Rep. Shelley Berkley...give them hell girl:
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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9070-2385509,00.html
Industry asks: where do we go from here?
By Dominic Walsh
THE legislative attack on America?s $6 billion (?3.2 billion) internet gambling industry is likely to cast a pall over next Monday?s eGaming Review annual awards dinner at the Natural History Museum in London, which 650 of the great and the good (and the wealthy) of the industry are booked to attend.
Scott Longley, the magazine?s editor, said that the event had not so far suffered any withdrawals and he was optimistic that the tone would be upbeat. ?It?s not an industry that tends to mope. I?m sure they?ll be enjoying a few drinks.?
But the mood among operators yesterday was anything but upbeat, as company after company involved in the sector ? be it as operator, technology supplier or payment processor ? put out Stock Exchange statements, many of them referring to the ?material adverse impact? of the new law.
While some operators insisted that they wanted to analyse the implications further before taking any action, the decision by PartyGaming and 888 Holdings to close down their US-facing operations as soon as President Bush signs off the new legislation in the next few days is one that is likely to be followed by the rest of the pack.
Where does the industry go from here? Although most operators still believe that, one day, the US authorities will see sense and allow a properly regulated internet gambling industry, the short-term impact is devastating.
For some of the smaller operators, such as World Gaming and Empire Online, the situation looks pretty bleak. World Gaming was in the process of being taken over by Sportingbet. With the vast majority of its revenues coming from the US, that deal is now off and its future looks precarious.
Sportingbet itself faces a difficult future, with 62 per cent of its gross win last year coming from America, against 26 per cent from European punters and 12 per cent from elsewhere. As well as being the biggest sports betting operator in America, it has significant casino and poker revenues.
In a recent interview, Andy McIver, Sportingbet?s chief executive-designate, said he continued to believe the US was the only market worth putting serious investment into: ?It?s the US ? or what?s the point?? PartyGaming and 888 Holdings were keen to emphasise yesterday that a growing proportion of their business now comes from outside the US.
Mitch Garber, chief executive of PartyGaming, which operates PartyPoker, said: ?We have a substantial gaming business outside the US, one that is highly profitable and growing rapidly.?
Gigi Levy, who will shortly take over as chief executive of 888, said yesterday he was ?confident we will be able to build the business back up to where it is today? by continuing to develop its non-US business.
But while countries such as Britain are seeking to establish a properly regulated framework for internet gambling that protects the young and the vulnerable, America is not alone in its protectionist approach to external operators.
The recent arrest in France of the joint chief executives of Bwin, the quoted Austrian internet gambling company, and the same company?s difficulties in Germany show that expansion in Europe is far from being the cure to American problems.
As the industry?s leading executives sip their champagne among the woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers at the Natural History Museum next week, they will be praying that the internet gambling industry does not become another species that failed to adapt to more precarious times.
How they fell
Today?s falls in share prices
World Gaming
(online gaming) -76%
Excapsa
(gambling software) -70%
Leisure & Gaming
(online gaming) -75%
FireOne Group
(payment processing) -67%
Neteller
(payment processing) -60%
Playtech
(gambling software) -41%
Fairground
(investment company) -48%
Datacash
(payment processing) -37%
Industry asks: where do we go from here?
By Dominic Walsh
THE legislative attack on America?s $6 billion (?3.2 billion) internet gambling industry is likely to cast a pall over next Monday?s eGaming Review annual awards dinner at the Natural History Museum in London, which 650 of the great and the good (and the wealthy) of the industry are booked to attend.
Scott Longley, the magazine?s editor, said that the event had not so far suffered any withdrawals and he was optimistic that the tone would be upbeat. ?It?s not an industry that tends to mope. I?m sure they?ll be enjoying a few drinks.?
But the mood among operators yesterday was anything but upbeat, as company after company involved in the sector ? be it as operator, technology supplier or payment processor ? put out Stock Exchange statements, many of them referring to the ?material adverse impact? of the new law.
While some operators insisted that they wanted to analyse the implications further before taking any action, the decision by PartyGaming and 888 Holdings to close down their US-facing operations as soon as President Bush signs off the new legislation in the next few days is one that is likely to be followed by the rest of the pack.
Where does the industry go from here? Although most operators still believe that, one day, the US authorities will see sense and allow a properly regulated internet gambling industry, the short-term impact is devastating.
For some of the smaller operators, such as World Gaming and Empire Online, the situation looks pretty bleak. World Gaming was in the process of being taken over by Sportingbet. With the vast majority of its revenues coming from the US, that deal is now off and its future looks precarious.
Sportingbet itself faces a difficult future, with 62 per cent of its gross win last year coming from America, against 26 per cent from European punters and 12 per cent from elsewhere. As well as being the biggest sports betting operator in America, it has significant casino and poker revenues.
In a recent interview, Andy McIver, Sportingbet?s chief executive-designate, said he continued to believe the US was the only market worth putting serious investment into: ?It?s the US ? or what?s the point?? PartyGaming and 888 Holdings were keen to emphasise yesterday that a growing proportion of their business now comes from outside the US.
Mitch Garber, chief executive of PartyGaming, which operates PartyPoker, said: ?We have a substantial gaming business outside the US, one that is highly profitable and growing rapidly.?
Gigi Levy, who will shortly take over as chief executive of 888, said yesterday he was ?confident we will be able to build the business back up to where it is today? by continuing to develop its non-US business.
But while countries such as Britain are seeking to establish a properly regulated framework for internet gambling that protects the young and the vulnerable, America is not alone in its protectionist approach to external operators.
The recent arrest in France of the joint chief executives of Bwin, the quoted Austrian internet gambling company, and the same company?s difficulties in Germany show that expansion in Europe is far from being the cure to American problems.
As the industry?s leading executives sip their champagne among the woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers at the Natural History Museum next week, they will be praying that the internet gambling industry does not become another species that failed to adapt to more precarious times.
How they fell
Today?s falls in share prices
World Gaming
(online gaming) -76%
Excapsa
(gambling software) -70%
Leisure & Gaming
(online gaming) -75%
FireOne Group
(payment processing) -67%
Neteller
(payment processing) -60%
Playtech
(gambling software) -41%
Fairground
(investment company) -48%
Datacash
(payment processing) -37%
Full Tilts Answer from Howard Lederer
Full Tilts Answer from Howard Lederer
Hi Guys & Gals ?
It?s been an eventful weekend and I know many of you are being bombarded with questions from friends, family and players on the site regarding the recently passed Internet gaming legislation.
Let me start by saying that Ray and I remain dedicated to making Full Tilt Poker the number one online poker site in the world and have the utmost confidence that, when all is said and done, we will weather this latest political storm without any adverse impact on the business. That said, there remain some issues around this legislation that we don?t yet fully understand, and we cannot officially comment on how the bill might ultimately impact our players? ability to get money on and off the site.
What we do know is that, in the short term, there will be no change in the day-to-day experience for our players. The new legislation does not criminalize playing online poker, but rather, is designed to eventually prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming sites. What?s more, on a day-to-day basis, all monies on the site, including your funds and those of all our customers, remain completely safe and secure. You can rest assured that you and all of our other players can continue to get money on and off the site using all of our current payment processors without any difficulties. What?s more, we do not expect to see any immediate changes to how our site operates as the banking industry has up to 270 days to implement new rules after the bill is signed into law.
It is also important to know that, unlike some of our competitors, Full Tilt Poker will continue to operate within the United States. We are a private company and are not under pressure from the stock exchange regulators or investment banks. If and when these new regulations are written by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Treasury, we will reassess our position. We say ?if? because there are many banking regulators who have been quoted as saying that these new regulations could take years to implement and may be impossible to enforce.
While there remain many questions to be answered, know that we will continue all of our lobbying efforts in Washington to try and ensure that online poker is not adversely affected by any changes that eventually go into place. Of course, we encourage you ? and encourage you to encourage others ? to support these efforts by lobbying congress and joining organizations like the Poker Player?s Alliance (www.pokerplayersalliance.org).
We hope this helps to allay any concerns you may have and provides you with some useful information you can share with our players on the site. If you have any other questions regarding this matter, please don?t hesitate to ask.
Howard
Full Tilts Answer from Howard Lederer
Hi Guys & Gals ?
It?s been an eventful weekend and I know many of you are being bombarded with questions from friends, family and players on the site regarding the recently passed Internet gaming legislation.
Let me start by saying that Ray and I remain dedicated to making Full Tilt Poker the number one online poker site in the world and have the utmost confidence that, when all is said and done, we will weather this latest political storm without any adverse impact on the business. That said, there remain some issues around this legislation that we don?t yet fully understand, and we cannot officially comment on how the bill might ultimately impact our players? ability to get money on and off the site.
What we do know is that, in the short term, there will be no change in the day-to-day experience for our players. The new legislation does not criminalize playing online poker, but rather, is designed to eventually prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming sites. What?s more, on a day-to-day basis, all monies on the site, including your funds and those of all our customers, remain completely safe and secure. You can rest assured that you and all of our other players can continue to get money on and off the site using all of our current payment processors without any difficulties. What?s more, we do not expect to see any immediate changes to how our site operates as the banking industry has up to 270 days to implement new rules after the bill is signed into law.
It is also important to know that, unlike some of our competitors, Full Tilt Poker will continue to operate within the United States. We are a private company and are not under pressure from the stock exchange regulators or investment banks. If and when these new regulations are written by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Treasury, we will reassess our position. We say ?if? because there are many banking regulators who have been quoted as saying that these new regulations could take years to implement and may be impossible to enforce.
While there remain many questions to be answered, know that we will continue all of our lobbying efforts in Washington to try and ensure that online poker is not adversely affected by any changes that eventually go into place. Of course, we encourage you ? and encourage you to encourage others ? to support these efforts by lobbying congress and joining organizations like the Poker Player?s Alliance (www.pokerplayersalliance.org).
We hope this helps to allay any concerns you may have and provides you with some useful information you can share with our players on the site. If you have any other questions regarding this matter, please don?t hesitate to ask.
Howard
LOOKING FOR LOOPHOLES. But U.S. casinos hoping for a slice of the $12 billion online market aren't so sure the party is over. They see a reason to celebrate in the language that ended up on the Senate's cutting-room floor. Unlike the version that passed the House earlier this year, the approved legislation does not explicitly outlaw betting on online casino-style games, such as poker and blackjack. The bill does bar financial institutions from accepting "illegal" bets, leaving the question unanswered as to whether some forms of online gambling are permitted. To date, sports betting is one of the only forms of gambling explicitly outlawed in the act.
Full story link
http://www.businessweek.com/technol...ogy_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories
Full story link
http://www.businessweek.com/technol...ogy_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories
