casino online

Following the decision of the South African court on 20 August, online poker and all forms of gambling on Internet are now illegal and strictly prohibited in South Africa.

The GGB Committee – Gauteng Gambling Board – who has been struggling to ban online casinos for some time, was finally successful.

Besides, the Committee also said that any poker room or online casino offering its services in the country would be indictable.

The General Counsel of the GGB took charge of warning the operators: “If they carry on their activities, we will arrest and convict them”.

As a further deterrent to illegal gambling, authorities have insisted that any company violating the court order, would be excluded to apply for a licence in case the government decides to regulate the market.

The online gaming operators and players in South-Africa are now punishable by fines up to 10 million rands (1.36 million dollars), 10 years’ imprisonment or both.

The gambling actors who operate in the country are determined to appeal the decision.

The British company PartyGaming, worldwide renowned in the online gambling field, has signed a multi-year agreement with French traditional bookmaker PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain). The latter is the monopolistic operator who organizes horse races betting in France. Now, the new deal enables PMU to operate online poker as well.

“This agreement will come into effect once the PMU and PartyGaming have each received a license allowing them to offer online poker in France”, says a statement from PMU.

Both parts hope this agreement will bring them mutual benefits. PartyGaming, which runs the largest online poker room – PartyPoker – is the first online gambling company listed on London Stock Exchange. The agreement provides that “the PMU will benefit from the PartyGaming poker platform services and will ensure the commercialization of its poker offering and the management of its customers”. However, PartyGaming retains the possibility of getting a French license under its own name.

The main objective of the arrangement, as put forward by the PartyGaming’s Chief Executive Jim Ryan, is “to have the largest poker liquidity pool in France”. Similar B2B agreements have been signed in Italy and Denmark.

“Today’s agreement with PMU is consistent with our stated strategy of securing a small number of high value partners in regulated markets”, said Jim Ryan. “PMU is widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading betting businesses and we look forward to providing them with a world class poker service”, concluded Ryan.

The news on the PartyGaming-PMU partnership was nevertheless quite surprising. Firstly, because the partner chosen by the PMU was PartyGaming while Paddy Power seemed better placed. Indeed, the Irish operator has an online poker platform which could have been added to the existing agreement between the two companies. Secondly, because, as we remarked, this new agreement with PartyGaming is not exclusive, meaning that PartyGaming will have the right to enter the French market with a concurrent offer.

As a result of its recent agreements, PartyGaming is expected to improve its fiscal performances. The takeover of the WPT brand gives more reason to believe in a brilliant future for the company.

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.

Rumours on the possible arrival of Harrah’s Entertainment group on the online gambling market were eventually confirmed. Such an expansion for this prestigious group organizing the largest series of poker tournaments in the world – the WSOP- could prove particularly gainful. The decision is also significant for anticipating somehow the much awaited regularization of online casinos in USA. With a new administration at Washington, the legalization is from now on only a matter of time and Harrah’s casinos will be among the “conquerors” of the virtual. Therefore, they started to provide themselves with the means for dealing with the challenges once the U.S. market will reopen.

The former CEO of PartyGaming has therefore been chosen as the leader of Harrah’s new department. From the beginning, hiring Garber was meant to set up the arrival of Harrah’s on the market of online poker. Garber previously served as CEO of PartyGaming after the company had been drawn out of the U.S. market, following the guidelines of the UIGEA. Garber managed to keep his company afloat, despite a considerable loss of income, and his intensive experience in the industry of online gambling is a rich asset for Harrah’s in its attempt to conquer a new market.

PartyGaming, which has plead guilty to having illegally provided online gambling services in U.S. and accepted to pay a colossal $ 105 million penalty, is now back in the good graces of the U.S government and, in the event that the Republicam Barney Frank succeeded in imposing a legislation favorable to the online casino industry, Garber would be in the ideal position to negotiate with the government the entry in this market of the prestigious Harrah’s Entertainment.

Gary Loveman, chairman of the Harrah’s, has never hidden his desire to see the online gambling legalized and regulated in U.S. However, the news that Harrah’s is about to launch an online version of its casinos has been welcomed by many in the industry. With a strong image and an excellent notoriety, the use of the “WSOP” label will allow Harrah’s to reach and occupy a dominant position in the field.