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While PartyPoker hired the young Spaniard F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari as an ambassador for its poker room, Full Tilt Poker went further by signing a sponsorship deal with Virgin Racing Team, on the eve of a new Formula 1 season in Europe.

The news was made public at the Barcelona Grand Prix and it finalized discussions initiated last November between Full Tilt Poker and Virgin Racing, an all-new racing team registered for its first Formula 1 world championship.

Full Tilt logo will visibly appear on two drivers’ cars – German Timo Glock and Brazilian Lucas di Grassi. The replacing pilots and other team members will also brand the logo.

“We are really delighted to welcome Full Tilt Poker.net to Virgin Racing. We are proud to add an industry-leading brand to our healthy partnership portfolio and I am particularly pleased that we have worked hard together with a partner who has seen the team develop from its birth through to our first competitive steps”, said Virgin Racing’s Chief Executive Officer Graeme Lowdon.

Chris Ferguson, one of the leading figures of Full Tilt Poker, confirmed these statements: “The partnership between Full Tilt and Virgin Racing is the brilliant result of many efforts of mindful consideration by both brands. With two leaders in their respective fields coming together, this is sure to be a groundbreaking partnership on the global canvas, providing yet another level of excitement for all fans.”

Taking into account this agreement, it is now clear that in the online poker rooms’ war, Full Tilt will benefit from a beautiful cover, for the event is worldwide broadcast and many European countries are about to officially open theirs online gaming markets.

The online gaming industry has enriched itself with two new services that will make the gambling experience  safer and more secure.

Let’s first talk about the “Safe Gaming System” (SGS). This is a new service designed to protect players against excessive gaming. It is based on the principle of external control corroborated with player’s will power. In fact, SGS is conceived on a dual approach. It assists players on gaming sites, establishing affordable spending limits. These are established in advance and “away from the atmosphere of a gambling venue”, which will allow players to think rationally.

In the second stage, SGS also provides a mechanism for financing accounts at online casinos. Players charge their SGS account in the limit of their budget and on a pre-established period. Then, they will deposit money at online casinos using a debit card issued by SGS. Once players run out their “affordable limits,” SGS will not accept any more money from them during the “current budget period”.

The other service was created by ImpulsePay and its role is to verify the player’s age. That’s how it works: once an online casino uses this service, it displays a “Buy Now” button on its website. The player has to click on the image and enter his mobile number. He then receives a secure PIN by SMS and after introducing the code on the site, the casino is informed if the phone number is assigned to an adult user. If it results that the player is minor, he will be redirected to a help page. Otherwise, the process is completed and the casino allows player to register.

Both services have just been advertised and are not yet integrated into the online casino industry.

UK gaming companies have been hardly hit by the economic downturn. Some big names of the online industry have even chosen to move out from UK and establish operation servers in other jurisdictions, with more lenient taxation systems.

In order to counter the slowdown in British industry, the national operators are turning to the closest markets likely to be soon regulated. Party Gaming, William Hill or 888 Holdings could take a breath of fresh air  if they extend their operations in France.

A bill on French market opening will be examined by the nationalParliament on 7 and 8 October. After the law enter into force, local and foreign operators wishing to run poker or sports betting sites will be able to apply for a license to the competent authority.

Jim Ryan, the CEO of PartyGaming manifested big interest for this “great opportunity”. According to the consultancy company H2 Gambling Capital, sales in online gambling will be more than doubled in 2010, the growth being guaranteed by the legal framework. “France is the single largest market on the horizon,” nods Simon Holliday, Head of H2.

France decided to open its market after the authorities had realized that the prohibitory legislation encouraged the illegal offers. This was also a positive response to the pressures made by the European Commission. The EC has several times cautioned UE member states to reform gambling legislation and open their markets. In numerous European countries, the prohibitive legislation is a bar to the free movement of services, a principle set forth in EU Treaties.

British Columbia Lottery Corporation announced on 20th August 2009 it would launch online gaming sites in order to generate an income of not less than $ 100 million per year.

The  games offered by the Canadian company, such as blackjack, roulette and poker would be available on its website PlayNow from March 2010. If the project is fulfilled, there would be a first on the North-American continent, where online casinos have been banished so far.

“This is not really an innovative project, but if it was officially legalized by a north-american government, it would be indeed a great innovation”, said Bill Thompson, Professor of public law at the University of Nevada.

The Lottery hopes to get its part of the $ 87 million amount spent by residents of British Columbia on offshore sites. Michael Graydon, the Lottery Corporation CEO, stated: “Rather than let all that money slip away in some tax-paradises like Antigua, we seek to benefit from the opportunity that is giving to us to bring this money back in the country”.

Unfortunately for the company, this comes after a controversial statement made on 17th August, by which it was announced that the weekly limit on PlayNow deposits could be established between $ 120 and $10 000.

Some politicians ans especially those from Social Democratic Party, didn’t hesitate to strongly criticize the decision, which “was made without taking into consideration people with addiction problems”. But the Lottery responded to these attacks, stating that a security system would be put in place to prevent customers from depositing money in their accounts before 24 hours from another deposit.

If the proposal is approved, this could be a gateway for the introduction of online casinos in the United States.

On June 9th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an important announcement: the Government was “hoping” to work with China’s neighbors for more effective border controls and notably for putting a limit on the gambling development along its borders.

According to recent reports, several citizens of the northern province of Shanxi have been kidnapped and held in wait for a ransom, after being lured to casinos located in Myanmar (ex Burma) and the Yunnan Province.

“The Chinse Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked our embassy in Myanmar to verify this information, and requested the Government of Myanmar to investigate the matter and to take measures to ensure freedom and security of Chinese citizens”, spokesman Qin Gand said.

In China, casinos and games like poker, blackjack, slot machines or bingo, are prohibited. Nevertheless, the Chinese Government is forced to accept the extraordinary growth of gambling industry in the independent Province of Macau. In this part of Asia, Macau is the gaming capital, a paradise for both players and investors.

The online casino field doesn’t submit to a better regime. Online casinos are also prohibited in China; moreover, as from July 1st, all personal computers sold in China will be endowed with software blocking web surfers’ access to gambling sites and other sites designated by the authorities.

Strengthened after the merger with Playetch, the British company William Hill continues its advance in Europe, by launching a French version of its site, modernised and with some new improvements. The story of the English bookmaker goes back to the interwar period, when William Hill created a society for sports betting. This society recently became the first betting company in UK, ahead of its number one competitor Ladbrokes.

Meanwhile, it has developed by offering on its website casino games in addition to sports betting. Its reputation increased when the company proposed William Hill Poker Grand Prix, a show broadcast since 2006 on the British channel SkySports.

William Hill and Playetch merged on January 2009, on the basis of a contract for a period of 5 years. This allows Playetch to own 29% stake in the new entity created by the project “William Hill On-line”. This transaction, having amounted $250 million, is a boon for William Hill, because since then profits are steadily increasing.

In view of the forthcoming opening of the French market, the site has benefited from a makeover and has been integrally translated into French. Thus, the site has undergone some revisions of graphics and ergonomics.

Many tournaments will be available each day for all the members of IPOKER network. Sit’n Go’s, freerolls and many other tournaments will be offered on a regular basis.

The global financial crisis and the economic downturn keep on striking hard even the French game industry. In addition to American groups like Harrah’s Entertainment, which have been heavily affected by the decline in sales of gaming rooms, a prestigious group from Europe also announces loss of income. The group in question is Barrière, whose officials reported publicly a fall of their profit. After a fall of 15% of their activity in 2008, since the beginning of this year until now, the first French group, in terms of gross gaming revenue, evoke a decline of 12% of its turnover. The information was provided by Dominique Desseigne, the chief of the Supervisory Board. The total turnover of 1.2 billion euros achieved in 2008 risks not to be reached this year. As for the Partouche Group, the main challenger of Barrière and one of the leaders of the industry, this announced its first loss of 8.5 million in 2008.

However, besides gambling, Barrière has a fairly diversified business. Apart from its 35 casinos in France, the group is also the owner of sixteen luxury hotels and more than one hundred restaurants. Thus, to cope with the crisis, the company announced that no recruitment of staff would be made to replace the previous departures. In casinos, apart from the fall in income of games such as poker, the slot machines have also turned down. The opening of the gambling market in France, from 1st January 2010, as announced in the draft, provides more optimism for online casino operators.

Terrestrial casinos should connect to the services that the expert groups in this matter have to offer, ensuring the success in the matter. This strategy is the best for the two protagonists. The land casinos will benefit from the expertise and knowledge network of the casinos already in place. On the other hand, the online casinos will not have to worry about making the necessary in order to obtain a licence, since the french land casinos are well known as the white wolf by the authorities. This shocking partnership and the legalization of french market should encounter an explosion of connections in 2009. The french should rush to the casinos proposed by the mastodons of terrestrial casinos where the online sites should be a pure wonder.
This strategic alliance between the french terrestrial casinos and the marketing societies performing on the Internet is the sine qua condition for a quick success in the middle of the online game.
The land casinos are not the only performers interested in the online casino affairs. For example, major names as Vivendi, Orange, SFR and TF1 also have a eye on the virtual world. In addition, Stephane Courbit, a former pillar of Endemol, bought the online betting company Betclic. This company of online betting does not focus only on sports betting, but also on the online casino and virtual poker rooms.
The world of online games will take a 180 degrees turn in the coming months and the stakes are valued at several billion euros. The actors who wish to embark on this adventure have already taken their lead to the image of the important groups. The competition will be fierce and those who are the best could catch a train to a virtual world that is evolving with a high speed, not waiting for anybody.
Meet you at the and of 2009 to make a tour of horizon of the online games market which is rich in events and twists. case to follow.

The french casinos have anticipated this decision. For some several years already. The group Partouche was one of the main enthusiasts to open this market of online gaming, and Patrick Partouche did not hesitate in surveying the television stages in order to offer his vision of online gaming. As the government gave positive signs for legalisation of online games sites, other players announced their intention to embark on this adventure. This was the case in the first group of terrestrial casinos, the Barrier Group, which has clearly announced to be ready on the opening day of the market. the powerful group has begun to create an online version of fun casino for the french public, until its legalisation. thus, players can enjoy in french fake money and discover the multitude of casino games offered to them. The fun mode will offer the gamers the opportunity to see the platform, the games , various functions and will be available in real money once the green light is given by their makers.
Other groups are also on the “starting blocks”, and are willing to take part of the estimated several billion euros profits each year. All groups of land casinos have their eyes riveted to the online gaming industry, according to experts, the future of casinos. it could be that fans of the land casinos are turning increasingly towards the online platforms, although nothing can replace the ambiance of a real casino.
These land casinos have an advantage over certain groups of online casinos that have sprung on the Internet: connections with the state. Regular reports are sent to the top of the pyramid and everything is controlled. The gaming licence will be granted automatically to these groups since the french state knows who is behind these groups of confidence.
The weak point of these new casinos in the Internet domain is their lack of knowledge of the terrain. Indeed, for decades, online casinos are present on the canvas and gathers all necessary to break into this competitive environment. Large casinos groups have experienced the essentials, over the years, which enabled their casinos to survive in the landscape of the game row. Groups like Euro Partners (left to be having condemnable practices towards its partners), Wagershare, Intercasino or Party Gaming have the essential experience, over the years, which enabled their casinos to survive in the landscape of online gaming. It is noteworthy that some groups of online casinos do not have their own marketing department and outsource this task. There are certain companies specializing in marketing online affiliation and they know the workings of this industry that tends to explode. The network of affiliated and e-mailing specialized agencies is very important and possesses a know-how acquired only with time. These agencies have acquired such knowledge that the land casinos willing to launch themselves in online gaming have no choice but to merge with such an agency which knows exactly the virtual world.

The year 2009 announces to be crucial in the world of French casinos. The online casinos should be legal in 2009 in France,which is not really the case nowadays. Faced with a legal system somewhat ambiguous concerning the online games, the government wished to clarify the situation in a suitable manner. Some
business like 888 and Bwin had made a lot of noise, especially when the decision of examination was obliged by Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner (leaders of the mentioned business), in September 2006.
At the end of 2006 was launched the debate on the online games, and all media took this case to question the legality of online gaming. The European Union did not want to talk about this disturbing subject. Two clans opposed their points of view: on one hand the ones in favor of the online games such as Great Britain and Malta, jewels of online casino hosting companies, and on the other hand, the ones opposing the internet games where France was the door flag. At least initially. The online games sites took advantage of this windfall to explain the “double standards” of the French government against the online games.Française des Jeux (FDJ) and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) possess the monopoly in France since chandeliers. In order to protect the millions of Euro of revenues that come into the state treasury each year, the french government tried to explain the inexplicable. How to ban sports online betting sites and consider them as being illegal, while the FDJ and PMU made their promotion, right before the eyes of all their games available online? The players of the online casino world, sports betting and poker gave their best in putting pressure on Brussels in referring to one of the fundamental points o fthe European Union: the free movement of services. France is therefore located at the basis of the wall.
The companies lobby worked upstream to pressure the policy makers and to prove the reliability of the major players in the online games industry, who are willing to pay taxes for any operating game license.
Paris played the card and has often been called at the order of Brussels, particularly by the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Charlie McCreevy , a horse races enthusiast.Things were quickly precipitated in June 2008, when the Sarkozy government has decided and announced the market opening for the foreign operators. It was announced by the Budget Minister, Eric Woerth. He stated clearly that: “three sectors of online games will be opened for competition: sports betting, horse racing bets and some casino games including poker.” The bill should be presented to the Parliament in autumn 2008 and the implementation of market opening would begin in 2009.
The groups of online casinos and terestrial casinos welcomed the announcement, fact that puts the FDJ and PMU at the same level as the other operators of online gaming sites, including horse races. Some voices were heard against this project of french market opening, jeopardizing the financing of the horse industry and threatened hundreds of jobs. Eric Woerth has announced that the grand oppening will be “observed” and tightly controlled. For this, a special cell should be created in order to analyse the demands of each online casino group, Internet poker or sports betting. any company wanting to offer its services in France will have to meet specifications and strict criteria of acute transparency. In addition, sites having European license will not automatically receive the french license. In fact, while the island of Malta is very demanding regarding the companies operating online games, France wants to check the accounts for each of the protagonists willing to offer their services on the french market.