Jailed online gambling executive is "removed" by UK gambling group

Shock news from the BBC this morning (Tuesday) is that BetonSports directors have unceremoniously fired jailed CEO David Carruthers "as a consequence of [his] continued detention by US authorities."

A spokesperson said the company ended Carruthers' contract and removed him as a director after his detention in Dallas last week.

In referring to Carruthers, a company spokesperson said: "Clearly, while he remains in the custody of the U.S. government, he is unable to perform his duties. The company has been unable to speak directly with Carruthers and has communicated with him only through lawyers."

The company is currently being managed in Carruther's absence by members of its board of directors including Chairman Clive Parritt, Finance Director Richard Creed and non-executive director Chris Callaway, spokesperson Hannah Seward said.

The board also distanced itself from founder and allegedly 15 percent shareholder Gary Kaplan, who is being sought by the American federal authorities - saying that he has no managerial role with the firm and worked only as a consultant.

The CEO was detained by federal authorities in the Dallas-Fort Worth transit lounge last week as he changed planes on a trip from the U.K. to Costa Rica. He is named in a federal grand jury indictment against 11 people connected to BetonSports, with 22 accusations of racketeering, tax evasion, fraud, money laundering and illegal sportsbetting by telephone. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Betonsports founder Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, who is among those charged in nthe indictment but is till at large.

Following his arrest, Carruthers was held in detention for a week before appeared before a federal district court in Texas. His lawyers requested a postponement to enable him to appear in a St. Louis, Missouri court at a later and as yet unnamed date, and the court granted this, with Carruthers remaining in custody as (according to the prosecution) "a flight risk."

Carruthers has been an outspoken opponent of US moves aimed at banning banks and credit card companies from processing internet gambling payments, and indeed US political moves to ban online gambling in general, urging instead regulation and taxation.

BetonSports said in a separate statement that it's evaluating all options and deciding what measures to take next.

"Since the time of its public listing, the board believes the company has operated in accordance with the standard expected of a U.K. Plc which is publicly quoted on AIM on the London Stock Exchange,'' the company said in the statement.

Shares of Betonsports have been suspended since July 18, the day after the company and its chief executive were indicted in the U.S. The companies US-facing Internet betting website has closed temporarily following successful moves by the US authorities to obtain a federal court injunction against further operational activity.

In a sidebar story appearing in the online journal Gambling 911.com, editor Christopher Costigan reports that: "Nearly everyone listed on that indictment are long gone from the company. In fact, Carruthers is the only one remaining. Peter Wilson was there up until two months ago. Tim Brown left last year. Gary's brother has been gone nearly three years. And Norman Steinberg (AKA Tom Miller) has been in and out of the company for over two years following a previous indictment that has absolutely nothing to do with online gambling."

Describing BetonSports as "a sleeping giant, nonresponsive, and focused so intently on pleasing shareholders with lofty expansion plans over the past two years that there is no plan in place to manage 'crisis' situations such as this one," Costigan criticises the company for its lack of communication with its customers. "BetonSports needs to issue a statement and issue it quick," he said.

Costigan also castigated the betting group for an apparent attempt to pass off one of its staffers as an unassociated player and "concerned citizen" called Molly Flynn, who "....carelessly refers to the company as 'We' when expressing how BoS has been treated by Gambling911.com, while trying to disguise herself as a 'concerned citizen'."

It is not at present known whether BetonSports has completely disassociated itself and its legal funding from Carruthers.

White Hat and Black Hat SEO operations is a highly topical subject up for discussion at forthcoming convention

White Hat and Black Hat SEO operations is a highly topical subject up for discussion at forthcoming convention

The highly topical subject of black hat search engine optimisation tactics will be a high interest item at the forthcoming Casino Affiliate Convention, and the currently sensitive legal climate in the USA is not going to stop it, according to organisers Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. this week.

The convention, which annually attracts a large audience of online casino affiliate marketers takes place this year at the Stardust Resort and Casino in Las Vegas between September 14-15, 2006.

Seminars at the event will cover some of the most advanced and controversial forms of internet marketing for the gaming industry. Specialised forms of 'white hat' and 'black hat' internet marketing, inlcuding SEO, site scraping, triple jangros, search software, submission methods and others will be discussed. The event will also have a special introductory session for new affiliates and many advanced sessions for super affiliates. Several advanced sessions include specialized marketing techniques, casino software, unique scripts for coding websites.

75 percent of the exhibit space has already been sold for this event, and despite recent happenings in the industry Ticonderoga expects to have the largest attendance in CAC history.

The crack down on internet gaming in the US has shaken the industry

Online gaming site Betonsports has removed its chief executive - who is being held in a US jail awaiting trial on racketeering charges.

Betonsports said the decision to end David Carruthers' contract was "as a consequence of (his) continued detention by US authorities."

He was arrested last week as part of a US move to tackle internet gaming.

The 48-year-old is in a Missouri prison after earlier waiving his right to a bail hearing.

Betonsports said: "Clearly while he remains in the custody of the US government he is unable to perform his duties."

It added it had been unable to speak directly with Mr Carruthers, who was named along with 11 other people and three other companies in a Federal indictment.

A warrant also has been issued for the arrest of Betonsports founder Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, who is charged with 20 offences including tax evasion and conspiracy.

On Tuesday Betonsports, which has temporarily closed its website, distanced itself from Mr Kaplan - saying that he has no managerial role with the firm and worked only as a consultant.

Legal concerns

Online gambling has been somewhat of a grey area in the US.

Gambling is illegal in many parts of the US, but internet gaming firms have hundreds of thousands of US customers as they are based offshore in countries that allow gambling and so were viewed as out of reach of US laws.

However, the US government believes internet gambling violates a law against placing interstate bets using telephone lines.

Betonsports estimates it has 1.2 million online gamblers worldwide, and says the US online gaming market is worth $12bn (£6.4bn) in annual business.

Many observers now expect the US to continue in its crackdown and some are even predicting that there may be growing support for an anti-gaming bill.

Mr Carruthers has been an outspoken opponent of US moves aimed at banning banks and credit card companies from processing internet gambling payments.

He and his wife, who have lived in Costa Rica since 2000, were returning from the company's annual meeting in London when he was detained in Dallas.

BetOnUS chief arrested in transit

The week's news was off to a flying start Monday as reports appeared in the Telegraph that the high profile CEO of BetonSports, David Carruthers had been detained by US federal officials whilst in transit through the States on his way to Costa Rica. Carruthers is a British citizen and was travelling from the UK with his wife at the time.

A statement from the company released to the London Stock Exchange said it was "seeking clarification as to the basis of the detention" and a further announcement would be made when appropriate.

Shares in the i-gaming sector reacted negatively as the news hit the markets on Monday morning, with BetonSports suffering a drop at one point of over 20 percent. Sportingbet also fell over 10 percent while PartyGaming saw its share price fall 7.5 percent.

Analysts were at a loss to explain the developments. One suggested it was strange such a move should be made before any further legislation should have been made law. Another suggested the US Department of Justice might have a "beef" with BetonSports for "lots of reasons; telephone betting, advertising, the founder."

Carruthers has been a high-profile and outspoken proponent of the regulation of online gambling in the USA rather than prohibition, and was recently quoted as being confident that current moves to ban the industry would fail once the proposals reached the Senate.

BetOnSports is based offshore to prevent it from violating US gambling laws, though it does take bets from US citizens.

Last week the US House of Representatives passed HR 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. The bill proposes a further crackdown on internet gambling, and has now been passed to the Senate. To become law, it must be passed by the Senate, where a backlog of legislation means it may never be debated.

Bet On Sports CEO to face RICO charges?

David Carruthers, the chief executive of BetonSports appeared at the Federal Court House in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday according to a spokesperson for the FBI.

Carruthers was detained late Sunday at Dallas airport by the US authorities while en route from the UK to Costa Rica.

He was detained by members of the FBI and the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) operating under a warrant for his arrest. He is believed to have spent Sunday night in Tarrant county jail.

According to sources, Carruthers will be charged under the federal racketeering statutes or RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act).

The Federal warrant has been issued out of state with a sealed indictment. The hearing will determine his rights and the possible bail conditions. Sources indicate he is unlikely to be granted bail. The hearing will also determine which Federal Correctional Institute he will be sent to.

Feds release details of sealed indictment....and no bail for Carruthers

Events moved quickly for detained BetOnSports executive David Carruthers, with a court appearance, continued detention and the release of the previously sealed indictment on which he was detained by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Carruthers (49), a British citizen was arrested by FBI and IRS officials at Miami airport whilst in transit between the UK and his home in Costa Rica late Sunday, and detained without bail in the nearby Tarrant county jail.

It appeared that Carruthers had been specifically targeted, as other industry executives had visited the USA unhindered in preceding days. There was speculation (which later proved accurate) that there was a connection between Carruthers's detention and a major federal investigation into BetOn Sports founder Gary Kaplan (47) aka Greg Champion being conducted in Missouri. It is understood that Kaplan departed BetonSports last year, but remains a shareholder.

Carruthers was apparently held incommunicado until a brief ten minute appearance in a federal district court late on Monday. Federal Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil unsealed and considered an indictment presented by Missouri-based federal officials, before committing a handcuffed Carruthers to further detention without bail. Prosecutors declined to issue copies of the indictment to the media pending a press conference later in the day

Judge Bleil ruled that Carruthers remain in custody at least until a detention hearing can be held Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Federal prosecutor Mark Nichols summarised the multi-count indictment in open court, saying that Carruthers and several other people were charged with conspiracy in offering bets on professional and college sports to U.S. residents.

BetonSports took wagers on an Internet site and over a toll-free telephone line, Nichols said.

Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the company, said Carruthers had traveled recently in the United States and had no idea that there was an indictment in which he was named.

"There was no hint of this," Smith said. "Certainly had they told us, we would have been more than willing to negotiate with them and work on whatever these charges are. There wouldn't have been any need to nab him while he's waiting on a layover for a flight."

When a court official asked Carruthers before the hearing if he had read the charges against him, he replied in the negative. Tim Evans, an attorney who appeared on Carruthers' behalf, handed him a document, adding, "You won't have time to read it all, of course."

During the hearing, Carruthers spoke only when the judge asked him if he understood the charges. "Yes," he replied.

Evans declined to comment after the hearing, saying he hadn't had time to fully read the indictment. Nichols declined to comment, and referred questions to prosecutors in Missouri, who declined to make the unsealed indictment available.

Later on Monday, the Department of Justice issued a press release, revealing that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri had returned a 22-count indictment charging 11 individuals and four corporations on various charges of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.

The indictment was returned on June 1, 2006, and unsealed that day (17 July).

The press release is quoted in full:
"BetonSports PLC, a publicly-traded holding company that owns a number of Internet sportsbooks and casinos, was among the companies charged in the indictment. The founder of BetonSports.com, Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, was charged with 20 felony violations of federal laws including: the Wire Act, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy, interstate transportation of gambling paraphernalia, interference with the administration of Internal Revenue laws and tax evasion.

"Other defendants in the racketeering conspiracy include: Kaplan's siblings, Neil Scott Kaplan and Lori Kaplan Multz; Norman Steinberg; David Carruthers, chief executive officer of BetonSports.com; Peter Wilson, media director for BetonSports.com; and Tim Brown, Steinberg's son-in-law. The three other charged companies, all Florida-based, were Direct Mail Expertise, Inc., DME Global Marketing and Fulfillment Inc. and Mobile Promotions Inc. Also charged are William Hernan Lenis; Monica Lenis and Manny Gustavo Lenis, owners and operators of the Florida companies; and William Hernan Lenis' son, William Luis Lenis.

"Illegal commercial gambling across state and international borders is a crime," said U.S Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway of the Eastern District of Missouri. "Misuse of the Internet to violate the law can ultimately only serve to harm legitimate businesses. This indictment is but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws."

"The indictment alleges that Gary Kaplan started his gambling enterprise via operation of a sportsbook in New York City in the early 1990s. After Kaplan was arrested on New York state gambling charges in May 1993, Kaplan moved his betting operation to Florida and eventually offshore to Costa Rica. According to the indictment, BetonSports.com, the most visible outgrowth of Kaplan's sports bookmaking enterprise, misleadingly advertised itself as the "World's Largest Legal and Licensed Sportsbook."

"The indictment also alleges that Kaplan failed to pay federal wagering excise taxes on more than $3.3 billion in wagers taken from the United States and seeks forfeiture of $4.5 billion from Kaplan and his co-defendants, as well as various properties.

"The indictment alleges that Gary Kaplan and Norman Steinberg, as the owners and operators of Millennium Sportsbook, Gibraltar Sportsbook, and North American Sports Association, took or caused their employees to take bets from undercover federal agents in St. Louis who used undercover identities to open wagering accounts. The indictment also alleges that Kaplan and Mobile Promotions illegally transported equipment used to place bets and transmit wagering information across state lines and that DME Global Marketing and Fulfillment shipped equipment to Costa Rica from Florida for BetonSports.com.

"The racketeering conspiracy alleges that the defendants agreed to conduct an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering acts, including repeated mail fraud, wire fraud, operation of an illegal gambling business and money laundering.

"In conjunction with the indictment, the United States has filed a civil complaint in federal court to obtain an order requiring BetonSports PLC to stop taking sports bets from the United States, and to return money held in wagering accounts to account holders in the United States. U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry issued the temporary restraining order today. A hearing in the civil case has been requested within 10 days. As authorized by federal statute, the FBI is issuing letters to four telephone companies, instructing them to stop providing phone service to the Internet sportsbooks and casinos operated by BetonSports PLC.

"Gary Kaplan resides in Costa Rica and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Neil Kaplan, 40, is in custody in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Carruthers, 49, a resident of Costa Rica and Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, is in custody in Ft. Worth, Texas. William Luis Lenis and Manny Gustavo Lenis are in custody in Miami. Tim Brown was arrested near Philadelphia. Warrants have been issued for the other defendants not currently in custody. The United States will seek extradition of all defendants to St. Louis for prosecution.

"The charges are the result of a joint investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being conducted by the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Tampa Police Department, the Jacksonville, Fla. Sheriff's Office, and NFL Security and NCAA Enforcement Office personnel also assisted in the investigation.

"The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty."

Carruthers's arrest is clearly part of an investigation that has been gathering momentum over some time, and the press release indicates that more developments, and possibly prosecutions, are yet to come.

Allied to the recent successful moves in the House of Representatives to ban internet gambling through Bill HR 4411 and the possibility that this Bill could come before the Senate this session, the arrest and wide media coverage it was given sent frissons of alarm through the investment community, sending online gambling stocks southward - in BetonSports case by as much as 25 percent.

Industry observers also noted that the recent extraditions from Britain to the United States of English banking officials allegedly implicated in the Enron affair will be causing some nervousness. This will be especially the case following the harsh treatment thus far meted out to Carruthers, who is a high profile executive critical of the US policy on Internet gambling but a respectable businessman.

London and Canadian online gambling stocks take the hit from DoJ action

Online gambling executives and investors alike will be anxiously watching the stock market scene today (Wednesday) in the wake of stock declines that have hammered the industry following the arrest and continued detention of Bet on Sports CEO David Carruthers over the weekend.

Late Tuesday, London gambling stocks and to a lesser extent Canadian gambling shares had declined sharply, presumably as a result of nervous investors dumping their holdings.

BetonSports shares fell by as much as 25 percent before trading was halted at the company's request, but the biggest fallout hit Sportingbet, where shares fell by 100p to 282p, almost half their level before BetOnSports announced on Monday that Carruthers, had been detained. The stock fell 36 percent Tuesday after falling 13 percent on Monday.

Although it does not offer sport betting, PartyGaming, the internet poker company, fell 17¾p to 85¼p, down from a flotation price last year of 116p. Almost GBP 1 billion has been wiped from its market value in two days. Shares dropped 17 percent on Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange and played a role in dragging the FTSE index lower.

888 Holdings, fell 24½p to 168½p.

Leisure and Gaming shares fell 21p to 71½p.

In Vienna, BetandWin.com Interactive Entertainment AG (newly branded Bwin) tumbled 24 percent

Playtech lost almost a third of its price, as confusion reigned about the scope of the DoJ's planned actions

BetOnSports asked for trading in its shares to be suspended because of uncertainty over its future. The company also temporarily closed its main website to business, and said that its lawyers were reviewing implications of a federal temporary restraining order to stop it taking bets from Americans and require it to return punters’ money held in accounts.

A federal court issued the temporary restraining order to prevent BetOnSports from accepting bets in the United States, which is reported to be the company's biggest market. In terms of the order, it is understood the company is required to stop accepting bets from the US; to place notices on its US-based websites saying it does not accept bets on sporting events and to place full-page newspaper adverts saying telephone betting services are "a violation of US law".

Canadian stocks also took a few dents, although to a lesser extent than the London companies.

Cryptologic shares dropped $3.66 to $21.22 or 14.7 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while Fun Technologies saw less of a drop but still lost 3.7 percent as their shares dropped 20¢ to $5.20.

Chartwell Technology, Inc., a Vancouver-based company, was also down 2¢ to end up at $2.35, and shares in LasVegasFromHome.com Entertainment Inc. were down 15 percent, dropping to 17¢.

CryptoLogic said Tuesday it did not expect a serious impact. "While there's no question this news has created volatility in the broader Internet gaming market, we anticipate little or no long-term impact on our customers, who have no involvement in sports betting in the U.S," a spokesman for the Toronto-based company said.

"For the Internet casino market, little has changed - the uncertainty in the U.S. continues, and this validates CryptoLogic's long-standing focus on the UK and Europe, and on blue-chip customers that operate in markets that embrace Internet gaming."

Before trading in London started on Wednesday, the dismal picture looked like this:

Playtech down 28 percent (down 33 percent at one stage)
Neteller down 15 percent
Fireone down about 20 percent
Empire Online down 8 percent
SportingBet down 44 percent
888.com down 16 percent
Partygaming down by over 17 percent, a drop of over 22 percent in 2 days
Betonsport down 16 percent
Fairgound down 5 percent

PartyGaming
Market value: GBP 3.41billion: –22 percent
Sportingbet
Market value: GBP 768 milion: –44 percent
888 Holdings
Market value: GBP 568 million: –16 percent

City analysts were divided over implications for other internet gambling companies that have American customers. Some felt that the language of the US indictment amounted to a warning to the wider industry, but others said it appeared to be a company-specific issue relating mainly to BetOnSports’ American founder and former owner, Gary Kaplan.

The indictment claims that Kaplan, who was first arrested in 1993 over illegal gambling, failed to pay excise taxes on more than $3.3 billion of wagers from the US. The Department of Justice is claiming $4.5 billion forfeiture from Kaplan, who still has a 15 per cent stake in BetOnSports. Kaplan who remains free is believed to reside in Costa Rica, and has declined to comment on the affair.

Online gambling companies said that they were analysing implications with their lawyers. Unsurprisingly, no executives had any immediate plans to travel to America.

Carruthers, a British citizen was detained Sunday by FBI and IRS officials as he transitted the USA at Dallas airport on his way home to Costa Rica from the UK. After several hours held incommunicado and in detention in Tarrant County jail, the businessman appeared briefly in a local court on a 27 page grand jury indictment against himself and 11 other people believed to be associated with the company in the past.

The 22 charges included racketeering, tax evasion and wire fraud accusations, running an illegal gambling operation and money-laundering. The high-profile case is being prosecuted by a newly appointed U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, Catherine Hanaway, and accuses Kaplan of taking bets from undercover federal agents.

Tim Evans, an attorney for Carruthers, said a detention hearing would be held Friday in Fort Worth to determine if Carruthers must remain in jail. Carruthers will be arraigned in St. Louis on the racketeering charges at a future date, he said.

"The view of the Department of Justice is and has been that Internet gambling is illegal," said Brian Sierra, a spokesperson for the DoJ. According to Sierra, the new laws and Congress' interest in online gambling have nothing to do with the latest round of charges lodged by the Department of Justice.

"We're not trying to send a grand scale message here," he said. "We've been saying it for years: Internet gambling is illegal."

Sierra says the department's position is and has always been that anyone either in or outside of the U.S. who operates illegal online gambling operations to take bets from U.S. residents is committing a crime. Period.

The CATO Institute, an organisation that scrutises public policy has a different view."It's a moral crusade," claimed Radley Balko, a policy analyst. "These guys have a personal opposition to gambling and they want to impose that on the rest of the country."

American anti-online gaming legislators such as Sen. Jon Kyl and Rep. Bob Goodlatte were quick to seize on the action to publicise their attempts to ban Internet gambling.

"This recent indictment of online gambling executives strengthens the need for legislation to ban Internet gambling," Kyl said in a statement. "I am hopeful that legislation I intend on moving through the Senate this year will provide the Justice Department with the tools necessary to continue aggressively pursuing those that wish to circumvent the rules and engage in this sort of illegal activity," he said.

Goodlatte praised the prosecution. "We're very pleased that the Justice Department is taking action here with the laws they have available," he told Reuters. "We join with them in trying to make it clear that the law covers all forms of gambling. It is quite clear that the Wire Act covers sports betting," Goodlatte said. "But the Wire Act because it was written in 1961 is not at all clear as to whether it covers other forms of gambling."

The existing law does not clearly ban such things as a virtual roulette wheel, poker and other kinds of online gaming, Goodlatte said, also drawing attention to the fact that executives with other overseas gambling companies should take note of the prosecution.

"They should be wary of the United States exercising its treaty rights to seek extradition," he said. "Knowingly taking bets from U.S. citizens is against the laws of many states, and they should be prosecuted."

However, the Costa Rican based CEO of the Bodog group, Calvin Ayre, who had reportedly travelled through the US only days before Carruthers, said in a media statement that although the arrest could appear "ominous" to other businesses, this was not the case at all. "The charges are specific to the person and company at issue, and has nothing to do with Bodog.com's current or previous business practices," he claimed.

In his statement, he defended Bodog.com, saying that it has "...an innovative and different business model that allows us to run our entertainment enterprise within the laws set out in each of the jurisdictions where we conduct our business.

"Bodog.com will continue to carry on its business as usual and our organisation is confident the U.S. government's actions will have no impact on our operations," he added.

Antiguan Finance Minister Errol Cort said he would closely monitor the legal action against BetOnSports plc following the arrest."This is of major concern to us," Cort told reporters Tuesday during a break in a government economic forum. "This could have implications on individuals who are doing business in Antigua."

Antigua and Barbuda has licensed 30 online gambling firms, including BetOnSports, and has welcomed the industry as a way to diversify its economy. The island government has filed a challenge against U.S. restrictions on online gambling with the World Trade organisation.

Leading online gambling legal expert Lawrence Walters told the Guardian newspaper: "This case is going to be watched very carefully. It is going to set a precedent for an entire multibillion-dollar industry."

The main prosecutor in the BetonSports case, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway claimed on a CNBC report that aired Tuesday that her government went after BetonSports because they "wrongfully" claimed to be the "Biggest licensed and regulated" gambling company in the world, amongst other things. Hanaway took issue with the "licensed and regulated" claim.

Several sector observers and analysts in London opined Tuesday that investors were overreacting by selling off online gambling holdings: “The indictment seems to be very BetOnSports-specific, and the market seems to be treating all online gaming companies in the same manner,” said Wayne Brown, an analyst with Altium Securities in London.

Others were puzzled by the inclusion of tax evasion charges relating to allegedly ill-gotten gains specified in the indictment, clearly unaware that US law makes provision for this sort of questionable income to be taxed.

Some companies have steered clear of the US because of doubts about legality, while others avoid operating sports books and only take bets from the US on casino and poker games. But the DoJ indictment refers to BetonSports taking bets from the US on casino-type games as well as sports and sporting events.

Jim Halpert, partner at the DLA Pipe law firm in Washington, DC, said: "The record of enforcement in this area is one of periodic high-profile enforcement actions, designed to deter what the Department of Justice views as ongoing systematic violations of US law."

A US crackdown on online gambling could lead to extraditions from Britain even though British laws in this area are much less tough, leading lawyers said on Tuesday.

River City CEO Sue Schneider said that even if BetOnSports were shut down, there were many other offshore sites that would take its place. Some online sports books might stop taking bets from U.S. residents, but only if the United States is a small part of their business, Schneider predicted. The indictment is likely to have even less effect on online casinos — those that take bets on poker or other games, but not on sporting events.

US legal expert Anthony Cabot said that over the past decade, federal officials have prosecuted many operators of online sports books with U.S. ownership or operations because federal law prohibits using phone wires to place those bets.

In a celebrated case from 2000, prosecutors won a conviction against Jay Cohen, a U.S. citizen who ran an operation in Antigua that took sports bets from Americans over the Internet. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. But the wire law doesn't cover other types of casino betting, a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled. That has left some doubt about whether prosecutors can shut down poker and other casino games that target American players, Cabot said.

And unless the operators set foot in the United States — as Carruthers and Cohen did — it's difficult to extradict them, Cabot said.

Speculative reporting gives false hope to investors

UK gaming stocks recovered ground as the London market opened midweek on rumours that a deal had been struck between Bet On Sports and the U.S. Department of Justice, only to fall back when this was denied by the company.

The rumours, allegedly started by a speculative article in an industry publication, initially enabled investors to recover some of the losses suffered in the last two sessions, on talk that BoS had reached a deal with U.S. authorities to resume business by the end of this week.

Worries of a crackdown on online gambling in the U.S. knocked gaming stocks on Monday and Tuesday when federal authorities sought court interdicts to shut down the U.S. operations of BETonSPORTS after detaining CEO David Carruthers on a grand jury indictment that named 10 other people and contained 22 charges.

One UK trader cited a report on The Online Wire.com, which apparently said BETonSPORTS had reached a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday night.

However, a spokesman for the company denied that this was the case, dashing the hopes of some investors and turning share prices weak again after brief rallies in the 10 to 15 percent range.

"Neither the company nor lawyers acting on its behalf have reached any such agreement nor are they in negotiations with any other party to these proceedings," BETonSPORTS said in a statement.

Too many cancellations in the wake of the BetonSports affair

The Bodog Marketing Conference scheduled for July 25th in Las Vegas is the first industry function to fall foul of the U.S. Department of Justice action against industry executive David Carruthers this week.

In the wake of the BetonSports affair (see earlier InfoPowa bulletins) Susan Mainzer, the Media Relations Manager at Bodog.com has announced that the conference is to be cancelled, although the celebratory party planned for the Tao at the Venetian on Tuesday, July 25th at 9 p.m. is to take place.

Mainzer said: "The Bodog.com Marketing Conference presents a wonderful opportunity for good discussion about marketing, customer service and about the growth of our industry; however, in the last few days, many who planned to attend the conference have expressed a high level of concern over the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. government's recent actions against one of the companies in our industry.

"It is in light of these concerns that we have decided to postpone the Bodog.com Marketing Conference to a later date and at an international location to be announced. This decision ensures that the focus of the conference will not be lost.

"The scheduled Party, however, will go on as planned.

"I apologize for any inconveniences this has caused, but in spite of what has happened of late we chose to act with the industrys best interests in mind. I assure you that we will make it up with a bigger and better conference to be announced in the near future.

Bodog.com will carry on our business as usual and will continue to lead the way in digital entertainment."

The BetonSports case focuses attention on U.S. - U.K. fast track extraditions

The international terrorist threat generated a desire for "fast track" extradition procedures between major nations and allies like Britain and the United States, but according to the Times Online this week the process has been mainly used to bring more conventional criminals to justice....and there's the possibility that internet gambling executives in the UK could be vulnerable to fast-track extradition to the USA if their businesses are found to be breaking American tax law.

The Times says that concerns are also growing that an anti-terror agreement by European nations to hand passenger flight lists to the US may have been used by FBI and tax agents to swoop on David Carruthers, the BetOnSports chief executive who was arrested last weekend whilst in transit to Costa Rica through Dallas airport. Carruthers was among 11 persons named in a sealed indictment for a range of alleged offences under American law.

In what sounded ominously like intimidation, the US Government warned on Wednesday night that if Britain’s online gambling industry allowed its services to be used within the US there could be criminal consequences.

“Internet gambling companies in Britain, in any country, anywhere, if they do business in the United States they do so today at their own risk,” a Justice Department spokesman told The Times. “This is a crime and it can be prosecuted.”

The threat to British online businesses was reinforced by Representative Bob Goodlatte, author of a tough new Bill that would further restrict internet gambling. He urged executives of overseas gambling companies to take note of the BetOnSports prosecution. “They should be wary of the United States exercising its treaty rights to seek extradition,” he said.

The Times says that Britain will refuse to extradite suspects for breaking US laws against internet gambling. Extradition is an option only if conduct is illegal in both the UK and America.

However, executives are worried because the indictment against BetOnSports includes allegations of tax evasion. The company is accused of failing to collect “wagering excise tax” on $3 billion (GBP 1.6 billion) of bets placed by US gamblers. In the US "ill-gotten gains" are taxable even though the manner in which they may have been generated is illegal.

British internet gambling executives may be vulnerable to fast-track extradition for that offence if they take bets from Americans without charging tax on them, according to some opinions. They could argue against extradition because Britain has abolished its own taxes on gamblers making bets, but they would have little prospect of success.

Julian Knowles, of Matrix Chambers, told The Times: “Provided that there’s a general crime of tax fraud, that’s all that’s needed. There is a crime of cheating the public revenue.”

Some British internet betting companies, including BetonSports and Sportingbet have previously offered to pay American taxes through high-profile media campaigns, but the US Government has been unwilling to condone lawbreaking. Knowles believes that proof of such an offer might be enough to persuade an English court to refuse extradition. “It would certainly give rise to an abuse-of-process argument,” he said.

Under the new fast-track extradition procedure introduced as an anti-terrorism measure, US prosecutors can demand the extradition of suspects from Britain without showing they have a case to answer.

The Times opines that the precision with which the US grabbed Carruthers as he touched down in Dallas en route from London to Costa Rica raises questions about how America monitors overseas suspects. European countries have agreed to hand passenger lists to the United States as part of the War on Terror, giving investigators advance warning of businessmen’s movements.

The newspaper's research into fast-tracked extraditions produced some interesting results. The lion’s share of requests by the United States for fast-track extradition under new British legislation have been not for terrorism, but for white-collar crime. Only a handful were for alleged terrorism:

Fraud 12
Drugs 10
Terrorism 4
Child pornography 3
Satellite signal theft 3
Money-laundering 2
Indecent assault 1
Rape 1
Child assault 1
Robbery 1
Racketeering 1
Computer fraud 1
Price-fixing 1
Mail fraud 1
Forgery 1
Theft 1
Sexual offence 1
Child molestation 1
Murder 1

BetonSports executive is regarded as a "flight risk" say American officials

A growing number of industry people are concerned at the harsh manner in which U.S. officials have treated a respectable British businessman following his arrest last weekend at Dallas airport whilst transitting the U.S.A.

David Carruthers, the CEO of the BetOnSports group and an outspoken critic of American political attempts to ban online gambling, was arrested and held incommunicado on a sealed indictment naming 11 persons for a range of 22 alleged offences under American law. He was held overnight in the local county jail, appeared briefly the next day in handcuffs in a federal district court and was committed to custody without bail for several days pending a further hearing.

The Guardian reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has opposed bail for the businessman, but his defence lawyer intends to cite the so-called NatWest Three as a precedent for demanding that Carruthers is allowed out of prison.

Carruthers is represented by a Texas lawyer, Tim Evans, who said on Wednesday that the 49-year-old British gaming boss is "upset and concerned" to find himself languishing in a prison cell accused of illegal gambling and racketeering.

The American authorities have informed Evans that they consider Carruthers to be a "flight risk" as a foreign national, and that they want him to remain in custody until his trial, which is likely to be many months away.

Anand Doobay, a partner in the extradition team at Peters & Peters, says: "Since David Carruthers is already in custody his chances of being allowed to leave the US are extremely slim. Once people are arrested in the US the prosecutors generally insist they remain there until trial."

However, a Texas judge's rare decision last week to permit bail in the case of three other British businessmen accused of an Enron-related fraud is likely to be raised in Fort Worth on Friday as an argument for more lenient treatment of Carruthers.

In his first public comments on the case, Evans said all the charges would be vigorously denied and he was "optimistic" over the outcome. "In our global society, this case raises big issues - not only about gaming, but other issues as well. So, as a lawyer, it's a very interesting and big case, and it's obviously hugely significant to Mr Carruthers personally." Each of the wire offences in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

He added that Carruthers was getting standard treatment on remand, which means he will be required to wear a prison-issue jumpsuit. "He's not being mistreated, neither is he being given any special consideration."

Meanwhile, a temporary restraining order placed on BetonSports by a court in Missouri has prompted it to shut down its website, although it has not complied with other injunctive requirements, which include placing an advert in US newspapers stating that it does not accept American customers. The US government also insists BetonSports establish a toll-free phone number for customers to call and retrieve money lodged with BetonSports.

Share trades in BetonSports on the London exchange were suspended earlier in the week at the companys request. The Telegraph carried a story estimating financial damage to BetonSports at GBP 4 million every day that the site is offline for U.S. gamblers. The story quotes a company spokesman as saying that in obedience to the temporary federal court injuction, the company had been advised by legal experts to comply and was trying to do so.

Other reports quoted BetonSports spokesmen as saying that the company was appealing against the restraining order, which has closed down BoS websites to US users, who generate 90 percent of the company's $1.77billon (GBP 970 million) annual turnover.

The Telegraph added to other independent reports that several senior online gambling executives had been in the United States without hassles very recently, and quoted analyst opinions that this may indicate that the crisis was company-specific and not an all-out attack on the industry.

In any event, don't travel to the US to find out, recommends legal expert

The Carruthers arrest and detention without bail has again focused attention on the old legal question, "Are online casino and poker activities embraced by the 1961 Wire Act?" The act certainly covers the use of telephones to take US wagers, but does that extend to more recent technologies?

"The Justice Department has said [all] Internet gambling is prohibited, but most legal experts would say they are wrong, that this only applies to sports betting," opines Joseph Kelly, a legal scholar at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who has consulted for the government of Antigua and others on US law.

Kelly said it was an unusual coincidence that the indictment - which was handed down in June but only unsealed this week - came in such close contiguity to the House of Representatives passing a new bill banning some, but not all forms of Web gambling in the USA.

"Why would Congress try to make something illegal if it is already illegal?" he asks.

Should gambling website operators be alarmed over the prospect of a general U.S. crackdown, potentially accompanied by extradition sorties abroad? Kelly and others say this is not happening yet.

"If they've got good legal counsel, they would be told there is a risk, but the risk is minimal," he said. "None of the other countries that license Internet gambling are going to allow the U.S. to extradite their licensees."

However, Kelly said that following the latest indictments and the arrest of a British national during a plane change in the United States, "My advice to anyone in the business is, 'Don't come into the United States, even to change planes.'"

Turnkey provider notes that it does not develop sportsbetting software

Gambling software developer and turnkey provider Playtech, which is listed on the London exchange reacted to share price declines this week caused by the BetonSports - USA legislative situation, drawing attention to the fact that it does not provide sportsbetting software.

Earlier reports (see InfoPowa bulletins) indicated that in the first half of the week the company's shares had taken a hammering along with other online gambling stocks, declining by as much as a third at one point.

In a public announcement, the Playtech board noted the recent fall in its share price and clarified that it does not provide sports betting software and that it is not an online gaming operator.

Its operations are the supply of licensed software to operators in online casino, poker and bingo markets, the company stressed.

Playtech will be announcing a second quarter trading update on 26 July 2006.

Spooked by the DoJ actions in the States, major UK gambling group bars U.S. players

In a move interpreted by many observers as a fear of U.S. legal action and the possibility of extradition attempts, the giant Coral-Eurobet-Gala online gambling group has warned players and webmasters that it will no longer be accepting players from the USA and has closed all current player accounts.

The communication reads:

"Please be aware that Coral Eurobet will no longer be accepting players from the US and has closed all current player accounts. The information we have just received is:

"In the light of recent actions by US regulators, Eurobet has regretfully taken the decision to cease taking any business through its websites from U.S. residents with immediate effect. U.S. residents will no longer be able to transact with our websites and all accounts held by U.S. residents have now been closed.

"We are contacting you because we believe that, based on the personal details you have provided us, you are a US resident and therefore affected by this decision.

"Where we already have your payment details we will refund any outstanding balance using that method within 7 days from today. If we do not have the necessary details please contact us on +44 1483 773 224 or via email at uscustomerservice@eurobet.com to confirm how you wish any existing balances on your account should be repaid including the appropriate financial details. We commit to processing such refund with 7 days of receiving your payment instructions.

"On behalf of the entire Eurobet team we apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your previous custom."

Affiliates were contacted and informed that in light of recent actions by US regulators, "Eurobet has regretfully taken the decision to cease taking any business through its websites from U.S. residents with immediate effect. U.S. residents will no longer be able to transact with our websites and all accounts held by U.S. residents have now been closed.

"We would therefore ask you to stop advertising our brand name with immediate effect if your website is addressed to a US audience. Note that all US player Coral, Eurobet and Gala accounts will be closed whether casino, games or poker." (These brands have never accepted US sportsbook bets)

Were FBI officials turned away by Costa Rica?

One of the interesting sidebar stories to emerge from the Carruthers affair suggests that FBI agents who jetted into Costa Rica expecting to receive cooperation in securing the assets of BetonSports and most wanted person Gary Kaplan returned home empty handed on both counts.

Unconfirmed reports from Costa Rica allege that earlier this week FBI agents travelled to the central American nation in the hope of obtaining the authorities cooperation.

The reports allege that the agents were politely but firmly turned away by the local Prosecuting Attorney for San Jose, where many online gambling businesses maintain offices and employ local people.

CEO Poker Show donates a $100 000 TV sponsorship package to charity

"It's a marriage based on a proven relationship that will create a powerhouse serving both the land-based and interactive gambling industries," says Sue Schneider.

Sue Schneider's River City Group has joined the UK Clarion family of gambling industry events and publications through a purchase for an undisclosed amount.

This move follows Clarion's successful integration of ATE, the producer of the London-based International Casino Exhibition (ICE) in 2005.

ATE and River City Group have been sister companies, co-producing the European i-Gaming Congress and Expo (EiG) for the past four years.

"We're pleased to formally join the Clarion family through this sale," said Sue Schneider, founder and CEO of River City Group. "It's a marriage based on a proven relationship that will create a powerhouse serving both the land-based and interactive gambling industries."

Simon Kimble, Managing Director of Clarion commented: "Given the success of River City Group's recent GIGSE event and its range of products serving this sector of the global gaming industry, it's the right addition to our properties at the right time. While the company offers service internationally, its events in North America and the Far East offer Clarion a foothold outside the UK."

Schneider stressed that there will be little or no change to the River City Group operation as a result of the sale.

"You'll find that our event productions, operations, sales, publications and other operations will remain substantially the same," she said. Schneider and the management team of River City Group have made an unspecified but multi-year commitment to remain with the company to continue to grow its range of events and publications for the interactive gaming industry.

A very real case of slooooow pay!

Sympathise with the extraordinarily patient player who has been struggling for a year to get paid a very large win by RTG-powered Club Player Casino.com. Having researched Club Player and enjoyed previously untroubled gambling at the casino, the player deposited $20 000 on June 16th last year. He managed to achieve an awesome final win of $150 000, but his elation soon turned to despair as his nightmare began.

"At the time of my big win, Club Player's T&C's stated that it would pay $2500 a week to their winners," says the player. Not good on such a large amount, but worst was to follow.

The casino could only manage two such such payments it appears, one on 11 August and another on 12 September. Then in October ‘05, the management unilaterally "amended" their payment policy, retroactively adding a clause stating that *inactive accounts* such would be paid only $1000 weekly at the discretion of the manager. The objective was presumably to keep the player gambling in the expectation that the casino would win back his as yet unpaid monies. The player's account was classified as "inactive" and his payments were reduced.

In March ’06 this amount was again cut, this time down to $500 per week "at the manager’s discretion." Adding insult to injury, the player found that his supposed weekly payments were now only arriving once a month....it looked like a looooong time before the casino's debt to him would be discharged at that rate.

Bottom line: In the year that has since elapsed, the casino has made only 17 payments totaling $16 000 since this player's big win...in other words, not even his initial deposit has been recovered. $134 350.20 is still owed, plus approx. $2700 worth of “comp points.” And of course nobody at the casino end is talking about interest payments!

This mess has now taken another nasty turn, because Club Player’s management has stopped responding to the player's phone calls or e-mails, and is not addressing his very legitimate concerns. After approximately 70 calls and at least 20 e-mails, he is no further forward and definitely still out of pocket.

Frustrated, he submitted his problem to Montana Disputes, the RTG dispute channel, almost two months ago. All Montana managed to achieve was a “promise” from the casino to continue to make weekly payments...and that was broken immediately.

This is the sort of conduct that gives the industry a black-eye, and does nothing for the reputation of Real Time Gaming as the licensor of Club Player, either. The attitude of the casino smacks of arrogance and a lack of customer senstivity, and suggests that cash flow could be a problem as well as management ethics. Do players really need this sort of aggravation? Would you play there, knowing this is how winners are treated? Didn't think so....

Fun Technologies clinches casual gaming deal with 8 Lycos Europe portals

FUN Technologies Inc. a major Canadian provider of online skill and casual gaming, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, SkillJam EU Limited, has signed a two-year exclusive agreement to create a private-label skill-gaming platform for Lycos Europe.

Under the terms of the pan-European agreement, SkillJam will develop, operate and support the pay-for-play gaming sites for eight Lycos Europe portals: UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Sweden, and Denmark. A publicly lised company, Lycos is an important European portal provider that reaches around 30 million unique users within its network every month.

The global media group Bertelsmann AG holds 20 percent of the Lycos Europe shares.

FUNTech CEO, Lorne Abony, said the deal represents an important stride forward as his company continues investing in a European growth strategy, and gives his games division the opportunity to substantially bolster its growing member base. "We have built a fantastic relationship with Lycos Inc., and we are delighted to now be partnering with Lycos Europe as well," he said.

Michael Rohowski, Chief Sales Officer for Lycos Europe, said, "LYCOS Europe is focused on providing a range of content and services to meet all our users' online needs and casual gaming is a core element of our offer to our community."

FUN Technologies' FUN Games division, comprised of its wholly owned subsidiaries SkillJam, WorldWinner and Octopi, develops and distributes casual games solutions with a focus on free play and cash competitions across online, mobile and iTV platforms. Its broad network of partner sites includes leading global brands such as AOL Games, EA-Pogo, GSN, Lycos, MSN Games, Real Networks and Virgin Games. With more than 27 million registered players internationally, FUN Games hosts ten million tournaments and awards millions of dollars in prizes every month.

An epic final closes major backgammon tournament in Monte Carlo

The 31st World Backgammon Championship finished with an epic final this week at the Fairmont Luxury Resort in Monte Carlo. The two finalists were Luigi Villa (Italy) who was the first ever World Backgammon Champion in 1979 and Philip Vischjager (Netherlands) who was a first time player at the World Championships and was previously a finalist in 4 major Dutch tournaments.

Vischjager dominated the match throughout but the tension mounted when Villa caught up in 19-19/25 after 4 hours of match play. Vischjager finally won the 2006 World Backgammon Championship title when he took Luigi by 23-25/25 and with that the championship prize money of over Euro 75 000 from the total prize pool of Euro 240 000.

This 31st edition of the championship attracted 335 global players in the main event, which included the 212 championship expert players, intermediate and beginner flights. Among the former World Champions and Backgammon legends who showed up to play for a chance of this prestigious title were Paul Magriel, Falafel Nathanson, Mike Svobodny and John O'Hagan and 2005 winner Dennis Carlston.

The 2006 World Backgammon Championship was recorded live for TV and will have a leading championship commentator. The TV four hour highlight package is produced by IEC in Sports, the well-established Swedish-based TV distribution agency who will also distribute the show worldwide from September 2006 onwards to capture the excitement, emotions and best moments of this outstanding world backgammon tournament.

AP Lady.com designed specifically for growing numbers of women poker players

Online poker room Absolute Poker has launched AP Lady.com, a new online poker site designed specifically for the growing number of women players.

“Poker is popular with women because it can be very social and it’s also a thinking game,” said Lacey Jones, one of Absolute Poker’s professionals and participant in this year's World Series of Poker.

“The market is at an interesting point, and AP Lady is a safe way for women to take the first few steps into a competitive poker environment from the comfort of their homes. More than that, it also provides more experienced female poker players with a great way to refine and improve their skills by practicing between live events and competing with other players from all over the world.”

The new site is linked with the main Absolute Poker site and offers all the same services and facilities. A company spokesman said that AP Lady management is exploring partnerships with other relevant women’s groups to help achieve the site’s mission of helping women who want to improve their poker skills in a friendly surrounding.

AP Lady is offering a series of introductory bonuses, and is hoping to get feedback and suggestions from women players on how to make the site better.... and its willing to pay for them. APLady will deposit an extra $20 into the accounts of players who email telling management what they like and dislike about the site.

Chinese Uni says Chinese online gambling alone is worth $75 billion annually

Creating an at times heated debate among industry observers this week was an article in Global Gaming News.com and other online publications suggesting that China loses US$ 75 billion annually to online gambling.

This substantially exceeds the more conventional estimates of respected Western research firms like Christiansen Capital Advisers, whose latest figures indicate an industry currently worth some $12 billion a year in revenues, with the potential to rise to twice that by the year 2010.

Quoting sources in Beijing, the report reveals that online gambling, though illegal, has become such a fad in China that authorities have been forced to launch repeated crackdowns to stem the outflow of nearly US$ 75 billion in such activities every year.

Every year, about 600 billion yuan (US$ 75 billion) is drawn out of the country through various online gambling activities, Peking University's China Public Interest Lottery Research Institute has found.

The sum is 15 times the amount issued by the China Lottery and the China Sports Lottery in 2003, and equalling the total amount of national tourist revenue in 2004.

The Ministry of Public Security says since online gambling usually involves large sums of money, it can easily develop into criminal activities and be an even greater security threat.

When the World Cup was held in Germany, as many as 10 billion Euros were put in the gambling companies around the world, 60 per cent of them from China and Southeast Asian countries, the China News Service reported.

During this period, police in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Zhaoqing had swooped down in some big online gambling rackets.

In Shenzhen, local police had cracked 15 football gambling cases, arrested 53 people and confiscated 260,000 yuan of gambling fund and equipment. In addition, 20 million yuan of such funds were frozen.

Strong entry into the bingo sector by major online gambling group

The online bingo sector has a more significant competitor this week with the launch of PartyGaming's revitalised challenge in the form of subsidiary PartyBingo.com.

Following earlier launches this year of Party Casino and Party Gammon, the re-energised bingo interests of the group have been infused with more marketing and promotional incentives. Company spokesmen have promised that in the coming weeks players can expect enticing promotions and increased Web coverage from affiliate sites.

Existing players will benefit because the new incentives mean bigger jackpots, higher payouts and generally a lot more action.

Chat is recognised as an important feature in online bingo and Party Bingo have addressed this with a wealth of exciting chat games. Other major improvements include:

* Bigger pots, all day long
* A brand new bingo room
* New card limits for all
* Simple new pricing for Bingo Royale
* New multi-line slots - with progressive jackpots!
* New chat game prizes, including free cards

All changes will be in place by the end of July 2006.

Fargo state Representative Jim Kasper could be frustrated by moves to ban online gambling

Associated Press reported this week that the efforts of North Dakota Rep. Jim Kasper to introduce legislation aiming to legitimise online poker in the state could fall foul of the recent federal attempts to ban this form of entertainment across the nation.

If Bill HR 4411, the " Internet Gambling Prohibition Act 2006" is approved by the Senate, Kasper's attempts to legalise the game in North Dakota could be prejudiced by provisions which hamper financial transfers.

Kasper said he has not reviewed the legislation, and he was therefore unsure of its implications for his North Dakota poker licensing bill, but that he is reluctant to abandon the concept.

"I don't want to give it up, because there's too much money for the people of North Dakota, and there's too many good things that can happen if we become the first state that regulates the Internet poker business," Kasper said. "But I've got to interpret what this bill does ... Maybe there are too many restrictions in it. I don't know."

During the 2005 Legislature, Kasper sponsored a bill and a North Dakota constitutional amendment to allow North Dakota to license and regulate Internet poker sites, many of which are based in several countries. Both proposals squeezed through the North Dakota House, but failed in the Senate. Both measures got only three Senate votes in favor, and one of the "yes" votes, Sen. Jack Traynor, R-Devils Lake, is not seeking re-election.

Kasper believes North Dakota could reap considerable revenues from poker site licensing, and from using the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to process the sites' financial transactions. Under the Fargo Republican's proposed legislation, most of the poker licensing revenue would be set aside to finance local property tax cuts.

The federal legislation exempts horse racing and state-run lotteries from Internet gambling restrictions, and would allow Internet gambling operations that are contained only within a single state. The intrastate exemption would be meaningless in North Dakota, which is not a large enough market to sustain a lucrative Internet poker business.

Kasper says that any new poker legislation he offers in the 2007 Legislature will have stronger provisions to ensure that underage gamblers would not be allowed to play, and safeguards would be included to stop players from gambling away too much money.

"One thing is certain. If the bill eventually becomes law it will be very difficult—if not impossible—to enforce. The U.S doesn’t own the Internet, after all, and offshore gambling operators and eager U.S. players will quickly find ways around the legislation."

Reaction to the House of Representatives attempt to stifle online gambling with a few notable exceptions has continued this week. The Texarkana Gazette carried a well reasoned editorial opinion on the issue under the title "In Our View: Fold 'Em".

The article starts with a summary of Bill HR 4411, on which House members voted 317-93 to prohibit the use of credit cards and other payment gateways for Internet gambling purposes. The bill also clarifies current laws against gambling and opens the door for enforcement officials to work with Internet service providers to block online gambling sites.

The Gazette notes that state lotteries and horse racing sites would not be affected, and opines that these were exempted primarily to keep lawmakers from states hosting such activities from opposing the legislation.

"Others see it as simply another business that should be regulated and taxed, pointing out that gambling has become a major revenue stream in the U.S., with casinos operating in several states," the piece points out. "The bill now goes to the Senate, which has shown little interest overall in online gambling so far."

The article says that it is curious that Congress "....is so worked up about Internet gambling. Americans, for the most part, don’t see gambling as a major threat to our society and don’t really think it’s any of Congress’ business if they want to place a wager online or off.

"And since gambling has expanded over the past couple of decades across the U.S. without much action from Washington to stop it, it’s hard to see why it is somehow more acceptable to place a bet in a casino on a riverboat or Indian reservation than to ante up at an online poker site.

"One thing is certain. If the bill eventually becomes law it will be very difficult—if not impossible—to enforce. The U.S doesn’t own the Internet, after all, and offshore gambling operators and eager U.S. players will quickly find ways around the legislation.

"If the bill eventually becomes law it will be very difficult—if not impossible—to enforce. The U.S doesn’t own the Internet, after all, and offshore gambling operators and eager U.S. players will quickly find ways around the legislation.

"Gamblers will find a way to gamble. Always have, always will. You can bet on it."

British minister says gambling could enhance quality of life if properly regulated

Amid all the hoo-ha over the American House of Representatives vote against online gambling this week, across the Atlantic the British were efficiently getting on with regulating the activity.

Gambling could be an 'enhancement to the quality of life' if it was brought into the mainstream, Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport and Gambling, said, asserting that the majority of adults in UK who enjoyed gambling should be allowed to bet in a well-regulated environment.

Caborn was speaking at the official opening of the UK Gambling Commission's new Birmingham city centre headquarters, and said: "Seventy-four per cent of the nation has gambled. The vast majority of adults want to drink and gamble, and as long as you do not abuse it, it can be an enhancement of the quality of life."

Headed by Peter Dean, the Commission will regulate all gambling Britain other than the national lottery and spread betting.

Now headquartered in Birmingham in the English Midlands, it is one of the first public bodies to move out of London as part of the government's Lyons Review on the relocation of public bodies.

What happens to HR 4411 now?

The House of Representatives vote in favour of Bill HR4411 "The Unlawful Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act of 2006" has whipped up a blizzard of media publicity, much of it creating the impression that the ban on online gambling is now law.

It isn't. HR4411 has a way to go yet before it reaches the President's desk for signing into law. Here's a quick summary of the future path of this legislation:

Having been approved by the House of Representatives, the Bill is now forwarded to the Senate, where it will be introduced to the Senate floor and will have to run the political gauntlet of examination, debate and manouevring through various sub-committees and committees where amendments can be made.

With the agreed amendments in place, the Bill then goes back to the floor for serious debate and voting. After that the original Bill from the House of Representatives and the amended BIll from the Senate have to go into conference committee where a final version incorporating all the elements agreed upon has to be drafted. This is sent back to the Senate and the House of Representatives for final approval.

Once final approval from both Senate and House (together called "Congress") has been achieved, the Bill is sent to the White House, where the President and his advisers consider the Bill and either sign it into U.S. law, exercise the Presidential veto or allow the Bill to lapse. If the President vetos the Bill his decision can only be overturned by a two thirds majority in both the House and the Senate.

Here's a few dates to consider in the context of HR4411 and its forward journey:

Senate summer recess: August 7 - September 4

House of Representatives: July 31 - September 4

Business recommences September 5

Midterm elections: November 7

Senate and the House adjournment date (at present) is set for October 6

Last date by which final version of HR 4411 must be approved by Congress: September 22 in order to meet the 10 business days before adjournment rule.

Senate majority leader's office seems confused

Trying to get a sensible snapshot on the likely U.S. Senate progress of the online gambling prohibition bill recently passed by the House of Representatives proved to be a little difficult Thursday as staffers in the Senate majority leader's office gave conflicting information.

One early report from Reuters, quoting an aide to majority leader Senator Bill Frist revealed that the bill is already facing some opposition in the U.S. Senate and will not come up for a vote before the chamber takes its August recess. The aide told Reuters that lawmakers were still working on the bill and would not be able to hold a floor vote before the Senate recesses for its August vacation.

Later in the day Reuters issued an update which contradicted this information. Quoting a more senior Frist aide, the wire service reported that the bill faces opposition, but that its backers still hope to win passage of it within a few weeks.

"We are trying to get something done before the August recess," set to begin on August 4, said Eric Ueland, Frist's chief of staff.

Ueland rejected the earlier opinion, saying Frist had not given up on getting a vote before the August recess.

The Senate bill is virtually identical to legislation overwhelmingly approved earlier in July by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling and make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

3 years on from its David and Goliath clash with the U.S., tiny Antigua takes the next step in the ongoing dispute

After three years of wrangling in World Trade Organisation procedures with the United States, the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has initiated investigations into the alleged non-compliance of the US with certain WTO rulings.

A new WTO investigative panel has been requested by the islanders in order to enquire whether US restrictions on internet gambling breach world trade rules. US laws banning interstate betting over the internet will be examined by the investigators, who are required to report back to the WTO within 90 days.

The Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda, host to many online casinos, has been in a long-running battle with the US over the legality of its stance on the industry. The WTO earlier found that some of the US laws were not in line with trade rules, though others were permissible, and it recommended that the non-compliant rules, which referred to Internet horse race betting, be addressed.

Antigua and Barbuda claim the American online gambling prohibitions are hampering the country's economy. The island government has invested heavily in the industry in a bid to lessen its reliance on the tourism sector, and it says three US laws are preventing companies from legally accepting bets from the US.

The announcement of the WTO investigation comes during a month of turmoil for the online gambling industry, with anti-online gaming legislation being passed by the House of Representatives in the USA, and the arrest by the Department of Justice of a senior online gambling executive on his way through the USA to his Costa Rican base.

The Antiguan authorities asked for the panel to be set up after negotiations with the US broke down.

Trade partners who fail to implement WTO rulings often find themselves hit by sanctions - for example, extra tariffs on their exports.

Alderney egaming law is to be amended following a legislative review.

Following a recent legislative review, the island of Alderney is to simplify its licensing by doing away with activity-specific licenses and introducing a "one license fits all" policy.

Explaining the change, Robin Le Prevost, the recently employed chief of ecommerce for the jurisdiction said the change has been occasioned by the number of legal modifications recently undertaken, and the speed with which the industry is advancing.

"The whole purpose of this is that if you change legislation time and time again, it can get rather complex. What we are doing is starting again. You can´t just keep putting band aids on; it is time to start afresh," he said.

Le Provost commented on the industry trend toward multi-gamestyle offerings on big integrated sites added that as it is increasingly common for operators to offer a combination of product offerings through integrated sites, saying: "Having just one licence has a simplifying effect; multiple licences add burdens and admin and bureaucracy. We are going to have one simple licence. A trend in the industry now is to offer lots of products, not just a casino or a sports book. We wanted to mirror trends within the industry."

The single licence, through which operators can provide all egambling´ services including mobile, can be purchased for an annual fee of GBP 70 000 (US$128,000).

VCGaming doing well, but not in Spain

Presenting VC Gaming's trading update this week, financial director Gerard Cassells had good news and bad.

The good news was that VC is performing well in line with its objectives, and maintaining its annual growth rate of 28 percent with solid expansion in the Russian market and continued good performance in Central and Eastern Europe. The bad was that Spanish operations have clearly been disappointing, and the company is disengaging from its ambitious plans there.

Cassells revealed that VC's lack of a sportsbook during the exceptional opportunities afforded by the recent World Cup in Germany, had been offset by savvy marketing across the online casino operations of the group. For example, by selecting a team to win on the casino site VC would offer a Euro bonus.

The disappointing performance in Spain was attributed to relatively low broadband penetration and online transaction levels.

Cassells emphasised that VC's dominant market is Germany and Austria, but said that there had been plans for Spain and trialling had been carried out. Despite strong interest in the games, Spanish gamblers were not putting money into the operations in sufficient amounts to make the continuation of operations in the country viable.

"We see that full broadband internet penetration into Spain is not quite as high as elsewhere, credit card use is lower and maybe they are slightly less prepared to trade over the internet. In three years´ time it will probably be at the same level, but not at the moment," he said.

Russia is a top target for the gambling group, although operations are currently only active in Moscow, Cassells revealed, saying that this was because the capital was the centre where technology use among wealthy Russians was highest.

"Russian people with money are very technology driven. Pretty much the whole of the centre of Moscow has wireless broadband, and there is a lot of wealth," he said. It was of paramount importance to have an experienced and integrity driven Russian partner in that market, and VC had be en fortunate in this regard, teaming up with a lottery organiser.

The traditional problems associated with doing business in Russian were still a factor that demanded attention, said Cassells, emphasising that it was important to get the legal and red-tape obstacles properly addressed, and that this required preparation and an ability to be firm. "There is no point in expecting to carry out deals on the European can-do basis; you have to say that at some point I want this done. A month ago I would have said we would have it finalised by the end of June, we hope to finalise it by the end of July."

500 000 new online casino and poker room signups in 6 months is pretty good going....

Online financial processor Neteller now has a customer base of 3 million in 120 countries, with a daily average signup rate that has increased by 19 percent to 3 251, according to current performance statistics released this week by the company, which is based on the Isle of Man.

Company spokesman Andrew Gilchrist said that in the past six months alone, the customer base had expanded by 500 000 signups, and that business has been generally positive despite the seasonal downturn. "The second quarter is usually regarded as a slower quarter; this time of year is traditionally slower than the first quarter," he said, adding that the company was pleased with its performance.

Describing the value and convenience of the companys product, Gilchrist said: "We sit in the middle, we offer an indemnified product, and they [operators] do not have to deal with banks, payment problems, or customer disputes. For them it offers greater flexibility."

This year Neteller launched its 1-Pay payments platform in Asia, as well as new products in Europe which offer local language and Euro payment options, with a 24-hour resident-speaking helpdesk facility.

URU is growing

One of the key needs for online gambling operators is a fast and reliable way of verifying the ID of potential clients, and a growing force in the British arena for these services is URU, a subsidiary of the GB Group.

The latest trading figures from the group show that URU, which is offered by GB's DataAuthentication venture is making a solid contribution to a gratifying 14 percent growth in business.

DataAuthentication transactions have soared by almost half a million over the comparative period last year, and URU has attracted nine new clients since the start of June, many of these from the financial services sector, an area of planned development.

British Telecom was involved in the development of URU which combats fraud and identity theft through cross checks and a wide range of UK reference databases.

Watch out for Virgin's new campaign ideas from the Lean Mean Fighting Machine!

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group has a reputation for innovative and exciting marketing, and the group's venture into online gambling has shown that the same flair and imagination is being applied on the Internet.

25 to 45 year old players are the main target of the companys latest online advertising effort.

Details of the new British campaign to promote Virgin's online casino and poker room interests were released this week, announcing a multi-million GBP offline and online campaign designed to enhance and boost the current products.

The high street above-the-line programme focuses on a playful and amusing approach to familiar gaming terminology such as twist, stick, flop and raise. The outdoor campaign will focus on the cities of Manchester and Glasgow.

The new online campaign has been developed specifically to target 25-45-year-olds with rich media content which the company says concentrates on the entertainment value created by the products.

The offline creatives were handled by advertising agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R. The online creative element was handled by digital agency Lean Mean Fighting Machine.

Advertising agency will push hard on new 3D poker site

After the extensive word-of-mouth and gambling show exposure new 3D poker online site PKR has been receiving recently, one could be forgiven for thinking that an advertising campaign was unnecessary, but the newcomer shows no sign of turning down the volume of its promotional efforts and this week hired an agency to boost it.

Digital advertising agency Responsys Interact has been selected for the task of coordinating PKR's mobile and email campaigns. Responsys will manage the multi-channel marketing campaigns for the soon-to-launch site, including email, SMS/MMS, and digital direct mail. Each communication will be tailored and personalised to each customer through integrating with both PKR´s database and its web analytic solution via Responsys' Automation Gateway.

PKR has created intense interest and speculation with its high quality graphics, avatars and imaginative camera zooming and player perspectives, although there are fears in some quarters that the quality of the production may prove too much of a load on smaller graphics cards.

The start of a new trend in internet poker?

Six weeks back the advent of "live over the internet" poker using Webcam technology was announced by Pharaoh's Poker Palace.com, with Beta testing scheduled for this (July) month, and it now appears there will be some competition for the first operator into this new Internet gambling niche: JNQ Global Inc. has announced an August launch for their equivalent product.

JNQ Global Inc. is a Panamanian company operating in Costa Rica. It uses proprietary software developed over the past nine months, and was formed by investors in 2006 for the purposes of developing and operating JacksNQueens.com. The new site will feature conventional Internet poker tables and Webcam, a different take on "live over the internet" poker, too.

The management feel that the use of Webcam as opposed to videostreaming, takes the technology out of the usual patent hassles associated with "live over the Internet" operating.

The site will not be joining any of the networks, and will operate as an independent online poker venue.

Blake Vantrees, the VP Marketing for the company promises plenty of tournament action, culminating in The Online Heads-up World Championship later this year.

JacknQueens claims that it is the first to introduce multiple jackpots at every cash and play-for-fun table. These jackpots include everything from getting a Royal Flush to hitting a special Jacks and Queens full house jackpot.

Tournaments at JacksNQueens.com will include Team Poker Tournaments in which team members can enter the same tournament but always enjoy a new table, using the customised software. When one team member wins big all the other team members in the tournament share in the prize.

All the great poker games will be offered to include Texas Holdem, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo and Razz. Adding spice to the poker suite will be H.O.R.S.E. cash and tournament games, giving players a chance to get away from the universal Hold Em now so common on the Internet.

JNQ Global plans to start Beta testing soon, and is looking for players to give its software a thorough work-out before the official launch.

Spin3’s flagship wireless casino to be distributed as standalone Java game

Spin3, powered by Microgaming, launched its latest product this week - a line of stand-alone, play-for-fun casino style mobile games under the provider brand SpinLite.

Microgaming's popular Tomb Raider video slot will be the first game to feature on SpinLite, which mobile service providers and content aggregators around the world will be able to license on a revenue-share, pay-per-download basis.

Spin3 is the only mobile gaming provider to offer the Tomb Raider video slot, which is themed around the queen of video gaming, Lara Croft. SpinLite enables consumers to download the exciting Tomb Raider slot onto their mobile phone, paying per download. The game is a five reel, fifteen payline slot machine sure to provide an exciting mobile gaming experience for virtual credits.

“With SpinLite, consumers can experience the thrill of winning without putting money on the line,” said Matti Zinder, CEO, Spin3. “There is an increasing demand for casino style mobile games from consumers around the world, and Spin3 lets mobile operators meet that demand through a high quality, fun experience.”

According to Juniper Research, the evolution in mobile games is set to continue in the next five years, with a growth in global revenues from $3.1billion in 2006 approaching $17.6 billion by 2011, a rise producing a cumulative revenue stream of nearly $57 billion over the next six years.

The SpinLite range features enhanced graphical game design, high quality sound and a menu system that is easy for the user to navigate and play.

Some strange sounding brands, but it's all go and tons of fun at WooWorld

Microgaming's mobile casino associate, Spin3 has clinched an important deal with Singapore based entertainment content aggregator WooWorld, which has selected Spin3’s play-for-fun SpinFone system to offer the first mobile gaming competition in Singapore.

Mobile gamers will be able to download WooWorld’s WowBoss casino games via premium SMS and compete for the highest scores to win prizes like iPod Shuffles, digital cameras, Swatch watches and shopping vouchers.

With gaming restrictions being relaxed, Asia-Pacific is expected to generate $2.7 billion annually in revenues. WowBoss offers a SpinFone suite of five exciting casino style games, including BlackJack, classic slots and Roulette - available for download on mobile devices. WooWorld and mobile operators will share revenues generated from downloads and player retention built into the SpinFone system.

“WooWorld is always striving to offer innovative new products and services to the mobile consumer,” said Victor Lim, CEO of WooWorld Pte Ltd. “Spin3’s SpinFone system, easy to use and deploy, has been integral to the smooth development of the first mobile casino games in Singapore. The rich graphics, intuitive game-play experience and exciting competition elements will ensure WowBoss is an instant hit.”

“Since its launch in January 2005, Spin3 has endeavored to enable more and more consumers around the world to enjoy a rich, easy to use mobile gaming experience,” said Matti Zinder, CEO, Spin3. “Asian consumers represent a large online gambling market, and we are bringing the same gaming experience on their mobile with our cooperation with WooWorld to offer the first mobile casino games.”

According to analysts at Informa Telecoms & Media, the number of mobile gamblers will increase to 201.4 million globally in 2010 from 48.1 million today. In Asia-Pacific, the number will increase from 22.1 million today to 96.7 million during the same period.

The latest version of SpinFone offers enhanced usability and functionality, as well as a new advanced interface to promote extended play. The built-in player retention tools and community features translate into a continuous revenue stream for service and content providers. Licensees of SpinFone can customise their brand messaging alongside live interactive scoreboards, providing marketers with an open channel for ongoing brand and user engagement, as well as direct communication with their players.

The SpinFone system is supported on the latest mobile handsets, including those by Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Sharp, Sanyo, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Siemens, Sendo, and more.

The NBA's high profile bad boy is the theme of new GP slot

Personal disclosures, fashion statements and outrageous behaviour have made former basketball star Dennis Rodman an internationally known celebrity, and his colourful personality is now reflected in a new video slot launched this week by Playtech-powered Golden Palace Casino.

One of the casino's biggest and most recognisable spokesman, Rodman has helped Golden Palace.com with several ad campaigns, including participating in the Running of the Bulls at Pamplona to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research.

The reels of the Dennis Rodman slot machine are pictures of some of his most famous stunts and appearances. The game itself is a 5-reel slot with twenty paylines, a bonus mini-game, and is available in multiple languages and currencies.

Endurance test for top poker players on the planet

The World Series of Poker event that has grabbed the headlines this week was undoubtedly the H.O.R.S.E. tournament (see previous InfoPowa bulletins) where the creme de la creme of players in several variations of the game paid $50 000 a pop entry fees for a crack at the $1.7 million first prize, or a share in the $6.8 million prize pool.

143 players fronted up this significant entry fee and the gruelling three day endurance event got underway with the most competitive WSOP field per capita yet seen.

Finally, however after a 19 hour session it was down to nine great players at the last table, which looked like this:

David “Chip” Reese - $1,756,000
Doyle Brunson - $1,227,000
Andy Bloch - $934,000
Phil Ivey - $885,000
Jim Bechtel - $841,000
David Singer - $745,000
Dewey Tomko - $438,000
T.J. Cloutier - $351,000
Patrik Antonius - $13,000

The finalists boast a breathtaking collection of achievements - 27 WSOP bracelets and 116 final table appearances.

Final table action began with $10,000 - $20,000 blinds and $3,000 antes.

Patrik Antonius, who was riding a knife edge with a low chip count to start with, had a flash of good luck and boldness initially, but soon exited after he moved all on a J43 board, and his A 4 failed to catch up to Reese’s pocket eights. His ninth place paycheque was $205,920

The legendary Doyle Brunson was next to go in eigth place at $274,560, and he was followed at seventh by two-time WSOP Main Event runner-up Dewey Tomko. After raising $100 000, Tomko moved all in over the top of an Andy Bloch $300 000 re-raise. Tomko’s pocket eights put him way behind Bloch’s pocket queens, and, while the 975 flop gave Tomko an inside straight draw, he was out of the game with $343 200 with the K turn and 4 river.

It was David Singer's time to go within ten minutes of Tomko's departure, again the victim of aggressive Reese play. Singer's sixth place payout was still big money at $411 840.

T.J. Cloutier was next. Although he used his no-limit expertise to good effect at the ferocious table, doubling up, and pushing all-in a number of times, he ran out moves when his pocket sevens collided into Bloch’s pocket tens. With no miracle sevens, straights or flushes on the board, Cloutier walked away from the final table as the fifth place finisher with $480 480.

1993 WSOP champion Jim Bechtel also fell victim to Bloch's skill and broke the half a million dollar barrier as he went home with a fourth place cheque $549 120.

Bechtel’s elimination set up a three way match between two members of Team Full Tilt, and a cash game player with no sponsorships. Phil Ivey, Bloch and Reese battled for only half an hour before Ivey, who was a fave to win the HORSE by many, and had been hoping to add a sixth WSOP bracelet to his collection was despatched by Bloch who called Ivey's all-in bet with a straight draw and a flush draw, hitting the flush on the turn to get to heads up play just before 2 a.m. He collected his third place paycheque of $617 760 and left the table .

Ivey's departure set the scene for the final heads up confrontation between two professional players of consummate skill, and it started a thriller of a marathon match that was to run for just over 7 hours, breaking the previous WSOP record set in 1983.

After hours of tough play which swung back and forth, at the end it came down to a Reese move all-in from the strong position of $6,850,000 to $300,000 chip lead. Bloch made the call and flipped over 9 8. Reese showed the A Q. Bloch picked up a straight draw with the J77 flop, but the 4 turn and 4 river gave Reese two pair with a better kicker.

It was all over....Bloch left with second place and $1 029 600 for his trouble, and a jubilant Reese carried off the $1 716 000 top prize and his third hard-won WSOP bracelet.

"He had me beat four or five times," Reese said after the game. "I just kept coming back. I'm very happy to win, but I feel bad for [Bloch], because he played well enough to win today."

The level of skill and excitement inherent in the H.O.R.S.E format, which enables players to show their poker paces in games other than Hold Em makes this event one of the most spectacular in the World Series of Poker, and this year was certainly no exception.

Average Brit has to prove identity 11 times a year

UK adults are asked to prove their identity (ID) 11 times on average each year, research from Manchester Business School has found. Laws meant to combat money-laundering and terrorism mean Britons are increasingly being asked to produce ID.

Buying an airline ticket, leasing a property, opening a savings account and registering with a doctor all require ID. And according to the research, by 2010 Britons will be asked to produce ID, usually in the form of a passport an average of 17 times a year.

The research shows that most consumers are irritated and frustrated when asked to produce documents such as passports and driving licences, often a number of times by different departments of the same business.

Technology firm GB Group, which commissioned Manchester Business School to undertake the research, said UK firms and government agencies were making up to half a billion identity checks on customers each year.

This could place a great burden on individual consumers who had to produce passports or driving licences to prove who they were, the group said. For example, those moving house may have their identity checked more than five times throughout the process by different organisations such as estate agents, solicitors, financial advisers, lenders and the Land Registry.

"Most are frustrated to be asked to produce documents such as passports and driving licences, often a number of times by different departments of the same business," Rob Laurence, GB Group spokesman, said.