Issue N46, 2010
November 16, 2010
Full Tilt Poker Says No to Washington Players
In another blow for US online poker players, the leading site, Full Tilt Poker announced this week that it will no longer be accepting players from the State of Washington. This is in line with legislation passed by the state’s Supreme Court earlier this year which ruled that it is illegal for residents to play poker on the internet.
A statement by the site read: “FullTiltPoker.com announced today that we will no longer provide real-money poker to players located within the state of Washington.”
“In accordance with Washington state law, as it is currently interpreted, any player logging in from a Washington-based IP address will be prohibited from real-money gameplay. This decision was made following extensive legal consultation in relation to the Washington Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Internet gaming.”
“Our number one priority is, and always has been, providing the best possible online poker experience to all of our players,” said the site, “and it is with great regret that we make this announcement. We would like to assure all players that their funds are safe and secure in their FullTiltPoker.com account and our Customer Support team is available to assist players with withdrawal requests.”
“FullTiltPoker.com fully supports the formation of sensible Internet poker regulations,” it concluded. “We recommend that players located within Washington sign up to the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to join the fight to keep poker legal.”
New Harry Potter Promotion Running at Virgin Casino
Harry Potter fans can be doubly pleased this week. Firstly, the new movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I, was released. In addition, and to celebrate the movie’s release, popular online casino Virgin Casino is running a promotion until November 21st. The winner of the lucky draw will win a prize to beat all prizes – four tickets to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the magnificent theme park at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida! Those who aren’t lucky enough to win this fantastic prize can aim for the 20 pairs of tickets to watch the new film being offered as consolation prizes by the site.
“This prize truly captures the magic of Harry Potter and I anticipate it will be hugely popular with our players,” said the Head of CRM at Virgin Games, Alan Thomas. “So get your wands at the ready and see who can work their magic and bag this fantastic prize.”
The Merger that Never Was: Unibet Pulls out of Talks with Sportingbet
This weekend, the Sunday Times announced that the UK publicly listed sports betting site, Sportingbet, was involved in merger talks with its arch rival, the Swedish group Unibet. After the report, shares in Sportingbet rose, especially after the group confirmed that it was involved in merger talks of some kind.
However, shares in the group retreated as much as 9.2% in London on Tuesday, after Unibet Group Plc decided to withdraw from the discussions of a possible merger. “Unibet informed the company today that it has withdrawn from merger discussions,” said Sportingbet in a statement.
The merger may have created a uber gaming group valued at nearly $1 billion. The talks come close on the heels of the merger between Party Gaming and bwin, two gambling giants who expect to become one entity by next year.
Sportingbet recently reached a deal with the US Department of Justice, where it agreed to pay over $30 million in exchange for a guarantee that it would not face prosecution for providing gambling services to US citizens in the years leading up to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
Casino Swiss Adds New Banking Method for Players
Online casino players looking for easy and convenient ways to make a deposit into their accounts, should try out the selection at Casino Swiss, the Gibraltar licensed, Playtech powered online casino. The site announced this week that it has added the popular Moneybookers electronic wallet as part of the payment methods it supports, to allow players even more choice when it comes to depositing funds.
“Moneybookers enables you to safely transfer funds online and via e-mail,” said Casino Swiss in a statement. “You can transfer money from your credit card, your debit card or directly from your bank account.
“When transferring money from your credit card, funds will appear instantly in your Moneybookers account. Bank transfers usually take approximately three business days depending on your country of residence. The Moneybookers website is available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Greek, Romanian, Russian and Turkish.”
Naturally, that is not the only reason to try out Casino Swiss. The site is offering new players a very generous £555 welcome bonus so that they can enjoy the games and software without making too much of a dent in their own bankrolls.