Casino Blog

Hong Kong-based online and land-based gaming firm AsianLogic Limited has signed a joint marketing and operation agreement with CY Foundation Group Limited to establish a network of games for the 178Games.com platform across China.

CY Foundation is an interactive media entertainment company focused on providing quality entertainment across China and debuted the 178Games.com platform in May of last year. The new deal will see the two firms develop daily online tournaments, a games community and social network alongside forums and prizes.

The agreement will also see a team of marketing experts from AsianLogic and CY Foundation develop a national brand image for 178Games.com highlighting its advanced points system that enables winnings to be exchanged for gifts. (more…)

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In the UK, the Gambling Commission has released a report detailing its activities over the past twelve months that revealed it approved 3,428 operators with 4,199 operating licenses.

The Gambling Commission, which was established in 2005 and took over the role previously played by the Gaming Board for Great Britain in regulating casinos, bingo, gaming machines and lotteries, stated that some operators had been granted with both remote and non-remote licences.

The body also stated that it had published its licence conditions and codes of practice in June and that these had come into force in September. These established the regulatory framework within which licensed operators must provide facilities for gambling. (more…)

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The independent online gambling standards and player protection organisation eCOGRA has been approved as an accredited testing facility by the Gambling Supervision Commission on the Isle of Man, a premier European licensing jurisdiction.

The accreditation followed extensive presentations by eCOGRA Chief Executive Andrew Beveridge, the organisation’s Independent Directors and audit team to the Commission earlier this year, which delivered credentials and explained the testing methodology used.

Commenting on the accreditation, Beveridge said: “We are delighted that a regulator of the calibre of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission has accepted our credentials, audit experience and professional qualifications after intensive study. Our testing principles and methodologies have now been recognised by several international jurisdictions concerned with protecting players through the professional and continuous testing of online casino and poker room operators. (more…)

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The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has this week launched of a broad set of accountable operator behaviour standards for the protection of online players.

The Brussels-based organisation counts most of Europe’s tier-one online gambling companies as members and stated that its new principles balance the strict legal requirements already required by most European Union licensing jurisdictions. Containing more than 170 technological obligations, EGBA’s standards have been introduced in a controlled basis in order to take into consideration all characteristics of online gaming and betting-related services.

“These standards are a sign of our commitment to an exemplary level of corporate and social responsibility,” said Norbert Teufelberger, Chairman for the EGBA. (more…)

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In Australia, the Treasurer and Minister for Racing for the state of Tasmania, Michael Aird, has announced that he was extremely pleased with the progress made at last week’s Ministerial Council on Gambling (MCG) meeting in Melbourne.

The MCG was held in order to discover ways of developing a national approach to problem gambling throughout the whole of Australia. Aird stated that the meeting made it clear that Tasmania is leading the way with regulations such as a cap on the number of poker machines along with forbidding automatic teller or note accepting machines in clubs and pubs. (more…)

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After being approved by Parliament in May, President Thabo Mbeki has signed South Africa’s National Gambling Amendment Bill into law but, frustratingly, the legislation will not be implemented ‘until a date chosen by the President’.

With the President’s signature, South Africa has become the latest nation to legalise online gambling but it could still be some time before operations begin as officials work out on how to implement all of the new legislation in the Bill.

The legislation was drafted in response to a report conducted by South Africa’s National Gambling Board and amends the 2004 National Gambling Act to legalise online gambling along with establishing a licensing and regulatory system. The Bill establishes a system to monitor gaming websites in order to prevent money laundering along with initiating programmes to stop addictive gambling issues before they begin. (more…)

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Many of the major online poker websites catering to US customers and a few of the more high volume sports betting operations have been hit hard by payment issues following the closure of a check processing service. The Internet poker sector was especially affected due to their high volume. These firms are unable to utilize more reliable processing firms based in North America due to the current legal climate. Check processing companies have had trouble handling high volume establishments. Customers of some online gambling businesses reported bounced checks after one processor apparently shut down.

Gambling911.com now follows a similar industry position not to name online gambling companies affected by known processing issues as this could severely jeopardize their ability to operate. (more…)

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UNLV study finds online betting areas thick with bullying, foul-mouthed players, repelling some, enticing others. These were the shocking results discovered following 90-minute interviews with 30 Las Vegas gamblers who enjoy playing poker online.

The experience can be a negative environment dominated by bullying, foul-mouthed players who prowl gambling chat rooms, writes Liz Benston of the Las Vegas Sun.

Donna – participants’ last names were withheld by researchers to protect their identities – reported being harassed while gambling online, including by one player who stalked her by phone. She said she learned to ignore the live chats that accompany online games but still gambled only when her husband was sitting nearby to “protect” her. (more…)

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Gambling911.com has been reporting extensively on bouncing checks from various online poker websites.

The culprit appears to be one Zip Payments…at least that’s where the bounced checks are deriving from.

Large volume online poker websites have been forced to utilize the services of sometimes shady processing centers thanks in part to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act passed in October 2006, but more so following the arrests of two founders of the online gambling payment solutions bigwigs Neteller back in January of 2005. Following these arrests, Neteller and a handful of other well regarded processors yanked their businesses from the US market. (more…)

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The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), which oversees numerous online poker sites using Kahnawa:ke-based Internet services in Canada, has released an official statement, announcing the appointment of an independent monitor to investigate Tokwiro Enterprises, parent company of both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, The appointment of Frank Catania, a former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, stems from the KGCʼs finding that individuals within both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, had created and carried out a scheme to cheat players. The KGC’s complete findings and final decision in the Ultimate Bet case are still pending.

The complete body of the text of the KGC statement follows:

KAHNAWAKE GAMING COMMISSION APPOINTS INDEPENDENT MONITORING-INVESTIGATION TEAM

Effective immediately, the Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission (KGC) has appointed an independent monitor to investigate the KGC Licensee, Tokwiro Ent., parent company of both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, led by former New Jersey State Gaming Regulator, Frank Catania. (more…)

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