Issue N41, 2008
October 9, 2008
Mansion Poker Shifts to iPoker Network
Mansion Poker, which has until now worked off the Ongame Poker network, has made the decision to take its site to the iPoker Network instead. The move is been done in an amicable way, with both Ongame and Mansion Poker citing ‘strategic differences’ for the move. iPoker vies neck to neck with Ongame for fourth place in the poker network popularity rankings, with iPoker currently holding the position. Its top poker rooms include Titan Poker and Betfred, while Ongame sites include PokerRoom and Eurobet.
Mansion Poker and Ongame Poker Network issued a joint statement regarding the split, as follows: “In a mutual decision, Mansion (Gibraltar) Ltd. and Ongame Network have decided to part ways and have moved the MansionPoker.com Poker service from the Ongame Network as of September 24th , 2008. Due to strategic differences it has been decided to end the two companies' dynamic one-year partnership before Ongame Network enters the preparation phase of launching a new online poker network based on the recently announced P5 Poker Engine product.”
The statement referred to Ongame’s current launch of its innovative new poker engine that has been described as "the first game engine ever developed specifically for online poker." The poker engine was first showcased at the recent European iGaming Congress and Expo in Barcelona, and received good reviews.
Lasseters Corporation Ends Online Casino Operations
Only one month after shutting down its popular AusVegas online casino site, Lasseters Corporation announced this week that it was being forced to close all its online casino operations. The group cited the effects of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act for these drastic steps. Lasseters was forced out of the US market after the UIGEA was passed in 2006, and has not managed to build up its customer base to its original state once more. The parent company has continuously been called to bail out the online casino operations, but last week Lasseters suspended itself from the Australian stock exchange after the future of its operations remained unclear.
Gamblers who tried to access the Australian site were met with the announcement: “From all of here at AusVegas, this is a very sad day. We hope you have enjoyed the AusVegas site as much as we have enjoyed delivering our games/services to you, and would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for your loyalty over the past years.”
All Lasseters’ online casino sites today carried this announcement: “The directors have taken the subsequent decision to cease the operations of Lasseters Online Casino due to our inability to compete and retain our market share since the closure of the US market in October 2006.”
Players will be able to withdraw their money from their online casino accounts until October 24th.
Anti-UIGEA Group Files Brief in US Appeal Court
The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), one of the most active groups to call for a change to the current gambling legislation in the United States, filed a brief with the Third Judicial Circuit of the US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia last week. Earlier this year, a residing judge ruled that iMEGA could challenge the constitutionality of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in an appeals court.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for iMEGA, Joe Brennan said about the briefing: “This is a very simple argument on which we ask the court to overturn the law. UIGEA should be 'void for vagueness' in that Congress has not defined what an 'unlawful internet gambling transaction' is, as they are required. Congress cannot delegate that necessary determination as to what is 'lawful' or 'unlawful' to US banks and credit card companies.”
“The Department of Treasury, which has been tasked with drafting the regulations for UIGEA, has testified before Congress that they themselves cannot make that determination,” said Brennan. “Because Congress refused to draft necessary standards, the law is so inherently flawed as to make it totally vague and unenforceable and we are confident that the Court will overturn it.”
Probability Wins Top Mobile Award
Probability Plc. has been awarded the title of Best Gambling Company in this year’s Mobile Entertainment Awards. This is the first year that Probability has won the prestigious title, which has been held for two consecutive years by Microgaming’s Spin3 mobile entertainment supplier group.
Four hundred top executives in the mobile entertainment industry judged in three different categories, including Handsets and Operators; Services; and Development and Publishing, and a total of 19 different awards were handed out to the winning companies.
“The mobile content market has had another blistering year, turbo charged by the collective drive of Nokia, Apple, Google and others to take mobile rich media into the mainstream”, said Tim Green, the Executive Editor of Mobile Entertainment Magazine. “We're delighted that over 400 execs came together last night to help us celebrate the industry's amazing progress. Congratulations to all the winners.”