DDoS -- A ZDNet UK article published today contains several statements from Blue Square's chief technology officer, Peter Pedersen, who recently spoke at the e-Crime Congress in London. Blue Square and other online gambling operators have created a forum through which they are lobbying Internet service providers to take a larger role in combating distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS). Pedersen explained that one crucial point on which the forum is trying to persuade ISPs is that they should distribute firewalls to their customers because firewalls are able to determine if a computer has been infiltrated and is taking part in a DDoS attack. The forum has also been lobbying MPs to make DDoS attacks explicitly illegal in the United Kingdom, and MP Derek Wyatt seems likely to introduce such measurements to Parliament today or tomorrow. However, due to the impending election and dissolution of Parliament, Wyatt's proposals hardly have much of a chance to pass, let alone receive more than 10 minutes of attention on the floor.
DDoS solutions provider Prolexic announced that it has extended its global reach by signing a partnership with collocation and IT infrastructure management provider TeleCity whereby TeleCity will provide a secure hosting location for Prolexic. Prolexic says its infrastructure is already live in TeleCity, with several online gambling firms, including Sporting Index, using the service.
Meanwhile, the Kommersant newspaper in Russia this week offered the latest scoop on the Russian hackers who were arrested in July 2004 for alleged DDoS assaults on Canbet and other British bookmakers. The Investigative Committee of Russia's Ministry of the Interior has almost finished conducting a technical examination of the hackers' confiscated computers, and once the investigators confirm that the computers were used in the attacks, they will begin legal proceedings. Suspect Ivan Maksakov of Saratov has been released under the condition that he not leave the city because he has confessed and is cooperating with the investigation, while another suspect, Denis Stepanov of St. Petersburg, has also admitted to his involvement and is being held at a holding facility in Moscow. Two other suspects, Timur Arutchev and Maria Zarubina, both of Pyatigorsk, are still at large but have been placed on a federal watch list and will be tried in absentia. The suspects will be charged with using harmful programs with serious consequence--punishable by three to seven years imprisonment--and extortion by an organized group--punishable by seven to 15 years imprisonment.
Paddy Power -- Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has revealed that it has begun the process of recruiting a new CEO because current CEO John O'Reilly plans to leave the company after 2005 for personal reasons. O'Reilly has been with the group since its inception, and after he became CEO in 2002 he oversaw its expansion into the U.K. market and into interactive gaming. . . . Paddy Power recently launched two new dice games--Dragon Dice and General Mayhem--using technology from U.K.-based companies Electracade and Orbis Technology. The new games mark Electracade's first product release, but Orbis already has extensive relationships with Paddy Power and several other I-gaming operators.
SkillJam -- FUN Technologies has signed an agreement with Inspired Broadcast Networks through which FUN's SkillJam Technologies subsidiary will become the backend provider of skill games for Inspired, which is the digital arm of Leisure Link, a manager of public-space gaming and entertainment machines that has over 90,000 machines operating in over 25,000 retail venues. SkillJam will provide skill gaming for Inspired's Internet offering and also for its network of 8,000 U.K. itbox terminals. The companies say they may extend their agreement in the future to cover services over mobile phones and other channels.
Gambling Bill -- As expected, British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with the Queen today and asked her to dissolve Parliament so that a general election may take place on May 5. Although the Parliamentary session is scheduled to end Monday, there is renewed expectation that the Gambling Bill may pass after all, now that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has conceded to permit only one regional super casino rather than the eight that were previously planned. To pass, the bill must clear the committee stage in the Commons before progressing to the Lords, where it still could face rejection.
Orange Casino -- Gaming Corp., owner of gaming site casino.co.uk, has revealed more details of its agreement with cellular network operator Orange. The WAP site will be accessible via the Orange World portal and will feature a suite of nine java-based games for real and cash play. Customers will be able to register and make deposits directly from their mobile device, and age verification will be in accordance with the U.K. mobile industry's Code of Practice. Launch date is later this month.
Global Cash -- Curacao-based e-commerce solutions provider Global Cash announced that it now offers a complete bank-provided Internet payment system for the online gambling industry. The company's solution enables pre-qualified merchant establishments to offer their players an instant online bank account that can be funded by any Visa or MasterCard regardless of geographic location of the issuing-bank.