The purchase of two existing online casinos is just the first splash in Stanley Leisure's dive into the Internet betting world. The company additionally announced plans to develop a third site as well as an Internet sports betting service based in the Mediterranean.
The two sites initially purchased--Acropoliscasinos.com, which will be targeted to mid-level gamblers and Avaloncasinos.com, which will be targeted to the lower end gamers--are shut down this week while undergoing some tweaking. When they re-launch, the sites will feature stronger security and reflect that the new owners are a British company. The gaming software, at least for the short term, will
remain the same, according to Stanley Leisure CEO Bob Wiper.
Additionally, the company is creating a premium gaming site, under the Crockfords' brand, that will be licensed in Dominica, like the two current sites. The third site, currently being developed by the same software company (unnamed for the moment) that developed the original two, will offer three-dimensional graphics with live audio and streaming video.
"We want to make this more exclusive," Wiper said. In an effort to control access, he explained, they might require users to gain access to the site from a CD-ROM. Such decisions are still up in the air, he indicated.
A sportsbook targeted to the European market will be licensed in Malta. Orbis will develop the software for the sportsbook, which will offer betting on European football and horseracing. (The Malta government last month amended gaming regulations to allow licensing of virtual sportsbooks, and has already been inundated with licensing requests, according to The Malta Business Weekly. IGN will publish more information about Malta's licensing situation in coming days.)
The sports betting site will be available in English, French, Italian and Spanish initially, with one or more Chinese dialects likely to be added, Wiper said.