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Don't let the cobbled streets and medieval towers fool you, Tallinn is all about gambling. It is currently riding on the crest of a gambling boom that is bringing joy and gloom to its residents. The capital city of Estonia has a population of only 400,000 souls and has a rapidly growing gambling-addicted section to its population. The city's 90 casinos are pulling in gamblers from across Europe and the country at large is profiting from the money they leave on the tables and in the growing ranks of slot machines. On the dark side, it appears that the Estonians are poor losers and many have opted for suicide rather than trying to get their losses back. A newly established anti-casino movement is even demanding a monument to commemorate gambling victims. Casinos began appearing in the early 1990s when people were still not aware of the possibility of the devastating consequences of gambling losses. Ten years later people started hearing about those who had serious gambling problems resulting in broken families, lost jobs, criminal records for stealing money, suicides, etc. The general attitude towards casinos in Estonia is liberal. One sees casinos everywhere when walking about in Tallinn. For approximately 1.4 million Estonians there are 169 casinos, a relatively high ratio. There is a group pushing a plan to build artificial casino islands in the sea off Tallinn and put all the casinos there, away from the city. Last year gambling taxes amounted to around 30 million Euros and the government is in a quandary - half wanting to stop the spreading addiction and half wanting to maintain the additional tax income. The city council is debating closing down casinos in the vicinity of schools and in residential areas, but this will require changes in zoning laws. "We have to regulate gambling better," says the chairman of the Estonian Association of Gambling Operators.
Solutions not problems One of the biggest problems facing online gamblers is the issue of funds transfers and withdrawals. Money is easily deposited at online gambling sites, but it's far more difficult to withdraw that money come cash-out time. Now an innovative concept has been born and its name is UkashOut. The new online gambling card acts just as a regular credit card would, except that it allows card holders to withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts if and when they choose to. The convenience of cash is as close as the nearest ATM. In addition, the Ukash card can be used everywhere that Mastercard is accepted, owing to that fact that this payment giant is an endorser of the new card. How it was Online gamblers typically have to wait for a check or money transfer to be sent from the third party payment processors - a process that is time consuming and inefficient. Customers can now deposit and withdraw funds directly to the card. This eliminates the need of having to use credit cards to make deposits and then waiting for payments to be sent via check or money transfer into other accounts. Leading the way At the forefront of this innovative working concept is the Chilipoker site. They have already seen the massive benefits of using the UkashOut card. Countless other online gambling sites are expected to make use of Ukash to ease the process of depositing and withdrawing funds for their customers. The online gambling industry is always looking to streamline itself - for customers and to gain competitive advantage in a world characterized by fierce competition for disposable income. This new UkashOut card is guaranteed to impress online gamblers for no other reason than the convenience of accessing their cash as they see fit. Indeed the Chief Executive Officer of Ukash, Mark Chirnside, is so convinced of the card's value in providing secure, accessible means to gamblers' money that he expects other gambling sites to scramble to get their hands on UkashOut cards. Chilipoker - an online gambling giant - took the plunge and they look set to reap the rewards as others eagerly follow in their footsteps.
Gambling is all around us. Sometimes it's in the decisions we take, the teams we support, the odds we risk or the people we choose to associate with. Either way there's a guaranteed outcome, dull or exciting, costly or profitable that we are going to face. Not all gambling is going to yield financial gain however. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the biggest gambles will win you a lifelong partner, a successful career change or more. But the crux of it - the gambling that most of us are interested in is the one that yields big paydays. We're talking legal sports betting, online gambling and casino euphoria. Keeping it clean Provided you're of legal age and relatively sound mind (reckless gamblers are problem gamblers) gambling can be a rush like no other. That unmistakable feeling of placing a bet, and counting on lady luck - perhaps with an inside tip - to win big is unlike any other. Watching that roulette wheel finally stop spinning and seeing your number come up is golden. You breathe a massive sigh of relief - you've hit pay dirt and you're about to collect - big time! Not all gambling is clean-cut however and many unscrupulous punters and inside betters make use of devious means to gain advantage. Steroid abuse is one example, nepotism and insider trading is another, blackmailing and mafia syndicates are another. If gambling is to remain the massive money-spinner that it is - in terms of being regulated and bringing in windfall tax revenues - then it must be kept clean, lest it be outlawed. Officials not above law Clearly something that is completely unacceptable to all of us, are corrupt officials and players in the sporting arena. There have been multiple allegations against refs, umpires and players. Personally the authorities are 100% justified in banning these folks from the games and imposing stiff punitive measures against them. There is no room for anything other than chance, ability and performance in sports wagering. Corrupt officials working to enrich syndicates or individuals are the lowest of the low. Keep it clean. Keep it real. Keep legal gambling alive.
Church remains defiant In what can only be described as a soap opera of opinions, Guam's religious elders are somewhat divided, somewhat unified, on the issue of gambling in their island nation. At the core of the issue - at least according to overzealous religious doctrine - the mere word 'gambling'. The connotations of the word sound alarm bells for purists, who tend to associate the word with the devil's handiwork. Upcoming ballot While Jesuit priest and associate professor Richard McGowan debates the benefits and morality of gambling in Guam, infuriating the Catholic Church, others are pushing for a resolution. That is about to come in the form of a mailed ballot to all of Guam's 49 000 registered voters. Guam decides November 4 Included in the ballot will be three statements including: opponents, proponents of a casino initiative, and a neutral analysis by the GEC (Guam Election Commission). Proposition A would see casino gambling (slots, chance games, card games and table games) being legalized at Guam Greyhound Park in Tamuning. If all goes well, the euphemism ‘responsible gaming' will become accepted literature in Guam. The vociferous chants of opponents will possibly endure the windfall benefits of a properly regulated gambling industry. A regulated gambling industry allows for certain requirements to be met prior to gaining access to gambling activities.
Previous legislation Thanks largely to an act called the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) all forms of internet sports betting and online gambling are illegal in the USA. This includes online poker, slots and roulette, among others, and all forms of sports wagers. After unsuccessful attempts to have the online gambling industry regulated, Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass) has finally managed to secure a victory for online gamblers. This however is not as cut and dried as it initially appears. Frank, along with Representative Peter King (R- NY), prevailed by securing the passing of the Payment Service Protection Act (PSPA 6870) by a 30 -19 vote. This has serious implications for the future of online gambling in the USA. What is the PSPA? At its core, the PSPA calls for greater clarity on which online gambling activities should be outlawed. The former legislation - the UIGEA - was a blanket ban on all online gambling activity. This is something that Representatives Frank and King, among others, fail to see the logic of. The PSPA is a call to regulate the online gambling industry in the USA. This means that there will be checks and balances on what online gambling will be permissible; how it will operate and to whom it will be accountable. Ordinarily, regulation entails licensing and strict adherence to federal and state laws, tax law and internationally accepted gaming standards. What happens next? The PSPA requires that both the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department draft and apply regulations that prevent sports betting transactions from being processed within 60 days of the bill being enacted. The PSPA goes further: any regulations beyond sports betting will be stopped, until an administrative law judge determines exactly what is legal and illegal Internet gambling. This means that online poker for example, will have its day in court. Further, the bill compels the Treasury Department to create and maintain lists of unlawful Internet gambling businesses. Any companies not appearing on those lists cannot be blocked until a judge has determined so. Banks in the USA are prevented from processing any transactions related to online gambling sites. Now however, the courts will decide which sites get the green light. Responses The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) applauds the measure while opponents (Spencer Bachus and co) decry its passing. Professional Sports Leagues are opposed because they supposedly want to retain the integrity of American sports. To them gambling is seen as a corrupting influence. It is a tad strange, given the legal gambling strongholds in Nevada and New Jersey, to which Pro-Sports Leagues don't object.
Sigh of relief Following what would have been a major setback to online gambling sites in the USA, the Poker Players Alliance breathed a sigh of relief on Friday. The Kentucky Commonwealth had earlier staunchly supported a measure that called for the state seizure of 141 domain names of illegal online gambling sites. The forfeiture of these sites to the state of Kentucky was on the cards, until Judge Thomas Wingate had his say. Executive director of the PPA, John Pappas, was well pleased with Friday's court ruling. Effectively this means that there is a temporary restraint placed on any attempt to seize control of the domain names of the online gambling sites until the operators of those sites have had their day in court. This means that the domain names will be retained by their owners - for now. At stake The Commonwealth of Kentucky and its governor are ardently opposed to illegal online gambling. The main reasons are financial: illegal online gambling operating in Kentucky and offering betting to IP addresses in Kentucky is viewed with disdain. Kentucky's profitable horse racing industry stands to lose an unmitigated fortune from illegal gaming sites. The governor is under heavy pressure to protect this entrenched industry. The foregone tax revenue alone that would be lost to gaming companies would mean less for the governor's office and less spending on the horse racing industry. What was said Judge Wingate wants to hear the other side, which may result in a settlement. Pappas argued in his amicus brief opposing the attempted state seizure of domain sites, that poker was not a game of chance, but indeed a game of skill. It was for that reason that there should be a rethink on the state's actions. The state is less convinced. They believe that in order to stop illegal gambling in Kentucky, via state IP addresses, all online gambling sites should be seized. The targets State attorneys compiled the ‘list of the damned' where Kentucky residents, using Kentucky addresses were able to bet online. The exhaustive list contains both domestic and foreign operators. Among the big gambling names being targeted were: Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, Bodog, PokerStars and many more. Such is the concern among online gambling operators that several sites have already transferred their operations to UK sites. The state is seeking to introduce technology that would effectively block Kentucky residents from gambling online, in addition to seeking compensation for prior damages.
The tournament It was supposed to be a gathering of the folk - the poker folk. But not just anybody, the 42 online deserving poker affiliates. These poker-playing folks earned their private seats and when the opportunity for a cash poker tournament arose, they answered the call. The setting: Hotel Princesa in Barcelona. A freeroll poker tournament - involving cash - outside of casino operations took place. In Barcelona that's a no-go. Naturally both players and organizers alike knew it was illegal, but they went ahead with it anyway. The police were less than impressed. The Affiliate Series of Poker tournament is held during Casino Affiliate Program events and is open to those in the poker ‘loop'. The prizes They were big: some $10 000.00 in cash was up for grabs as well as a stylish gold bracelet, embedded with diamonds, to the value of almost $15 000. Players only got a sniff of that before the boys in blue arrived. Crashing the party Local authorities raided the Barcelona hotel and confiscated tables and chips from the gambling den. The police put a rapid end to the private freeroll tournament, much to the dismay - albeit not the surprise - of players. Nobody was arrested and no charges were filed, but it serves a warning that the authorities are always just a step behind the players.
Brutal For Zhen Xing and Xi Zhou it was game over on August 9th 2008. The pair shared an apartment at 8 Croydon Road in Newcastle's west end. Police were alerted to the scene after 4 30pm, where they made the shocking discovery. Both victims were severely assaulted prior to being murdered. It is believed that the 25-year old pair was tortured for up to an hour before they were killed. Their bodies were badly beaten and the male - Zhen Xing - suffered massive injuries to his head. Both victims were repeatedly stabbed with a knife. Motive The motive was initially speculated as robbery, but deeper investigation into the case suggests that the Chinese pair may have been involved in untoward online gambling activity. Zhen Xing was known to advertise on language websites in the UK, looking to recruit people to report on soccer matches around the world. The reason is simple: Chinese broadcasts have up to one minute delays in their broadcasting. Zhen Xing stood to profit from the time delays in online betting operations. Sources claim that Xing used the nickname 'lanyang0201' for posting advertisements on these websites, for betting purposes. Further investigation of the couple's personal computers and cellular phones indicate that they were deeply involved in shady dealings. Disgruntled ‘employees' or ‘syndicates' appear to be behind the murders but the underground operation has deep roots. Betting scams The nature of Xing's dealings in the past suggests that he was an old hat at the con game. On the day in question speculation is rife that Xing's girlfriend, Xi Zhou may have stumbled upon the attack. She was suffocated by her attackers. What followed was a grizzly double murder, as well as the drowning of their pet cat. Meanwhile the couple's parents were horrified at the news. A cremation service was held on the 17th September and the ashes were flown out to China soon after. Breaking news The latest update is that a gang involved in at least 15 violent attacks in London, Manchester and parts of the north east may have been involved. Xing and Zhou had recently taken in a lodger for one of the rooms in their apartment and he appears to be the key to their violent murders. Newcastle police are now eager to trace the lodger. Police are also searching for three people seen outside the flat on the day in question.
Busted Rigged games and cheating players have landed the former operator of online poker site - Ultimate Bet - in deep trouble. That's trouble with a capital T - to the tune of $75 million. With odds heavily stacked against them, cheaters were using illegal software code to gain advantage at poker games on this top 10 betting site. The software allowed them to see their opponents' hole cards (the cards dealt to each player face-down at the beginning of each hand). Blast-Off Ltd of Malta filed the $75-m claim. But they have an interest in acquiring Ultimate Bet. The report was published recently and the con was exposed by a handful of players who got scammed. It was a painstaking process that led to the conman being captured. Two players using the names dlpnyc21 and trambopoline exposed NioNio - the cheater. It wasn't difficult to detect the gambler who scored $300,000 in only 3000 hands of poker. Luckily their detective work was ably assisted by another website actively tracking high-stakes online tournaments MyPokerIntel.com. Laying blame Tokwiro Enterprises, the owners of Ultimate Bet, believe that the previous owners' employees are to blame. That puts a two-year time frame on the fraudulent activities, before the viral code was removed in January 2008 after a programming overhaul. The tell When NioNio won 93% of the sessions recorded on the website, alarm bells sounded. Results were compared to other players having played a similar number of hands. The outcome was less than flattering for NioNio - it was an impossibility. It has since become abundantly clear that poker players are an online gambling website's best defense against fraud. Only they are in the unenviable position of possibly being cheated out of cash by fellow players - as such their vigilance remains at the forefront of internet security concerns.
It's a high-wire act but there are windfall profits to be made from online sports betting. The Gold Coast Titans, an Australian National Rugby League club, have entered into a joint venture with a bookmaking agency - Betezy. The move came as a shock to NRL aficionados, but the green light has been given. The NRL doesn't have its own agency, so it receives around 5% of proceeds from TAB Sportsbet on all NRL league betting. The rewards CEO of Gold Coast Titans, Michael Searle, is convinced that this bold initiative will be the cash-cow his club has been searching for. Many of the objections to this initiative stem from the potential corruption and malfeasance that could take place in the sporting world. Searle believes that if he can tap into the lucrative gambling market, then the NRL stands to benefit tremendously. The football club and its charitable unit - the GCTCF (Gold Coast Titans Community Foundation) - will reap rewards and that's basically half the profits from their own website. Multiple clubs have signaled their desire to team up with bookmaking agencies. The revenue streams are simply too high to ignore and clubs like Manly and Melbourne Storm are considering such propositions. Manly CEO Grant Mayer was quoted saying he would consider the notion after the grand final. Conditions Titans CEO Michael Searle has agreed to sign a betting integrity and product fee agreement. These moves are steps to safeguard the integrity of the game and its players. With a $4 billion betting windfall in the Northern Territory alone, many clubs are eager to claim their piece of the pie.
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