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Does Calvin Ayre's departure from Bodog indicate that he is tired of the cat-and-mouse game with US anti-online gambling authorities? Or is it a ploy to allow him to refuel before the next round in the struggle for existence? Ayre, 47, became involved in the online gambling industry in the late 1990s, and founded Bodog in 2000. It was a successful launch. He promoted Bodog as a lifestyle, along the lines of Richard Branson's Virgin and Hugh Hefner's Playboy. He also diversified into music, mixed martial arts and film, which attracted more attention to the website. By 2006, the company was generating more than $7 billion in wagers in the US, making it the seventh-largest online gambling company in the world. That year, Forbes magazine featured Ayre on the cover of its March issue as one of the world's 794 billionaires. People magazine named him one of its 40 hottest bachelors. Ayre hosts lavish parties for Bodog's bigger clients, with the famous Bodog Girls, usually found poolside, wearing bikinis. By all appearances, Ayre was living a charmed life. Then his past came back to haunt him. Reporters revealed he had been implicated in a marijuana-trafficking ring in 1987. He was not charged, but his father and brother in law received lengthy jail terms. Reporters also revealed he was involved in a shady Vancouver company. In 1996, he admitted to serious stock offences and agreed to a 20-year suspension from the British Columbia securities market. Ayre announced he had transferred ownership of Bodog last year to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which runs hundreds of gaming websites from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. This was news indeed. Last September, Ayre announced he had licensed Bodog's North American operations to the Morris Mohawk Group, but there was no indication he had transferred ownership. Are we looking at another Ayre sleight-of-hand?
Police across Asia have made more than 1300 arrests in an operation led by the international police organization Interpol against illegal football gambling. Operation Soga cont. The operation, dubbed Operation Soga (Soccer Gambling) Wave II, was carried out by police forces from China - including Hong Kong and the gambling haven Macau - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and was designed to coincide with June's Euro 2008 football championships and the end of the season for most major football leagues. Millions and billions 1088 gambling dens were raided during the two-month operation, with police seizing a total of $16.8 million and finding $1.45 billion worth of betting records. The first Operation Soga was conducted in October and November 2007, but the new Operation Soga saw three times more arrests and the seizure of 25 times more cash than the original. Mission accomplished "The effect this operation has achieved is substantial, not only in terms of breaking up illegal gambling dens and criminal networks, but in demonstrating the impact that co-operation through Interpol internationally can have at the national and local levels," said Jean-Michel Louboutin, Executive Director of Police Services at the Lyon, France-based Interpol. He added that the operation provided an excellent base for security cooperation with the Chinese police leading into the Beijing Olympics, which begin August 8. Gambling legality Betting on sports is restricted or banned in most countries in South-East Asia, although black market bookmakers exist even in places with more liberal gambling laws, such as the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau.
Online gambling in the US was always illegal, but people got away with it for years, mainly because the authorities overlooked the issue. But, as we all know, this changed in 2006 when the US federal prosecutors drilled in and put a stop to it by cracking down on the payment processors. Since the US represents such a huge market, people tried to come up with all sorts of solutions. But Webpreneur Victor Palmer from College Station, Texas, has come up with the strangest of them all! Taking Out the Third Element In order to violate the gambling laws, three elements have to be present: prize, chance and consideration. Palmer thought of a way to take out one of these three elements, thus making everything legal. Since taking out the "chance" and "prize" factors makes no sense at all, the "consideration" factor had to be dealt with. He found a way to do this by creating an online gambling platform - Centsports.com - where people register and gamble with real money. Only it's not their money, as they start with 10 cents in their account, provided by Centsports, and from this point on - they can gamble freely. We agree - this sounds strange, to say the least, but Gaming-Law specialists claim that by removing the need of members to play with their own money, the element of "consideration" is no longer relevant. This makes the process a totally legit one! Who would have thought that online gambling with money that is not yours is the solution...? And the Oddity Continues... So, Palmer is running an online gambling platform, which gives money to its members and allows them to cash in their winnings after reaching net wins of minimum $20. Hmm... a gambling platform which generates no income from its members, but still allows them to cash out!? For some, this may look like a sure fire way to go bankrupt, but Palmer is smarter than that, as he set his sights on the hungry advertisers. This actually makes sense, as Centsports.com is the only legitimate online gambling platform around with a registered user database of 200,000 strong and doubling every month. These users make a good target for advertisers such as Pizza Hut, Skype and the NBA, which more than balance Centsports accounts. So ten out of ten for ingenuity and full marks for outwitting the online gambling regulators at their own game!
France will create a regulatory agency responsible for monitoring and licensing applicants for legal online gambling. Servers will need to be accessible to this agency, so that software and records can be audited and monitored for fraud or cheating. The president of the French National Crime Commission has devised a list of important steps to observe as the market is gradually opened. The problems foreseen by opponents of online gambling are covered, with measures included to control potential damage. Only online casinos with a history of seven or more years will be allowed to apply. Full disclosure and transparency will be required of all online gambling sites, including investors and shareholders as well as employees who will have to pass background checks. Players identification Player registration will involve submission of a legal form of identification, including a French bank account, and issuing of a distinct PIN for activation and play. Sharing of information, such as suspicious sports betting patterns, with the government is demanded, as well as regulation similar to that against insider trading to prevent wagering by sources with team or player connections. A system to detect and block gamblers identified as problem gamblers must be set in place. Excellent work France has carefully considered all the necessary steps that must be taken and considered the security items that need to be established to make the system as "fiddle-proof" as possible. The French authorities appear to be doing an excellent job of protecting their citizenry, far better than a ban driving online gambling underground or leaving it in the hands of uncontrolled entities. Maybe the United States could take a lesson. Finally, good news for players and operators as France welcomes players to the world of online gambling.
The shareholders of PartyGaming thought they were on course to richness, as the future looked bright and shares soared high. That is why they must be wondering what went wrong, as their assets took a massive blow of more than 10% due to a drop of revenues since April 28 this year. The PartyGaming brand PartyGaming is the company which operates Party Poker and Party Casino websites and has recently created Party Bingo as well, in another step to boost up the number of active players using its services. They must be doing something right, as they are way past the one million active users mark. Still, something went wrong. Although this setback was described as "minor" and was "expected," this situation is still considered as disappointing for the firm. Looking into the matter has revealed that this was caused by a weaker-than-expected performance in PartyGaming's poker business and sports betting. And if that's not enough, due to the strong competition in poker, PartyGaming had no other choice than increasing bonuses and costs associated with some tournaments during this period of time. Euro 2008 vs. PartyGaming So, all the wise men sat and tried to understand what has caused this, and to their joy - they managed to complete the puzzle, by claiming that the responsibility for this setback lies on the Euro 2008 tournament, which ended some two weeks ago. According to PartyGaming, the Euro football championship competed with them for their members' leisure time and despite their great efforts - they couldn't help but come up short. This explanation is to be considered as a surprising one, as most of the sport betting sites enjoyed a nice boost in business during the Euro, as it was considered by many as much easier to predict than the regular league matches of the English Premiership, for instance. Drawing conclusions Luckily for the investors, this strange explanation did not prevent PartyGaming from understanding that changes had to be done. Therefore, in a way to increase profit margins, the firm will go through operational efficiencies and will try to reduce marketing costs.
A study by Ireland's Casino Committee published last Thursday recommends the Emerald Isle reform outdated gambling laws in order to benefit from the effective ban on online gambling in other countries, particularly the United States. The committee, created in 2006 to improve regulation of Irish gambling, cited the relocation of many companies from the USA to Europe following the passing of the USA's 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which outlaws the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site (with the exception of certain things such as online lotteries and horse racing). "The recent United States prohibition of payment mechanisms for gambling online, presents a window of opportunity for Ireland," the Casino Committee said in the report. Practical recommendations The committee recommended regulating online gambling to protect against minors using the services and to guard against criminal activity. It also proposed that Finance Minister Brian Lenihan look into the possibility of establishing competitive tax rates. Ireland's corporate tax rate is currently a very low 12.5%, making it an attractive place for big firms to do business. Economic potential Many large firms already have their European headquarters in the Irish capital Dublin, including Google and Yahoo. Implementing the report's suggestions would allow Ireland to attract gambling companies as well. In October 2007 we reported that Dublin had become the main location for gambling companies moving their headquarters away from North America. At the time it was reported that the capital had already seen a growth of 300 new jobs created around the industry. This number looks set to rise even more if the government acts on the committee's recommendations.
In the early 1990's, Victor began to accept football wagers from far-eastern clients. He recognized the potential growth in foreign markets. He opened up an office in Antigua to enable these clients to bet without the need to pay UK tax. Tax free betting UK customers had been forced to put up with the 9% betting tax but Victor wanted to give his customers better value. In 1996, he obtained a betting license in Gibraltar and in 1999 moved his entire business there, employing 350 people and becoming the largest employer on the Rock. Victor Chandler was now able to offer sports betting free from UK tax. The Victor Chandler business expanded rapidly into online casino and poker sites. Global expansion Victor quickly recognized the growing demand for these products. He now has offices in Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Buenos Aires and betting and gaming sites available in a multitude of languages. The business now turns over in excess of £1 billion and has over half a million customers in over 160 different countries. Run-ins with the law Victor Chandler and the authorities are not the best of friends. During last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe meeting at Longchamp, Paris, the bookmaker had his latest scrape. This time he attracted the attention of the local ‘constabulary'. "I wasn't arrested," he protests, as he sits in his sixth floor office in Gibraltar overlooking the north Moroccan coast. Its main wall is adorned with a massive portrait of his friend, the great jockey Lester Piggott. "We have had a box for six or seven years in Paris and we've always been very careful not to take bets from French people. It was impossible to be interviewed at the course as there was no office available and we had about 60 people with their noses pressed up against the glass watching," he continues. "We went to the police station where each individual was interviewed. I walked out with the detective and he said to me, ‘I don't know why we're wasting our time with this - betting will be legal within a year'." And so it is.
Suspicions remain about South African online casino pioneer Warren Cloud, even after his premature death at age 34 from a heart attack suffered while sailing off the coast of Spain in late June. Cloud, who was reportedly worth 2.1 billion South African Rand ($275 million), was the operator of 10 casinos at the time of his death, including the Silver Sands brand, operator of the Silver Sands Online Casino. While the Silver Sands has continued to operate following the reclusive South African's death, other holdings Cloud had have since closed down, raising eyebrows in the industry. It was reported on South African news websites that Cloud's US online gambling sites, including RealTime Gaming, for which he was the largest online licensee, closed down just two weeks after his death, after first warning punters to remove their money before July 31, or risk losing it altogether. The website gave no reason for the closure. A rose, by any other name... Cloud, who also had many aliases including Don Fortune, Richard Brooks and Oliver Curran, developed a bad reputation among industry insiders during his short life. He was on and off the rogue list of industry consumer protection site CasinoMeister, with consumers often making complaints against him, including the allegation that Cloud refused to pay out players who tried to withdraw money they had won using promotional bonuses. CasinoMeister operator Brian Bailey wrote a message on his website shortly after his rival's death, saying: "Even though we didn't see things eye to eye concerning running a casino, he had a family and a young daughter he loved very much. My condolences go out to them." Cloud is survived by his wife and young daughter.
The Pyrenees stage of the 2008 Tour de France is now over, and those with some petrol left in the tank can look forward to three consecutive stages of flat stage riding through south-eastern France, beginning with today's 12 th stage 168km (103 mi.) ride from Lavelanet to Narbonne. Cadel leads the charge Pre-competition favorite Cadel Evans remains the odds-on winner to take the tour. He goes into the second half of the 21-stage event wearing the maillot jaune (yellow jersey), worn each race by the current overall leader. Evans, who took the yellow jersey from Dutchman Kim Kirchen during the Pyrenees stage of the tour, is 4/5 at Ladbrokes to become the first Aussie to ever take the world's most prestigious cycling event. He is followed by Russian Dennis Menchov, 9/2, and Riccardo Ricco (Italy), Carlos Sastre (Spain) and Frank Schleck (Luxembourg) at 9/1. No other rider is given a serious chance of winning by the bookmakers at this stage. Other odds With just four cyclists considered a serious chance of challenging Evans' supremacy, it's worth having a look at other forms of odds betting being offered on this year's Tour de France. With the competitors set to return to the mountains on Sunday for three days of intense riding through the Alps in the French-Italian border area, the competition for "King of the Mountain" is sure to heat up. Riccardo Ricco, who currently wears the polka dot jersey as the leader of the mountain classification competition, is the favorite at 2/5. He is followed by Spaniard David de la Fuente Rasilla, 4/1. Evans, rated ninth in the current mountain rankings, is an equal seventh-favorite at 33/1. Ladbrokes also offers betting on the winner of each stage, as well as head-to-head betting between particular riders, updated each day online. Visit Sport Lines for a list of reviewed sports betting websites.
From the Tour de France, through the upcoming Presidential elections in the US, all the way to ... the moon! Join us for a review of this week's online gambling news, with Kate, on the Weekly Edition. Big Money Bet on Tour de France Tour heads into fifth stage today. The world's most important cycling contest is also a prime betting event. Obama Leads Odds to Take US Presidency As the 2008 election draws closer, gamblers can throw their money on their pick to make it to the White House. Viva la (Gambling) Revolution! France will allow controlled and regulated access to its market by online casino operators, and has come up with model standards to address concerns as the gambling sites are slowly permitted to reach French citizens. Online Casino Reports Bets on Lunar Gambling What about space? Could there ever be a casino on the moon? We at Online Casino Reports bet there could be.
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