Global Gaming Regulation
The UK government has taken the lead among world jurisdictions on setting a framework of regulation for global online gambling, which addresses the principles of ensuring fair betting and gaming for customers, protecting children and the vulnerable, and keeping out criminal elements.
These principles, which have underpinned the creation of the new Gambling Commission, were outlined to delegates from 33 countries at an international summit held at Ascot racecourse and hosted by Tessa Jowell, secretary of state at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The U.S. was conspicuous by its absence, having effectively banned online gaming at the end of September, and Jowell repeated her previous criticism of the decision, saying: "The enormous risk of prohibition is that it forces the industry underground. Our purpose is protection."
She added: "The course of action that the UK government has taken is to develop a framework of regulation which, I think, will be regarded as potentially the toughest in the world, except in those countries that ban Internet gambling altogether."
Sports minister Richard Caborn said: "The vast majority of countries indicated they would sign up. Politically, there was no dissension at all on the direction of travel. Now we have to translate that statement into practical implementation."
Caborn backed up Jowell's stance over the U.S. decision, but added that the UK government would not fight in the corner for online gaming executives taking bets from countries in which they were illegal. "We will not acknowledge people who act illegally. People have to abide by the laws of particular countries," he said.
Questioned about the value to the British economy of attracting online operators to the UK, which was originally promoted as one of the consequences of change, Jowell conceded that "gambling tax does bring income to the economy." But she stressed that the overriding aspects of the summit were the principles of social responsibility.
£1,000 Apiece
New figures show Europe's regular gamblers stake some £3.5 billion a year, an average of £1,000 each.
Europe has 3.3 million regular online gamblers, of which 900,000 are in Britain. The worldwide online gambling market is estimated to be worth in excess of $30 billion (£15.7 billion).
There are now some 2,300 gambling websites across the world, with a large number concentrated in a few key nations. Antigua has the most, with 537 sites, while Costa Rica boasts 474. The Kahnawake Mohawk reservation in Canada has 401, Curacao 343, and Gibraltar 111.
The UK hosts 70 sites, but none of them are dedicated to gaming activities, such as poker or roulette.
Women represent an increasingly large part of the online gambling market. During the World Cup, the proportion of women visiting the WilliamHill website was 34 percent, and Ladbrokes, 26 percent.
RTL Broadcast From Dam
Amsterdam's
Master Classics of Poker broke fresh ground when the €5,000 buy-in event was televised on the RTL channel, which can be viewed across continental Europe.
It is believed the broadcaster will cover the tournament again in 2007 whilst looking at other opportunities in the year, should the feedback from its debut transmission be positive.
Betfred's MUFC Poker Challenge
A host of sporting stars gathered at Manchester United Football Club to compete in a charity poker challenge arranged by Betfred.com to announce its new partnership as the official bookmaker to the world's most popular football team.
Manchester United legends Lou Macari, Mickey Thomas, David May, and Ashley Grimes lined up against seven-time World Snooker Champion Stephen Hendry and Grand National winning jockey Tony Dobbin, all chasing a slice of £5,000, split amongst the top three players of the evening and donated to the charity of their choice.
Ultimately, May, Dobbin, and Macari took down the money, with winner May donating £2,500 to Christies Hospice. Dobbin dispatched his cheque to the Injured Jockeys Fund, while Macari gave £1,000 to John O'Brien, a lifelong Stoke fan who was recently diagnosed with two brain tumours and needs to raise money for an operation.
LPT in Pipeline
Marcel Luske is in the process of setting up a series of poker tournaments to rival the
European Poker Tour and fledgling
Showdown Poker Tour.
Paradise Owners Cut U.S. Losses
Andrew McIver, the boss of Sportingbet, has defended his decision to sell the Internet gaming firm's U.S. division for just a dollar, as he revealed the true cost of the hasty retreat from America.
McIver reckons that he saved the firm £14.4 million, saying it would have cost that to close the business and sack the 500 staff members who worked in the States, not to mention extricating it from potential legal quagmire and mounting debts. "I think we did a good deal for investors," he added.
The firm will now concentrate on developing its sports-betting and ParadisePoker business in Europe, Australia, and South America.
Celtic Play the Game
Celtic FC has become the first Scottish football club to set up its own online poker site.
The online poker room will allow fans to form their own teams, and play against Celtic players and, eventually, fans of other SPL football clubs in interclub poker tournaments.
The club will use a portion of the revenue generated to help fund a new training facility and youth development.
While there are other Scottish clubs that are affiliated to poker sites, such as Hibernian and Kilmarnock, Celtic is the first to have its own site.
A spokesman for Celtic Football Club said: "We are delighted to agree to this new partnership with fcpokerroom.com. We're sure that this new association will provide our fans with fun, exciting, next generation entertainment that will also allow fans to play their part in the development of Celtic Football Club."
Andy MacDonald, director of fcpokerroom.com, added: "Our aim is to develop an online poker community, both within Celtic and through interclub tournaments.
"Not only will Celtic fans be able to form their own poker teams to play against each other and Celtic players, they will soon be able to play against teams from other SPL football clubs in a new online poker tournament that could culminate in a Scotland poker team playing against an England poker team."
Red, Even Winner
32Red.com is cashing in on its sponsorship deal with Aston Villa - as third-quarter revenues soared to £4.2 million, an increase of 56 percent compared with the same period in 2005.
The company that acquired BetDirect and is the shirt sponsor at Villa Park said its active customer base stood at 49,898 during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, compared with 6,708 for the corresponding period in 2005.
Home Goal?
Goalpoker.com, which spent heavily on marketing when launching early in 2006, has ceased trading.
Dog Eats Up Corp
Following a U.S. customer pullout and subsequent loss of 85 percent of its business, Australian outfit Betcorp is being sold to Costa Rica-based Bodog Entertainment for £5.8m, which also is inheriting Betcorp's debts.
Irish Bookmaker Looking at Expansion
Paddy Power is considering the launch of a new casino in Ireland, as well as the introduction of gaming websites in Italy, Spain, and Poland, the company has revealed.
The move into continental Europe comes as European governments came under pressure to open their gambling industries to foreign companies.
Dublin-based Paddy Power, which operates mainly in Ireland and the UK, is seeking potential new markets after starting a German-language website in April.
"We are looking at the possibility of introducing other European-language websites," Patrick Kennedy, Paddy Power's CEO said. "The ones we've looked at in the last three or six months have been Spain, Poland, and Italy."
The European Union recently told France, Italy, and Austria to open up gambling to foreign companies in a bid to boost competition in the 25-nation block.
The bookmaker is also considering opening its own casinos after the Irish government said it would regulate the industry.
The government had earlier threatened to shut the country's casinos, which currently operate as private-member clubs.
"I would be reasonably certain that we would try and get a licence on our own or as a joint venture once regulation comes into place," Kennedy said.
Ladbrokes Paddington Casino Opens
One high-street bookmaker and online poker room that is already in the casino business is Ladbrokes, as the Rayners Lane company recently re-entered the industry with a new casino within the London Paddington Hilton.
Currently, poker tournaments take place there on weekends, but regular, sizeable midweek games are due to start in mid-2007.
Casino Collectables
Carousel-auctions.com, described as the newest, most fun, and exhilarating innovation in gaming, launched last month.
The site is a dedicated gaming and amusement industry auction site, allowing members to buy and sell gaming and amusement items to, for, and from casino operators, gaming executives, and collectors of gaming memorabilia worldwide.
23Red Promote
Betfair has hired PR company 23red to launch a major advertising campaign to promote its recently launched online casino, new stand-alone poker website, and "exchange games," which allow punters to bet against other players, rather than the house.
38 Show Up at the Showdown
The
Showdown Poker Tour's third leg at Casno Marienlyst in Elsinore, Denmark, attracted 38 entrants, an improvement on the 20 or so who attended the London and Dublin legs.
The tour's organisers are upbeat and encouraged by the near 100 percent growth in numbers. They also recently appointed a new production company to televise their tournaments, which will air across Europe on the
Viasat network, which boasts 16 million daily viewers, and
Eurosport.
Big Money Monthly
Buoyed by the success of the
Ladbrokes European Championship of Online Poker, Europe's biggest website has introduced a smaller scale monthly series of tournaments called the
Big Money Monthly.
All events, ranging from Omaha eight-or-better to no-limit hold'em, carry five-figure guarantees, with satellites running throughout the month.
Poker on the Plane
Budget airline Ryanair is teaming up with Jackpotjoy.com to launch a gambling website on Ryanair.com, offering bingo, blackjack, virtual Deal or No Deal, and, ultimately, poker.
And, beginning summer, the airline's tycoon boss Michael O'Leary plans to let passengers play online while they fly. They will access the website through either their own mobile phone or a laptop handed out by cabin staff.
In-flight gambling is the latest money-spinning bid by O'Leary to make more cash without pushing up airfares. He said: "Gambling is something we have been trying to put together for a number of years, and we think it's a logical development.
"On short-haul flights of 45 minutes to an hour, there's an opportunity to offer entertainment that's different from handing out a headset and showing an old film. You have a lot of people on a flight who are fairly bored, and they will want to get involved in this sort of activity."
A German Championship Winner in London
A 22-year-old Hamburg poker professional, Sebastian Ruthenberg, triumphed in the final of the inaugural
PartyPoker.com German Open, held at Matchroom Sport's Poker Den in London, scooping the €50,000 first prize from a total prize pool of €117,000.
Ruthenberg was the youngest player in a field of 36 German-speaking players that included professionals, celebrities, and players who have made a name for themselves on the Internet.
"This was one of the toughest fields I have ever played in," said Ruthenberg. "I have been playing poker seriously now for the past three years. However, this is my biggest win to date, and I plan to use the winnings to keep myself in buys-in for a while, but, hopefully, it won't be long until I win again!"
"Paddy Last" Longer Again
The last PaddyPowerPoker.com online qualifier standing at the
Irish Open 2007 will win a seat in the
World Series of Poker main event, as the popular competition within a competition, "Paddy last," returns for the
Irish Open 2007.
Last year's winner, Sligo man Pat O'Callaghan, scooped the €12,500 package to the
World Series of Poker by outlasting more than 48 other online qualifiers when coming 19th in the 2005 renewal.
Players who qualify for the
Irish Open main event through PaddyPowerPoker.com's weekly satellite tournaments are automatically entered into the competition to win the package.
