iGaming Business News

[Casinonews]

15.03.2007

Advertising Industry Prepares for £50m TV Gambling Boost

The advertising industry is preparing for a welcome £50 million boost to its revenues, as the 2005 Gambling Act comes into force allowing betting shops, casinos and gambling websites to advertise on television.

The move represents a major step forward for casinos in particular, who as little as ten years ago, couldn’t even list in the telephone directory. Gambling companies have recently been allowed to sponsor TV programmes without being able to claim traditional commercial slots.

However, the new adverts will be subject to heavy regulation, although the National Lottery, football pools and bingo will be exempt from the ban. The advertising guidelines state that ads must not:


• Portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible

• Suggest that gambling can solve financial problems

• Link gambling to seduction or sexual conquest

• Suggest that gambling is a 'rite of passage”

• Or “portray gambling in a context of toughness.”


Chris Edginton, William Hill's marketing director, said, 'My view is that yes, we will be able to advertise on television, but what we can do is not what we'd like to be able to do.'

Ladbrokes has already hired M&C Saatchi to develop its campaign ahead of September’s relaxation, although the advertising industry at large has very mixed feelings about whether or not TV advertising is a good thing.

Mr Edginton at William Hill claimed that, 'Spending £100,000 for a space in the middle of Coronation Street would be a huge waste of my marketing budget.'

However, Global Betting and Gaming Consultants calculated that the advertising spend could be as high as £250 million.

[Casinonews]

16.03.2007

Online Casino in Financial Restructure

32 Red Online Casino, poker room and sportsbetting company, has undergone a financial restructuring initiative, by renegotiating its banking facility with Royal Bank of Scotland.

A revised loan facility with RBS has been entered into by the online gambling group for £3.5 million, ensuring the continuation of a 'constructive relationship' with the bank and using its revised gearing to form a sound financial platform for the next phase in the company's development.

32 Red online casino also proposes to raise £3 million, before expenses, by way of a placing with institutional and other investors. The institutional part of the placing has been fully underwritten by Numis Securities Limited.

The agreement with RBS is subject to shareholder approval being given for the placing at the company’s AGM to be held on 10 April 2007. RBS will also be receiving a warrant to subscribe for 560,000 ordinary shares in the company at 1p per share, in lieu of receiving banking fees associated with the loan.

12 million new Ordinary Shares at 25 pence per share will be offered. Numis, as agent for the company, has agreed conditionally to obtain subscribers for the placing shares. The placing shares will represent 17.43 percent of the 32 Red's enlarged issued share capital.

Commenting on the refinancing Ed Ware, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are pleased that we have been able to successfully re-negotiate our banking facilities. With this completed and the recent new appointments of Martin Saunders and Jon Hale to the management team, we look forward to delivering on our plans to integrate the BetDirect business that we outlined at the time of the acquisition.”

[Casinonews]

16.03.2007

YouTeller Distances Itself From NETeller

YouTeller.com, a newcomer to the payment processing market, appears to have submitted to pressure by NETeller's legal counsel after it accused the brand of infringing on its registered trademark.

YouTeller's London-based parent group has recently posted the following disclaimer on its site: 'Seed Capital Ltd is not affiliated with, related to or endorsed by NETeller Plc.'

YouTeller was issued a cease and desist order from NETeller's corporate counsel on February 28, 2007 and ordered to put a response in writing to the company by March 5.

YouTeller is aiming to set itself apart from major players such as NETeller, whose co-founders are due at a court hearing on charges relating to money laundering, by marketing itself as a community-based payment processor. The move would be following the Google Gmail model of only serving customers that are recommended by other members and offering a €150 per account and transaction limit.

Florian Schweitzer, a spokesman for Seed Capital commented, “Our target group are people who play community-orientated online games like poker, chess or role-playing games. People who need instant and worldwide payment processing.”

[Casinonews]

16.03.2007

NETeller Case Postponed

It has been reported that the US Government has delayed the NETeller hearing. Co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John LeFebvre, were arrested on a charge of conspiracy to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling.

Rumours that the case could be dropped boosted online gaming stocks recently, and this delay may be a response to recent activity from lobbyists.

The continuance also prevents the release of evidence, namely money from US customers. The NETeller Customer Coalition, based on Yahoo!, is a discussion/pressure/information group with roughly 250 members. They have over $750,000 frozen, with more than a dozen individuals suffering for over $20,000.

PokerPages quotes coalition founder Goldstein as saying that, 'These are the kinds of figures that can keep a killer legal team motivated.' He also pointed out that 'there's still thousands of other NETeller customers who don't know about us.' Despite a lack of presence in the media, word of mouth is brining 30 – 40 new members daily.

Goldstein is angered by both the Government’s stance and NETeller’s passivity. PokerNews quoted Goldstein as saying that, “Between NETeller and the DOJ, thousands of citizens who have done nothing wrong have millions of dollars being confiscated without any real explanation or means of resolution.”

[Casinonews]

19.03.2007

Neteller Customer Coalition Demands Release of Frozen Funds

Over 250 frustrated NETeller customers, who have received no information on the state of funds they placed with the third payment processor, have joined forces to form the NETeller Customer Coalition.

The group has been promoted to action by NETeller's decision to deny US customers access to their funds and the long wait to find out whether or not the Department of Justice will proceed with the case against NETeller's two founders.

'We understand that the government is at fault here too', adds the Coalition’s founder Eric Goldstein. 'But people are tired of NETeller's do-nothing/say-nothing attitude and they're not going to just sit back and take it.'

The Coalition, which started in late February, has seen a surge in members with an average of 30-40 new members signing up daily, and is appealing for the release of a total of over $750,000 in frozen funds.

The NETeller Customer Coalition offers a venting ground for affected NETeller customers as well empowering them to fight their own battles with links to dozens of resources – everything from Department of Justice press releases to YouTube videos, alongside uploaded PDF documents detailing the FBI's sealed complaint.

Neteller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre were arrested in January on a charge of conspiracy to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling.

[Casinonews]

20.03.2007

Norway’s Monopoly Passes Go

Last week a court in Luxembourg ruled that gaming operator Svenska Spel could maintain its monopoly, as it was likely to prove the most socially responsible operator. While this may sound like riding the cash cow across the moral high ground, Svenska Spel is getting its message out.

“We want to encourage players to reflect on their gaming habits and to make use of the responsible-gambling tools that we offer,” says the CEO of Svenska Spel, Jesper Karrbrink. “We want to say that gambling should be a pleasure and nothing else; you should play to have fun.”

One of its measures enables online poker players to place time restrictions on how long they want to play. Further restrictions can also be set on deposits, with players giving themselves a maximum financial limit set for the day, over a week or for one month.

It is expected that this weapon in the battle between independent international operators and European state monopolies will be replicated elsewhere. However, the idea was first used by Ladbrokes.com, who gave poker players the opportunity to set their own financial limits.

[Casinonews]

20.03.2007

Former NETteller VP Joins Microgaming

Microgaming has announced that Bruce Elliott has been appointed head of business development. Elliott joins a company providing software for some of the industry’s biggest online gaming sites.

Although he is most quoted for his statement at the European Interactive Gaming conference in Barcelona that 'We are staying in the US I don't think we have a problem,” when he was NETeller’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he did help that company grow from 75 to over 800 staff.

Microgaming is planning expansions across Asia and Europe. Given the company’s sustained growth, Elliot’s will be a very big job. In the last year, Microgaming has added 20 new poker and casino sites to the list of those using its technology.

Bruce Elliott says, “Having known many of the Microgaming team from my time working on the Isle of Man, it is great to now be part of what is undoubtedly one of the powerhouses of the gaming industry.”

Roger Raatgever, CEO, Microgaming, added, “We are delighted to welcome Bruce on board at an extremely exciting time in our industry. The business has expanded significantly over the past year and Bruce’s experience will prove invaluable in driving this success forward across a diverse range of new markets.”