Ccmment
Absolute beginners!
Soplight Christophe Leparoux
Watching the detectives
ICEi 2007 promises to be ‘biggest yet’
US Bill seeks to ban online gambling
ICIT Cheers new trinity installation
Show me the money and the tickets
Revisiting Poland…
Merkur opens first Bratislava casino
IGT launches Asia-Themed Range
Holland Casino Starts Party with WMS
World of Games ‘UNKONWN’ Claims Unicum
UK Commission open doors
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ICEi 2007 promises to be ‘biggest yet’
The 2007 ICEi exhibition will host the biggest collection of remote and poker i-gaming providers in the show’s history. According to show organizer Clarion ATE, the dedicated ICEi component of the London show in 2007 will comprise 1,640sq,ft of stand space – a 70 per cent increase on the 2006 show and 87 per cent larger than in 2005. Six months ahead of the show at Earls Court, a total of six ICEi exhibitors have doubled their stand space year-on-year, with three organizations – US based Iovation, the Isle of Man Government and Anglo-Spanish interactive poker games innovator Gextech – leading the expansion trend.
Mark Campbell, chairman at GExtech, said: “With a range of launches across iTV, internet and mobile platforms, we are predicting that 2007 will be a great year for the company. We had a good GIGSE in Montreal an anticipate an even better EiG but believe that the timing and environment are right to really push the envelope at ICEi.” Karen Cooke of ICEi said: “The stand take up for 2007 is way ahead of schedule and we’re confident that ICEi will be full to capacity.”
BETONSPORTS CEO CHARGED IN US FRAUD CASE
US Federal officials have charged 11 people, including Betonsports chief executive David Carruthers, alleging they committed conspiracy, racketeering and fraud in taking sports bets from US residents.
Carruthers and four other defendants were arrested in mid-July. Carruthers, traveling from the UK, was being prevented from boarding a flight from Texas to Costa Rica. A federal judge has also ordered Betonsports to stop accepting bets placed from within the US. Among those also wanted is Gary Stephen Kaplan, the founder Betonsports.
 Kaplan, a former New York bookie, moved his operations to the Caribbean in 1993. He now lives in Costa Rica and owns 15 per cent of the company. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Betonsports, said Carruthers and other company officials had no idea that there was an indictment. “Certainly had they told us, we would have been more than willing to negotiate with them and work on whatever these charges are.” The indictment charges Kaplan with failing to pay federal wagering excise taxes on more than $3.3bn in US wagers. Authorities also charged that Kaplan’s group fraudulently claimed that internet and phone wagering on sporting events was legal and licensed.
The situation could have knock-on effects for attendance figures at G2E in poker Las Vegas in November, which features its own igaming pavilion. One source told InterGaming: “If this isn’t a warning to other gaming companies, then I don’t know what is.” Anna Johansson of B2B Poker said: “Depending on the outcome of this story, we will not book anything for G2E in November. It will definitely affect our participation in the event.” However, Webtrade’s Jens Leinert told InterGaming that he thought it was ‘a reaction to Betonsports and not to other gambling companies.’
Alderney carries out major legislative framework review
Alderney, in the channel Islands, has conducted a major review and revision of its egambling laws.
Head of e-commerce development, Robin Le provost, said: “We have over the years, like many other jurisdictions, modified our laws to cater for the very fast changing egambling industry. But we realized that as those changes began to add layer upon layer there was a danger that the fundamentals could become submerged. “While we have retained most of the previous provisions in the revised structure and provided for a grandfathering element to cater for our existing licensees and certificate holders, we have made changes which we expect will find favour with the industry.
“Firstly, we have created a single egambling license which caters for all activities and is transparent from a technological perspective. Secondly, all provisions related to ongoing operations of licenses, which required government approval to be amended, have been dropped down into regulations, which is administered by the UK poker commission.
“Thirdly we have introduced a new type of license a restricted use egambling license. Rather than the prescriptive route of disaster recovery legislation, we have brought in the ability to grant restricted use license for those operators who want to operate a mirrored site from within the jurisdiction, while primarily operating elsewhere in the world.”
 Casino City releases packed 2006 directory
The summer 2006 edition of Casino City’s iGaming Business Directory is now available.
It profiles over 400 igaming site owners, including executive contacts and igaming sites they own. 2,500 igaming sites are also profiled in detail, with popularity rankings and cross-reference lists for the top online casinos, poker, bingo and betting sites. More than 2,000 igaming portal sites are profiled with cross-reference lists of the most popular portals for online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, betting exchanges and more. There are also directories of nearly 200 igaming software providers more than 300 other industry suppliers cross-referenced by the igaming products or services they provide and 40 jurisdictions.
Every section of the directory has been revised from the previous edition. Michael Corfman, president and chief executive of Casino City Press, said: “The creation of the new directory was a massive effort involving the talent and skill of a very dedicated team. All of us at Casino City Press are totally committed to doing our part to support grow the igaming industry.” The directory is also available on CD, featuring an easy-to-use interface with data files for all igaming sites property owners, web portals, software developers, jurisdictions, industry suppliers and executive contacts. The complete contents of the current and prior directories are also included in PDF format.
* Orbis has announced an exclusive deal with the world’s largest betting exchange Betfair, to offer a brand new service that is set to support the industry. Clients using the OpenBet platform can now apply the module to open up new markets, offer a broader range of events and accept a greater number of bets. OpenBet offer a complete online poker gaming portfolio solution that enables customers to Betfair’s via multiple channels and products from one single account, all processed through one back office. |
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