New online gambling bill aims to help states
Representative Jim McDermott from Washington State introduced some revisions on the much-debated Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act on Monday. Many states are expected to benefit from the changes made.
In the new version of the proposal, states and tribal groups will have the right to claim up to six percent of the generated revenue from their own online gambling citizens. McDermott may win the vote of fellow congressmen who are still opposed to online gambling.
Long-time gambling proponent Barney Frank has signed as a co-sponsor for McDermott’s bill, although Frank has a proposal of his own. Both lawmakers have been trying to get support from other legislators to help overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The UIGEA was imposed in 2006, but the rules will strictly be implemented in June 2010. Frank, with the support of other lawmakers, has successfully delayed the implementation of the legislation last year.
Other co-sponsors of McDermott’s bill include the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. John B. Larson of Conn., and Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. The new bill will be presented alongside Frank’s Internet Gambling, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, which was drafted last year.
Several gaming groups such as Beneficial Holdings have expressed support for these pro-online gambling bills. The company plans to open an online casino site on April, but due to the ban on online gambling, it will not accept US customers as of yet.
Fantasy sports gambling operator arrested after pocketing half of the bets
Many Americans have been attracted to fantasy sports gambling on the Internet over the recent years. A website, however, was found to have been illegally operating by Washington authorities.
David B. Watkins was arrested Thursday after police raided his home in Spokane, Washington. Officials believe that Watkins operates FantasyThunder.com and that half of the site’s revenue from gamblers goes to him.
According to the police, Watkins would make the gamblers bet on a team of NASCAR drivers. He allegedly then pocketed half of the money the gamblers spent, while the other half goes to winners. Suspicions arose when some of the gamblers who won complained about not being paid.
According to Steve Schwartz, a gaming analyst, fantasy sports leagues should have all of the money collected put into the prize pool so that the operation can run legally. Therefore, Watkins pocketing half of the money earned from bets makes operation illegal.
Investigation is still ongoing and the police have reason to believe that the site has been operating since the last ten years. Fantasy sports gambling has seldom been investigated by law enforcement, let alone arrested.
If convicted, Watkins will face up to five years of imprisonment. The Washington police has already charged him with professional gambling. Gamblers were notified that the site had run out of cash and that was the reason why they were not paid.
Bet2Go now offers online betting
Online sportsbetting fans can now enjoy the Bet2Go Sports mobile sportsbetting and odds comparison service from Cellectivity Limited online via a new site at Bet2Go.com.
Cellectivity is a leading mobile gaming and betting content provider and its Bet2Go service works by letting punters construct their own multiple or accumulator bets from events and markets provided. After a customer has constructed their bet, the service shows the best price based on which bookmakers are able to offer this wager. Once a punter has compared and chosen the best value or return, a simple click places that bet directly with the bookmaker.
Cellectivity stated that the move is part of its efforts at improving punters’ betting experiences with customers now able to place wagers on a combination of outcomes online with just a few clicks on the platform of their choice.
Available bookmakers include Ladbrokes, Blue Square, Paddy Power, SkyBet, BoyleSports, Victor Chandler and SportingBet with William Hill due to be added before this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.
“This is fantastic news for punters looking for that extra value when they need it,” said Marcel Puyk, Chief Executive Officer for Cellectivity.
“They had it on mobile and now they have it on web as well. The new Bet2Go Sports was the first service to allow a punter to compare the odds on complex multiple bets in real-time and place the bet with just one click and without having to go through another sign-in procedure on a bookmaker’s website.
“To extend this to another platform just gives the punter even more choice. We believe that this simplicity and great value, combined with the fact that it is available anytime and anywhere, will make it a popular choice for serious and fun bettors alike.”
Ontario Premier open to online gambling
The casino industry seems to be going from province to province in Canada. The latest good news about this is that Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, said that he is open to the legalization of online gambling.
McGuinty may not be that dedicated to online gambling, but he said that the issue has to remain open. Analysts think that Ontario can be a good market for online poker if Internet gambling is legalized.
In a press conference last week, McGuinty that he would discuss the matter to the minister and this should be addressed because it is not something to avoid.
McGuinty, however, does not have a good history on gambling as well as other vices due to what he considers as ethical issues. He is a firm believer on government intervention on such activities as gambling.
He said that he is aware that residents of Ontario are betting millions of dollars in online gambling every year. He feels concerned on the fact that no one in the government oversees the online gambling issue in Ontario.
Just like in the US, online gambling can generate more revenue for Canadian provinces as the global recession still continues. Analysts expect that in Quebec, $50 million will be generated by online gambling by the end of 2012.
After MasterCard, now Visa bans online gambling
MasterCard was the only major credit company to ban its customers from online gambling. But Visa, MasterCard’s biggest rival in the US, has also recently blocked its cardholders from betting online.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) will not be put into enforcement until June 2010 but the move by Visa will already disallow millions of Americans to participate in online gambling.
Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts has been working diligently in trying to reverse the UIGEA and has gained momentum recently after getting support from fellow lawmakers. He has the one responsible for delaying the ruling until June.
Frank chairs the House Financial Services Committee whose main focus right now is getting the economy back on track. The congressman has not found time yet to get congressmen together to discuss his anti-UIGEA proposal.
As June nears, Rep. Frank has less and less time to get a debate started for his proposal. He can again ask the Treasury Department, however, to postpone the publication of the UIGEA which could give him until the end of the year.
Many MasterCard holders did not expect the ban and now subscribers of both Visa and MasterCard are shocked by the announcement that signifies the credit card companies will strongly abide by the US anti-online gambling law.
E-wallets have gained popularity over the years and they might just be the only option for most American gamblers. The move by the credit card companies means millions of dollars of losses for them.
UK payment company gears up for US online gambling
Almost everyone believes that laws on online gambling in the US are about to get a whole new makeover. At least one payment processing company in London is very much convinced that it is indeed the situation as it gears up for online gambling in the US.
SecureTrading is a subsidiary of the UK-based UC Group in the US. The company foresees that once the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will be overturned, Americans will be scrambling around to play online casino.
Representative Barney Frank has already introduced the bill that would counter the UIGEA. He has also made sure that he has prepared everything that needs to be prepared for the legislation of the bill.
Frank has gained a number of supporters over a period of the time when he was trying to push for online gambling. He now has 65 congressmen backing him up with some even having their own legislation proposals for online gambling.
The UC Group is well equipped with regulatory provisions in their new system but non-compliance could mean revocation of license of online casinos. The company already has anti-money laundering and anti-fraud tools that they are using for their UK operations.
Quebec on the move to legalize online gambling
Loto-Quebec, Quebec’s government gaming operator, has announced some time ago that it was planning to stat providing online gambling services. All it just needed was an approval coming from the higher echelons in the government and it seems to be just getting that.
Raymond Bachand, the province’s Finance Minister, has confirmed that the process of legalizing online gambling has already started. In a move to rid Quebec of illegal online gambling, the cabinet has already pushed forward the proposal for a legal online gambling system.
Quebec will be employing a similar structure to that of Sweden for players’ protection and other activities once Loto-Quebec starts operating online gambling. Sweden is currently one of the leading countries when it comes to online poker.
Current reports say that Canadians spend $80 million annually on Internet poker. Officials are hoping that the figures will rise once people would realize that they are dealing with a safe site.
Bachand projects that by 2012, the still proposed online gambling will be able to generate $50 million in annual revenue. He is also foreseeing that peak revenue will not be felt right away.
32Red purchases NedPlay.com
The ailing NedPlay.com has been saved from total downfall after being bought by 32Red, an online casino company based in Gibraltar which operates leading sites like 32Red.com and DashCasino.com.
32Red has stated that its purchase of NedPlay.com include the intellectual property and database of players. It further said that support and promotions will be similar to those of their two sites.
However, for the meantime, NedPlay.com will continue operating as it is while the bosses discuss the future of the domain in the coming days. Players with pending withdrawals and disputes will be duly compensated, adds 32Red CEO Ed Ware.
32Red.com has just been awarded the Casino of the Decade honor after six years of being in operation by Casinomeister, an online casino watchdog and a player advocacy website.
Non-US online casino takes top spot
This week saw the release of the rankings made by the Online Casino Advisory for the top online casinos in the world. Amazingly, a casino that is not based in the US and does not accept US players bagged the number one spot.
Intercasino was ranked the top playing casino in the worldwide web. The casino is licensed under Dublin-based Cryptologic Inc., a leader in its industry, and uses their software. Intercasino is not accessible to US players.
Almost all ranking of online casino are based on the advertisements on their websites. With this said, it is unusual for a casino to be ranked number one when they do not accept US gamblers as most advertisements come from American advertisers.
Casinos that use the Vegas Technologies software took the second, fourth, fifth, and ninth spots. They are Crazy Slots, Online Vegas, Super Slots, and Go Casino, respectively. Vegas Technologies is considered to be one of the best in the market when it comes to online slots.
Real Time Gaming has Rushmore Casino in the number three and Cherry Red in the number ten spot. These casinos are known for their high progressive slot jackpot games.
Another leader in the gambling application service provider is Microgaming. It has two casinos in the top ten which are All Jackpots and All Slots at number six and number eight, respectively.
Right at number seven was the only online casino powered by Rival Gaming – Lion Slots Casino. Rival Gaming is known for having developing the i-Slots.
Last of the online gambling execs sentenced
BetonSports has been hailed once as the biggest online gaming company in the US. However, after a series of arrests involving the company’s top ranking officials, BetonSports has plunged into the darkness since then.
During his arrest, David Caruthers was the CEO of the online gambling company that raked in millions primarily brought by American customers. Officials said they were operating on sports betting and assumed it was legal in the US.
Citing the Federal Wire Act and a number of other online gambling related laws, several arrest were made in 2006. BetonSports founder Gary Kaplan was among the people arrested, as well as Caruthers. The company has been into bankruptcy since then.
Kaplan was sentenced in August 2009 after a pleading guilty to racketeering, mail fraud, tax evasion, and other charges. He was ordered to pay $43 million to the US government and to serve 51 months in prison.
Caruthers, on the other hand, has just been sentenced last week. He has been charged with only racketeering charges. He originally made a guilty plea in April 2009, but revised it in October after hearing what happened to his former boss.
Some lawmakers are already on the move to overturn the Internet Gambling Act of 2006. One of them is Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, who along with Texas Representative Ron Paul, are the loudest voices for online gambling in the Congress. It is still an uphill battle though as most lawmakers are also staunch supporters of the Act.
