STRANGE TALES

20 June 2008

Online gambling reports intrigue


With the lightning fast speed of the Internet, online gambling news is generally presented to the public within hours of the stories breaking, yet over the past few days two interesting events have surfaced with no apparent source and little media coverage four days on.

In the first, discussion has been ongoing on the respected Major Wager and 2+2 forums regarding an unsourced report posted by a member that claims:

"Offshore gaming firm BetonSports, which was criminally indicted in 2006 for soliciting bettors in the United States, is being sued for $2.5 million for allegedly breaching an agreement with the U.S.-based telecommunications carrier AT&T."

That's clearly an intriguing prospect, given the moribund status of BetonSports, currently in the hands of the Vantis liquidators after its ruinous clash with the US Department of Justice back in 2006.

Yet no details or expansion on the report had been forthcoming as InfoPowa went to press, following an extensive search.

In more or less the same timeframe, IGN reported that an unknown number of Victor Chandler International support staff had been arrested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last Thursday. An incident of considerable interest to the industry, yet one not apparently reported on the corporate website of the well known Gibraltar-based company, or in other media.

Interactive Gaming News spoke with the PR representative for Chandlers, one Phil Hall, who confirmed the arrests but was apparently unable to give details of the incident or what charges were involved.

"We believe there's been a mixup," said Hall, speaking to an IGN journalist in a telephone interview Thursday. "It [the Malaysian operation] is a customer service center, an I.T. center, and has never been used for any sort of gambling or the taking of bets. It is therefore not in breach of any Malaysian gambling laws. We're confident that this mixup will be put right very shortly."

The detainees are expected to be released on bail Friday, he added.

Update: As InfoPowa went to press at the end of the week there was still no confirmation or other media reports on either of these mystery stories.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa