Issue N43, 2008
October 23, 2008
Kentucky Online Gambling Case a Blow for Industry
The online gambling industry was scrambling to deal with a Kentucky court’s ruling early this week, whereby Judge Thomas Wingate stated that 141 wagering sites had one month to prove that have blocked Kentucky citizens from accessing their games and software, or face having their domain names seized by the state. The ruling was instigated by an ongoing attempt by the state’s governor, Steve Beshear to stop Kentuckians from gambling online and his threat to seize the domain names.
It is expected that a great number of appeals will be heard this month against the judge’s decision, as many in the industry – and those out of it – see the ruling as a blow to democracy and a move that has crossed the red line of internet censorship. “This decision must not be allowed to stand, because of the threat it poses to the internet as a whole,” said the Chairman of iMEGA, Joe Brennan, Jnr. “Judge Wingate has ignored the clear laws of his own state in coming to a decision that essentially green lights any jurisdiction, in the US and abroad, to ignore our rights and abuse their power to do away with competition or speech or content with which they oppose, regardless of the law. This is a dark day for internet freedom.”
Google will Allow Online Gambling Ads
Online gambling fans are used to not seeing ads for the favorite websites on the giant search engine, Google, because of a policy set in place four years ago to ban all promotions of this kind. However, it was revealed earlier this week that Google will be relaxing these laws and will in fact allow ads to BE marketed to certain users, under certain conditions.
"Over the last few months, we've been reviewing our gambling advertising policy to allow text ads to appear against search queries related to gambling in Great Britain," said the Industry Leader for Entertainment and Media at Google (UK), James Cashmore. "Following the review, we've decided to amend our policy to allow text ads to appear against search queries related gambling in Great Britain."
Google’s change of policy essentially means that all online wagering companies that are registered with the UK Gambling Commission and that hold a license from any of the thirty countries that make up the European Economic Area, may target gamblers in England, Wales and Scotland. The ban still extends to Northern Ireland at present.
Chartwell to Power New Online Casino
Chartwell Technologies, one of the gambling industry’s leading software providers, has partnered with the giant UK company, the IG Group, to back the United Kingdom’s first fully licensed online casino. The IG Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Extrabet, will be launching the gambling site to run alongside its successful sportsbetting site. The sides are hopeful that the popularity of the IG group’s existing sites, as well as the brilliance of Chartwell Technology’s software will create one of the most attractive online casinos to arrive on the scene in a long time.
Another major plus for this new site is that Chartwell Technologies had to submit its software to a tough examination by UK licensing authorities before receiving certification.
“We're delighted to add Chartwell's casino to our online sportsbetting portfolio”, said the head of IG Sport, Stuart Lane. “While we're continuing to see growth with both fixed odds and sports spread betting, we also recognize the appetites for other modes of online gaming and thus the benefits of increasing the offerings on our sports platforms. With the addition of the online casino, we are now a step nearer to our long term goal in bringing both Extrabet and IG Sports customers everything they require on one betting site.”
“This event marks a significant milestone to Chartwell's casino, the IG Group, and online gaming regulation as a whole,” said the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chartwell, Darold H. Parken, “Delivering the software solution to power the UK's first licensed online gaming site elevates our company and technology to the next level and I am proud of every member of our team for achieving this industry-first. I would also like to complement the efforts of the IG Group, their pursuit of growth built on technology while conducting business within an extensive regulatory framework clearly defines this organization.”
Poker Stars Launches Italian Site
Poker Stars, the leading online poker site, has become the latest brand to enter the growing Italian poker market, after it was announced that a new site was launched very shortly after receiving a license from Italy’s gambling authority, the Amministrazione Autonome dej Monopoli di Stato (AAMS).
“Poker Stars is proud to be entering a flourishing market with this new product,” said Fabio Angeli Bufaline, in his role as the Italian Manager of Poker Stars. “This is ground breaking time for the online poker industry, and it's very exciting that the Italian market is pioneering this move. This is the start of a global template that could potentially be adopted in other markets internationally in the next few years.”