Issue N4, 2010

January 28, 2010

eCOGRA to Oversee Kahnawake Gaming Commission Compliance Program

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which licenses some of the top online gambling operators in the business, has launched a new compliance program that will ensure new standards of player protection and fair gaming. As such, the Commission has asked that the eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) group step in and act as an approved agent to ensure complete compliance by the 55 licensees. The new standards, known as the Continuous Compliance Program, will ensure that licensees go through an annual assessment of all KGC regulations, as well as key regulatory objectives. In addition, the licensees will submit their live gaming data for ongoing analysis to ensure fair and random playing at all times.

“Our first step in implementing the new scheme, which we have titled the Continuous Compliance Program, has been the appointment of eCOGRA as an Approved Agent in terms of section 140 of our Regulations to assist in the application of the program, and submit reports of its findings to the Commission,” said Dean Montour, chairman of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

“The KGC has a long-standing working relationship with eCOGRA and is confident in eCOGRA’s ability to effectively implement the Continuous Compliance Program while ensuring that all information received from operators is held in the strictest confidence,” he added.

Playtech Partners with Scientific Games Corporation

Giant software company, Playtech, moved one step closer to the US gambling market after signing a lucrative new deal with the New York based Scientific Games Corporation. The deal will see the two launch a joint venture, known as SciPlay that will see the development of a full suite of games as well as support and payment services for companies in the United States and around the world.

Speaking about the new deal, Playtech and Scientific Games said in a joint statement that “customers will benefit from best of breed content, sophisticated player management systems, and long standing industry experience in providing highly secure, regulated, compliance-oriented services.”

Playtech’s entry into this market will ensure that it is as close as possible to the action when the US market becomes legalized and regulated.

“This is a strategically significant alliance for Playtech which enables us to focus on what we do best: developing cutting edge technology platforms and exciting games content,” said Playtech CEO, Mor Weizer. “This partnership is another example of our focus on regulated markets, where governments will play major roles as both regulators and operators.”

Ladbrokes Reassures Customers Over Security Breach

One of the biggest bookies in the world, Ladbrokes, called in the police over an alleged security breach which took place over the weekend. An Australian man approached the UK Daily newspaper and offered them access to Ladbrokes’ full database of 4.5 million customers. The newspaper was shown the personal information of 10,000 users, including their names, addresses, gambling histories and dates of birth. The man said that he had worked as a computer security analyst for Ladbrokes and was now willing to offer the information for a price.

Once Ladbrokes heard about the breach in its security, it approached the authorities, including the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, who are investigating the case. Ladbrokes has reassured its customers, however, that the security breach did not risk their financial details in any way and that no credit card information or passwords were included in the data.

“We have been informed that a person connected to our organization has offered certain details from a customer database to the Mail on Sunday,” said the Head of PR at Ladbrokes, Ciaran O'Brien. “This is a criminal act and we are working with the police, the ICO and the newspaper to identify and apprehend the culprit.”

"We are in the process of contacting customers to apologize for this breach in security and to reassure them that everything is being done to protect their personal information,” said O'Brien “Importantly, this does not affect customers passwords or banking data.”

Omni Casino Adds New Games to its Sites

Omni Casino, a leading Playtech online casino, announced that it has added five new games to its platform. Players can now enjoy five Marvel slots in the form of Elektra, Fantastic 4, Blade, X-Men and Devel. Omni Casino already has Hulk and Iron Man slot games in its arsenal of over 100 titles. To celebrate the launch of the new games at the site, Omni Casino launched at $7,000 slots tournament and will offer players the chance to win part of this prize pool from now until February 4th. Players will need to play any one of the Marvel slots game in order to take part in the tournament.

Marvel games are among the most popular in the online slots industry, thanks to their recognizable themes, multi level mystery jackpots and lots of bonus features.

Casino News, January 2010