Four More in Alderney -- A week after meeting during the 2006 European I-Gaming Conference and Expo in Barcelona, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGRC) announced today that it will grant four new full e-gambling licenses. On the receiving end are WagerWorks 6 Ltd., Asia Pacific Gaming Ltd., World Poker Tour Alderney Ltd. and ElectraWorks Ltd.. The decision to grant the licenses follows shortly after the AGRC agreed to issue them to the Alderney subsidiaries of Sportingbet Plc and William Hill Plc. "The granting of these 6 licenses during the last two months brings the total number of licenses in issue to 25," said Robin Le Prevost, Alderney's head of e-commerce development.
One More in Malta -- 24hPoker.com Casino announced today that it is now licensed in Malta. Retroactive to Oct. 1, 2006, the company is licensed by the Maltese Lottery and Gaming Authority, it said.
In the Black -- Online sports betting, casino and poker company Sportingbet warned today that the U.S. prohibition may encourage the creation of a black market, after announcing a £210 million hit on the sale of its U.S.-facing business. Of the £303.3 million in gross profit Sportingbet generated in the first half of 2006, £196.7 million derived from U.S.-based users, which the company said comprised 56 percent of its customer base. After closing its Paradise Poker (PP) business to Stateside customers, the company was concerned that the PP revenue "…may potentially be at risk if significant numbers of these customers now seek larger, more liquid 'black market' poker rooms," the company said. Beyond the £200 million associated with its exit from the U.S.market, Sportingbet said it would have to pay out £10 million in restructuring-related expenses.
Today's Door Closer -- In the latest news regarding the closure of U.S. Net gambling operations, online poker room HollywoodPoker.com announced today that it will no longer accept U.S.-based players. The company's free-money games were not affected, and are still available to U.S. players; real-money games will continue to be available for non-U.S. players, it said.
Quoteworthy -- "Perhaps Prohibition II is being launched because Prohibition I worked so well at getting rid of gin."
-George Will, in the Oct. 23 issue of Newsweek, regarding the recent passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
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