Gillespie, President of BoDog.com Sportsbook and Casino. "With the new casino we will be able to offer players the most advanced technology and gaming experience."
BoDog.com is among the largest and most established sportsbook operations in the industry, having processed over 150 million transactions. In addition to sports gaming, thed site also currently offers a suite of Flash-based casino games including blackjack, craps, Caribbean poker and roulette. Once up and running, the RealTime platform will bring over 60 different games to the players.
Gillespie revealed that the decision to develop a more robust casino offering was largely player driven. Many BoDog.com users wanted a way to play within their sports book account, and wanted a larger variety of the most popular Las Vegas casino games.
“We knew that our games would be a hit with their player base, and we know how to plug it all in from a back-end standpoint. It really has been a pretty smooth process,” says Michael Staw, CEO of RTG.
Both management teams are excited at the possibilities. “We’re looking forward to bringing something this big to our players…it really completes our site as a one-stop gaming center,” says Gillespie. Staw added, “We’ve got a great software product and they have a great gaming operation – it’s a perfect match.”
Readers will remember US Congressman John Conyers as one of the few legislators who wanted to study Got2bet in depth instead of taking the knee-jerk route of banning it. With so many Americans determined to exert their right to gamble, his sensible proposal to form a committee with widespread investigative authority resonated in the most positive way.
This week Sensible John was in the headlines again...but on the other side of the Atlantic where The Telegraph reported the positive news that he and other senior American politicians have canvassed the UK Treasury for its views on whether the US should ban its citizens from gambling over the internet.
The move has been taken by many leading betting industry figures to signal a potential change of attitude in America, potentially opening up the $20 billion a year US online market.
With the exception of horse-racing in California, American nationals are not allowed to place internet bets. Despite this, American citizens account for half the $40 billion a year internet gambling market, betting via offshore sites.
US politicians, egged on by religious lobby groups, have repeatedly attempted to close this loophole, so far without success. In a new twist, Congressman John Conyers from the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee recently wrote to Chancellor Gordon Brown requesting his views on banning US citizens from making internet bets with companies outside the US.
John Healey, economic secretary to the Treasury, replied, referring to the Government's new Gambling Bill, and stressing that the British government did not support such a ban. He said: "Online and telephone betting is already well established as a legal activity in this country . . . In going forward we have decided that it is better to regulate and control this activity rather than seek to prohibit it." He added that "Got2bet brings with it an international dimension".
Sportingbet is the only British bookie to make a major part of its income - more than 50pc - from US internet gambling. It took $16m of bets on this month's Super Bowl, up 33pc, including $14.8m from US gamblers. Some investors have shunned its shares, fearing such business is illegal. However, chief executive Nigel Payne said "it's a grey area".
He added: "If you accept that an internet transaction takes place where the individual resides rather than where the accepting business resides then gambling on the internet may be illegal under The Wire Act," which the US passed in the 1960s. Sportingbet has exploited this loophole with an offshore site in Costa Rica.
Mr Payne said some US politicians have realised that such sites are costing America billions a year in lost tax revenues. He added that he expected them to introduce "a permissive Bill in March or April".
In the meantime, he believes the Treasury is making a play for online betting tax revenues by encouraging companies to move to Britain, where they pay corporation and other taxes. "We believe that this is a Treasury-driven strategy because there is first-mover advantage for tax," he said.
Other bookies remain cautious. David Harding, the William Hill boss, said he would not accept bets from America until the legal situation was clear, but added: "I don't think prohibition works. There's a massive illegal gambling market in America and the authorities are missing out on the tax revenues."
Following its successful appearance at the International Casino Exhibition in London recently; online poker room specialists Tribeca Tables have completed several new poker room sales including deals with Gaming Floor.com and Casinos of Mayfair.com.
The company reports that a number of other strong enquiries in the pipeline.
Company manager Steve Cook said, “We had an amazing response from companies and people attending the show. We were extremely busy on all three days and we have also been in discussions with a number of potentially large casino and sport betting companies for the last few months, many of which are going to be major partners with Tribeca. Unfortunately it’s too soon for us to reveal any details of these clients, but as they say watch this space!”
Several poker rooms are currently using the companys poker software, including Poker In Europe, Golden Palace and Victor Chandler and over 100 sub licensees like Racing Post, FHM and the UK’s ISP FreeServe.
Tribeca pioneered the poker room aggregator and has developed a highly successful online poker room that provides liquidity, strong retention schemes, real poker community features and very sophisticated anti-fraud and collusion tools.
The announcement has been expected for months as Swedish turnkey provider Boss Media continues to rationalise and concentrate on its core business...but this week the news was official - flagship Gold Club Casino has been sold.
The press release was brief and to the point, revealing that in order to concentrate on its core business Boss Media had decided to sell it's business-to-consumer division, starting with the web portal Casino.com that was sold for a reported $5 million during 2003. The release gives no details of intentions regarding player accounts, which will presumably be privately emailed, but does say that the undisclosed new owner will be staying with the Boss Media software package.
The price has not been disclosed, again at the request of the new owner.
"We have now completed what we set out to do during 2003, to sell our gaming operations in order to fully focus on our core business of developing software for the gaming industry. In addition, by selling Gold Club Casino, we have established a business relation with a gaming operator which has substantial future plans", says Peter Bertilsson, CEO of Boss Media.
Think twice about your roll here
There's a suspiciously large signup of 400 percent maxed at a seemingly generous $1 000 being offered at a small outfit called LucknRoll.com this week, but think about the WT requirement of 35 D&B. Anyone tempted by this offer might also like to consider whether a casino as small as this, using hardly known (Casinova) software could be offering six figure numbers on its progressives. Casinova is apparently run by Israelis headed by a Mr. S. Greenberg. LucknRoll belongs to a Gibraltar registered company called FBA, together with sisters Slots Alley and Casino On Liner. The safe and diligent player might also like to read a little more about these operations here: http://www.casinomeister.com/rogue/slotsalley.html
Slow pay
Be careful around Indio Casino.com, powered by Futurebet. Reports have been coming in over the past few weeks of slowpaying, which the CSRs at this operation have been blaming on an unspecified "software glitch"
Another clone
If you're one of those who avoids Tej Kohli's Virtual Casino operations like the plague, be advised of a new clone at Best Winning Casino.com.
"The Russians are coming," blared the headline in the business section of The Independent this week as it revealed that Sportingbet.com shares were in demand amid rumours of stake building in the group by an unidentified consortium of Russian investors.
Why a consortium of Russian investors might specifically be interested in the online betting group was unclear, but it certainly got the company's shares moving. They ended the day 7.5p higher at 80p.
Things are without doubt looking up for Sportingbet. The group's shares have soared from their April 2003 low of 18p and now stand at their highest level since mid-2002.
Last month, the world's largest online betting company boasted of a 61 per cent leap in third-quarter profits thanks to a 20 per cent rise in sales. It also talked of strong trading during the first four weeks of its final quarter.
Along with the improving financials, there seems to be growing confidence among directors in Sportingbet's future, as they have piled into the shares. Most recently, Sean O'Connor, a non-executive, picked up 41,000 shares at 71p. This comes on top of buying from Nigel Payne, the chief executive, and Peter Dicks, the chairman.
Justin Drummond's Gaming Corporation has had some tough times but is apparently coming back with an interesting new "Trade Pounds" casino concept for Bartercard, a barter network operating in fifteen countries with over 200 000 card holders and a major website.
Bartercard is a business-to-business market place that facilitates exchange of goods and services instead of cash through electronic transactions via the Internet, selected swipe card facilities and telephone 'e-commerce', or by a transaction voucher similar to that used with a credit card.
In a unique strategic alliance Gaming Corp will provide Bartercard with its own branded casino site, with 24/7 multi-lingual support, so its members and card holders can gamble online using Trade Pounds, which are the alternative to cash that allow businesses to trade their own goods and services.
The deal, believed to be the first of its kind, provides Gaming Corp with global exposure and access to an entirely new market place of high net worth business people.
Under the deal Gaming Corp will manage the Bartercard Casino and receive all gaming profits. These profits will be applied to a global advertising campaign across the Bartercard international network. Bartercard benefits from the increased trade activity on which it charges transaction fees, which forge the foundation of its revenues. Bartercard.com already facilitates online transactions for its online auction, shopping mall and e-marketplace and currently clears transactions in 20 different currencies, and expects its large membership base to rapidly adopt the new Bartercard Casino in the same way it has adopted its other online products and services.
“The Bartercard.com internet site is our fastest growing source of new trade, with almost 20,000 of our members registered to trade online. Of course the core of our business is business or B2B products and services, but we recognise that entertainment, particularly gaming has huge potential as our clients are increasingly looking for alternative ways to enjoy life outside of work” says Bartercard Founder and CEO Wayne Sharpe.
Gaming Corporation is an interactive gaming business which operates the UK gaming portal Casino.co.uk. The company also operates its own online casino, Play.Casino.co.uk and poker network, Poker.Casino.co.uk.
Nevada-based gambling software provider Chimera Technology enjoyed a welcome injection of new capital this week after securing additional private placement equity financing of $500,000.
The company develops and provides online bingo, casino, sports book, Internet casino games suite and pari-mutuel sports books wagering platform services. The funds will go directly toward the rapid expansion plans of the company through business development and marketing efforts.
Chimera claims that UK online gamblers spent in total over $6.4 billion in 2003, while US online gamblers wagered more than $10 billion. The company feels that Britain’s forthcoming gambling reforms will be an added boost for the industry, making it easier for companies to run online casinos from the Britain, and that Got2bet revenues can be expected to increase six fold in the years ahead.
CEO and President Ken Chua says, “We are incredibly pleased to announce that we have raised $750,000 in equity financing in only four weeks. Private placement investors are putting their money, faith and trust into long-term expectations of Chimera’s success.”
Giving substance to his comments, Chua followed up with news of a new launch by the company. 724sportsbook.com, operated by Market System officially launched a live and fully operational site on Friday, Feb. 13, 2004.
The new betting site which signed up with Chimera 8 weeks ago said it will offer wagering on all major sporting events around the world including NHL, NBA, soccer, golf, motor racing, cricket and more. Market System also plans to offer pari-mutuel horse racing in the very near future, as will a full line-up of casino games once testing and debugging have been completed.
InfoPowa's story last week on the rapid growth of Neteller in terms of new daily sign-ups was fairly and squarely capped by a player who informed us that this was nowhere near as impressive as the more established e-gold. For the record, this is what he sent us:
"According to the e-gold system statistics page there were 1,278 accounts created in the last 24 hours (and mind you, it's been around a lot longer and is larger than neteller, so one would think it would be growing at nowhere near the same speed.) There are a total of 1,115,113 accounts (just under 700,000 funded -- would be interested to know that statistic for Neteller) and in the last 24 hours there were over 15,000 users accessing accounts, who made 21,000 spends totaling just over $ 1 million in value."
There's obviously gold in them thar third party payment hills!
ANGELCITI GOING AFTER THE POKER SECTOR
13 February 2004
New moves and new cash
Reformed turnkey provider Angelciti has acquired a new cash facility that will enable it to expand operations and go after the burgeoning online poker sector.
Subsidiary Worldwide Management announced this week that it will split off its online poker operations into a separate unit, to capitalize on the surge of interest in online poker. The company provides gaming software to online casinos including SharkCasino.com, SharkPoker.com and TheHouseWins.com, and believes online poker could be a big money spinner.
Quoting a recent report from PokerPulse.com Angelciti's release says that the online poker industry has more than tripled in 2003 with an estimated $16 billion to be wagered at online poker websites in 2004, and in the U.S alone there are an estimated 50 million poker enthusiasts. PokerPulse.com claims that approximately $46,237,221 is wagered at online poker sites during any given 24 hour period.
Recent TV success like the Travel Channel's 13-week World Poker Tour which became the highest-rated programming on the network in 2003, highlights America’s new obsession with poker. The show drew in a record 839 professional poker players trying their talent on $2.5 million.
‘The prospective growth opportunity in online poker is extensive. It is now time to take that same mandate into our online poker operations, whereby they will begin to provide a greater percentage of our overall operations and profits,’ says AngelCiti President George Gutierrez.
In a related announcement AngelCiti disclosed that it has entered into a loan and security agreement for a credit facility of up to $2.43 million with Finanzinvest, Ltd., a Bermuda investment company.
The intention is to use these new funds for further development of its online casino and poker software and expansion into the European and Asian markets. The agreement provides for a credit facility of up to $2.43 million, to be provided in increments, on a best efforts basis, with initial funding anticipated within 30 days.
Techie companies are continuing to push the mobile phone gambling concept hard, with promises of major revenues in the years ahead from several research companies.
New start-up Motile Interactive Systems is just one newcomer with big ambitions aimed at countries like China, where a claimed 269 million cell phone users are the target in a country with a strong gambling culture.
Motile has launched a roulette game that can be connected via a casino and played via a cell phone. To cash in on the potentially lucrative new market and the anticipated boom in developing countries, last year the company started developing mobile and interactive versions of classical casino games like roulette, blackjack, keno and craps which can be played on cellular phones.
The snag is that this system is best suited to latest-generation, powerful colour screen cellphones, which might cut down the market estimates somewhat.
And the competition is fierce - the more established Bell Mobility offers more than 70 Java software based mobile games such as digital Backgammon and Reversi for between $3 and $7 each, downloaded over the air.
Online casino and poker room operator
32Red Casino this week announced the appointment of Jonny Brand as Head of Marketing. Jonny joins 32Red following successful spells at Corals and UK Betting and recently took up responsibility for all marketing activity at 32Red, reporting directly to CEO Ed Ware.
Brand said: "I am very excited to be joining Trafalgar Betting & Gaming at this pivotal time in it’s development. 32Red is an ambitious and successful company with an ever-increasing customer base and product offering. I look forward to the challenge of expanding the reach of 32Red.
“We have a strong and clear brand in a market place that is becoming more and more competitive. Key to our continuing success will be communicating our brand values and providing excellent customer service".
Regional politics, culture and legislation all play various roles in shaping the I-gaming industry in Australia and the Far East. Examine these questions and more at the only conference organized to delve into this historically lucrative region's unique issues.
Held at the Sydney Star City Hotel & Casino, the combination of destination and conference content will put the 2nd Annual Pacific Congress on Interactive Gaming (PCIG) on the forefront of I-gaming events.
Visit www.rivercitygroup.com/pcig to register online, book your hotel room (room block released 23 February, so book now), and view the conference agenda.
And the big one...
I-GAMING'S CORNERSTONE EVENT
Clear your diary for 17-19 May, 2004 for the Sixth Annual Global Interactive Gaming Summit & Expo - the world's largest conference and tradeshow specifically organized for the worldwide interactive gaming and gambling industry.
With an extra half-day of conference content and an innovative expo hall, GIGSE provides the best educational experience, the best networking opportunities and the best prospect-building available to the I-gaming community.
Book your hotel accommodations, view the conference agenda, and sign up to exhibit or sponsor at the official convention website: www.gigse.com.
Return to Top MILLION DOLLAR DISQUALIFICATION
6 February 2004
Now you see it, now you don't...
Readers may recall InfoPowa bulletins over the past three weeks reporting on major wins on RTG powered casinos totalling over US $ 1.4 million by an apparently skilled player on their Caribbean 21 game. The player had previously racked up and been paid a further $100 000 plus in similar very high roller operations at other RTG casinos after starting with a mere $1 000 stake.
RTG immediately withdrew the game from operations whilst it "investigated and assessed" the win, and it subsequently appeared that these presumably exhaustive tests gave the wins a clean bill of health and payment to the player was approved.
The player's accounts were being re-opened, and the only flies in the ointment were an alleged unsuccessful attempt by the main casino involved, Hamptons to retroactively impose a wager through, and their insistence that the winnings would have to be paid at the casino's maximum withdrawal rate of $4 000 a week, which would mean that this win would take six and a half years to pay out!
The apparent resolution was short-lived however, and this week the dispute erupted on the message boards as it appeared that the player concerned was not, after all going to get his money without a fight. Well, not all of it anyway - the word is that he has already received over $25 000 from Hamptons.
Despite the RTG tests, it seems that the management at Hamptons were less than happy and contacted the player on a recorded line...without telling him that the conversation was being recorded. But the player was not entirely open either - he was also recording the call!
What followed next is a matter of conjecture because only snippets of the resulting conversation have appeared on the internet, and it is not clear what the full exchange entailed. One side alleges that the player admitted he was a programmer who had built and used a robot to defeat the software (Hampton's was previously a UG casino and specifically bans the use of robots in its T&Cs.) If this is true then in simplistic black-and-white terms there was a breach of a specific T&C and the winnings are forfeit.
However, another side is that the casino deliberately lured the player into an unwarned, taped discussion on whether he had built a 'bot, mentioning a substantial financial deal if he was prepared to deliver the source code for the future protection of the gambling software. And that parts of the discussion were taken out of context. The player publicly claims that he was only following The Wizard's strategies and a few hunches - no robot, no device.
How Hamptons came to the presumably provable conclusion that the player was illegally using a bot was not clear as we went to press, and there was talk of another inspection of the player's activity.
The player did not appear to be helping his own case by some pretty indiscriminate and accusatory postings, when he perhaps should (for this very large amount of money) have been adopting a "don't talk to me, talk to my lawyer" posture, assuming his complaint is legitimate.
Either way, it's a lot of money and this story will no doubt continue to attract attention in the week ahead as more disclosures are made.
$114,930 JACKPOT FOR KING NEPTUNE'S PLAYER
6 February 2004
Treasure Nile progressive PAYOUT... and a luxury holiday, too.
January was a lucky month for King Neptunes Casino
Casino.com player Edward T. who believed a miracle had happened when he hit a jackpot of $114,930.16 on the Treasure Nile progressive slot at the Trident group's flagship.
"I went numb, jumped up and down, screamed and thanked the Lord." recalled the player, talking about his first reaction to the good news on his computer screen. Edward has already received his single full cash payout for the win and will use his winnings to pay debts and then enjoy a houseboat trip in the spring.
Scott Gaines, Trident spokesman said, "At Trident Entertainment we are always especially pleased to learn that a jackpot win has significantly improved the quality of life of one of our players. Edward can now start 2004 on a positive note and we're thrilled to have played a part in that."
To help Edward T. celebrate his jackpot win, King Neptune's is arranging a luxury, first-class, all-expense paid round-trip weekend to a dream destination.
HENDON MOB SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER PRIMA POKER WORLD TOUR
6 February 2004
88 tournaments, 14 festivals and 7 countries in 2004.
Big poker news this week is that the Prima Poker Network is pumping an impressive one million dollars into Prima Poker Tour 2004 that will empower and pay for network players to 14 poker festivals in 7 countries, making this the largest global tour in poker history.
Claimed to be the largest terrestrial sponsorship in the history of poker, Prima is again backing the world famous Hendon Mob on their second global escapade. The Mob will challenge the world's best poker players as they compete in 14 of the most prestigious poker festivals across 7 countries over the next 12 months.
PrimaPoker.com is continuing the biggest ever sponsorship after The Mob outperformed all expectations in the inaugural Prima Poker Tour in 2003, with 49 money finishes, 11 tournament trophies, and around US $500,000 in total prize money.
"The partnership with The Hendon Mob has been extremely good not just for PrimaPoker.com, but for the sport as a whole. The synergy between online and offline poker has given the sport more exposure than ever before, bringing new audiences into play both online and in the terrestrial card rooms", said a Prima spokesperson in announcing the 2004 deal with the UK-based professionals.
Prima Poker Tour 2004 will take The Hendon Mob to Las Vegas, Paris, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Vienna, Dublin and London. The Tour will include the World Series of Poker, where it is odds-on that at least one of the four members of The Hendon Mob wins a WSOP bracelet. The prize money for the World Series of Poker's main event tops $10,000,000.
"We are delighted that PrimaPoker.com are continuing to put their faith in us and we intend to continue as we started last year; breaking records and making friends all over the planet. PrimaPoker.com are set to be the biggest poker network in the world and we aim to be the biggest winners on the tournament circuit", said Barny Boatman of The Hendon Mob.
Joining The Hendon Mob on the Prima Poker Tour will be some of the best online players on the network. Satellites will be run on the PrimaPoker.com network for many of the tournaments, with the winning players sponsored and joining The Mob at the exclusive festivals around the world.
Going, going, gone?
Posts are appearing on the Internet from worried players to whom ProPoker.com is alleged to owe money. They are concerned at the lack of response to their emails asking about the following "For Sale" info on this site:
"Notice: ProPoker is now up for sale.
All parties interested please email management@propoker.com"
In the interests of a balanced report we invited comments on what will happen to client accounts and monies owed in the event of a sale, and whether the owners are leaving the industry or moving on to some other form of Got2bet. This reasonable question has received no response and we would therefore advise caution around this operation until the situation is clearer...and they communicate.
Don't bank on this
Online gamers with long memories or good research talent will recognise the name Jack Banks from the notorious multi-million dollar fraud charges several years ago. Information coming to hand this week would suggest that these folks may be touting new software and re-entering the industry.
The following brands are suspected of being involved:
Getacut (white label program)
iGaming Network (no download Java, 40 game software)
Gcash
g.cash
galaxiworld
Telton Ltd.
Jack Banks aka Banques was convicted of bank fraud and securities fraud in relation to founding Galaxiworld several years ago and was punished by what was referred to at the time as a "...mere slap on the wrist". His daughter Esther Willinger nee Banks seems to be involved in his businesses and runs marketing operations. Information from reliable sources indicates that the following casinos are probably involved and should therefore be approached with care.
Does Antigua care?
Players and portalmasters alike continue to look askance at the Antiguan gaming directorate's continued silence on the Odds On - Forty Plus closure affair, and complaints have now been submitted to several governments. Odds On has offices in Antigua and appears to be licensed there despite its other premises in Costa Rica and Toronto, yet Antiguan gaming director Ron Maginley has apparently told enquirers that Odds On's involvement in the Forty Plus affair is outside his remit. At least one outraged player is said to be pressing Maginley on the issue, thus far without a reply. Forty Plus abruptly closed last year leaving players unpaid, and after some pressure and three months Odds On made arrangements for aggrieved players to receive credits at English Harbour Casino. Questions are being asked about the ownership links between the two companies, and about the questionable manner in which Odds On handled the Forty Plus issue. Antigua and the USA are currently at loggerheads in a dispute before the WTO on the impact of U.S. actions on Antigua as a fee-earning gambling jurisdiction. It would seem that some players have been paid and others not, a worrying scenario in an issue that has dragged on for far too long.
It looks as if another Boss-powered online casino is closing, although the operators are not leaving the building as they are concentrating on the online poker phenomenon.
Players at BugseysClub.com were receiving the following email from management this week.
Dear Casino member,
We want to let you know that we've decided to close the Casino at BugsysClub
because the Poker side of BugsysClub is growing so fast, that it is taking
100% of our energies.
We therefore ask you to please close your casino account on or before
Thursday, February 26, 2004. You can either enjoy the games for the last
time or you can request a withdrawal of your account balance.
Please note: after February 26, 2004, the money remaining in your casino account will be
forfeited to the casino.
To thank you for your BugsysClub patronage, we invite you to come play Poker
at BugsysClub Poker, where we will give you a special deposit bonus.
NeTeller expands operations - and wants to hear from players with problems
After only four years on the scene NeTeller is expanding fast it seems - CEO Gord Herman recently revealed that the third party payment company signs up an average of 1500 new customers a day and currently has some 650 000 clients in all.
The company is strongly financed and doing good volumes of business, according to Herman giving it positive future prospects and a growing reputation for efficient and trustworthy conduct in an industry where the use of credit cards has become increasingly problematical in recent years.
These volumes are likely to increase dramatically as new growth strategies take shape in the near future, including a move into the European market from offices on the Isle of Man, and into the Asian sector probably through an operation branded Asian Payments.
Players who use Neteller and experience slow pay behaviour from online casinos would appear to have a friend in Neteller, too - Herman says that this sort of behaviour can be an early warning signal of impending financial hassles, and as such players are invited to report such issues in order that Neteller can investigate and possibly even pull the merchant's authority if he or she is consistently giving problems.
Java-based gambling software provider Chartwell announced very positive figures for the year to October 2003 this week, sholwing an impressive 97 percent growth in revenues and a net income of $1,6 million.
Highlights of the year included:
- Revenue of $7.3M compared with $3.7M in 2002;
- Operating income of $1.9M and net income of $1.6M compared with a net loss of $(1.4M) in 2002;
- Earnings per share of $0.11 compared with a net loss per share of ($0.11) in 2002;
- Software license fees of $6.3M compared to $2.6M in 2002;
- Cash flow from operations of $1.4M compared to a negative cash flow of $(1.2M) in 2002;
- Working capital of $6.7M compared to $6.0M in 2002;
- Remained debt free.
Revenue growth and consistent profitability were the key characteristics of Chartwell's 2003 financial performance.
"We are pleased to report that we met our fiscal 2003 financial objectives on all fronts", states Don Gleason, CFO. "We concluded the year with significant revenue growth, achieved profitability in four successive quarters and generated $0.11 in earnings per share. With a solid financial foundation, an expanded product offering and a growing customer base we have a strong platform from which to continue to expand our business and extend this momentum into fiscal 2004".
Chartwell continues to maintain a solid financial base from which to execute its growth strategy. At October 31, 2003, Chartwell had $5,178,010 in cash, cash equivalents and short term investments, working capital of $6,752,155 and remains debt free.
One director of the company, Steve Latham had particular cause for celebration it appears from the report - he has been granted an option to purchase 100,000 common shares. The options were granted for a five year term pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan.
More positive figures from Sportingbet after some tough times...
WINNING QUARTER FOR BRIT SPORTINGBET
6 February 2004
Third quarter profit well up - and 1,1 million clients
Britain's Sportingbet Plc posted a big rise in third-quarter profit on this week according to Reuters, commenting that gambler's luck seemed to run out after the end of a winning streak that hit the Got2bet company hard late in its first half.
Sportingbet's pre-tax profit rose 61 percent to nine million pounds ($16.5 million) in the three months to end-December, on turnover up 20 percent to 360 million pounds.
Last October, it reported a pre-tax loss of 5.7 million pounds in the six months to end-September, after suffering from "an unusually high number of unfavourable sporting results in the NFL (American football) and European soccer."
During the pre-Christmas period the number of sporting bets rose 30 percent year-on-year to 10 million as the customer count rose eight percent to 1.1 million.
Sportingbet said its overseas operations in Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia were profitable and growing in line with expectations.
The market's consensus forecast for Sportingbet's annual pre-tax profit is 17.4 million pounds.
World Gaming's fourth quarter results this week continue to show improvements in the dramatically slimmed down company now headed by the Australian born Sportingbet executive Daniel Moran.
Highlights of the report include:
Strong net win achieved by the Group’s licensees.
Continued stability in the Group’s operating platform.
Earnings per share before interest and depreciation expected to exceed 9 cents per share full year (2002: loss per share 7 cents).
Stable oper
