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888: US will be the next Spain

 888 CEO Brian Mattingley is optimistic about the future of the US online gambling market, according to eGamingReview.

He expects poker to be a big hit in New Jersey, but this doesn’t mean the casino games will be left aside. “I think poker will be a very successful operation for us. It is a national pastime, played widely in every state and it will be a very good product for us because of the way our ecosystem works. But casino is growing still at a double-digit rate in Europe and having our own games studio is a point of difference we have over our competitors (in the US). I think we’ll end up as we are in Spain, with good market share in both products,” Mattingley explained.
888 wants to make a big splash in the US and have secured major deals with Caesars Interactive both in Nevada and New Jersey, as well as with the state lottery in Delaware. The company based in Gibraltar will also have its own operational site in New Jersey by the end of November.
Nevertheless, Mattingley admits that it is a little too early to speak about a considerable income from the company’s operations in New Jersey. Online gambling will be permitted officialy in New Jersey starting from November 26. There will also be a five-day trial before the official launch, but only invited players will be able to gamble online during that period. “People think 2014 will be quite an immature year for New Jersey, in the region of $250 - $300 million revenue market size but rising to about $500 million in 2015. We don’t disagree with those kind of numbers. So we hope to get some meaningful contributions in 2015 as the market matures,” the 888 CEO added.
Author: Ekaterina
15 . 11 . 2013 y.
Gambling World Steps Up for Philippines Typhoon Relief

 The gambling world has caught a lot of flak in recent times for all of the negative things that have happened. We have even outlined many of these situations on PokerUpdate that resulted in players being cheated out of money, people being robbed, and many other negative storylines. All of those stories take a back seat though to the desire to help people who really need it, and that’s on full display with the efforts being undertaken to help those affected by the typhoon that struck the Philippines last week.

These efforts are being undertaken by many sites, most notably by the Rational Group. The parent company of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker will match all donations made by players. The money that is being donated will be given to CARE, which is noted as a very good, non-partisan, non-political organization that donates 90% of all money taken in to those who need it. Only 10% goes toward operating expenses, which is exceptionally good, so anyone worrying if their money will be going to a good organization should not be worried.
Calvin Ayre also announced the efforts that are going to be untaken by his charitable organization. The Bodog founder has pledged to match all donations from the gambling industry up to $1,000,000. This includes any money given from sites. So if you take advantage of the first offer from Pokerstars, you can make sure that not only your money makes it, but actually 3x what you donated, which is huge for the recovery effort. Calvin Ayre is also going to be donating $200,000 of his own money to the relief effort, so it’s clear that he is serious about trying to make a large difference and help those who really need it right now.
Author: Ekaterina
15 . 11 . 2013 y.
PokerVIP Releases Android App

 The latest creation from PokerVIP designed to help players improve their game and increase earnings on the felt is an Android application that's a must for players who are serious about poker.

The new Poker School & Training app comes complete with high-quality articles regarding poker strategy, more than 400 poker-related quiz questions to test your knowledge, incredible offers from a number of online poker rooms, and much more yet to come.
While reading and watching videos about poker strategy is crucial to improving your game, most poker coaching experts agree that perhaps the best way to learn to make optimal decisions during game situations is to study various poker hand scenarios. The Poker School & Training app allows you to do precisely that, re-creating hands and analyzing the best play to make so that your decision-making process during actual play becomes almost second nature.
Some excellent reviews from users of the Poker School & Training app have already been received. "Best app out there," said Gaurav Shandilya. "Very user friendly and help you train in becoming a poker champ!" Yet another extremely satisfied poker player, Martynas Pikiotas, took the time to say that the new app is "Excellent for training! 
The Poker School & Training app was designed with considerable input from a number of well-respected pros. James ‘Skolsuper’ Keys, whose resume includes a WSOP Europe final table and a runner-up finish in the Aussie Millions; Jon 'Jonboy' Lundy, a PokerVIP coach who took down championships online at SCOOP and live at a European Poker Tour side event; and Pedro 'PedroKL' Peciller, who landed at the final table at both the Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-up, were instrumental in creating the app that can elevate your game to a whole new level.
If you want to learn to play like a pro from players and coaches who have won millions, the new Poker School & Training android application from PokerVIP can take you there. The information on poker strategy coupled with the experience gained by re-creating hands that may have puzzled you in the past is now available to serious players intent on increasing their bankroll!
Author: Ekaterina
14 . 11 . 2013 y.
21% Drop in Third Quarter Revenue for bwin.party

 Online gaming company bwin.party made headlines several times over the last few months for very positive reasons.

It signed sponsorship deals with a number of top level football (soccer) clubs throughout Europe and relaunched its poker service PartyPoker in September. However, its latest news is not so good, with the company having released third quarter revenues that show a 21 percent year-on-year decrease.
Total third quarter revenues for bwin.party were 145.7 million Euros, which was down from 184.4 million Euros in the same quarter in 2012. The financial news was even worse for the company’s poker service, with third quarter year-on-year revenues falling by 37 percent to 23.3 million Euros. It was the bwin.party service with the biggest decline for the third quarter of 2013.
Bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said that a number of factors contributed to the overall decline, but was not concerned that they would have a negative impact on the company’s long-term future.
“As we expected, our underlying Q3 performance appears to have represented the floor in what has been a transitional year for the Group,” he said. “We now expect to exceed the €70m target for 2013 that was communicated at the beginning of the year and this will help us to mitigate some of the impact from Greek ISP blocking which began during August.
“In the US, we received our transactional waiver from the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey on 8 November and are on-track to launch poker and casino as soon as we are cleared to do so.”
Teufelberger may have a point. The blocking of its services from Greek ISPs caught the company off guard and its revamped PartyPoker service took place midway through the quarter, which could have also been a hiccup for bwin.party. That could help explain why the poker area of the company was hit the hardest in the third quarter.
While the company signed sponsorship deals with a number of high profile European football clubs, including Italy’s Juventus, the current football seasons of most European leagues did not begin until the late stages of the third quarter. That means that the full intended impact of the sponsorship deals on bwin.party will likely not have been felt by the company during that time.
It will be interesting to see what future financial revenues will be like for bwin.party, however, its services remain relatively strong going forward. According to PokerScout, PartyPoker is currently the fifth largest poker service with regards to online traffic, with a seven-day player average of 2,200. That puts it slightly behind 888poker, which currently has a seven-day average of 2,300 players.
That means even a slight improvement in player traffic for PartyPoker could prove a big for bwin.party, something the company is hoping will happen.
Author: Ekaterina
14 . 11 . 2013 y.
Unibet Drops Fast Poker in Favor of Blaze Poker

 Unibet has announced that it will no longer be offering Relax Gaming's fast-fold offering of Fast Poker and is instead encouraging players who enjoy quick-paced action to join the player pool at MPN's Blaze Poker.

The discontinuation of Fast Poker became effective November 5. The Unibet Poker website informs players that Blaze Poker is "available in our client."
Unibet's shedding of Fast Poker from its client offering follows in the footsteps of 24hPoker, which also decided to forego Fast Poker for Blaze Poker about 3 1/2 months ago. Blaze Poker is one of a number of fast-fold products in the online poker industry that include Zoom Poker, Rush Poker, Speed Poker, and FastForward.
Unibet Group is based in Sweden and caters its online poker, casino games and sports betting to more than 8 million registered customers in over 150 countries.
Author: Ekaterina
14 . 11 . 2013 y.
Key Figure in New York Gaming Ring Takes Plea Agreement

 Hillel (Helly) Nahmad could have potentially been locked away for 92 years for charges relating to being a key organizer of illegal high stakes poker games in New York.

Among the charges he could have been found guilty of were racketeering, money laundering and fraud, which can carry severe penalties in the US. However, the 35-year-old art gallery owner is now likely to avoid a lengthy prison sentence as part of a plea agreement that was made regarding the case.
As part of the deal with prosecutors, Nahmad, whose family is reported to be worth around US$3 billion, pleaded guilty only to operating an illegal gambling business. The other more serious charges have been dismissed as a result of Nahmad’s guilty plea and he is likely to now serve between 12 and 18 months in prison. Nahmad could also lose $6.4 million in assets, including a $300,000 painting, as a result of the plea agreement.
In Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday, Nahmad said that he had never intended for the high stakes games to become a multi-million dollar ring and that it was never his main focus.
“It started as a hobby. Unfortunately, it became a business. But it was never my main business,” he told the court. “This all started as a group of friends betting on sports events, but I recognize that I crossed the line, and I apologize to the court and my family.”
Nahmad’s statement was dismissed by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who believed Nahmad knew all along that the games were linked to high profile Russian organized crime figures.  
The New York illegal high stakes ring gained headlines when it was uncovered back in April. A total of 34 people, including Nahmad, have been charged in relation to the ring, with a number of them having already pleaded guilty to various crimes.
WSOP gold bracelet winners Bill Edler and Abe Mosseri, and prominent professional poker player Peter Feldman, have also been charged for being part of the poker ring. The three men, who have a total of 17 WSOP in-the-money finishes between them, also face potentially long prison sentences for charges relating to their involvement in the New York poker games.
News of the ring came as a shock to many in the poker world and was unwelcome considering that online poker was being regulated in the US for the first time. Fortunately though, this case has not hijacked the good progress that is being made with poker in the US and the game continues to go from strength to strength.
Author: Ekaterina
13 . 11 . 2013 y.
Former Utah Attorney General Denies Online Poker Payment Meeting

 At first glance, Utah doesn’t seem like the sort of state that would be looked at as a potential ‘pioneer place’ with regards to regulating online poker.

The state, which sits east of Nevada, the first state to legalise and regulate online poker, is widely seen as being an old-school conservative state with anti-gaming views. However, the Salt Lake Tribune has reported that a meeting took place in April 2010 between then state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and members of the Poker Players Alliance.
According to Shurtleff, the meeting was held as part of an initiative to ascertain the arguments on whether poker is a game of skill or chance. However, the former Attorney General denied that the legality of processing payments from online poker sites was discussed at that meeting and that it was not brought up before the meeting took place.
"I wasn’t clear about who was [processing poker payments] or where it was being done and it wasn’t a question that was even asked of me,” he said.
The question of whether online poker payments was discussed was brought about as it was discovered that the meeting was organised by a “major campaign donor” who had been processing online poker payments at the time the meeting was arranged. However, it was stated in the Tribune that emails have been obtained that show some of those who attended the meeting had talked about the legality of payments.
The meeting in question took place around one year before the infamous Black Friday, which essentially put a halt to online poker in the US. It also led to the arrest and indictments of a number of figures, including various online poker payment processors, who had been illegally involved in providing online poker services to Americans.
That is perhaps the most controversial aspect of this story; the fact that senior members of a state government had been dealing with figures engaged in an activity that resulted in the arrest of various other figures just a year later.
Online poker in the US has made significant strides since then, however. Two states currently regulate online poker within their borders and a third, New Jersey, is slated to rollout a regulated market later this month. That may complicate the aforementioned situation in Utah as the game has become slightly more accepted since then.
Shurtleff also received advice last year from lawmakers that processing payments from online poker sites was illegal in Utah. That increases the likelihood that he genuinely was not sure of the legality of such payments during the time of the meeting.
Author: Ekaterina
13 . 11 . 2013 y.
UK Politician Calls for Gaming Reforms for Casino

 The UK government has been taking steps to reform various aspects of online gaming in the country over the last few months.

Of particular note has been a potential tax on offshore-based online gaming companies in order to bring them in line with domestic-based services.
While that idea still appears to be in the cards, a British member of Parliament and member of the ruling Conservative Party has also called on the government to allow UK casinos to offer online gaming to its customers.
James Duddridge was quoted making those comments by the UK’s Echo News after praising the owners of a casino in his constituency for providing jobs and encouraging responsible gaming. UK players are allowed to partake in online gaming in their place of residence provided that the service provider is licenced in the country.
Duddridge hit out at the current position on online gambling and was quoted as saying that gamers would be safer if they were allowed to engage in online gaming at a live gaming establishment rather than in their own home.
“It is ironic games cannot be played online inside, even if one takes in one’s own iPad or iPhone,” he said. “It would be much better to allow casinos to have gambling online within their own premises. That has greater protection for problem gamblers.”
The argument by Duddridge is in many ways unique but would likely be impractical in regards to online poker. Among the key upsides of online poker is that it is convenient and more anonymous than live play (in that physical tells are harder to gauge, for example).
Because of that, many devoted online poker players may find playing online poker at bricks and mortar establishments unappealing as those upsides would not exist in such a situation. Still though, it is always refreshing to see a potentially influential politician who is for poker and gaming in some form.
Author: Ekaterina
12 . 11 . 2013 y.
PokerStars Teams with Jumio to Improve ID Verification

 Always on the lookout to enhance security and make poker-playing a safe and enjoyable experience, PokerStars has partnered with a cutting-edge technology company known as Jumio to improve the customer ID verification process.

Verifying the ages and identities of players is taken seriously by the world's leading poker site and the Jumio Netverify software to be employed on a global scale is a means to that end. The software scans, authenticates and extracts required data from players' identification that includes driver licenses, passports and various ID cards. The verification is done in real-time with the information securely stored.
"Jumio offers a new and unique approach in the identity verification market and we are pleased and excited to be working closely with them to help develop and deliver an innovative and exciting customer verification solution," PokerStars' Senior Verifications Manager Richard Bregazzi told PokerUpdate. "PokerStars’ commitment to safety and security is second to none."
With more players logging on to PokerStars than the other nine poker rooms and networks in the industry's top ten combined, including PokerStars' offerings in France, Spain and Italy, there is that much more of a vigilant need in protecting their customer base. For that reason, a partnership with a fast-growing company whose specialty centers around Internet and mobile identification validation makes perfect sense.
The Jumio Netverify software is already being used in Italy at PokerStars.it, with plans of rolling out its implementation worldwide in the near future. PokerStars players will have the choice of uploading the required identification documentation or presenting that information via computer webcam.
"Our ID credentials validation service not only provides a great customer experience and helps identify underage players and cyber-criminals, but it also helps PokerStars manage the cost and the logistics required to manually verify customer identity documents,” said Jumio's Bjorn Evers.
Author: Ekaterina
12 . 11 . 2013 y.
Delaware Racinos Launch Online Gambling

 Another chapter in the history of online gambling was written yesterday when Delaware's three racetrack-casinos launched online casino games as well as poker for real-money.

Delaware joins Nevada as the only two states thus far that offer legalized forms of Internet wagering, with New Jersey scheduled to join the mix on November 26. But Nevada's legislation is restricted to poker-only, which means that Delaware is the first state to provide a full suite of online casino gaming.
Slots, blackjack, roulette and poker are among the offerings that Harrington Raceway, Delaware Park and Dover Downs rolled out to anyone 21 years of age and older located within state borders. The online gaming platforms are powered by the primary vendor consortium of Scientific Games, one of its subsidiaries d/b/a WMS Interactive, and 888 Holdings.
Delaware Lottery officials anticipate the first fiscal year of operation to bring in roughly $5 million in revenue. Initially, $3.75 million of that will go to the lottery. However, a portion of the revenue generated beyond that amount will be funneled to the racetracks, Bloodhorse.com reported. It will increase purses at the racetracks, as well as provide a cut for horsemen.
The launch was not without a few bugs, as several reports from Delaware residents indicate that not all deposits and log on attempts went smoothly. However, as much as the online sites attempt to prevent such incidents from occurring, glitches in any new online gambling rollout seem inevitable.
Delaware's population is slightly under 1 million and the state ranks 45th among all 50 states in that category. For that reasn, interstate compact agreements with other regulated states to increase online poker liquidity have already been discussed. Expect a deal with Nevada to be worked out in due course provided that officials from each state can hammer out workable details.
Delaware hopes its online gambling endeavor will find favor among a somewhat younger demographic, particular those gamblers who are enjoying their 20s and early 30s. Officials would like to see older adults continue to visit the land-based racinos so that revenue from that area does not decrease.
 
Author: Ekaterina
11 . 11 . 2013 y.
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