Issue N38, 2007
October 3, 2007
Tila Tequila to Exhibit at CAP, Barcelona
Those affiliates who have not yet made up their mind about whether to visit THE industry event of the year, the Casino Affiliate Programs European happening in Barcelona this week, may be quick to decide when they hear about a special visitor to the exhibition. Model, socialite, MySpace queen and new online casino boss, Tila Tequila will be operating a booth at the event and promoting her two Playtech-powered sites, a virtual poker room and another dedicated to casino games.
The Singaporean born, American resident Tila who holds the record for having the most number of friends on the global social site, MySpace, has recently released a number one hit, called “I Love You”, and Time Magazine has even hailed her as the “Madonna of MySpace”. Tila Tequila’s popularity, together with the fact that Playtech has joined forces with her brand name, has led to her poker and casino sites becoming highly sought after, with an impressive amount of traffic already been reported. Tila will be available at the CAP event to answer any questions and explain what draws her to poker.
Why Betfair is the Top Online Gaming Company
At the third annual eGaming Awards in London, Betfair walked away with the first prize, after proving beyond a doubt that it is really the top online gaming company in the business. Betfair is one of the most profitable companies in the egaming industry, with nearly half a million active users (an increase of 57% from last year’s figures), and a total of 1 million registered customers. The company earned nearly $100-million in profits, according to the latest published results. Over five million transactions are processed every single day on Betfair sites – translated into a whopping 300 transactions every second!
As Operator of the Year, Betfair shared the spotlight with other ‘firsts’ in the industry. 888.com won the Casino Operator of the Year and Land-Links Partnership of the Year award, while the prize for the Best Poker Operator of the Year went to Everest Poker. Online gamblers may want to take note that the award for the Most Socially Responsible Casino Operator went to the Swedish-based site, Svenska Spel. Gala Coral’s innovative advertising campaigning in 2007 paid off after it won the award for the Best Online Marketing Campaign.
Betfair’s Kaplan Doesn’t Get Bail
Gary Kaplan, one of the founders of the online gambling company, Bet Fair, who has been in custody since the end of last year, has been denied bail by a US district judge, despite the fact that he is apparently experiencing health issues. In her ruling, Judge Carol Jackson wrote: “There is no condition or combination of conditions of release that would reasonably assure the defendant's appearance”. In his appeal for bail, Kaplan had suggested that he be released to house arrest wearing security monitoring equipment instead, until his trial.
In July 2006, US authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of Kaplan and several Betfair employees on charges relating to illegal online gambling. Kaplan was arrested in the Dominican Republic as he tried to flee the United States, while the ex-CEO of the company, David Carruthers, was arrested on a stopover between the UK and Costa Rica. Betfair has since distanced itself from Kaplan and the 11 other co-defendants and, under the terms of a plea-bargain, has agreed to assist US authorities in providing incriminating evidence against the accused. All those arrested in this episode have continued to maintain their innocence and have pled not guilty.
Online Gambling Action Picks up in Dublin
Dublin is fast becoming one of the hottest new locations for internet gambling action, with several exciting events happening in this Irish city. It was recently announced that the Dublin-based CGTV Games Limited has signed a potential take over deal with the online betting and gambling company, L & G (Leisure and Gaming). Under the terms of the deal, L & G will have exclusive rights to CGTV’s range of casino slots and software until the end of October. Thereafter, a permanent take over deal would be signed, with L & G buying up all CGTV stock for at least 13 pence per share.
In other Dublin news, the Canadian company Veridigm that specializes in telemedicine software has decided to move its headquarters to Ireland and tap into the lucrative online gambling market. Veridigm hopes, in this way, to create over 100 new jobs for local Dubliners and get to enjoy the services of top-quality technology staff. Part of the reason for their move is the fact that North America is becoming increasingly more restrictive in its laws for online software companies to operate, whereas Ireland and the United Kingdom at large, are more welcoming in their approach to this growing industry.