The deal calls for Mfuse to deliver a white label mobile gambling solution with one of its clients, among which are major sportsbetting outfits like Sportingbet and Ladbrokes. The online casinos company did not reveal which one would be involved.

Plenty of action at Dragonfish

Elsewhere at EiG, Dragonfish, the independent B2B division of 888.com headed by Gabi Campos revealed that its new Bingo Network is proceeding apace with 60 skins, and that it has released 17 new Quickplay side games for Dragonfish bingo partners, providing more interest and diversity for players.

The package will include 14 slots, 2 scratchgames and a roulette offering. Similar to bingo, players can play for free or small amounts of money.

A company spokesman said that instant games play a major part in the profitability of bingo sites, and Dragonfish provides an extensive range of games from slots, scratch cards and card games through to other popular formats such as High Low, Virtual Sport and Tables Games.

The Dragonfish portfolio of Quickplay games include global branded games such as Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Cluedo, Monopoly, Cleopatra and XFactor and plans are in place to introduce these games to Dragonfish bingo partners, increasing player retention for partners and driving increased lifetime customer value.

Live gambling in Asia

Live gambling over the Internet provider Entertasia revealed a buoyant and growing business at EiG, reporting that it now has 33 licensees and offers 10 different video streamed live games.

The client list includes Bodog , Victor Chandler and soon to be integrated UK top bookie firm Stan James via an arrangement with Chartwell Technology.

4 new bingo variations from Cyberarts

Cyberarts continues to expand its online bingo effort, offering clients 75 and 90 ball variants along with a Swedish 75 ball version. The company plans to launch an 80 ball variation next week.

Joining the list of available games from this provider is baccarat, and the company is currently working on an interesting deal with Italian VLT provider Zest Gaming which will see a slot machine based on the open and scalable Cyberarts platform.

European deal-making is continuing, with the hint of some interesting new developments in France when that market is liberalised.

Mobile the word at Wagerworks

The big push at IGT UK subsidiary Wagerworks appears to be focused on mobile gambling right now, according to sales manager Tony Plaskow.

Mobile games have been provided to major UK firms like Sky and Rank through a collaborative deal with Orbis and its Openbet platform.

Given the diverse Wagerworks games inventory there is good potential for many games to be converted to the mobile medium to meet growing demand.

Plaskow revealed that games available on mobile at present include Elvis, Dracula, Cleopatra, Hi Five and Rainbow Riches, with plans to introduce faves like Cluedo, Monopoly, Roulette, Blackjack and Video Poker.

Cryptologic has treats in store

The impressive Cryptologic stand at EiG featured many of the entertainment themes accessed through brand licencing with major media companies, such as The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and King Kong, all of which have found their way into very popular slots games.

There’s a lot more in the pipeline, with an October launch date planned for the ever-popular comic characters Batman and Wonderwoman, licenced from Warner Bros. DC Comics.

A spokesman said the new games would be some of the biggest yet from this veteran online gambling software developer, featuring 50 paylines and a highly innovative Bonus Bet which can unlock extra bonus bonanzas.

This top company is planning on 3 to 6 new games being released every quarter with 20 to 30 branded and unbranded games in the pipeline in a 40/60 mix of slots and table games.

Come November, the company will be ready to launch a new lobby, offering players more functionality in an innovative and intuitive presentation that will make it easier for players to find specific games in the large Cryptologic inventory, and give them better control.

Versatile platform

Orbis Openbet’s highly versatile and open platform is now being used by a slew of companies, enabling them to integrate a greater range of games for their players.

The company develops its own games and works with Freemantle Media Gaming on popular games like X-Factor, but its open platform enables other companies to share this diversity of offering, including Wagerworks, Cryptologic and Barcrest.

The company’s Chain Reaction style games continue to draw the players, and are being constantly developed. Package 18 has been released on the Orbis new games schedule, so the next offerings will be around October.

On demo at EiG was a superbly presented, colourful 20 ‘line’ cascading game called Cash Drop.

Unique is the byword at Net Entertainment

Rather than renovate the graphics and issue ‘clones’ of its games, Swedish provider Net Entertainment goes the extra mile by making each offering unique in terms of functionality and content, said brand coordinator Oscar Lundqvist.

This focus on quality rather than quantity results in fewer new releases, but originality and good player response. Latest arrival will be a slot with advanced 3D graphics branded Ghost Pirates, and the pipeline will produce an average of three unique games a month going forward.

An interesting multi-player roulette is imminent, and the company’s Quick Spin feature appears to have appealed to players, generating a 20 percent rise in game revenue.

Ongame continues to grow

Online poker network Ongame’s agreement bringing Eurosportbet on board is part of the Bwin subsidiary’s continuing growth and success following the launch of its impressive P5 poker engine in June this year.

This advanced technology has underpinned the network growth and is being continually improved, with new features planned for the fall of 2009 and November which will add value and improve the player experience.

Bwin’s recent acquisition deal with Gioco Digitale will see the Italian dedicated network using the P5 engine.

G2 celebrates its corporate arrival

GTech G2’s grouping of Boss Media, Dynamite Idea, Finsoft and St Minver caught the headlines last month and the company used EiG to showcase both new games offerings and the very smart new corporate identity.

The group added seven new minigames and slot games (Hot Pursuit, Luxor Temple, Rockin´ Fruits, Irish Magic, Hells Bells, Burning Ocean, Spot of Luck) to an already extensive games portfolio.

“Operators are finding that minigames, or side games, provide an excellent additional revenue stream,” said Simon Caddy, founder of Dynamite Idea and now Head of G2’s Games Studio creative think tank. “As part of GTech G2 now, we have more resources to develop new games and more operators have access to them.”

New developments include a major update to the group’s bingo software as well as the launch of the Games Studio and the latest casino software update, which integrates tournaments with the Gaming Management System.

Playtech lands a big one

The Sega deal was the talking point when it came to Playtech at EiG. A major coup for the software company.

Without exception, the online gambling chiefs were bullish about the future potential of the industry, with 888.com CEO Gigi Levy pointing out that a world gambling market of some $350 billion still comprised only 8 percent online gambling, leaving ample room for expansion.

The panel comprised Levy, Unibet’s Petter Nylander, Bwin chief Norbert Teufelberger, Betfair boss David Yu, the MD of Ladbrokes eGaming, Ed Andrewes, Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan and William Hill Online’s Henry Birch, all of whom expressed the wish to enter the world’s markets legally and “through the front door”.

The consensus appeared to be that legal and regulatory developments were the main concerns. Levy commented on the recent ECJ ruling in favour of state monopolies under certain circumstances in the Bwin case.

“Regulation, and in particular the recent ECJ verdict, is the big thing facing us,” said Levy. “It is the one thing that could change the industry altogether on the European side.”

Taking up the subject, Bwin boss Norbert Teufelberger remarked that although at face value the ECJ ruling was not favourable to his company, he remained optimistic about European regulation, and felt that markets would open up in two to three years. “This will benefit local operators too, and will create a very tough time for the pirates,” he said.

Teufelberger went on to defend online gambling on one element of the court’s finding - that e-gaming was possibly dangerous. Describing this as completely wrong, he opined that protecting monopolies can attract pirate operators, giving as an example Holland.

Petter Nylander of Unibet weighed in, saying that experience showed that the customers do not want monopolised state gambling as is evidenced by continually growing demand despite restrictions. “Consumers have created the markets already,” he said. “Now the [various] governments have been left to catch up.”

The situation in America was discussed, and it was clear that if legal obstacles could be overcome this remained the biggest market and was attractive to most companies.

Levy was outspoken in his view that the attempts by US enforcement to stop online gambling were ineffective, with American online gambling continuing to grow - he put numbers to his statement, claiming that online gambling has grown 50 percent in the United States since the UIGEA was passed in 2006. Like other members of the panel, Levi seemed to hold the view that ultimately the US market would be regulated, presenting great opportunities but the danger of a protectionist system in a commercial sense.

Interestingly, Levy revealed that 888.com had had to undergo stringent scrutiny and approval processes before being chosen recently as Harrah’s Interactive’s software partner in Europe.

Jim Ryan of Party Gaming observed that the Harrah’s deal would not be the last in the American context, and in the wake of his company’s exemption from prosecution deal regarding pre-UIGEA activities, he appeared confident that Party Gaming would be back in the USA through one form of deal or another in the future.

William Hill Online’s Henry Birch said the US market was appealing , perhaps through partnership deals, but that he was cautious regarding the possibility of a protectionist and discriminatory approach to licensing.

Betfair has already secured a footprint in the USA through its deal with horseracing group TVG, said David Yu, emphasising that his company had a conservative approach to legal issues. He said that the demand from consumers was clearly there.

Ed Andrewes said that Ladbrokes focus remained on the UK market, but that it would not ignore partnerships that might open up the possibility of US business.

Teufelberger addressed questions on the Asian market, revealing that his company was making a multi-million dollar, three year effort in the region and was trying to persuade governments to regulate online gambling. Ryan appeared to hold a different view, saying that his company was shifting effort and investment to the potential US market.

Levy said that online game spend in the USA was probably of the order of 15 to 20 percent, leaving room for further development. Younger generations now coming into the market had fewer moral reservations about gambling, and had a more positive view of the industry especially in the poker and bingo sectors. “We need to keep building - the potential is there”, he said.

The panel also discussed consolidation and the impact of major media companies entering the industry, which elicited differing opinions. Levy favoured the idea of integrated betting, Ryan felt that a media strategy was critical over the next five years, and Birch and Yu acknowledged the possibilities but felt that online players had a strong affinity for known brands in the business.

The point was made that existing online gambling companies have had to develop strong anti-money laundering and problem and underage gambling systems and were probably stronger in this field that most ecommerce or media companies.

The dynamism, insistence on professionalism and legality and generally positive approach to industry issues was again clearly present among the panel members, providing the audience with stimulating discussion and hope for the future.

“Like the B.C. Government, the IGC recognizes there are online gaming companies that operate out of poorly regulated jurisdictions,” said John Kennedy FitzGerald, CEO of IGC.

“However, IGC members are licensed and strictly regulated in jurisdictions like the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Alderney, which are recognized by the United Kingdom as having the highest regulatory standards in the world. Some of these jurisdictions have been involved with regulating online gaming for nearly a decade.”

In a press statement, the IGC said it looked forward to working with the B.C. government and the BC Lottery Corporation as they develop a regulatory model. The association believes that regulation will provide legal clarity for British Columbians and online gaming companies with B.C. customers; harmonise standards with other leading jurisdictions to enhance consumer protection; and provide additional tax revenue opportunities for governments in challenging economic times.

“IGC members look forward to contributing to a vibrant online gaming community that provides an open environment for legitimate online gaming operators, while generating additional revenues to the B.C. government to fund important programs like health and education,” said a spokesman.

Critics of the lottery’s plans claim that the significant increase is designed to better accommodate forthcoming online gambling on Internet casino-type games.

One columnist - The Colonist - noted this week: “British Columbia does not want to be left out in the cold when it comes to the millions of dollars that are being generated at online casinos. That is why the B.C. Lottery Corp. plans to begin offering online casino games by next March.

“The move is creating much controversy, especially since the PlayNow website, which is operated by by the B.C. Lottery Corp., has announced plans to up the gambling limit. It is clearly a move in preperation of the new casino games.”

B.C. Lottery Corporation CEO, Michael Graydon said: “Rather than [online gambling revenues] all going to offshore places like Antigua, there’s an opportunity to keep it here in British Columbia.”

Media reports indicate that the Liberal BC government introduced online lottery sales in 2007 with a wagering limit of $70 a week to protect BC residents from the risk of addiction and serious financial losses. Since then the limit had been upped to $120 a week, and now to $10 000 a week….all without further research into the implications of such a move.

A B.C. Medical Association report on addictions this year found some 33 000 British Columbians have a severe gambling problem and another 128 000 have moderate problems with gambling. That number more than doubled between 2002 and 2005, as the government rapidly expanded land gambling in the province.

A positive report would provide powerful leverage for the many politicians who see the regulation and licensing of online poker in the state as a strong possibility, placating poker players and providing additional tax revenues.

The bill’s objective is to consider what measures may be required to protect state residents from gambling offered by offshore Internet poker sites, measures to protect the vulnerable and underaged and what impact legalised intrastate poker might have on the state’s existing terrestrial poker venues.

It provides for the results of the study to be ready for consideration by the state Senate as early as December 2009.

There could also be synergy with similar moves to legalise intrastate Internet poker in the state of California. Two closely related lobbying organisations, American Poker Ventures and the Poker Voters of America have been involved in lobbying for change and have drafted the content of Bill HB225 that deals with the study in Florida.

Titled the European Lotteries Monitoring System (ELMS), the new organisation is a co-operation with European football’s governing body UEFA and will officially begin operations in August. Among the tournaments to be monitored by ELMS are the Champions League, the European Cup and all European national team matches.

Jens Nielsen, head of Danske Spil’s sports betting division, said the agency won the contract to head the body because it has been the leading organisation assisting a UEFA-European Lotteries co-operation on fighting corruption since 2005.

Nielsen said the number of referee bribes and instances of players being paid to help their team lose has been increasing since 2000, with match fixing reportedly occurring most often in a tournament’s early rounds.

‘It usually occurs when there are a lot of teams from smaller countries, and in games where teams from Eastern Europe or the Balkans are involved,’ said Nielsen.

A special group within Danske Spil will be assigned solely to monitor signs of corruption, gathering and reviewing reports from European gaming organisations that detail unusual betting patterns.

It is not known whether Danske Spil will inspan the information and assistance which advanced technology betting exchange Betfair could provide.

That left the IPF in a quandary and under pressure, with the tournament due to start next Sunday, and it appealed to the courts for guidance.

However, the Jerusalem Post reports that such a decision has not yet been handed down, although the judge has opined that there are exceptions to the rules.

According to the Penal Law, there is an “exception” article which allows betting, lottery and “forbidden games” to be played on condition that they meet three criteria included in Article 230. These criteria are that:

* the game be restricted to a specific circle of people,

* that it not go beyond amusement or entertainment, and

* that it not be held in venue where forbidden games were played.

IPF lawyers have contested the police’s “prohibited game” classification as well, raising the contentious skill vs. chance argument. The Penal Law defines a “prohibited game” as one in which “a person may win money, valuable consideration or a benefit according to the results of the game, those results depending more on chance than on understanding or ability.”

However, IPF legal representatives pointed out, “….the game is substantially different from gambling games such as bingo, whose results are determined solely by luck. In Texas Hold’em as played by Israel Poker Federation rules, the player who demonstrates expertise, knowledge, understanding, skill, integration, timing and strategic thinking will win.”

The federation denies that poker is primarily a game of luck and filed, along with the petition, an opinion by Prof. Ehud Lehrer, head of the statistics department at Tel Aviv University, who supported that contention.

The tournament does not involve gambling; anyone wishing to participate pays an entrance fee of NIS 1 350. Seventy-five percent of the fee is set aside for prize money, and no other money changes hands during the tournament. The format is a round-robin tournament, with the player winning the most games coming in first and receiving 20 percent of the prize money. The rest is shared by the next 59 players to finish.

It looks as if the IPF will be leaning heavily on the judicial opinion that there is nothing stopping it from holding the tournament as long as it sticks to the conditions outlined in the exceptions, and that it does not need a police permit to do so.

Speaking to the Washington DC publication Politico, Franks said the action by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in which $34 million in processor accounts - payments to an estimated 27 000 US poker players - could be helpful in getting his HR2267 bill passed, legalising and regulating online gambling in the United States.

Politico reports that even online gambling’s chief opponent, the Republican Representative from Alabama, Spencer Bachus, believes Frank is holding much better cards in the current Congress than he had in the last one.

The publication quotes Bachus as saying: “It’s going to be an uphill battle to stop it this time. We caught them off guard last time. This time, they won’t be off guard.”

Frank introduced legislation last month that would create a licensing and regulatory framework that would allow Americans to play poker and place other bets on government-approved websites - a move that has the potential to generate billions of dollars in much-needed revenues for individual states or the federal government.

Politico goes into some detail on the machinations of Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl and the then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - a Tennessee Republican - in getting the ban on Internet gambling financial transactions through Congress back in 2006.

The duo managed this by choosing a late night session on the cusp of a congressional recess, ramming the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act through attached to a totally unrelated but “must pass” port security bill. Before that there was a long history of political manouevring by those for and against online gambling in trying to ban the pastime - or prevent it being banned.

Ever since the UIGEA passed into law, costing overseas online gambling companies billions in lost business and stock declines, the controversial act and its difficult enforcement has been the subject of political action and public debate.

Politico comments that online gambling has been good for Washington lobbyists, with many millions paid to lobbying firms, and to campaign funds, by both sides.

The publication also points to the National Football League, which helped turn key Democrats against Frank’s bill last year to give the chairman a surprise defeat in a vote on his own panel. But now Spencer Bachus and other supporters of the online gambling ban fear the league may be working with Frank on a compromise that would uphold laws against sports betting whilst liberalising other forms of online gambling.

The recent bank seizures by the New York authorities are the latest developments in the long-running online gambling legalisation saga.

“The….seizures, which targeted accounts managed by two companies that process payments for online poker sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker thrust the issue back into the news and renewed old questions about the clarity of the existing law,” reports Politico, revealing that Frank described the move as “a terrible idea” last week.

Nevada Republican Representative Shelley Berkely seems to agree with the Financial Services Committee chairman; her staff is drafting a formal response to the administration, arguing that the seizure “shows the inappropriate excess of government power.”

“People have a right to play poker in their homes,” Shelley contends, “and the federal government doesn’t have a right to enforce against that.”

A spokesman for the Financial Services Committee told Politico that the panel needs to hold a hearing on the chairman’s bill before lawmakers would ever consider formal legislation. And the committee has its hands full this summer rewriting the regulatory infrastructure for the country’s huge financial services industry.

“But Frank likes his odds coming out of the flop,” Politico reports, quoting the politician as saying: “We’ll get it done.”

Since the appearance of the Politico article four more co-sponsors have signed on for Congressman Frank’s legislation. The latest signings include California Representative Michael M. Honda; Representative Ed Perimutter from Colorado; Texas Representative Ciro D. Rodriguez and New Jersey Representative Robert E. Andrews.

Well folks, consider it done. eCOGRA has announced they will now be offering their “Safe and Fair” verification seals to not only bingo rooms, but also to sports betting sites and live betting operations that are more commonly found on the Web these days. A great accomplishment for both eCOGRA and the bingo industry at large, the news is sure to see a number of respectable bingo rooms applying for an eCOGRA certification. In fact, eCOGRA’s CEO, Andrew Beveridge, says there are already a “significant number” of sites under review.

Mind you, it is no easy task for an online gaming site to receive the “Safe and Fair” Seal. Betting sites must meet best practice standards in the areas of gaming fairness, responsibility and customer service. This amounts to constant monitoring and compliance inspections in all operational areas, including financial systems, customer service and software fairness (verified by published monthly payout percentage reports).

Using Chartered Accountants and IT specialists from the world’s leading audit and technology firms to conduct truly independent, third party testing, there is no other non-profit group doing what eCOGRA does for the online gambling sector. In essence, they are helping guide universal regulatory standards for online gambling betting sites. Over the last six years, eCOGRA has lead the way in helping make the internet betting sector a legitimate industry contained by strict regulation. Adding online bingo rooms to the lot, is just another step in the right direction.