Discovery in Israel -- According to a study by the Israeli branch of the University of Derby, it is possible to make unsupervised international money transfers from Israel for illegal online gambling through financial institutions like the Post Office Bank and other private entities. The study, conducted after the Israeli police and Ministry of Justice announced plans to block Israelis from illegal online gambling, also found that while the police plan to take action against Israeli credit card companies that clear online gambling transactions, a large part of the money is handled through financial corporations over which Israel has no jurisdiction. Small-scale cash transactions made through the Post Office Bank are difficult to monitor because the institution transfers such funds overseas without verifying their legality. The study also discovered a third, totally unsupervised group that operates in Israel: private individuals who use money-changers to transfer money to the accounts of online gambling sites.
Victory Chandler -- The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority has chosen not to uphold a complaint from the Methodist Church regarding an advertisement from betting group Victor Chandler that the Church found to be irresponsible and inappropriate. The complaint involved a poster ad campaign that, in the Church's view, linked drinking to gambling. The posters, which appeared in the London Underground and across London buses, featured comedian Rowland Rivron using a laptop computer to play online casino games in ordinary locations: one in a bar while holding a drink and the other in a barber shop. Victor Chandler said its intention was to show that Internet gambling was not confined to personal computers. Other poster settings included a bus, a bed and a boating lake. The company said there was nothing in the ads that showed or encouraged intoxication or unwise gambling and argued that it was not irresponsible to show someone with an alcoholic drink because people were allowed to drink in such places as casinos, race courses, pubs and clubs.
Portable Security -- British online gambling company Redbet has signed a deal with online security provider VASCO Data Security through which the former will offer its customers a secure online gambling environment by implementing the latter's Digipass 260 product--a portable, pin-protected device offering one-time password and e-signature functions. Redbet will test the application in Sweden because the country has the world's highest Internet penetration rate. Further, Stockholm is a European online betting hub with operators, technology vendors and service providers clustered around the city.
Quoteworthy -- "If Stanley could have made it work, they wouldn't have sold. This shows the online casino brands are so much more powerful than the bricks-and-mortar casino brands."
- Bridgewell Securities analyst Charles Wilson, as quoted by Reuters, in reference to the sale of Stanley Leisure's online casino unit to Leisure & Gaming Plc.
InDepth: Poker -- The second installment of River City Group's "I-Gaming InDepth" series of conferences will focus on Internet poker. Scheduled for Dec. 8-9 in the Bahamas, the event will feature a lineup of top-notch speakers from companies such as PartyGaming, Sportingbet, Bicycle Casino and others. The program will cover a wide range of poker-related content, with lectures and panel discussions focusing on legal/regulatory issues, technology, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, and numerous additional topics. Challenges to the industry, such as underage gambling and fraud, will be discussed as well.
A Pixel's Worth a 1,000 Words -- MillionPixelPoker, the latest evolution of pixel advertising phenomenon, went live today. Pixel advertising, started by university student Alex Tew, is a system of advertising in which customers can buy pixel space on a Web site in which to place advertising logos linked to their own Web sites. MillionPixelPoker's owner said that his site is geared toward poker advertisers and poker clients, but is open to other advertising as well. The site is also offering a prize of $100,000 to the largest advertiser when they hit the 50 percent occupancy mark.