IN DUE COURSE The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, whose licensee, UltimateBet, was embroiled in a cheating scandal last month, has ordered the online operator to refund all players affected by the security breach.
"The Commission has determined that the accounts under investigation did, in fact, have an unfair advantage and has directed Ultimate Bet to immediately refund players who were adversely affected by the unfair play," the commission said in a prepared statement on June 12.
On May 29, UltimateBet revealed that an individual or individuals who formerly worked for the site were able to cheat players for a period spanning 21 months.
The admission was the second in less than a year from Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, parent company to UltimateBet; another of its properties, AbsolutePoker.com, revealed a similar security breach last fall.
Tokwiro, owned by Joseph T. Norton, the former grand chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, said the perpetrators were employed by UltimateBet prior to its purchase by Tokwiro in October 2006.
In its June 12 statement, the commission, chaired by David Montour, said it is considering "what additional conditions or sanctions will be imposed on Ultimate Bet and will issue its decision in this regard in due course."
RAISING STAKES Guoco Pty Ltd., the investment arm of Hong Leong Group Malaysia, on Friday upped its stake in Rank Group from 13.09 percent to 14.15 percent.
Since its September 2007 profit warning, Rank has attracted a large share of takeover speculation.
In late March, Genting Berhad, the Malaysia-based investment arm of Genting Group, denied rumors that it would make a $959 million offer for the land-based and Internet gambling operator.
A London analyst covering the I-gaming sector told Interactive Gaming News the prospect of a Genting takeover was unlikely.
Meanwhile, the Richardson family, United Kingdom-based private property investors worth an estimated $993.1 million, has also been quietly building a stake in Rank.
For purposes of reference, the Richardson family holds at least 11 percent in Rank, Genting, 11.3 percent, and Guoco, 14.15 percent.
SAY IT OUT LOUD Betsson, the gambling operator, has reported Sweden's National Gambling Board to the Ombudsmen of Justice, after the board threatened to fine Betsson over opening its new betting outlet in Stockholm.
The board, a governmental body charged with enforcing the country's Lottery Act, has argued Betsson's shop, which opened May 30, violates that very act.
It is unclear what action the Ombudsmen of Justice, a group elected by the Parliament to ensure government agencies comply with Sweden's laws, will take.
According to the ombudsmen's Web site, its recommendations are not legally binding.
"As the Ombudsmen's decisions are not legally binding but formally recommendations, they cannot be appealed against," the site reads. "Mostly the Ombudsmen find that there is nothing to criticise about the way a case has been dealt with."
The news came Monday in a prepared statement, in Swedish, from Betsson, which was later translated to English by The Local, a Swedish online daily.
BAIL BID Sportingbet, a United Kingdom online sports betting operator, will next week seek a bail hearing for two of its junior staff detained in Istanbul, Turkey.
According to the Telegraph, the company has hired lawyers with a Turkish firm to determine why the two were arrested last month. The firm was not named.
"We are seeking a hearing next week to get the Turkish equivalent of bail or a charge," Andrew McIver, chief executive of Sportingbet, told the paper. "The whole thing is very frustrating. It's very unfair on the individuals."
Mr. McIver reiterated the company has no imminent plans to discontinue serving Turkish residents, whom it targets with its Turkish-language Web site, Superbahis.com.
Currently, Turkey's online gambling market is slim on commercial operators and protected by prohibitive legislation.
Sportingbet and Sweden's Betsson continue to actively target Turkish residents, while several other operators, including Austria's Bwin Interactive Entertainment, Gibraltar's 888 Holdings and the United Kingdom's Ladbrokes, maintain Turkish-language Web sites targeting Turkish expatriates, exclusively.