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ToteSport Casino To Defect From UK’s Gaming Regulation

December 31, 2007

Totesport Casino will soon be able to advertise without being subject to government interference. Deviating from their operations from Curacao to the Channel Islands of Alderney, Totesport will not have to pay taxes or adhere to UK regulation. Totesport is a branch of The Tote Bookmaking Ltd., UK’s fourth largest government owned bookmaker since its inception in 1928 by the Act of Parliament; the Act’s primary function for the bookmaker was to handle cash pool bets on horseracing.

Though the effort to reform UK government gambling regulations and attract online gaming through advertisements and sponsorship was made possible by the new Gambling Act, top poker and casino operators decided not pursue a UK license. The gaming sector came to their decision based on Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s fifteen percent online poker and casino gaming tax; Remote Gaming Duty. This tax is to act as a deterrent for off-shore companies wishing to carry out their gaming business in the UK. Prime Minister Brown is reported to have a very strict views regarding gambling and as Treasury Chancellor, he had made a previous proposal to tax casinos gaming profits up to fifty-percent.

This past September, The Gambling Act of 2005 became a deregulating statute of the gaming industry. The gaming and betting market will be affected by this the most which includes casinos, gaming machines, lotteries, licensed bingo, football pools and bookmaking.

The move to Alderney by Totesport Casino was strategic because of the lower tax rates. The Tote however did not make this decision lightly; they consulted with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) beforehand. Reportedly according to an unnamed DCMS spokesperson, “This is a business decision for The Tote. The Tote is run as a business.”

This recent move has apparently been in the works for an estimated seven years. It has not occurred until now because the European market denied their proposal supposedly due to a violation of state aid rules. It has also been reported since The Tote is in final negotiations; it will be a source of embarrassment to UK Ministers who have prided themselves since the Gambling Act of 2005, as a world leader in the approach to online gaming regulation.

    Score a Royal Flush with your pocket cards on any real-money Texas Holdem ring game at CarbonPoker.com and you will receive a bonus of 100 x the big blind!

    Written by Kelli Smithgall · Filed Under Online Gambling News 

    PokerStars Sunday Million Won By Mighty L

    December 31, 2007

    Poker Stars Sunday MillionThe PokerStars Sunday Million took a little over 10 hours to complete but it was well worth it for the 1802 poker players vying for the $1,802,000 prize pool. This was PokerStars $1,000 buy-in Sunday Million held quarterly and was the third highest prize pool in Sunday Million history.

    There were two tournaments with higher prize pools but they each had PokerStars contributions to make the higher totals. The highest was in May of this year with over a $2.4 million prize pool but PokersStars added $250,000 to celebrate the 1 billionth hand dealt. The second was March 11, 2007 with a $2.1 million prize pool were PokerStars was celebrating the tournaments anniversary and raised the guarantee to $1.5 million.

    270 poker players were paid out in this event with the winner, barring any chops, was getting $353,552.40. It took 4 hours and 25 minutes to break the money barrier when dragONslay3r was sent to the rail in 271st.

    Several hours later, diehardmick had the distinction of setting the final table. It didn’t take to long for the 9 player table to get down to 8 as Belabacsi was the first to be eliminated. As play continued, loftus222 and NVmania were the next to be eliminated respectively and the first rumblings for a deal came up in the chat. Pattymelt15, the shortest stake at the time but still over 1 million in chips, broke the ice but was ignored totally by all the other players.

    McShove was the next to go when his pocket aces ran into a set of sixes and again Pattymelt15 asked for interest in a deal, this time with just over 870,000 in chips and again got no responses. Unfortunately the table was right and Pattymelt15 was the next eliminated.

    Now down to four it was Tulkaz who brought up a chop deal and this time thechemest83 was interested but a “Not yet” vote by Mighty L and no comment from Dao69 keep the table going.

    Dao69 was the next to go and another deal was asked about in the chat window. This time all players agreed to stoppage to see what could be worked out. Mighty L asked the PokerStars admin for a break down according to chip stack to see were they stood. At the time thechemist83 was slightly ahead, Mighty L second and Tulkaz a close third.

    PokerStars host for the table StaffBryanS reminded the players that $40,000 must remain on the table for the overall winner as per PokerStars rules and gave them the break down according to chip counts at the time. That was:

    thechemist83: $233,152.78
    Mighty_L: $213,512.75
    Tulkaz: $172,145.68

    After a brief time of no one saying anything they all agreed and play continued. After the deal action picked up and Tulkaz was eliminated leaving Might L and thechemist83 heads up and Might L with a commanding chip lead which he turned into a win.

    Poker Stars Sunday Million final results were:

    1. Mighty_L — $253,512.75
    2. thechemist83 — $233,152.78
    3. Tulkaz — $172,145.68
    4. Dao69 — $102,714
    5. Pattymelt15 — $80,549.40
    6. McShove — $60,727.40
    7. NVmania — $42,707.40
    8. loftus222 — $26,489.40
    9. Belabacsi — $15,857.60

      Written by Steve Vaughan · Filed Under Poker Tournament Results, PokerStars 

      Online Poker Site Sets Player Record

      December 31, 2007

      PokerStarsAccording to PokerScout, a company that tracks traffic to online poker rooms, PokerStars became the first online poker site ever to reach 20,000+ simultaneous real money ring game players. In a somewhat ironic twist, the site can thank the U.S. and the passing of the UIGEA as a major contributing factor in their newfound traffic influx.

      Before the UIGEA was passed in October of 2006, the online poker site Party Poker had the record at 16,960 players and was the biggest poker room online. Since then Party Poker has moved out of the US market and PokerStars not only assumed the top position but dominates the player traffic.

      According to the traffic report at Pokerscout.com, 4 of the top ten sites allow US poker players including the top 2 but the PokerStars player count alone would surpass the 2nd and 3rd sites combines. The top ten traffic sites according to PokerScout (as of Dec 30th) are:

      1. PokersStars
      2. Full Tilt
      3. PartyPoker
      4. Ongame Network
      5. iPoker Network
      6. Everest Poker
      7. Ultimate Bet
      8. Svenska Spel
      9. IPN (Boss Media)
      10. Absolute Poker

      Jacob, a PokerStars support manager said of setting this record,

      “PokerStars is proud to be the first online poker room to have reached this milestone; it is a testament to the loyalty of our players that we have been able to do so. We look forward to continuing to grow in upcoming years and to carry on as the world’s largest poker room.”

       

        Written by Steve Vaughan · Filed Under Online Gambling News, PokerStars 

        Online Gambling Review 2007 - Legal Technicalities.

        December 31, 2007

        2007 has been an action filled year for online poker players, in fact it’s been quite the roller coaster for gamblers internationally, both off and on the tables.

        NETeller Freezes US Funds

        Days after the DOJ arrested co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, you will remember NETeller freezing U.S. deposits, some online gamblers recall that incident more than others. The total amount frozen came to $150 million.

        NETeller returned US gamblers funds to them in July of 2007, NETeller dropped the US Market like hotcake’s.

        2007 brought with it Congressman Barney Frank’s IGREA

        In the early spring of ’07 the online gambling world made a friend in Congress. Mass. Congressman Barney Frank went public against what he called one of the “stupidest laws” ever passed. He has since proposed HR 2046 also known as the Gambling Enforcement and Regulation Act (IGREA). IGREA seeks to license and regulate online poker and online gambling in the USA and repeal the UIGEA. As of the end of the year this proposal has garnered 45 Congressional co-sponsors and is on its way to a solid base of support.

        Bodog.com Domain Seized

        Many online poker players, with cash in their accounts found a dead website upon visiting bodog.com. A patent infringement claim filed by 1st Technology LLC. filed against a shocked Bodog.com resulted in a history ruling from a Washington State Judge that awarded a $49 million judgment in favor of 1st Technology LLC. Bodog’s website registrar (a company like Godaddy.com) was further ordered to take the website down. It took close to two days for Bodog to move the website to a temporary home online, NewBodog.com before their eventual moving into their current home at BodogLife.com

        Calvin Ayre said, “We are fighting this dispute and are confident that we will win.” Though everything is back to normal and bodoglife is where the action can be found for Bodog Poker, casino and sportsbook players, the dispute over the Bodog copyright is still going on.

        iMEGA sues over UIGEA

        iMEGA finally saw it’s day in court, and as reported by 4Flush, was able “to argue that the UIGEA was unconstitutional and violates the rights of citizens in the U.S. to gamble in the privacy of their own homes.”

        The Internet Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA), according to their website, “was founded in 2007 as a professional association dedicated to the continued growth and innovation of the Internet. We seek constructive engagement with government at the Federal and State levels to ensure that the challenges of this still nascent medium are addressed with the full participation of the people and companies that have built the Internet into the powerful influence on society it has become.”

        The case is being tried in Trenton, N.J. and presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper. The first decision was delayed and as of this writing, the online gambling world is still awaiting a decision.

        Europe and the United States cut a deal in regards to Online Gambling.
        The official settlement was released as:

        “A bilateral agreement which provides EU service suppliers with new trade opportunities in the US postal and courier, research and development, storage and warehouse sectors, the US also made concessions in the testing and analysis services sector.”

        Antigua & Barbuda WTO Decision

        The small Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has been fighting a legal battle against the US government since 2003. The UIGEA provided legal fuel to the fire. After winning their case with the WTO, negotiations between the countries began. Antigua looking for $3.44 billion in compensation and when the U.S. countered with $500,000, the case went to arbitration.

        The arbitration panel, after several delays, made public their decision awarding Antigua and Barbuda won the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States for a total of $21 million a year.

        Remote Gambling Association

        The Remote Gambling Association, representing European Internet gambling companies, filed a compliant with the WTO. As report by 4Flush right before Christmas, the complaint states,

        “the U.S. discriminates by prosecuting foreign gambling companies. The claims argues that by threatening and prosecuting criminal cases that enforce penalties and forfeitures against foreign gaming companies all the while letting domestic gaming operators continue to operate normally (those that offer racetrack betting primarily) is both discriminatory and violates WTO rules.”

        This complaint forces the EU to investigate and if the find that the US had acted discriminatory, can again negotiate with the US or present a case to the WTO.

          Written by Steve Vaughan · Filed Under Bodog Life, Poker News 

          Colorado Casino’s Going Non-Smoking

          December 29, 2007

          No Smoking New YearNew Year’s Eve, a time of reflection, hope and resolutions. In Colorado, it will also be a time to put out those cigarettes inside the casinos. January first, smokers can expect a gentle tap on the shoulder and a polite invitation to join other smokers on new outside terrace’s designated for smoking.

          Golden Casino Group oversees three casinos in Black Hawk, Colorado. Jeff Bauer, the group’s vice president and general manager said, “The ban is already going to dramatically, negatively impact our business. We want to be able to mitigate that loss as much as possible but stay within the law.”

          The three casinos owned by Golden Casino Group created an employee task force to come up with how workers should deal with the inevitable and defiant casino players. The Golden Casino Group has spent over $1 million on construction of the terraces for its smoking clientèle.

          On dealing with smoking guests, Bauer said, “One of the things we are doing is offering a complimentary cigarette to any guest who is inconvenienced or feels inconvenienced or starts to, you know, get upset about it. We say, ‘Here’s a free cigarette. Here’s our smoking terrace. Please enjoy’.”

          So what happens if there are still some smokers who want to cause problems? Employees are directed to contact their managers and then if necessary get casino security.

          Bauer said, “There’s no way Black Hawk police can deal with every single smoker who is going to be a little difficult at first. People have to be reasonable about this.”

          Black Hawk’s city manager, Richard Lessner states that it is usual for the casinos security to handle any disputes or problems before calling for police support and he doesn’t see any changes from the norm.

          “If they feel then that they need the assistance of the police department then, of course, we’ll respond,” Lessner said.

          Violations carry a $200 fine within a calendar year, the second violation is $300 fine and a third, $500 fine.

          “I don’t think you’re going to find smokers to be unreasonable,” Lessner said.

            Written by Steve Vaughan · Filed Under Casino News 

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