Online poker could be coming to New Jersey much sooner than previously thought while regulated poker officially goes live in Denmark. These stories and more are a part of this week's PAS Industry Update. Online Poker Coming to New Jersey?: After vetoing a poker bill last year, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is now in favor of internet gambling. "I think we should be in that business. I think we should be an epicenter for that business, but I want to do it right." Christie said he feared that signing the bill last year would lead to gambling houses all over New Jersey but thinks a Atlantic City-centric model would work, especially given the Department of Justice's recent position change on the matter. Sen. Ray Lesniak, a longtime proponent of legislation, says it "isn't a question of "if" but "when"" New Jersey gets internet wagering. In a New York Post article, Harry Curtis with Nomura Securities was quoted as saying that California, New York and Illinois could be three more states -- in addition to Nevada and New Jersey -- to regulate online poker. Online Poker In Denmark Goes Live: Regulated online poker in Denmark officially launched on January 3rd. bwin.Party has partnered with the state-owned Danske Spil for poker to be the first site to launch. As a PAS publisher, if you wish to continue promoting Party Poker to Danish players, you must request a new Danish-specific campaign from Jordan. Full Tilt Update: Unsurprisingly, there was little Full Tilt news over the last two weeks after a report from Subject Poker confirmed an agreement between Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie to transfer the poker room's assets to GBT. The next step in process requires that GBT forfeit certain assets to the U.S. Department of Justice. Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: In the last week of 2011, online poker traffic was largely flat over the previous week, according to PokerScout. As PokerScout notes in their report, traffic increases in January are typically among the strongest of the year. In their year-over-year report -- which encompasses the entire 2011 -- the biggest gainers were Merge (90%), 888 (86%) and Bodog (57%). Among the top three poker rooms, PokerStars was down 15%, iPoker up 9% and Party Poker up 5%. Entraction and Boss were the biggest decliners among inactive sites with declines of 51% and 42%, respectively. Jottings: Pokerfuse posts an online poker player Bill of Rights...DOJ ruling splits tribes...New year brings new poker rooms in Europe...M Resort's Anthony Marnell comes out against regulation...France to IP block unlicensed sites?
Everleaf Institutes caps for winning players and the AGCC announces a review of their handling of the Full Tilt Poker license. Check out these stories and more in PAS's weekly industry update. Full Tilt Update: No notable progress was reported on the Full Tilt Poker sale last week. A report came to light last week that an external analysis will be done on the AGCC handling of the Full Tilt Poker gaming license. The AGCC believes they acted appropriately but the commission decided "that it was in the best interest of players, license holders and AGCC to commission an independent review and to make the outcome public. Everleaf Institutes Caps on Winning Players: Players who win more than €750 per week on the Everleaf Gaming Network (Minted Poker) will be limited to the tables they can play once they have reached the threshold. A player who meets this criteria will have their status reset each Sunday at 12:00 AM ET. Ontario Pushing Ahead with Online Gambling: Online gambling in Ontario will be phased in starting next year and could bring in $100 million over five years. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp has requested proposals from internet gambling companies to run the operation. Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: Online poker traffic had a great week according to PokerScout, up 1.3% from the previous week with every site showing a gain. Boss Media saw one of the largest increases of the week with a 3% increase. PAS News: On December 10th, we launched the highly anticipated Neteller payment option for publishers and players. A Neteller email address and client ID are required for withdrawals. December 12th is the last day toshow your support for PAS by voting for us in one of five categories in the annual iGB awards. Jottings: Las Vegas Sands' Sheldon Adelson is opposing online poker legislation...Party and Bwin merging affiliate programs...Rep. Joe Barton speculates on movement of US poker bills...Issues with Bodog anonymous tables...Online poker wont hurt state lotteries...Nevada regulation possible by February
The Full Tilt Investor deal officially cleared a major hurdle late last week with a new deal signed by the GBT and the U.S. Department of Justice. On the regulation front, Nevada got one step closer to bringing online poker to the state. On a federal level, two new online poker hearings were held which debated the merits of regulation in the United States. Check out all of these stories and more in the PAS Weekly Industry Update. Full Tilt Update- Deal Signed: On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie officially came to terms on a deal that will have Full Tilt Poker forfeiting the assets of the poker site and related companies to the DOJ, which would then in turn sell the site to Groupe Bernard Tapie for $80 million. The DOJ will waive the civil charges against Full Tilt Poker but criminal charges will remain. U.S. players will need to file claims to the DOJ to be repaid their balances while GBT would be would reopen to non-U.S. players and would be responsible for repaying these players. A time frame has not been given on when players would be repaid or when Full Tilt would reopen, but Bernard Tapie had previously indicated that he wished for the site to be reopened by January 2012. Hearing Roundups: On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce committee held a follow-up hearing on regulating online poker in the U.S. Discussions again ranged from problem gambling to the benefits of regulation. Supporters such as John Campbell drew the parallel of online poker to Prohibition and the need for regulation to prevent unlicensed operators from operating, while Rep. Frank Wolf mentioned the online gambling-Jack Abramoff connection and an opinion that "online gambling is the crack cocaine of gambling" as reasons why online poker should not be regulated. You may view the hearing here. Meanwhile, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on the effects of regulated online poker on Native American tribes. American Indian groups want a share of internet gambling but do not wish to lose their sovereignty to receive it. If federal regulation occurs, Native Americas tribes want to be assured they would be allowed to operate, tax and license online gambling as well. The National Gaming Gaming Commission maintains that they have the expertise to regulate online gambling given their experience of overseeing 422 gambling facilities in 28 states which generate $27 billion in revenue. The hearing can be viewed here. Nevada to License Intrastate Online Poker: Starting in February of 2012, the Nevada Gaming Control Board will begin accepting applications for licenses to offer online poker within the state's borders. Nevada would become the first U.S. to offer regulated online poker. The District of Columbia also passed online poker legislation but efforts to bring games to the jurisdiction have stalled. In Pokeraddict's article, he theorizes that online poker in the state will not be profitable and that Nevada needs a federal solution -- where more states or countries are allowed to join the player pool -- in order to assure long term sustainability. Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: Online Poker traffic for the week decreased 7.9% due in large part to the ending of the 70 billionth hand from PokerStars. Traffic at other top sites was mostly flat, although the Boss Network saw a 10% decline after a 19% increase the previous week. Despite the dip, a jackpot of €530,000 on the network still has not been hit and remains the highest in online poker. PAS News Reminder: Voting is ongoing for the iGB Awards . We would appreciate if PAS publishers and fans could show their support. Jottings: Unibet to re-enter French Market...Gross gaming revenue up 7% in Italy...After loses, Gigamedia will be changing course...Cyprus to crackdown on internet gambling...Kyl to possibly co-sponsor Senate online poker bill?
Black Friday has officially claimed Cereus Network sites Absolute Poker and UB.com as parent company, Blanca Games, has submitted plans to liquidate with a goal of eventually repaying players a portion of the balances owed to them. On the U.S. legislative front, a hearing was held on Tuesday by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee discussing the future of online poker in the country. Read about these stories and more in this edition of the PAS Weekly Industry Update. Cereus Network Submits Plan for Liquidation: On Friday, the Cereus Network effectively closed down with an announcement that the battered poker room had submitted a liquidation plan to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval. The network has operated since Black Friday to non-US players, but has been a shadow of its former self with traffic down over 99% from Black Friday levels. Players had been receiving very sporadic cashouts of $250-$500 in the weeks leading up to the liquidation announcement. New House Hearing on Online Poker: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a two hour plus meeting on online poker in the United States. The mostly positive meeting focused on safeguards and consumer protection that would be required if and when online poker is regulated in the country. After the hearing, Chairwoman Rep Mary Bono Mack stated her desire to hold another hearing in the near future but to not expect any legislation to be attached to the Deficit Reduction package that must be decided upon by November 23rd. Check out PAS's summary on the day's events. Full Tilt Poker Updates: : Early in the week, the Irish Times reported that Full Tilt Poker had made 180 of their 500 staff members "redundant," a plan that had Full Tilt Poker employees first became aware of in September. In some interesting news, multiple players reported that they received telephone surveys from a magazine with ties to the Tapie investment group. In the survey, players were asked to choose between one of three options on how they would like to receive their funds in a hypothetical repayment scenario: 1) buying shares of Full Tilt with part of their funds 2) cash out immediately with a undermined penalty or 3) be paid in full but released in incremental payments over a year. The survey is noteworthy because it indicates the variety of payment resolutions that Tapie and his group are considering at this time as negotiations continue. Everleaf Lowers Rake on USD Tables: In an effort to attract more U.S. players to their tables, the Everleaf Gaming Network will be slashing the maximum rake on all US Dollar tables to $1 through December. The move will primarily affect players at No Limit and Pot Limit tables. There is currently very little action at Limit tables on Everleaf, but players seated at these tables at limits of $2/$4 and above will also see the rake greatly reduced. Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: PokerScout's latest traffic report details a 1.2% traffic drop after a healthy gain the previous week. An exception to the trend was Merge Gaming, which saw it traffic increase another 7% after soaring 13% the week prior, up 20% since the network began accepting U.S. players for the first time since June. Merge Gaming is once again a top 10 room in terms of online poker traffic, with more than 2200 cash game players on the site during peak times. Jottings: Entraction rakeback policy and VIP program change...Operators face difficult regulatory regime in Germany...UK unlikely to see Gaming Act changes in near future...Top five CPAs from U.S. poker rooms...Fertitta purchases CyberArts...Ongame promises to fight bots...Maryland Gov proves online poker battle is about the money...D-Amato distances himself from Full Tilt Poker.
This week we reported heavily on the dramatic Full Tilt Poker news, but for those that missed it, we will sum up the week that was in our Weekly Industry Update. Full Tilt Poker Updates: License Revoked/Conditional Buyer Found: In last week's update we informed you about an investor letter of intent to purchase Full Tilt Poker. In the middle of the week, the Alderney Gaming Control Commission finally came to a decision in the saga by revoking their license. To many, this seemed to be the death blow to players and affiliates who hoped to one day see their money. The next day exemplified the rollercoaster ride that players have been put through as news came out that a conditional agreement had been met between Full Tilt Poker and French investor Bernard Tapie. The headlines of "Full Tilt finds buyer" that reverberated across the industry didn't tell the entire story as many crucial conditions must be met, which many see as unlikely. While all of this was going on, another noteworthy bit of news came out that was somewhat lost in the drama of the other developements. Ray Bitar, CEO of Full Tilt Poker, filed a claim against some of the assets seized on Black Friday. Bitar alleges that "the assets subject to forfeiture are neither proceeds nor instrumentalities of any crimes in any jurisdiction in the United States or elsewhere." Pokerfuse has a great info-graphic of where all the money has went. DOJ says in a statement that a "return of funds may be possible" and names players as victims for the first time. Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: In PokerScout's latest online poker traffic report, ring game activity was steady for the week, declining a mere 0.1%. Party Gaming was one of the biggest gainers for the week, enough to give them 2nd place for the first time in over a month. Jottings: German court backs betting ban...Hungary to tax online gambling...PokerScout will continue to monitor Bodog traffic despite the site blocking full ring games from their lobby... Barney Frank still supports online poker after Full Tilt troubles...Chili Poker to release free online poker in the U.S...Nevada continues push forward with online poker.
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