Issue N48, 2008

November 27, 2008

Cantor to Expand in Nevada Mobile Gaming Market

Cantor Gaming, the gambling arm of the global financial firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, was pleased to announce that it has been granted a license by the tough Nevada Gaming Commission to offer full mobile game services to all the casinos in the state. This follows a trial period where all the necessary criteria were tested at the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas.

“We are obviously delighted to have reached this stage in the evolution of mobile gaming within the State of Nevada,” said the President of Cantor Gaming, Lee Amaitus. “The Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission have been extremely thorough and rigorous in assessing the technology and processes supporting our mobile gaming device, eDeck, and the integrity of Cantor Gaming. Cantor Fitzgerald prides itself on a long history of supporting highly secure financial transactions based on world class technology. We have applied this same rigor to the development of our mobile gaming platform. Approval by Nevada's Gaming Commission is the gold standard for gaming regulation and we are honored that they have recognized our commitment to the gaming industry.”

In 2006, Cantor Gaming was awarded a license by the Nevada Gaming Commission to manufacture, distribute and operate mobile games.

South Korea Continues to Clamp Down on Online Gambling

In October of this year, the South Korean government embarked on a month long action against online gambling and arrested a significant number of citizens who were charged with illegal gambling activities. At the time the National Police Agency stated that over 1600 people had been arrested – nearly seven times the amount of arrests from the year before.

Recently, the issue of online gambling again gained media attention when the former baseball player and current television show host celebrity, Kang Byung-kyu admitted to his devoted public that he had lost over a quarter of a million dollars by wagering online.

The country’s media, including a scathing editorial piece in the Korean Times, have accused the authorities of not doing enough to block the ‘mushrooming’ illegal online gambling sites in the region. The government has been called to begin a massive marketing campaign that educates the general public about the ‘destructive nature of internet gambling’.

The editorial article said that online gambling was growing in South Korea due to a serious lack of ‘official surveillance’.

Tokwiro Enterprises Launches New Poker Platform

Tokwiro Enterprises, the company that owns Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet online poker sites, has announced the official launch of its new Cereus Network. This new poker network will incorporate the two poker rooms and combine their customer bases. However, those who prefer one site to the other will be pleased to note that each virtual poker room will be retaining its own ‘skin’.

Both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are trying to rid themselves of tarnished reputations, following a year wracked by cheating scandals, massive fines and a loss of customers as a result. Tokwiro Enterprises has invested significant sums of money launching the new Cereus network and emphasizing the focus that this new platform will have on the player’s security.

Absolute Poker issued a statement on the new launch and said: “The combination of a new technology platform and a new 24/7 security center brings players a water tight gaming experience. The number one priority for the development of the Cereus poker network was to deliver state of the art security. Cereus boasts the new Security Center application that immediately detects abnormal winning statistics in real time. It is a major security achievement and gives Absolute Poker poker room additional layers of security, allowing us to ensure fair play for everyone at the tables.”

Beach Life Slot Game Pays out Six Figure Jackpot

A player hailing from Italy decided to switch to online gambling only 8 weeks ago and has thanked his lucky stars this week for doing so. Known only as ‘frank73’, the player registered with the popular Casino.com online site two months ago and headed directly to one of the most sought after slot games at the site – Beach Life. This progressive five reel game was so much fun that frank73 stuck faithfully to this slots offering, not even trying the other great games available on Casino.com.

And this week, frank73’s perseverance paid off when he hit the six figure progressive jackpot on Beach Life, taking home a massive $160,525.54 for his ‘efforts’! Frank73 was naturally stunned with his win and could not stop praising Casino.com for giving him the opportunity to play (and win!) in such excellent surroundings. The site is "an enjoyable and exciting place to play," gushed the player.

“Since I've been married and had a child, Casino.com provides me with the comfortable and fun option of playing from home,” said frank73, explaining the benefits of online gambling.

Casino News, November 2008