According to the draft law the applicants for licenses under the liberalized regime would have to shut down their existing French player accounts as a prerequisite to obtaining the licenses. This creates a major disadvantage for private European online gambling operators who have on board French players. As against this the presently authorized French gambling firms, such as state owned Francaise des Jeux would not have to comply with this condition. Fortunately for the private operators, iGaming France reported this week that this condition was struck down by the French Senate’s finance commission. iGaming France quoted Senator Francois Trucy as saying, “The issue of the closure of French accounts is not in question; operators will be able to carry on working with French players between the law being passed and licenses being handed out.” Senator Trucy however pointed out that the online gaming operators who receive the licenses will have to transfer all their French players to their new sites that have an .fr extension once the law is enacted.

What appears to have acted as a trigger for MasterCard is the recent court order in the case of two companies that were indicted for processing funds related to online gambling. A Federal appeals court upheld the contempt order for refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena. Because of the tough stand taken by the United States administration MasterCard has decided not to wait till the implementation of the UIGEA is due. It will begin the blocking of deposits to online casinos immediately.

It must be pointed out that MasterCard had attempted to block payments to online casinos earlier as well. That time MasterCard had inserted a code in the payment processing interface of the online casinos identifying them as online gambling transactions. This code then blocked all attempts to deposit funds at those casinos. However, within two months the online casinos were able to remove the code and therefore thwarted this attempt by MasterCard.

Initially it was reported that the other credit card giant, Visa, was continuing to process deposits to online casino for the present, though it was thinking along the lines of MasterCard. Some reports now indicate that Visa has also implemented the blocking of online casino sites. There are some e-wallets that service the American online gambling market and these will come to the fore.

Rennick had refused to comply with the subpoena on grounds that it would violate his rights under the Fifth Amendment. There is a long-established legal principle known as the “collective entity rule” that does not allow corporations from claiming the Fifth Amendment privilege. However, Rennick’s legal team cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Braswell v. United States that laid out an exception to the collective entry rule for one-person corporations. Rennick is the sole shareholder, officer and employee of Account Services Corporation and KJB Financial Corporation. The federal appeals court rejected this line of argument and upheld the contempt order.

The Department of Justice claimed before the Southern District of New York that Rennick, through Account Services Corporation and KJB Financial Corporation, had processed $350 million for online gambling firms between 2007 and 2009. These firms opened accounts with Wells Fargo and Union Bank stating the purpose as issuing rebate checks, refund checks, sponsorship checks, affiliate checks and minor payroll processing. Then online gambling payouts were received from a Cyprus bank and remitted to individual players. The District court indicted Rennick’s companies in August 2009 and when the companies refused to comply with the subpoena to appear before a grand jury they were charged with contempt. Rennick faces up to 30 years on bank fraud conspiracy charges.

A statement released by Sega Games on the occasion read, “We are very excited to have Neovia on board as a partner with Sega Games. Sega is one of the world’s leading providers of online games and, for decades, has been one of the most trusted gaming conglomerates in the world. Having the Neteller e-wallet gives our players the assurance that we are providing an experience they can enjoy with the confidence that their money is safe and secure.”

Dan Starr, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Products for Neovia, also expressed satisfaction at the deal. He said, “Neovia continues to capitalize on the remarkable growth of the online gaming market by providing trusted, secure and innovative payment services to one of the largest and best names in the industry, Sega Games Limited.”

Neteller is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom, which ensures compliance to its strict standards. Neteller maintains the same standards in the over 160 countries it services. Neteller has physical and electronic security measures and Anti-Money Laundering protocols in place to ensure that members are protected from identity theft and fraud.

Moneybookers registered eCommerce volume growth of 120%. The trend for the industry in the past has been only 15%. Its customer growth rate for 2009 as compared to 2008 was 64%. In absolute terms Moneybookers added over 13,000 new customers a day. In 2009 Moneybookers signed on its 10 millionth customer thus crossing an important landmark. It is hardly surprising then that the customer deposits have doubled in 2009. The merchant base has also almost doubled, increasing from 35,000 to 60,000. New additions in 2009 included luminaries like eBay, Playfish, Skype and Thomas Cook.

Co-chief executives Martin Ott and Nikolai Riesenkampff pointed out that Moneybookers received important external recognition as well. The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table had Moneybookers as the sixth fastest growing technology company in the United Kingdom. Moneybookers also won the Best Execution and Judges’ awards at the 2009 Media Momentum Awards.

Today Moneybookers offers more than 80 local payment options in more than 200 countries. Riesenkampff attributed this success of Moneybookers to the advantages it offered to online casino players and other users. He said, “The absolute simplicity of the eWallet makes it very attractive to customers. But this also comes with industry-leading security and fraud prevention measures. Instead of entering credit card details for each transaction, our customers need only input their details once and they can then manage their account with an email and password. Merchants can also feel secure with our charge-back protection.”

The issue was initiated by the popular gambling operator Stanleybet. Stanleybet has for quite some time been trying to obtain a wagering license in Greece. However the Greek authorities have been using delaying tactics and refusing to issue the license to Stanleybet. Frustrated by this attitude of the Greek authorities Stanleybet decided to establish a gambling location in Greece in order to test the law. The location was shut down by the authorities within a few days of starting. Not only that Stanleybet customers and employees were arrested by the Greek police for violating the law.

Stanleybet took the matter to the European Parliament Petitions Committee who after examining the issue considered it fit for action. Several members of the European Parliament have spoken against the stand of the Greek government. Sir Robert Atkins of the United Kingdom said that it was time for the European Commission to enforce European Union internal market rules in Greece. Simon Busuttil of Malta called the Greek example “a clear case of breach of EU law.” Roger Helmer said, “This inaction is not even to protect a Greek government monopoly, it is to protect a company listed in the Athens Stock Exchange.” He added that the European Commission needed to act swiftly because justice delayed was justice denied.

This tie up will be a big boost for Neteller, which will be the first e-wallet to be chosen by Sky Betting and Gaming. The Sky Betting and Gaming sites have over 150,000 active weekly visitors, which could translate into a lot of business for Neteller. In 2009 Sky Betting and Gaming recorded a gross profit of £51.9 million. Bernard Casey, Head of Gaming Operations at Sky Betting and Gaming, explained the reasons for selecting Neteller as a deposit and withdrawal option. He said that Neteller has the reputation of being the industry’s premier e-wallet and is used by the majority of gaming players. It is easy to use and is a secure alternative to credit cards.

Dan Starr, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Products at Neovia, also expressed his satisfaction on this agreement. He said, “The benefit we bring to BSkyB is a strong reputation for securely managing funds from one wallet and transacting at multiple gaming sites. E-wallets are very common among players across multiple sites and they want a single provider that is widely accepted. We offer this plus the ability of taking winnings out via the Net+ pre-paid card. We are pleased to add BSkyB to our extending portfolio of clients.”

The Telegraph report named Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as the investment banks that Betfair had appointed to advise it on future financial options. The most likely option is believed to be a listing through a potential £1.5bn flotation. This would provide the financial leverage required for Betfair to engage in some sort of consolidation in order to meet the emerging competition in the online gaming sector.

When such public listings take place the existing owners are in for a bonanza. This was borne out when online gaming leaders like Playtech and PartyGaming went public. Hence Andrew Black and Ed Wray, the founders of Betfair are in line for a “potential payout worth hundreds of millions of pounds” reports the Telegraph. The two of them together own a 25% stake in the company. The founding story of Betfair is a part of the folklore of the online gaming industry. Andrew Black met Ed Wray at a drinks party. Wray was then a derivatives banker at JP Morgan. Black outlined his idea of forming a peer-to-peer betting exchange that would eliminate traditional bookies and thereby offer bettors better odds. The rest as they say was history. Betfair was founded in 1999 and has grown to a business with over £300m in annual revenues. The Japanese bank, SoftBank holds a 23% stake in Betfair.

According to the Telegraph report Betfair, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on this development.

Doyle has lived life large size and therefore the welcome bonus is a whopping $1,000. New players can avail of a 100% match bonus on their first two deposits up to a limit of $500 each. Existing players can claim a reload bonus of 25% of the deposit any time they want. The day begins at night at Doyles Casino. To kick start the proceedings Doyles Casino offers Happy Hours every night of the week from 7 pm till 11pm. During the Happy Hours players can redeem four special bonus coupons. There are two 40% promo codes for table games and two 100% promo codes for slots. The Happy Hours bonuses are capped at $1,400. Doyles Casino offers a monster bonus for wagering on three designated slot machines – Hidden Riches, Mayan Queen and Year of Fortune. Players wagering exclusive on these games can avail of a bonus of 150% up to a maximum of $500. All bonuses are non-cashable and come with wagering requirements.

In order to avail of these bonuses players have to first make a deposit and Doyles Casino offers a wide range of deposit options. Players can use credit cards or bank transfers but the alternative electronic payment options are recommended. Moneybookers and Neteller are the most popular e-wallets and can be used to fund accounts at Doyles Casino. Some of the other options include PIC Club, Solo and Instadebit. The cashier mechanism at Doyles Casino is 100% secure and players need not worry on that score.

John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, said, “This will be the first time - ever - that there will be a vote on licensing and regulation of Internet poker and Internet gaming in general. We need bi-partisan support, and we need your help in achieving that.” Pappas said that there is an urgent need to ensure that the debate on the HR 2267 and the voting thereafter takes place without partisan politics derailing the bill. This is an opportune time to make a last ditch effort to ensure that the voting is in favor of HR 2267. Pappas added that over the next few weeks the Poker Players Alliance will be instructing its members how to go about contacting their Senators and Representatives and demonstrate to them the widespread support for online gambling.

So far 65 Representatives have endorsed the HR 2267. The last two, who put their signatures in January 2010, were New York Democrat Eliot Engel and Los Angeles Democrat Charlie Melancon.