Ex-Virgin Boss to Help Online Casino Fair Better

Leading online gambling group, Betfair, has announced that it has employed former Virgin Games Managing Director Oscar Nieboer as brand director on a temporary basis.

Nieboer will counsel the firm on brand expansion strategies in time for the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 next month.

The ex-Virgin boss will also help develop a marketing plan that will capitalise on the fact that gambling companies will soon be free to advertise on television.

'The Betfair brand is built around integrity,' he says. 'We're moving forward our plans, obviously with a careful eye on the DCMS since Gordon Brown's appointment, but we have booked our airtime and are proceeding in line with the legislation.'

Nieboer’s experience in directing the launch of Virgin's online betting and casino business puts him in good stead to oversee Betfair’s extensive gaming portfolio, which includes the brands Betfair Poker and Betfair Casino.

BetOnMarkets Reports Record 2006 Results

BetOnMarkets, the world’s foremost fixed odds financial betting provider operating eight websites in seven countries, has announced impressive financial results for the year ending 31 December 2006.

The company’s turnover saw a 34 percent increase hitting a record $100 million while gross profit shot up by 290 percent to a total of $5.3 million.

Commenting on the results, Jean-Yves Sireau, CEO of BetOnMarkets said: ‘These are excellent results, which clearly demonstrate BetOnMarkets’ superior customer offering and international appeal. We have accepted over 10 million transactions since the group was established in 2000 and we look forward to continued growth in 2007.’

BetOnMarkets fixed odds betting system, which limits customers risk to their fixed stake, has seen continued expansion with the group’s two largest websites betonmarkets.co.uk and betonmarkets.com taking between 6,000-10,000 bets per day, worth approximately £5 million per month.

€540 Million Loss for Online Casino

The Introduction of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in late 2006, which makes it illegal for banking facilities to accept money transfers to and from online gambling sites, has caused profits for Vienna-based online betting firm to take a dramatic fall, the company confirmed yesterday.

For 2006, bwin reported losses after tax and minority interests of €539.6 million, largely due to the loss of business from the US market. In stark contrast, bwin reported profits of €6.4 million in 2005.

Commenting on the end of business functions in the US the company stated that: “bwin took an impairment charge of €515.1 million due to the non-cash depreciation of the customer base and goodwill as a result of the bwin Games acquisition.”

In addition to the damage to trading caused by the UIGEA the company argued that it was met with ‘increased resistance’ by gambling monopolies in several EU countries, and will now focus on strengthening and expanding its main business areas, sportsbetting and poker, in countries where they have already established a market presence.

Doyle’s Room Joins Microgaming Network

Microgaming, the world's most prominent provider of online casino and poker software, has announced that popular online poker site Doyle's Room (www.doylesroom.com) has joined its growing poker network.

The move is set to catapult Doyle's Room, which has continued to grow in popularity since its 2004 launch, into the expanding European market.

The Microgaming Poker Network will give Doyle's Room access to one of the most action-packed tournament schedules on the Internet, offering players the chance to enter a host of satellites to some of the world's biggest offline tournaments. In the last week of February alone $400k worth of buy-ins were won on the network.

A spokesperson for Doyle's Room said, 'We are delighted to be joining the Microgaming network. We reviewed many software providers in our search for a better gaming experience for our players and Microgaming met all of our requirements in terms of liquidity, tournaments and player features. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with them.'

Online Casino Firm Channels its Business Interests

Online gaming company, Sportingbet PLC, announced this week that it will relocate the group’s business to the Channel Islands, the largest shake up in the company since its withdrawal from the US market following the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The move is a result of ambiguity surrounding the exact operational requirements of the 2005 UK Gambling Act turning the Channel Islands, which operates outside of UK mainland law, into an attractive prospect for the company.

'With ever-limited time remaining to adopt the eventual requirements, the board has now concluded that its most prudent course of action is to transfer those activities that it anticipates may be covered by the Act, to a jurisdiction that has a more defined regulatory environment,' Sportingbet said in a statement.

The company is set to transfer all its licensable operations in the UK to the Channel Islands by September 1, with the company predicting that it will be subject to a £13.5 million pound charge in the year to July 31, as a consequence of the move.

NETeller Set To Announce Compensation Plan

In an official press release NETeller, the much publicised payment processor, has announced that it has signed agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) and Navigant Consulting, a consulting firm providing litigation, financial, healthcare, energy and operational consulting services.

The announcement is set to mark the start of a process to redistribute frozen funds to its former customers. Signed on March 20 the agreement will outline terms and a timeline under which NETeller organise the distribution of funds to its US customers.

The statement details that the group hope to outline the specific details of this plan within the next 75 days. In the meantime Navigant will provide a report to the USAO on the Group’s current financial condition.

“We continue to be committed to returning funds to our US customers and working with the US Attorney’s Office,” said Ron Martin, Group President and CEO. “Progress, while not always visible to the outside observer, has been steady and these agreements mark a milestone in the process.”

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.

Online Casino Software Provider Launches Power Blackjack

WagerWorks/IGT, the premier iGaming software supplier, has announced the launch of its latest game, Power Blackjack.

To give blackjack players a real run for their money WagerWorks has added two powerful features that will prove challenging for novice and expert players alike.

Power Double gives the player the chance to replace a weak double down card while Power Split gives players the power to split a hard 15 or 16, turning this otherwise dire hand into two second-chances.

Power Blackjack joins WagerWorks’ flagship line of Player’s Suite table games where unique game features range from pop-up help messages for amateur players, to an option that lets experienced players customise when they will be offered insurance.

Stylish features for Power Blackjack includes a facility that allows players to see more cards than in a standard game as well as offering fast-paced, European-style play.