Social Gaming Community
As we are accustomed to from the Social Gaming community, they are invading the news headlines. This headline holds the name of Plumbee Games who is announcing its invasion of the online gambling community and market. And by doing so they are disrupting the 120 billion dollar online gambling market, according to them. Plumbee Games has just released their newest slot game called Mirroball slot game on Facebook. And Plumbee Games also stated that the funding from Idinvest Partners has reached 2.8 million dollars.
Mirrorball Slots is considered the first gambling game by Plumbee. For now, it is available for all the Facebook users as a Beta version. This Mirroball Sots provides 3 new and unique slot games that are fairytale themed. The three games are called, Goldilocks and the Wild Bears, The Magic Mirror and Rapunzel’s Tower. And Plumbee will not stop at that, but it is expected that a lot of new slot games are soon to follow this release.
It was stated by a partner at Idinvest, Guillaume Lautour, that they have great faith in social gaming. And they are paying extra attention to the rapid growth of the virtual casino games on social networks, saying that this phenomenon has grabbed their attention. And he added that Idinvest is very glad to have such a huge experienced name as Plumbee Games at its side while they are invading the social gaming online gambling community. And that he expects that their cooperation will lead to huge and great success.
This experience of Plumbee comes from the fact that it has an amazing staff and experienced workers. For example, Gerald Tan, the operating chief officer used to work as a producer. The company’s CEO Raf Keustermans has worked as a global marketing director. And lastly, the technology chief officer Jodi Moran used to hold the position of a senior director of Technology. And they all used to work as a team for EA Playfish.
Plumbee is also known for its latest relationship and cooperation with Quickspin AB which is based in Stockholm, the very famous developer for casino games. Quickspin provides Plumbee with consolation services and game content. They also have an agreement which obliges Quickspin to supply Plumbee with its current portfolio of video slots under the multi-year licensing agreement.
The Quickspin’s CEO, Daniel Lindberg stated that this agreement with Plumbee is considered as a very important and a vital step for the company. And he added that this step would make the company able to provide its services to the market with the best and most amazing games. And he also stated that this relation will not only make them able to supply the market, but it makes them partners with one of the biggest and most experienced companies in the industry. And he finished by saying when we mix our games content with their great experience in this field, the result will be stunning.
UK to Tax Offshore Gambling
The UK will definitely be taxing offshore online gambling from now on. This was made very clear this month as Chancellor George Osborne addressed in his speech on the 12st of March on the budget. This will mean that gambling operations that have setup shop offshore will now be taxed if they wish to have UK customers. And will be required to obtain a secondary license in order to operate within the United Kingdom market. He also mentioned that the UK’s planning to identify internet gambling at the place of the operation. In this case, it’s in the United Kingdom.
It has been known to the public for a while now that the United Kingdom’s government is planning to apply these proposals. To be more specific, since the Department of Media, Culture and Sport issues research criticizing the current law that organizes gambling. But despite that research, there have been a lot of debates and doubts on whether the government will actually go forward with its plans concerning these laws of online gambling. But after the speech made by Chancellor George Osborne and him mentioning the proposals leaves no room for any doubts that the government is actually planning to apply these proposals and will in fact tax offshore operators.
The most logical reason behind such laws would be to increase the revenue from online gambling. And although being one of the reasons, but Chancellor George Osborne stated that it is not the sole reason behind such proposals. He added that a lot of online operators, British operators have gone offshore and left the United Kingdom in order to have better laws and lesser taxation. And these proposals aim to attract these operators back on the UK soil.
He also added that the current laws don’t provide a fair medium for gambling operators. Because offshore operators who don’t supply any jobs for the United Kingdom residents, pay lesser taxes. And on the other hand, operators who work on UK lands and offer job opportunities to the residents pay more taxes. That unfair playing field has caused 90 percent of operators to go offshore, and the 10 remaining percent are either moving out, or thinking about it. And that’s why Chancellor George Osborne alongside the government is planning to apply secondary licensing and more taxes on offshore operators who operate in the United Kingdom in order to provide a fair playing field for all parties.
As for the revenue reason, the Treasury budget did the needed researches and estimated that the extra revenue that will result from such laws will be a total of 55 million pounds in 2014 and 2015. And in 2015 and 2016 the revenue will increase by a total of 240 million pounds. This shows that the numbers will keep going up as soon as these proposals are implemented.
Settlement Coming to Conclusion
It has been confirmed that the settlement between Sportingbet Plc and the Dept. of Justice is entering its final stages. Sportingbet Plc has just paid its last payment which is worth 6 million dollars, or 3.76 million pounds to Dept. of Justice of the United States. This final payment came as a result of the settlement that the two sides have agreed on in 2010 as a result of illegal internet gambling charges that were filed towards Sportingbet Plc. And after this last payment of the settlement which finalized the settlement, Sportingbet Plc announced that it is studying a possible return to the online gambling market.
As for the details of the settlement between the US Dept. of Justice and Sportingbet Plc. The Dept. of Justice has accepted not to press charges and to stop any prosecution against Sportingbet Plc. But this settlement excluded any tax violation crimes. And in order to do that, Sportingbet Plc will have to pay a total amount of 33 million dollars as a settlement payment.
And commenting on this final payment, Andrew McIver, the Chief Executive of Sportingbet Plc, stated that by paying the final part of the settlement, this means that Sportingbet Plc is safe from any charges that it could face due to its previous online gambling related activities in the United States. As for their plans to return to the United States gambling market, he stated that it is very possible. And he added that the company has over 2 million clients worldwide, Europe, South Africa, Canada and many others.
On a side note regarding the online gambling situation in the United States, it is known that last year the United States Dept. of Justice has reversed a very old policy that used to illegalize all forms of internet gambling under the law called the Wire Act that was issued back in 1961. This kind of reverse may cause a lot of changes in the landscape of the United Stated online gambling community.
Will New Jersey be the First US State to Legalize Online Gambling
In 2011, the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, decided to veto the bill on online gambling that came across his desk. This bill was sponsored by the Democratic senator, Ray Lesniak, and had already passed legislature. After thie original veto, Lesniak made changes and came out with a new bill and further support from a fellow Democrat. It turns out the main reason the first version was denied was because it did not include any mention of the Atlantic City land casinos or where the profits would be going.
Since the money was originally set to go into the horse racing market, there are many people that are none too pleased with what is stated in the new version. One lobbyist, Barbara DeMarco, has gone so far as to file a lawsuit about how constitutional the gambling expansion is. Authorities at both Freehold Raceway and Atlantic City Race Course have already made it very clear that they do not support the legislation at all, as well as managerial members of other tracks, like Meadowlands as well as Standardbred Breeders. Despite all of this, the bill is currently getting ready to be presented to the NJ Senate.
The senator was quick to point out that it was the goal to have New Jersey be the first US state to have regulations in place for online gambling, and any further delays may not make this goal attainable. Whelan also wanted people to know that he is already in discussion with members of the horse racing community, and is working to relax their attitude a little bit.
New Jersey Governor Christie has expressed his interest in the bill and was looking forward to see what changes had been made from the first one that had been vetoed. Governor Christie has also been made aware of how Lesniak and Whelan have been in touch with his office members. John Burzichelli, who currently represents the Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee as their Vice chairman, is more concerned with the types of changes in regulations that will need to be made. Right now, the only place in the state where gambling is allowed is in Atlantic City, and many people are not too keen about having this changed in any way. They are worried that by legalizing online gambling, there will be less revenue coming from this popular gambling area.
South Africa’s Next Steps to Online Gambling
South Africa is currently reviewing the pros and cons to legalizing and regulating online gambling within the country. They have opened the discussion up to the public, and held one at the beginning of this month. A popular newspaper, Business Day, was able to attend so that they could report back on the goings on and inform those who were not able to attend about what happened. The main cons that were brought up were mainly prevention issues, like money laundering, illegal gambling and gambling while underage.
Right now there is quite a bit of gambling allowed, but not online in casino and poker sites. Utilizing offshore sites is also against the law. A review commission had been assembled to see what kind of possibility there is of legalizing online gambling, and what would need to be done in regards to setting up regulations and how to handle the taxes. The TIC has now taken over this task.
Joan Fubbs, the chairman of the committee, together with the MP of the Democratic Alliance, Geordin Hill-Lewis, have already brought up the fact that some types of online gambling were already in existence in the country, and ignoring this will only allow this market to be even more successful. Banning online gambling has been deemed impossible, and will only further deprive them of receiving any kind of benefit from what is already going on.
A member of the FIC, Pieter Smit, has addressed the issue of money laundering in an online gambling environment. These two terms have been linked for many years, but not everyone may understand just how this is possible. The basics are as follows: since all of the transactions take place over an internet connection rather than in person, it becomes much more difficult to trace. This is even more possible when gambling is not legalized and everything is going through unregulated offshore casino sites. If it were to be allowed, all transactions would be more closely monitored to ensure that illegal transactions are not taking place.
Most members of the NGB do not support legalizing online gambling, and if it does get legalized they are insistent upon restricting just how many licenses are issued and strict regulations on top of that. There would have to be numerous security measures put into place to help to eliminate the problem of online gambling, and services for those that feel they have a problem with gambling as well.
Playtech gets Involved with Land Based Casinos
Playtech, one of the most popular choices in online gambling software, has announced their newest client as Grupo Caliente, who is currently the biggest land based gaming operator in the country of Mexico. This is huge for the software company, as the Mexican company has more than ninety land based casinos currently in operation. These aren’t just modern casinos, but dog and horse racing tracks, bingo halls, and video lottery casinos among others.
Playtech has long been familiar with the creation and utilization of their software in an online setting, but with the acquisition of this new client they will also be able to use it in a land casino scenario. In addition to the portfolio of classic games that are available, Playtech will also be releasing their branded slot games, like the ones featuring superheroes and villains from Marvel, as well as titles of other blockbuster movie hits. The administrative software that is to be used is the Information Management Solution program that Playtech had released previously.
The agreement states that everything will need to operate under Mexico’s current gaming regulations. These affect not only the country of Mexico, but also other parts of Latin America. Any new countries that decide to become part of Grupo Caliente will also be offered the games that Playtech has available. The CEO of the software company, Mor Weizer, is absolutely thrilled about their new client, and is looking forward to developing a professional relationship with Grupo Caliente.
The CEO of Caliente, Eduardo Hernandez, is also looking forward to this new business venture; particularly the technology that will come with it. The partnership of the two, with the state of the art graphics and gaming paired with the experience that comes with years of developing a strong clientele is an excellent match, and should easily be expanded into other markets.
In other news, Playtech is currently on the losing end of what should have been a very profitable business decision. They had joined with William Hill in the UK to create WHO, or William Hill Online. This conglomerate makes up almost half of all of WH’s profits, and with Playtech owning a large chunk, twenty nine percent, they are losing money. As long as they can last through the remainder of 2012 they should be okay. They can sell their share of the company to William Hill in 2013, and at the rate it is going will more than likely have to choose this option.
Bally and Aristocrat Technologies Become Team Players
Two very big names in technology and online gaming have recently announced that they have formed a partnership in an effort to create a better option for US gaming operators. Bally Technologies and Aristocrat Technologies are now combining their technology and gaming knowledge to make online gambling the best it can be when and if it becomes legal. These two groups specialize in providing excellent service in both gaming and customer relations to all of their clients.
The iGaming software that these two companies are using is a great blend of a back end core system as well as options. Casino operators like having different options to choose from when it comes to what applications they will be utilizing, and through iGaming this becomes very much a reality. Aristocrat and Bally have already gotten declarations from several different top poker providers that have made it known that they will sign with the pairing and iGaming, and there are more detailed discussions currently going on in regards to this matter.
Right now the companies have considered offering the special group of games that they have chosen particularly to suit the US market free to play for the time being, and will charge for them once legislation has passed to legalize online gambling either on a state or country level. One of the biggest things that operators are looking for are companies that can be trusted. They can also be used in land based casinos in addition to online ones, which is not something that you see every day.
The CEO of Aristocrat Technologies, Jamie Odell, is especially excited about this new grouping, particularly how the two companies will be able to improve upon their already excellent customer service and expand what they have already been able to offer their clients. The two have applied for an extension of the licenses to the NGCB so that everything will run smoothly from here on out.
Greg Ronaldson Makes a Splash
Greg Ronaldson is one of the newest young poker stars to show up in the WSOP circuit, but he is not new to the sport by any means. Ronaldson has been playing in this tournament in Las Vegas for several years, but hasn’t performed well enough to be noticed. In fact, it was only at the beginning of this year at one of the WSOP Africa Main Events that he really made a splash and proved what an excellent player he is.
Ronaldson won the grand prize of over $80k in the Aussie Millions 2012 Poker Championships, beating out a pool of thousands of poker greats and wannabes. He took a short break after this win to polish up his skills before the World Series of Poker circuit came to his area, looking to claim even more winnings from that. When it did come around, Ronaldson snagged yet another win, adding more than $20,000 to his earnings total for the year.
Greg Ronaldson never really strived to become a professional poker player; it all kind of happened by accident. He found an online poker site, created an account with a mere $25 in it and built it up from there. He even found his way onto five tournament final tables, and actually won one of them. He decided not to push his luck too much after he claimed that title, and took a hiatus for several years to focus on his schoolwork rather than gambling career.
Ronaldson primarily plays in the much smaller and less publicized tourneys around Africa, and has been known to travel to parts of Australia as well to participate in the larger tournaments over there. He also makes the trek out to Las Vegas, Nevada in the US every year to try his hand at the WSOP tournament there, but has not reported a win higher than twelfth place as of yet. He has commented many times on the differences between the locations in which he plays.
Of course, the Vegas tournaments are by far the most popular and challenging, with thousands of people participating in smaller satellite tournaments to get a spot in the big one, as well as simultaneously competing in things like Omaha and Hi Lo games on the side. Undoubtedly the biggest difference is the cost of the tournaments. The buy ins for many of the smaller games he has played cost no more than $1,000, where the one in Las Vegas is closer to the hundreds of thousands, if not more when you consider what you have to win to even get a shot at the main event. Greg Ronaldson is definitely an international player to keep your eye on, and don’t be surprised if you see his name popping up everywhere very soon.
Ayre vs US Government
There are many people questioning the legitimacy of the indictment against Calvin Ayre by the US government. Many people believe that the government has overstepped their boundaries by pressing charges against the Canadian born founder of Bodog.com. While online gambling is still illegal in most parts of the United States, Canada has a much more laid back approach to the topic, and currently has more than 2,000 offshore sites at the moment. While players from other locations are more than welcome to play in these locations, the large majority of their players are Canadian. It is said that these sites pull in somewhere in the realm of $4 billion CDN every year.
The Vancouver Sun has written an article in response to so many people questioning the more laid back attitude that Canadian casino owners seem to have. Some people believe the reason that this situation is happening is because the law in Canada regarding online gambling is not detailed enough. Others, namely those with a legal background, have pointed out that Canadian law was not really broken, so the charges can’t be justified. Others believe that law enforcement could spend their time tackling more serious crimes and catch potentially dangerous individuals rather than doing what they’re doing.
Canada has had a much different approach to online gambling than what the United States has. In the US, there is no gray area; you are either pro gambling or not. In Canada on the other hand, the public hasn’t really made a big deal about how you feel about the subject. They consider the choice to gamble a personal one, as well as whatever methods they choose to do this are as well. There is one group that is particularly aggravated about what is happening, and that is the Canadian Gaming Association. The VP of this group, Paul Burns, is particularly unnerved. The fact that there is no real regulations when it comes to gambling offshore is a big problem, and putting some into place would add additional protection to players from Canada.
Even if the want to shut down online casinos is present, it can still be very difficult to accomplish this monumental task. After all, the majority of the time the person that operates the casinos is in a different country, and possibly on the other side of the world. Also, no one wants to invade the privacy of someone’s home, which is where the majority of the gambling takes place. The Vancouver Sun has come to the conclusion that if more provinces legalized online gambling, the current attitude could change drastically.
US May be Turning Around on Online Gambling
Online poker may be back in the United States. This is in light of the news at the end of 2011 where the Department of Justice did a 180 on the legality of online gambling. It looks as if though the only form of online gambling that is being cracked down on is online sports betting. A Nevada based online gambling industry consultant stated that the turnaround was one of the most important events in 2011 for the online gaming industry.
Many in the industry now see a clear path for re-establishing online gambling in the United States. Even Nevada has already passed legislation which allows its residents to play at online casinos and gamble online within the state. Currently, industry experts are estimating that the US online gambling market could generate quite a bit of revenue for the US, however it may still take Congress clearly stating what games are legal and those that are illegal. The consensus at this point is that online sports betting is illegal and that perhaps other forms of online gambling are now completely legal. However, that uncertainty is what will hold back major companies from moving back to the United States to conduct business.
While the actual amount of revenue that can be generated by online gambling in the US is not really known, it is expected that current estimates may be on the low end. However, until the US makes it entirely clear where they stand on online gambling (possibly by answering to the World Trade Organization), outside investors and global online gaming giants will most likely steer clear of the country.
There is still a legal question in a dispute between Barbuda and Antigua with the United States where a complaint was filed against the US government for unfairly restricting trade. Barbuda and Antigua won this dispute; however it would now seem that the US is not 100% in compliance with the WTO ruling at this time.