Online Betting News

There is another twist in the tail of the online gambling industry today with news that the former CEO of 888.com is to be questioned by French authorities.

The company says John Anderson has been asked to attend an interview.

888 says its French business represents a very minor part of its revenues and profits.

The French authorities’ move follows several high profile arrests of executives in America after the US government outlawed internet betting.

It ruled that it was illegal to make bets over the internet using credit cards, effectively bringing an end to foreign firms entering the US’s market.

Cynics of the US ruling suggested that the ban was put in place to protect the US’s giant gaming institutions.

An Indian teenager is fighting to stop being forced to marry a relative as part of a gambling debt.She was just two years old when her father “lost” her in a poker game.

He had racked up a debt of 10,000 rupees – a mere £115.71 - which he was unable to pay back.

So he told the relative, Lal Haider – whom he owed the money - that he could have his daughter when she grew up.

Now, the child - Rasheeda – who is 17 is trying to make the deal void.

She has filed applications with the police and a local councillor asking them to prevent Mr Haider from taking her to his home.

He was paid the money owed last year but insists the girl should be given to him because of tribal customs.

Both families live in Hyderabad and belong to the same tribe in Baluchistan province.

The girl’s uncle said Mr Haider apparently wants his son to marry the girl.

Khalid Rajput, a local councillor dealing with the case, said the decision that Rasheeda should be handed over was taken late last week at a tribal council meeting.

But police officer Irfan Bhutto said Mr Haider had been summoned.

“We will ensure the girl does not have to do anything against her will.”

Rumours suggest, Harrah’s has issued a ban on all internet poker attire on their televised broadcasts for this year’s World Series of poker. Interestingly, the ban is reportedly only in effect for sites that accept US players, a number that is steadily shrinking.

For those of you that remember at last year’s WSOP when Harrah’s forced players to cover up any “.com” logos on clothing and replace them with “.net” logo wear or stickers. This caused no end of headaches for marketing folks at poker sites who shelled out thousands of dollars for logo hats and shirts for their players, only to have those logos covered up or replaced at the last minute.

If reports are correct Harrah’s would also put an end to another revenue stream for WSOP players - the final table bidding war. Many poker sites have in the past been very generous in their payouts to players last year for wearing their logo at the final table. Some players said they where being offered upwards of five figures sums to wear a hat or shirt from certain sites while they played a televised final table.

This could have far reaching consequences on poker sites’ willingness to offer satellites to the WSOP, as it can no longer be considered a marketing expense to cover players’ expenses and lodging for the WSOP if no logo will get airtime at the tournament. This certainly casts doubt on Harrah’s ability to draw anywhere near the record crowds last year’s tournaments saw, along with the detrimental effects of the UIGE act.

In a not-exactly unexpected move, Doyle’s Room, home of 10-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson, has announced this week that it will no longer accept deposits or real money wagers from US citizens as of next month. This follows hot on the heels of the announcement by Tribeca Tables, which provides the software for Doyle’s Room, of its US pullout.

Doyle’s Room has been the internet home for Doyle Brunson, his son Todd and “Crazy” Mike Caro since its inception. The site was very popular with its players, offering lucrative deposit bonuses and frequent “bounty” tournaments, where players could win extra cash and prizes by eliminating on of the site’s sponsored pros.

In a savvy customer-service move, Doyle’s Room has cut a deal with Full Tilt poker to allow US players to transfer their account balances to Full Tilt, as most withdrawal options have become somewhat cumbersome for US players. This deal also transfers the players’ Doyle’s Room Action Points into an equivalent number of Full Tilt Points, redeemed for merchandise, tournament buy-ins and other promotional activities.

Since the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in September, a number of high-profile poker rooms and sports books have closed their doors to US citizens. Doyle’s Room is the latest victim in the US war on online poker.

2006 WSOP main event Champion Jamie Gold and Crispin Leyser have decided to settle their lawsuit out of court, reports the Associated Press. Probably a good move for Gold, as things were not looking good for him with regards to winning the action.

The pair had verbally agreed to share half of any winnings from the 2006 WSOP, something that Leyser claims Gold backtracked on. Gold took first place, netting himself a staggering 12 million dollars.

“Jamie always intended on sharing his winnings with Crispin,” reads a joint statement released Tuesday. “Jamie and Crispin are happy to report they have fully settled this matter. They are pleased to be closing this chapter and look forward to continued success.”

The two did not make clear how much money Leyser would receive. Gold already withdrew $6 million, half of his take from winning the world’s largest poker tournament. The rest was frozen by court order after Leyser sued in August, claiming they had agreed to split the winnings.

Leyser said Gold agreed to the split in exchange for Leyser helping him find celebrities to play in the main event while wearing the “Bodog” label of an offshore Internet gambling site.

Leyser even kept what he said was a voicemail Gold left on his phone on the final day of the tournament in which Gold promised to pay Leyser “your half.”

At a December court hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Roger L. Hunt rejected a motion by Gold’s lawyers to lift an injunction set in September on the $6 million still at the tournament host, the Rio casino-hotel, and ordered the frozen funds be moved into an interest-bearing account.

Hunt also indicated Leyser likely would win his claim to the $6 million.

Mansion.com has informed US customers that it would no longer be accepting deposits from US customers.

This move follows hot on the heels of the departure from the US gambling market of Pinnacle Sports and online payment processing giant Neteller, whose two founders were arrested last week in the US on money laundering charges.

Mansion released the following: “We regret to advise that we unable to accept deposit transactions from Members in the United States at this time. Any existing funds in your MANSION account remain safe and secure. Should you wish to withdraw your funds we recommend you use MANSION’s Bank Wire Option.”

Many online payment processors are following Neteller’s lead in the wake of the arrests. Central Coin and InstaDebit are currently closed completely to US customers, while Click2Pay has ceased accepting new US customers. Neteller and Citadel Commerce are still allowing US transaction to non-gambling sites, but have ceased allowing US transactions to poker or gaming websites.

Mansion joins a list including Party poker and Paradise poker to cease accepting US poker players.