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Poker Hall Of Fame Voting Begins

editor — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:03:12 +0000

Last Friday, members of Poker Hall of Fame voting committee received their ballots from Harrah’s. This year there is a major change in how votes are cast as there is a new “10-point must system”. Each member of the voting committee now has to allocate 10 points amongst no more than three the candidates of their choice. Once all the points are totalled. The top two players who have received the most votes will become part of the Class of 2010.

Last year, winner Mike Sexton was the only entrant into the Poker Hall of Fame after 75% of the vote was needed. This year only 50% of the vote is required so it is possible two players could qualify.

Only thirty-seven players have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame since it was founded back in 1979.

European Court Rules Against German Gambling Monopolies

editor — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:40:46 +0000

Last week the European Union’s highest court ruled that Germany’s state-run gambling monopolies are unlawful. At the moment German regulations state that all lotteries and sports betting are offered exclusively by state-controlled monopolies. The German government was dealt a severe blow when the European Court of Justice ruled that the German monopolies were not “consistent and systemic enough” to uphold the argument that restrictions served to protect the public from gambling addiction.

The EU ruling may well lead to new gambling regulations in Germany wiping out state-run gambling monopolies, although the Deutscher Lotto und Totoblock (DLTB) are to set to fight the decision.

“The European court has made it clear that E.U. member states can decide whether they want a commercial model or a state-authorized model governed by the public interest,” said Erwin Horak, chairman of the DLTB.

Although online gambling is officially banned in German it has generated an estimated €1 billion in annual revenue for offshore operators. Analysts suggest the total has been rising at an annual rate of about 30%, which is the main reason for the decline in revenue for the state-run gambling companies.

US Set To Regulated & Legalise Online Gambling

editor — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:27:22 +0000

With Barney Frank’s HR 2267 bill passing its first hearing back in July the process of the US returning to the online gambling world is at last underway. Those of you, especially those who promoted Euro sites will remember the good times prior to Euro sites closing their doors to US players. Perhaps you remember the likes of Paradise Poker who were one of the giants of the online poker world. Since losing their US players I’m sorry to say Paradise have shrivelled to just a small skin on the Boss network. Other sites have suffered the same fate and have either gone bust or merged with other Euro operators.

Sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt who have effectively been sticking two fingers up at the US government by allowing deposits from US players have seen tremendous growth. God knows how many millions or billions these sites have made since the SAFE Port Act was introduced. Euro sites have complied with US law with the likes of Party Gaming even paying the US government $105 million for the period they accepted US players.

I strongly believe that when online gambling is legalised in the US we are going to see great change in the industry. I’m sure the likes of Poker Stars and Full Tilt are going to be hit hard. There has already been an amendment added to Frank’s bill as below.

One of the hot topics raised in a hearing last week was what to do with online gaming sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker that have been accepting US customers against the government’s wishes. Rep. Bacchus proposed an amendment that would block any sites that have been disregarding US laws regarding Internet gambling from obtaining a license. The prohibition for these sites was agreed upon in the Committee and the amendment was passed.

You don’t need a crystal ball to realise that when the US return to online gambling we are going to see major changes. Expect the Euro sites to prosper taking players from the likes of Stars and Full Tilt. Also I believe that the smaller networks that have failed to cash in, even though they have continued to accept US players are doomed. Can we really expect the likes of Merge to be granted a licence? Do you think Merge will be able to compete when all the Euro sites are once again accepting deposits from US players? I think not!

I also expect for the first time to see big brand US operators cash in on the online gambling boom with the likes of Harrah’s taking the lead. Looks like we have exiting times ahead of us!

Barney Frank’s bill has now over a dozen amendments and it now awaiting its next airing on the House floor. Many feel that Barney Frank will push the bill simultaneously with the Ways and Means Committee (HR 4976) bill later this month.