Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

Twice in a week

The geo-locating software folks with the strange name did it twice this week - signed up impressive Got2bet companies for their ace software.

Online Gaming Systems was the first with a very bare-bones announcements that Quova was their geo-locating control supplier of choice. Then a couple of days later Vegas land-based giant with internet intentions MGM-Mirage made a similar statement.

MGM-Mirage is one of two Isle of Man-based online casino operations that have chosen Quova solutions to protect against inadvertently servicing customers in areas where such gaming is not legal -- a significant regulatory violation that can undermine the integrity of the operation, especially in stringently licenced jurisdictions like the IOM.

Bill Hornbuckle, MGM's head honcho for the Isle of Man said "We looked at all of the available options, and we have made Quova's GeoPoint our IP mapping service and technology partner. We see Quova as one of the enabling technologies necessary to provide the highest level of jurisdictional compliance for our online operations."

In similarly back-slapping form was Quova's CEO Marie Alexander, who said that her company was enormously gratified to have been chosen by MGM-Mirage for a business-critical function in such a high value-high risk market. "...we combine a worldwide data gathering network, leveraging algorithms that automatically generate IP-specific data, with a state-of-the-art hand-mapping capability which aggregates IP usage information across all of our online gaming customers and provides the widest and most accurate geo location coverage data in the industry."

Quova has landed an impressive number of geo-location control contracts in the industry of late.

Still hanging in

Rumour that Pyramid Casino.com and its sisters in the Antigua-based Internet Empire Entertainment group have been slower than usual on both player and affiliates payouts culminated in a message board exchange this week that indicates business problems at this reputable and well managed group.

It all started with one of the veteran players revealing that Pyramid had been late and sporadic in making payments and that they had an unspecified cashflow problem. Others chimed in, and it wasn't long before Craig Levett, the wideawake general manager was in there telling it like it is. There is a problem, but they will be seeing it through.

Bet On Us, Binions Casino, Pyramid Poker, Advanced Online Casino, London Picadilly Casino, Riviera Hotel Online Casino and Paris Picasso Casino are all members of the same group.

Kudos

To Virtual City casino manager M. Hunt, who was obviously on top of his job and monitoring the message boards this week when complaints were raised about unjustified lockouts and disorganised CSRs at his casino group. Manager Hunt was on it like a dog on a bone, clearing one complaint and justifying the other...and listening to player advice about how he might improve efficiency by providing the right email addresses to give complainants access to discretionary management.

Black Widow and Grand Banks

Although the picture is not yet sufficiently clear to make judgements, something has definitely gone amiss at these two well established online casinos, which recently dumped RTG software in favour of Playtech.

Slow payments, some overdue by a month or more have been fuelling growing concern among players that bubbled over into scepticism this week when a notification was sent to players by manager Blake Schumaker in which the payments problem was blamed on massive fraud attacks, necessitating audits of all accounts and a slowdown in payouts.

That started alarm bells ringing for many gambers because (a) the audit excuse accompanied by freezes in payouts but not deposits is an old ruse that has previously been used by casinos on their way out the door, and (b) the announcement included another well worn excuse, that the fraud had been "...coupled with the changeover to a new software platform necessitating that our financial services team process all withdrawal transactions manually. This has caused delays to our usual payout process."

There have been reassurances from various quarters that BW and GB are good for the monies owed and that they should be through this dark patch in another week or two. Time will tell, but in the meantime be warned....

Net Gaming spam

Watch out for screwy email marketing from Net-gaming-casino.com. The Casinomeister robot Vortran is warning gamblers that this problem child of a casino has started a spam campaign that feigns a misdirected email from players looking for a reputable casino. But it is sent to you. This outfit runs Elka Systems Software, a provider that has been known to have problems in the past.

UISA Casino 365 - is that how long it takes to get paid?

If you like fast payouts USA Casino 365.com may not be for you judging by the latest Gambling Grumble report from Julie Sidwell. She has some poor gambler who has been waiting almost three months for a three-and-a-half grand payout from this Gambling Software Systems powered casino. And, no it's not a bonus or faxback form dispute...this is plain old slow or no pay.

The casino pumped out the usual lame excuse of "A combination of high levels of transactions and a change of processor has caused a small delay in our redemption time. We are on top of the temporary problem and this payment should be completed soon."

That's like saying the check's in the mail these days and it won't wash. It didn't - another three weeks have passed and the player is still waiting. You have of course guessed what comes (or doesn't come) next. Yep - the casino doesn't respond to his emails any more either. Steer clear - you don't need this stress.

Running out of time...again

The legal eagles in the corridors of Washington tell us that this legislative season is again running short on time with internet gambling legislation still unpassed...and unlikely to be so the way things are going.

In addition to the wheeling and dealing exceptions that politicians seem to need to get support, and the strenuous efforts of self-interested groups like the horse racing fraternity and the AGA there are other priorities in place on Capitol Hill. Fact is, between the Iraq crisis, corporate chaos, and the overall fight against terrorism, the folks in Congress have their hands full more than in any other year. And similar attempts to pass antigambling laws have been shot down over the past three years in less troubled times.

Turnover and customer base surges

William Hill this week reported a 77.5% increase in turnover by its online operations following a major marketing push.

The company's interactive division, which comprises an online sportsbook and casino, reaped a combined £198m in sales for the six months to 2 July. Profit more than doubled to £29.3m.

In the build up to the World Cup, William Hill invested in advertising and marketing in a bid to drive up the number of visitors to its site.

This led to a "significant increase in online activity and higher than anticipated customer recruitment", and at 2 July the company had approximately 126,000 active accounts, 26% higher than at the start of the year.

Its casino also grew its customer account base to 44,000, up from 35,000 at the turn of the year, and it spent some £4.5m on administrative costs to support the interactive division.

William Hill has been outspoken in its efforts to have exchange betting banned on the grounds that it is illegal, though this has been met with fierce resistance from Betfair, the fast-growing peer-to-peer site.

The traditional bookmakers want the government to crack down on exchange betting sites, as they believe laying bets (offering odds to other punters) contravenes a law passed in the early-1960's. Betfair, which holds a bookmakers licence, said it will firmly contest any efforts to force it - and its competitors - out of business, and would in any case move offshore if the government sides with the high street bookmakers.

Diary change

If you had next month diarised for the IGI seminar then change it now - the Interactive Gaming Institute of Nevada (IGI) has just announced that it has instead joined forces with Global Gaming Expo (G2E) to present the Interactive Gaming Symposium on Friday, Sept. 20.

As a result of this newly created alliance with G2E, IGI has cancelled what was scheduled to be its 2nd Annual Interactive Gaming Expo and Symposium next month.

"Rather than to continue to hold our own separate Interactive Gaming Conference and Expo, talking primarily to those who are already knowledgeable about remote gaming, we have concluded that it is better to join forces," said Richard Fitzpatrick, CEO of IGI. "G2E does a tremendous job of bringing together the broad universe of those who have a stake in the expansion of licensed, regulated gaming."

The Interactive Gaming Symposium at G2E, will be a one-day, intensive program focusing on the issues affecting interactive and Internet gaming worldwide. Some of the topics include updates on the latest legislative and regulatory developments; interactive gaming content: building great products; interactive television: betting by remote control; player ID: biometrics; smart cards & other new technologies; and new gaming options: intranets, kiosks and wireless opportunities.

Courts pull the government up on gaming fiasco

Last week's report on the ludicrous Greek government ban on all internet gaming to snuff out gambling had a more rational sequel this week with news from the BBC that the a court in Thessaloniki had ruled the ban unconstitutional.

To the delight of some 300 demonstrators the judge threw out a case against two internet cafe owners accused of breaking the controversial new law banning all computer games. The ruling is the first of its kind in Greece and sets the courts on a collision course with the State.

Legislation passed in July banned people from playing video games in public places like internet cafes as part of a drive to stamp out illegal gambling.

The court, in its ruling, said the law was unconstitutional. Two internet cafe owners and an employee were charged after police found some of their customers playing online chess and the popular multiplayer game, Counter-Strike.

They could have been sent to jail for three months and could have faced fines of $4,950 each, as well as losing their business licences.

US Justice Department and a disappointing reply

Readers will recall the elation last year when the great state of Nevada signed into law the possibility of legalising internet gambling subject to certain conditions, including compliance with confusing federal laws. It seemed that the gambling state had rightfully asserted its primacy by taking a brave lead.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board set to work to investigate conditions and compliance, and one of the first priorities was obviously to seek a definitive opinion from the US Justice Department legal eagles - "Does internet gambling violate US federal law?"

This week the disappointing answer came back from Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and was announced by Board chairman Dennis Neilander: "....any kind of betting, whether it is sports or casino-style, violates the Wire Act and other federal laws."

The opinion set off a round of critical comment on what many experts see as a hasty decision that has not fully considered the detail. It was nevertheless viewed as a serious setback for legalised internet gambling in the USA, with many feeling that the advisory makes it highly unlikely state casinos will be able to operate Nevada-regulated Internet casinos that take bets from outside Nevada. "At least we have some clarity from the federal government," Neilander said of the advisory letter dated August 23. "Chertoff's letter left little room for doubt as to whether the Bush Administration would reverse the Clinton Administration's opinion that federal laws bar Internet casino gambling as well as sports betting. He wrote that as set forth in prior Congressional testimony, the Department of Justice believes that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet, including casino-style gambling".

It is possible that regulators could still write rules that would allow Nevada casinos to operate Internet casinos that would let in-state bettors gamble online, but the federal opinion likely means state casinos couldn't take wagers from bettors from other countries and the remaining 49 states.

The limitation severely reduces the amount of potential business and state gaming tax revenue that would be captured by Nevada-regulated online casinos. And as state casinos find the door closed to Got2bet offerings from Nevada, MGM Mirage executives are saying that their new online casino mgmmirageonline.com, to be based and regulated in the Isle of Man, is almost ready to open and could begin taking bets from international gamblers only by the end of this month.

The company recently finished a series of roadshows to diverse state regulators that explained the security methods the casino site will use to keep minors and U.S. residents from betting. Mississippi regulators unanimously voted to approve the venture, and Nevada regulators were impressed by the company's efforts to secure the site.

Company spokesman Alan Feldman says MGM Mirage is "excited" at the prospect of entering the Internet market.

"We believe to the highest possible degree that we'll be able to prevent anyone from the U.S. or minors from using the system," he claims, adding that the site will utilize a range of technologies to create multiple screening steps through which a prospective bettor must pass. The Venetian is another Vegas group that has recently expressed an interest in the internet, and Station Casinos has an option to buy into the Kerzner International group's successful internet venture.

Pro-Internet experts were quick to react to the news.

Internet casino expert and Las Vegas lawyer Tony Cabot said, "Until a court rules differently or Congress changes federal law, the (Justice Department) letter will likely prevent Nevada regulators from writing rules allowing interactive gaming from outside the state." Cabot also commented that he was disappointed that Chertoff didn't explain the rationale behind the announcement that all interstate Internet gambling is illegal. "It was a bald conclusion," he said. "There's no good legal analysis to support the decision."

Two other Internet casino experts said they were dismayed by the Justice Department letter.

River City Group President Sue Schneider, a St. Louis-based Internet casino expert, noted that Chertoff's letter ignored a New Orleans District Court decision that said an obscure 1961 law written to target sports betting, the Wire Act, only applied to sports betting operations, not other gambling activities.

"The letter negates some of the case law people are looking at," Schneider said. "There had been total silence from the Bush administration, and I think some people were surprised they took a position."

Chicago-based Internet gambling law expert Cory Aronowitz was even more blunt.

"The DOJ needs to read the published opinions of the federal courts," Aronowitz said. "For the DOJ to say that the Wire Act applies, they have to ignore opinions that say otherwise. If the Wire Act does apply, then why aren't they prosecuting Internet casino sites? We haven't seen prosecutions of anything besides online sports betting. The DOJ can send a letter, but they're not following through with prosecutions."

Internet gambling sites, including sports betting, casino, bingo and lottery sites, are expected to turnover an estimated $6 billion from bettors next year, up from $4.1 billion this year and $3 billion last year, according to newly revised figures from Christiansen Capital advisors.

Between 50 percent and 65 percent of that total amount, or $2.1 billion to $2.7 billion, is wagered from the United States, Schneider said. The recent Justice Department advisory opinion makes it highly unlikely state casinos will be able to operate Nevada-regulated Internet casinos that take bets from anywhere outside Nevada, including international jurisdictions.

That leaves only Nevada as a possible market, less than 1 percent of the worldwide online betting market.

Now Nevada regulators have to decide if it makes sense to regulate interactive betting within the state, and they want public input to help make the decision.

The Nevada Gaming Commission has requested those interested in commenting on interactive gaming regulation to appear at the panel's next three meetings, on Sept. 26 and Nov. 21 in Las Vegas and Oct. 24 in Carson City.

Two things may happen that could open the U.S. and international markets to Nevada-regulated Internet casinos, Cabot said.

First, federal courts could rule that the Wire Act and other federal laws apply to sports betting and not to other gambling activities. A pending case before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gives the judiciary a chance to do just that, he said.

Second, federal lawmakers could write new laws that allow states to regulate Internet casinos and permit bets between regulated states.

Without those changes, the prospect of a Nevada-only market isn't all that appealing.

New software verifies casino information

For some months now there have been whispers about an ambitious new software project being run by the Online Players' Association and Truegambler.com, and it appears that a Beta version will soon be available.

The software, branded Online Casino Analyser is designed for unannounced use by online gamblers in recording their actual gambling data at casinos. It is understood that it is currently being used to cross-check very large gambling run data samples from various venues played by the OPA's Player Advisory Board, and also percentage payout numbers calculated from logs submitted by a well-known turnkey provider that is voluntarily participating in a "million hands of blackjack" project to underline the fairness of their casino software product. The possibilities for verification of player logs are said to be "substantial".

The Online Casino Analyser has the potential to make some serious waves and earn a few enemies on the darker side of the industry, and it could be that strenuous efforts will be made to discredit it. It is therefore critical that it be thoroughly and independently evaluated by respected experts, with a transparent display of the process and the results before it is launched in it's final form. And it may herald an end to unsubstantiated cries of "The software was rigged!"

Hard times for online gamblers...and everyone else!

If you're an internet gambler or operate an internet cafe be glad you're not in Greece - some truly Draconian laws were enforced there this week and it could prove expensive.

According C-Net News, a report in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini revealed that the Greek government introduced the laws in an attempt to prevent illegal gambling. Greek federal police will be responsible for catching offenders, who will face fines of 5,000 to 75,000 euros (around five to seventy five grand in US $ ) and imprisonment of one to 12 months.

The ban was created after bar and arcade owners were found to have converted poker machines into illegal gambling machines.

But not only internet gambling is affected. That's where the overkill with a capital O comes in - in their attempts to stop gambling the Greek authorities have even attacked ordinary video/CD gamers. The blanket ban originated in February after the government admitted it was incapable of distinguishing innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines, the report said.

All electronic games across the country are currently banned, including those that run on home computers, on Game Boy-style portable consoles, and on mobile phones. Thousands of tourists in Greece are unknowingly facing heavy fines or long terms in prison for owning mobile phones or portable video games. Internet cafes will be allowed to continue to operate, providing no games-playing takes place. If a customer is found to be running any sort of game, including online chess, the cafe owner will be fined and the place closed.

Greek Law Number 3037, enacted at the end of July, explicitly forbids electronic games with "electronic mechanisms and software" from public and private places, and people have already been fined tens of thousands of dollars for playing or owning games.

If you're planning on visiting Greece be warned that the new law applies equally to visitors from abroad: "If you know these things are banned, you should not bring them in," said a commercial attaché at the Greek Embassy in London, who declined to give her name. Christos Protopapas, a government spokesman, says the Cabinet did not distinguish between games "because it wanted a clean decision and that decision is no electronic games."

"It’s laughable," says Yiannis Markopoulos, owner of an Internet café in Athens. "Every game in the world has been prohibited. I’m not taking any chances. Even children are now criminally liable."

Sounds like the legislators over there need some technical advisers...

Starcity ready to debut .

Stanley Casinos has been busy this week launching a set of interactive multi-player gaming web sites following a major online redevelopment that started with an overhaul of two of their veteran online casino sites, Acropolis Casinos.com and Crockfords Casinos.com. The revamps have given the sites a more professional feel and better interlinked them with other gambling operations in the major British group.

A new site, Starcitycasinos.com, was also about to launch as we went to press, planned to coincide with the opening of a Birmingham land-based casino of the same name by the company.

Pulling the whole group together is a new hub site, Stanley Casinos.com, that aims to pull together all of Stanley’s off and online casino offerings. The hub site includes services ranging from an interactive casino locator for Stanley Casinos’ 40 UK outlets to tips on casino etiquette for the inexperienced gambler.

Determined player hauls in seventy two big ones

Casino Domain.com player Tom did it the hard way, starting on the BJ tables with $300 and through sheer hard work ending up with $72,210 a week later. He wisely selected Black Jack, which can be one of the most lucrative games to play providing that the player knows how to act in every single situation. According to Domain management the theoretical payout is 99,6% over time.

Casino manager Paul Wilson presented the big check and said "This player played heavily for a week in sessions of around 8 hours. Our analysis shows that Tom definitely knows how to play "perfect strategy" and it is clear that if a player knows what he is doing and has a little luck he can take away significant sums of money."

WTG, Tom! The recently married player is going to use the money as a down-payment for a new house.

Not quite the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker...but you get the idea.

What do an investment adviser, a real estate agent, a legal secretary and a financial consultant have in common? They are part of a growing group of progressive jackpot success stories who have returned to win big progressive jackpots more than once. Just these four winners have boosted their bank balances by a total of over $1,079,000.

Jackpot Madness claims that these multiple winners are becoming more and more common in the network, with almost a quarter of the portal's 2,500 winners returning to profit again...and sometimes yet again, on a selection of eleven popular progressives. Enthusiasts often return to the same network casinos to get their piece of the more than $73,000,000 the that has been awarded since launching two years ago.

Financial consultant Bradley S finds that his strategy of changing games frequently is a winning combination. He has won a grand total of $815,344.99 on 4 different games, and as the latest big winner on the new Major Millions slot, he recently took home $739,794.33 in cold cash. "I won Major Millions on my birthday! What a nice gift. This is truly a life-changing opportunity and I hope many others can share the success I have had on the progressive games so far. Now my next goal is to 'conquer' Treasure Nile."

After hitting his second jackpot for a total of $101,804, investment adviser John C. enthused, "I like old sayings like 'third time is the charm' so you know I'll be hunting that third jackpot down. These are the most professional of all casino organizations I have ever seen: fair play, fast payouts, free promotions and all from the comfort of my home."

Newlywed real estate agent Christina V. claims that winning two jackpots totaling $88,052 is the perfect start to a great marriage: " We were able to make a down payment on a house, my husband had his eye on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and I wanted a swimming pool for the back yard. The rest will go to savings. We're off to such a great start thanks to my two wins on the progressive slots!"

$73,929 winner legal secretary Shannon H. decided not to tell her husband directly about her second progressive win of $55,703. "I haven't told anyone yet. I'll 'tell' my husband when I hand him over our mortgage satisfaction! "

Meanwhile, over at Cryptologic's Intercasino two players were celebrating big progressive wins, too.

Italian player Bongo, who runs a pizza delivery business, won $173,001.24 playing Rags to Riches slots from his home, making him one of Italy's largest online progressive jackpot winners. Just days earlier, FrankK was playing Spice Island Poker when he conjured the most illusive and highest paying card combination in the game. His royal flush won him a jackpot worth $157,406.42.

Stealth spyware more widespread

There was a major internet row over a year ago about "stealth" spyware - programs clandestinely downloaded to computers to either unscrupulously divert traffic or record operations of one type or another. For a while the thought that someone, somewhere could monitor your actions without your knowledge or consent had a lot of internet folk hopping mad, and various sniffers were suggested to find and remove the spies.

This week the subject reared its rather ugly head again in a discussion on the new Online Players' Association forum, and it is clear that feelings still run strong against this sort of invasive activity. One poster, "Shootyoudown" had some valuable advice, which we reproduce here courtesy of the OPA Webmaster, Bryan Bailey:

"'Stealthy' is a good description of how these things get installed - during the installation process, the information about the spyware will be tucked away either in the T&C or Agreement (and who reads those?) or just as an already ticked option in the list of things to install. On one level, it's the only way that a lot of these free programs will survive - on the other, and more seriously, it is not usually at all obvious what is being installed on your pc, and when that program can send back information about what you're up to, it can be a cause of great concern. The worst offenders are Gator, Comet Cursor, Kazaa, and Bonsai Buddy - all install little programs that will pop-up browser windows with adverts in them. So if you visit expedia.com, you'll get an advert pop-up for cheap flights. Search on google for casinos, and you'll be greeted with pop-ups for them. It's not expedia or google that are producing those, it's that little program on your pc.

"I'm not up on exactly what information gets passed back and forth between downloaded casino games and their servers, and whether there are any known downloads that install add-ons at the same time - I'd guess not (certainly not for big casinos) as they make their money elsewhere. There's no need for them to get the extra advertising dollars that a few pop-up windows will bring them. "In general Internet parlance, it means a piece of software that sits on your computer and watches where you surf, either collecting information about your habits or popping up adverts when you visit certain web-sites (or just at random intervals). It's often installed together with another piece of software that has been downloaded and users commonly don't realise they are installing this 'spyware' thing as well.

"If you are concerned about what's on your computer that you don't know about, download something called 'Ad Aware' from Lavasoft (freeware) at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/aaw.html , which will detect what spyware is on your pc and ask you whether you want to delete it or not. I'm not sure what it would do if it ran into any casino software designed to send playing information back to a casino site...."

Online payment methods coming thick and fast

It looks as if online gamblers will have an embarrassment of riches to choose from once PayPal pulls out of the business, judging by the many announcements that have been appearing.

The latest is a quaintly named product called PaysPark, according to emails being sent out by Lucky Nugget Casino.com management. Players are being told that this is a "revolutionary" new special gaming card that will enable them to fund participating online casino accounts without hassles.

The product is on the old Proc-Cyber and Infinia servers and appears to be a revamp of a debit card product that players either loved or hated - there weren't too many in-betweens! Players fund the PaysPark account and then use the gaming card to gamble for as long as their account is in credit.

According to the Lucky Nugget notice, players will shortly be receiving personal invitations to sign up online at the PaysPark site, where detailed information will be made available.

Expo discussion scheduled with OPA

The trials and tribulations of turnkey provider Real Time Gaming and its more unruly licencees are well known throughout the industry, and it is therefore no surprise that the company claims it is taking measures to improve operations and reputation alike.

This week the Online Players' Association revealed that RTG has scheduled a meeting with Association executives attending the Las Vegas Gaming Expo mid September, the objective being to obtain input (and the subtext probably reads 'how do we get all RTG casinos off the OPA NOT RECOMMENDED list?')

The Association is presently compiling its agenda, and has issued a general invitation to internet gamblers to email in any questions or issues they would like explored at this meeting. Emails should be factual, brief and as objective as possible, please. The address is support@onlineplayersassociation.co.uk

Asia Pacific region has greatest number of users

It's been predicted for some time now that the North American dominance in the field of computer users would be overtaken, and this week eMarketer published stats claiming that the top region is now Asia Pacific.

According to their detailed survey, Asia-Pacific Online: Access, Demographics and Usage, the region will have over 180 million internet users by year-end 2002, representing the largest share of the world's internet market. The Asia-Pacific will constitute the world's largest internet market this year, ahead of both Europe, with 175.7 million users and North America, with 167.7 million net users. Lagging some way back is Latin America at 33.1 million and Africa at 7.7 million, giving total number of users online by end 2002 of 565.7 million.

"This (Pacific-Asia user) population is composed largely of internet users from three countries: Japan, China and South Korea. They make up nearly three-quarters of the region's internet user population," says Dr. Nevin Cohen, Senior Analyst at eMarketer. According to International Telecommunication Union figures, there were 116 million internet users in the three countries by the end of 2001.

eMarketer explains that despite a sluggish global economy, including continual stumbles in Japan, consumer demand for devices such as computers, mobile phones and personal digital assistants has remained consistent throughout the region, so internet usage is rising.

Stanley revamps

As reported earlier in this bulletin, Stanley Leisure have carried out revamps on Acropolis Casinos.com and Crockfords Casinos.com and it shows in a clean, almost Boss-minimalist design that is easy to use and integrates with the rest of the major British gambling group. On the launchpad and to similar quality standards is Starcitycasinos.com. With the very serious experience and big money from Stanley Leisure behind them these operations seem certain to retain their player popularity.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa