DON'T MESS WITH THE PLAYERS

29 January 2010

Another operator underestimates the investigative powers of experienced Internet gamblers

The online gambling industry is replete with examples of how integrity-challenged rogues repeatedly underestimate the investigative capabilities of online gamblers, ultimately finding out to their cost that these are considerable.

Ministering Angel Casino, the AB-UB scandal and a slew of other issues all illustrate the point...yet the rogues still pop up, and when exposed follow predictable behaviour patterns of first trying to prevaricate their way out of the storm or obfuscate the issue, and finally resort to empty legal threats before decamping to find easier targets.

In this naturally evolved check and balance system, online gambling message boards play a critical role, and this week the experienced Internet punters on the Casinomeister information portal's forum sorted out the latest opportunist.

Online casino Jackpots Heaven and its software provider Salus Technologies found themselves occupying embarrassingly high Google search engine positions after coming to the attention of the Casinomeister regulars. And someone using the name Raphael Taub and claiming to be manager of the casino really did more harm than good as he twisted this way and that under a stream of exposures before finally having his posting priveleges suspended for insulting and threatening behaviour.

The players used an expert mix of Internet savvy and industry knowledge to establish that Jackpots Heaven was:

* Using barely disguised graphics and game brands developed by major software providers like Microgaming and RealTime Gaming;
* The T&Cs on the casino website were apparently "borrowed" from the unrelated Casino Riva;
* Jackpots Heaven Support personnel first claimed to be associated with Riva but then denied it;
* Contact telephone numbers on the casino site actually belonged to a totally unrelated and more reputable casino group (Belle Rock)
* Site information and posts by Jackpots Heaven's "manager" made claims to be licensed in Costa Rica (which doesn't have an online gambling licensing regime) and to be regulated by the "LGA", a body that does not exist in Costa Rica (it's actually the acronym for the Malta regulator Lotteries and Gaming Authority)
* Claimed a nebulous RNG certification, but ignored all requests to post the certificate or identify from which testing house it came.
* Made up statements to fit its own answers, or appeared to ignore factual points and questions.
* Seemed incapable of understanding the ethical problems associated with using the intellectual property of others.
* Displayed addresses allegedly in Costa Rica which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Maltese addresses of the unrelated Casino Riva.
* Held servers in Panama and not Costa Rica. The server is registered to a UK address, which has the server address sent to a cloaked dns server, which seems to go to Panama.
* Was banned from another Internet forum where casino personnel had created multiple posting accounts from the same IP to laud the attributes of their site, and when discovered asked the forum owner not to expose their perfidy.

With the pressure of the exposures steadily mounting "Raphael Taub" followed the usual rogue course of threatening to sue posters and forum owner alike for damaging his business; this was received with some levity and calls to "bring it on" before this totally inept casino representative's posting account was suspended.

"Raphael Taub" and his employers can expect to be on the receiving end of a more credible threat of litigation in the near future; several notifications were sent to the software providers who's itellectual property has apparently been abused by the blatant copycat antics of this casino and presumably its software provider.

For some truly entertaining reading on a nevertheless serious subject, visit: http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/casino-complaints-non-bonus-issues/35842-jackpots-heaven-non-random-software.html

London report.

From a chilly and occasionally damp London and the ICEi expo at Earl's Court, InfoPowa reports on company stories released in conjunction with online gambling's biggest showcase:

Online Casino News Courtesy of Infopowa

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