Online Casino and Gambling News: April 2009

The BBC reports that Irish land and online bookie PaddyPower has suspended betting on all Irish League games, including those involving Linfield and Glentoran. The suspension follows reports of an unusually high number of bets being placed on teams which had no chance of winning the league title.

Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, a consistent campaigner in Congress for legalised and regulated online gambling in the United States, appears to be warming up the media ahead of his next attack - widely believed to be imminent - on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Gibraltar-based online casino and poker group 32Red plc has added 32Red Spreadbet, a platform for financial spread betting and contracts for difference, to its offering.

Joining the trend of online gambling corporates that seem to be successfully surviving the weak world economic conditions, Betting Promotions has announced a set of Q.1,2009 results that includes an impressive increase in net turnover after expenses of some 80%.

The land and online gambling group Leisure & Gaming plc has posted positive FY 2008 results that include gross profit up 70%, and operating profits back in the black.

The Scandinavian skill games developer and network provider Jadestone Networks is pleased with first quarter 2009 results just out, which show good progress for its DiceArena and GamArena networks, and a growing player base.

The latest quarterly newsletter from the player protection and standards organisation eCOGRA comes at a time when the subject of certification - for online gambling operations or affiliate programs - is a hot topic of conversation. The reason for the interest is shocking revelations in the affiliate sector of the industry earlier this year that suggested that expensive "certifications" were not professionally audited and therefore of limited practical value.

Many gamblers have commented on Internet message boards this year on the increasing "stinginess" of land casinos when it comes to "comps" - player incentives in the form of free meals, drinks, shows, hotel rooms and promos. Clearly the dismal declines in business that the US industry in particular is experiencing in recessionary times has created a need to economise.

A police action in Ireland almost a year ago that saw the closure of a casino club in Clonmel, County Tipperary, culminated in a lost court case for the prosecution this week.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that online gambling group Betfair has suggested to the Australian Productivity Commission enquiring into gambling that strictly limited access to public records such as motor vehicle registries, births, deaths and marriages data and passport information could be an effective way for betting companies to verify ID on players. The general concept is not new - in Europe verification firms like UHU link with limited public information to effect the same purpose.