GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 11 - January 2010

H arrah’s Interactive Entertainment “soft launched” its long-awaited online casino in December – and it has a familiar faceattached to it. The new casino is named Caesars Casino Online and bears the unique black and goldCaesarsbranding. Caesars is powered byDrag- onfish and offers a variety of games, including roulette, craps, Caribbean Poker, three-card poker, video pok- er, video slots andblackjack. Thecasino isofferinga100% welcome bonus for up to £500. As of now, it is not accepting players from the U.S. or Germany. Players from the United States are redirected toapage that lists Caesars’ land-based gaming properties. It is also offering comp points based on how much players bet. It is not clear if the comp points systemwill be tied into Harrah’s Total Rewards. U-ffiliates is the casino’s af- filiateprogram. —byVinNarayanan B etOnSports founder Gary Kaplan was sentenced to 51 months in prison on federal racketeering charges in No- vember. Kaplan, 50, had pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to violate the RICO statute, conspiring to violate the Wire Wa- ger Act and violating theWireWagerAct. He will also have to forfeit $43.65 million in criminal proceeds, as well as approxi- mately $7 million in relatedproceedings. “Kaplanwasunique in the scope and scale of his illegal operation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael W. Reap. “Despite his immense profits, he is living in federal custody. This case should serve as a warning tootherswhomight choose to defy the laws of the United States on such a grand scale.” Kaplan was arrested in the Dominican Republic in March of 2007. He faced 20 felony charges for allow- ing American residents to wager at BetOnSports. He also ran illegal sports bet- ting operations inNewYork andMiami before settingup BetOnSports inAntigua and CostaRica. Kaplan was indicted in 2006 forhisrolewithBetOnSports. “GaryKaplanwas sentenced to the maximum under the plea agreement which sends a message to those operating illegal offshore gambling enterprises,” said Roland Corvington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis. “In addition to being in prison, hopefully some of themoney forfeited will go to useful purposes such as fighting other In- ternet-related crimes, such as catching child predators who think they canhide on- line.” Former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers was sentenced in Janu- aryof2010 to33months in prison for racketeer- ing conspiracy related to operatingBetOnSports. Carruthers had reached a plea deal in April, but withdrew his guilty plea in September days be- fore he was due to be sentenced. He then pled guilty again under a new agreement inOctober. It is not known why Car- ruthers withdrew his origi- nal guiltyplea. —byDan Igo WEBMASTERNEWS Harrah’s launches long-awaitedonline casino Kaplansentenced to51months inprison QUOTABLES “By moving three of our rooms to a smaller network, we enhance the odds of winning for our loyal players. Plus there are the obvious benefits of partnering with Microgaming, the recognized industry leader.” —Gilbert Puente,HeadofBingoat JackpotCityBingo, on the company’s move to theMicrogamingnetwork “Our investment is further proof that Betfair believes the fantasy sports market is a tremendous opportunity in the U.S and around the world.” —GerardCunningham, President of BetfairU.S., after the companymade amulti-milliondollar investment in Watercooler Inc, a leadingdeveloper of fan communitiesand social games “Kentucky’s proceedings are not enforceable in English law.” —JudgeMichaelFurness inaruling thatSafenames, theBritishdomain registrarusedbyFullTilt,can’t transfer FullTiltPoker’sdomains toKentucky “It’s fair to say that the American approach to Internet gambling, which is legal in much of the rest of the world, is absurd.” —Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist MichaelHiltzik “I think 2010 will be a good year for Paddy Power. When I look at 2010 and beyond I think we will continue to grow our share in all of our markets.” —PaddyPowerCEOPatrick Kennedy “We are seriously concerned about the rise of surrogate technologies. They are the byproduct of imperfect legislation.” —MoscowdeputymayorSergei Baidakovona rise ingambling in Russiadespiteanear total banof the practice Webmaster News