Greece e-Games Ban -- Greece's Finance Deputy Minister Adam Regouzas stated Monday that his ministry is considering legalizing electronic games in 2005. The statement comes from an article in daily newspaper Eleftherotypia, in which Regouzas discusses ways that the government might raise revenue. In an effort to prohibit online gambling, Greece has since July 2002 instituted a ban on all electronic games, including adventure and puzzle games that don't involve betting. The law has drawn much criticism at both the national and European level, and in October the European Court of Justice submitted a case against the Greek law, calling it disproportionate because it applies to games that don't threaten consumers or the public.
Welcome Aboard -- Antigua-based turnkey online gambling solutions provider English Harbour New Ventures Group (EHNV) has appointed Simon Noble as executive vice president of business development. Noble, who was until recently CEO and executive director of World Wide Tele-Sports, will use his experience to accelerate EHNV's strategic partnership initiatives, secure alliances for online poker and increase the company's penetration into new markets. Before joining WWTS, Noble co-founded and served as CEO of Intertops.com.
Betfair Bonuses -- Betfair has introduced a new bonus scheme, "Refer and Earn," that rewards customers who have bet more than £100 with £20 each time they refer a new customer who also bets over £100. Additional quarterly bonuses are given to customers under the new bonus plan. . . Betfair has also decided to make its archive of data for each previous month available to customers free of charge. A company spokesperson said the company has received numerous requests from punters who want to use the data to monitor and analyze betting patterns and to form strategies.
Publicity Please -- Online poker site PokerRoom.com says it has sent letters to National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow, inviting them to settle their labor dispute over a game of Texas Hold'em. The ploy is among a handful of offers made by online gambling businesses in the North American sports world. Most notable among these propositions are efforts by CasinoFortune.com to purchase major league sports franchises and EmpirePoker.com's bid to donate money for a baseball stadium in the Washington, D.C. area in exchange for the stadium's naming rights.
Netbots and Netherders -- An article in The Independent last week examined the seriousness of cyber-crime, estimating that about 11 million computers around the world are infected by bots--hidden programs loaded on computers without the user's consent that can be remotely controlled by a netherder. A netherder can use a network of up to 30,000 bot-infected computers to perform a number of Internet crimes, including spamming, DDoS attacks, and phishing scams. Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Deats of Britain's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) says that 25 percent of his organization's work now involves bot-related crimes.
Player's Union -- A new player advocacy group, Online Player's Union was established this month. The group says its mission is to protect
online casino players' rights to fair and efficient treatment from online casino operators. Headed by President Damian Dunlap and Union Boss Mark Altland, the organization has compiled a list of casinos from which players can expect fair games and treatment. Membership is free, and the union promises members who experience conflict with union-certified casinos insurance of up to $500. The group also says it wields the power to mount a massive strike against a casino that denies fair treatment to any union members.