Issue N38, 2008

September 18, 2008

Gala Coral Gets New Chairman

One of the founders of the huge gambling and entertainment company, Gala Coral will be leaving in 2009 to pursue other interests, leading to a major change of leadership roles in this UK company. The current non-executive chairman, John Kelly announced that he would be stepping down from his post, which will be filled by the group’s Chief Executive Officer, Neil Goulden. Goulden will work for a year as executive deputy chairman in order to move slowly into his tough new leadership role within a year. Meanwhile, Goulden’s current position will be filled by the Chief Operating Officer Dominic Harrison.

"I would like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution that both John Kelly and Neil Goulden have made to the Gala Coral Group over recent years,” said Harrison. “Their drive and vision for the group dating back over a decade has enabled the company to grow into the largest integrated betting and gaming company in Europe."

“I am delighted that John is continuing as chairman for a further year," he continued, "and that Neil has been asked by the Board to become Deputy Chairman, and then to succeed John as Chairman so that they are both available to advise to work alongside me and the Executive Management team to help further grow the company in the UK and overseas. After successfully completing the restructuring of the group's banking arrangements in May of this year, and the establishment of a new five year plan, I am very excited about the growth opportunities now available to the group.”

CryptoLogic Steps Up to Fight Internet Fraud

CryptoLogic and its online casino games provider WaterLogic announced that they were stepping up to do their bit in an attempt to fight online fraud, by joining the community internet fraud management body, Ethoca. WaterLogic, which counts William Hill, Littlewoods Casino and other top brand names as its partner sites, will be able to provide them with collaborative information regarding online scams and fraud in real time.

“Fighting fraud is both a challenge and an opportunity - for our multi billion dollar industry, our customers, our players and our bottom line.”

The decision to join was praised by the Chief Executive Officer of Ethoca, Andre Edelbrock. “CryptoLogic and WagerLogic are the pioneers of the global internet gaming space”, he said. “In the same way that CryptoLogic continually advances to the future of online gaming, we look forward to their participation in helping to build the Global Fraud Fighting Community powered by Ethoca. We applaud CryptoLogic for leading the way and encouraging other companies to join the collaborative fight against fraud.”

Pure Poker Fun at PurePlay.com

Online poker players from the United States have come to appreciate the excellent service provided to them from one of the only free poker sites in the industry, PurePlay.com. This San Francisco based site, which was created in 2005, offers its players the option to play for free and still stand in line to win great prizes. Players can also choose to pay a subscription fee and enjoy added benefits such as bigger prizes.

The popularity of this site has grown so much that PurePlay.com announced this week that its membership numbers has swelled to over 1.5 million. The site says that it is perfectly legal as no wagers are taken on specific poker games, leaving it to operate freely despite tough United States gambling regulations.

Jason Kellerman, who serves as Chief Executive Officer for PurePlay.com said: “We are committed to staying at the forefront of legal online poker and that means pulling out the stops in giving our members the excitement of competitive play and generous cash prizes without exposing them to the risk of losing their own money. No other poker site has implemented this approach as successfully as we have in attracting players at all levels and delivering and online gaming experience that keeps hem coming back.”

Ivobank Expands Further into Europe

One of the most promising new online payment systems, Ivobank, has announced that due to the success of its initial brand, it will now be expanding further into Europe. Ivobank was launched from the United Kingdom not too long ago, and initially operated in Canada, Ireland and Spain, as well as the local market. Its announcement means that Ivobank services will now be available in Germany, Italy and France, allowing online casino players to pay for their fun using a safe, private and convenient online method. Players will also be able to enjoy the Mastercard backed Ivobank Virtual Card for other online products and services.

“Following our successful launch in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Canada, we are looking forward to opening up our rapid payments service to more customers across Europe and plan to introduce our service to even more European countries shortly,” said the Managing Director for Ivobank, Timothy Sawyer.