The Greatest Gathered in London

Making gambling news this week is the Gaming Intelligence Hot 50 list of 2012. Here’s all the info you’ll need from prweb.com.

The great and the good of the global online gaming industry turned out in London this week to celebrate the achievements of the Gaming Intelligence Hot 50, the annual list of the most talented, innovative and inspiring individuals working in online gambling.

The Hot 50, as chosen by a panel of experts, includes entrepreneurs and CEOs, regulators, technology wizards, lawyers and marketers from across the globe, reflecting the diverse range of talent that is driving an incredible growth curve.

“We often write about the success of companies and their top executives, but the aim of the annual Hot 50 list is to recognise the achievements of all those who are shaping the future of this vibrant industry” said Bobby Mamudi, Managing Editor of Gaming Intelligence.

Growth in the online gambling industry is bucking the global economic trend with the GIQ20 quarterly ranking of the fastest growing listed companies in online gaming showing an average growth rate of 58.9 per cent during the third quarter of 2011.

The GIQ Hot 50 includes industry legends such as Denise and John Coates of Bet365 and Isai Scheinberg of PokerStars, influential regulators such as the UK Gambling Commission’s Jenny Williams, as well as relatively unknown talents such as Daniel Lindberg, the CEO of online casino supplier QuickSpin, which is yet to launch a product.

Andrew Bulloss, a Hot 50 judge and the head of betting and gaming at international headhunters Odgers Berndtson, commented: “The list of industry heroes, some well-known, some unsung, recognises how the industry has changed and the diversity of talent needed for success. The industry is becoming much deeper, broader and international as it moves into the mainstream.”

According to Global Betting and Gaming Consulting (GBGC), the world-wide gross gaming yield in 2011 is estimated at US$34.4bn. The UK generates nearly 14 per cent of this amount with US$2.5bn and UK citizens accounted for 40 per cent of the Hot 50. The next most represented nations are Sweden, Israel and Canada, representing the innovation centres that have shaped the industry thus far.

As a player, who is your top in the industry?

What in the World is ICE?

I was playing at the WMS online casino, Jackpot Party, this week and I saw some chat going on about ICE. The player was asking the chat host about their booth and I had to wonder what that was all about. Jackpot Party is licensed in the UK and accepts only UK players at this time. The iGaming conference is taking place in London this month and WMS will have a booth there displaying their latest games. I wish they would launch another site. Now, that would be gambling news to me! Anyway, here’s the scoop on ICE directly from their website.

Everyone's talking about ICE…

Original thinking meets inspirational products underpinned by passion for delivering profitable gaming solutions. That's the compelling mix at ICE Totally Gaming.

ICE is all about:

Meeting world-leading innovators from every sector of the gaming industry

Getting a world view that no other event can deliver

Discovering new ways to drive your business forward

So, if you want to be part of the gaming event everyone's talking about, be sure to make the trip to London in January for ICE 2012!

The conference will be taking place in Earls Court. You’ve got vendors from every aspect of gaming including payment processors, software developers and casino operators. Apparently, online gaming folks come here to get deals and offer amazing exclusive offers to us, the players. They meet and wheel and deal to give us the best experience possible.

From what I understand, these conferences are open to those in the industry. No one can just walk in and explore. I think it would be amazing to allow players to enter and provide feedback. I have to wonder if there would be some fists flying.

What are your favorite online casinos? As a player, would you love the opportunity to meet the people that rule the world of online gambling?

Thoughts on Interstate Gambling

Legalization of online gambling has taken twists and turns and makes headlines on gambling news. An article was published called “Top-10 ways the industry could screw up online gaming in the U.S.” on CasinoCityTimes.com. Here’s one portion to ponder.

10. A federal or bust strategy

There are all sorts of logical reasons to want the federal government to regulate online gaming. At it's heart, online gaming is and should be interstate e-commerce. And as a result, it makes sense to create a national framework for online gaming. But there are significant obstacles facing federal legislation -- and the creation of good online gaming policy at the federal level (more on that later). And as a result, going federal or bust doesn't make sense.

In the House of Representatives, the Barton bill (named after chief sponsor, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.)) faces an uncertain future. The bill, which would legalize online poker and criminalize other forms of online gambling, including lotteries, hasn't reached the mark-up stage. If the bill gets through the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, and if the bill gets through the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it still faces a full floor vote. Barton has not been promised a floor vote by House Speaker John Boehner. And even though Barton told the Digital Gaming and Lottery Policy Summit he believes he has the votes in the House, it's hard to envision a scenario where Boehner will make his caucus take a pro-gambling vote in an election year. So a bill out of the House is unlikely.

In the Senate, the DOJ reversal on the Wire Act has given Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid more leverage. The Nevada Democrat can convince Republicans, including Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) architect Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), that in order to ensure most forms of online gambling are prohibited, they should legalize online poker and ban everything else. The problem in the Senate is senators who receive money from politically connected Indian tribes will not back Reid's approach, which confers a significant advantage to the Vegas casino companies Reid represents. In fact, it is in the best interest of many Native American casino operators to scuttle federal legislation -- especially with local casinos in position to enjoy the fruits of the DOJ Wire Act reversal.

Combine that with the fact that the best way for Reid to pass online gaming legislation is attaching a bill to must-pass legislation -- which is tricky enough in the best of circumstances, let alone an election year -- and the outlook for a federal bill is murky at best.

So if the outlook is murky at best, why insist on a federal or bust strategy when there are opportunities at the state level? I'm not sure. I would take what I could get, and use it as leverage to force Congress to act.

I absolutely agree with what was said in this article. Why go all the way when there is an opportunity for a beginning. This mess has to start somewhere and taking what you can get is certainly a smart strategy. Would you agree?

Online Gambling in the USA: A Business Opportunity

The hope that the USA will soon be free to gamble their hearts out in online casinos has taken center stage in recent gambling news. I found an interesting article that discusses the American Indian tribes in America and the possibility of those involved in the gambling industry to expand into the online market.

A government ruling that will allow states to legalize some online gambling could prod lawmakers to pass federal Internet poker legislation. This is a prospect that is dividing Indian tribes dependent on the gambling industry for their livelihoods.

Some tribes see legalization as a business opportunity to expand their operations into the online world. It’s dividing tribes because there are those that don’t have the means to make an investment into the internet gambling market. There is fear that they won’t be able to compete with some of grand sites to hit the net and brick and mortar locations may be swallowed up in the process.

Tribal leaders and American Indian casinos agree that federal online poker legislation as written, which would make online gaming legal across the country except in opt out states, would put too much pressure on the tribes.

“Now they are concerned that this ruling is going to be the impetus for the federal legislation,” said Penny Coleman, a lawyer representing the tribal nations. “They’re worried there’s going to be this big push now.”

The Justice Department, in a massively important ruling on December 24th, gave states the go ahead to start cashing in on intrastate online gambling systems that exclude sports betting.

States are already lining up and so are American Indian tribes.

There’s so much more to this issue. It seems that every aspect of online gambling in the states has caused upset somewhere. Is it all worth it?