iGaming News all over the world 28.08.2010

28.08.2010, Online Poker in India Shows Steady Growth / Irish Internet Wagering Tax Pushes Paddy Power Buttons / Bulgaria Takes Tough Stance on Illegal Online Gambling / MasterCard and InterCash Team Up For Internet Wagering

Online Poker in India Shows Steady Growth
India is getting very interested in the American past time of playing poker both online and off. A recent report by the Express buzz online news has provided in depth coverage of the poker player's situation in that part of the world. Indian laws are ambiguous when it comes to online gambling and there are several grey areas within the current law structure. Games are played and money exchanged moves between bank accounts without to much attention being paid to the law. All this is still, technically speaking, illegal within India. The expanding underground culture of playing poker online sees hundreds log on to popular websites like PokerStars or FullTilt. Thousands of other potential players are honing their skills on the Facebook poker application while others use the free play sites to gain confidence.

To keep things well away from prying eyes and possible prosecution the games are held at private homes with recommendation from a friend as the entrance requirement. The report says it's very hush-hush. Poker for money is considered gambling, and is prohibited everywhere except Goa.

Technical people and students traveling abroad keep up with their game upon returning home to India. The real source that has stimulated the popularity of poker is television. Sports channels now broadcast the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker Championship, telecast via satellite from Las Vegas. Poker players in India are up to speed and realize that skill is one of the most important elements in gaining ground at the poker table. "Poker is science, poker is intuition, it’s a lesson in human behaviour," one avid young player was quoted as saying.

Legal experts on cyber law say that in India connecting to a computer server and playing poker for money from one’s house is not legally clear. Site owners could face prosecution from India but enforcement will be difficult in a foreign jurisdiction.

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Irish Internet Wagering Tax Pushes Paddy Power Buttons
In the online gambling industry there is always a certain amount of risk when your playing the game. Paddy Power from Ireland has been playing the game there for a long time and has made significant contributions to the economy of the country. A recent financial report from Paddy Power showed the company was doing well and was growing stronger everyday. Along with the good news came a warning to the government of Ireland that if new tax measures are implemented Paddy Power may have to re-think it's strategy and cut plans to expand it's workforce within the next few years. The company was considering hiring between 350 and 750 new personnel to handle Paddy Power's expansion plans.

Ireland is proposing that a new tax be placed on wagering via the telephone and internet operations which could severely impact Paddy Power's bottom line. The company says that this tax will not be enforceable to offshore operators and therefore give the out of town companies an unfair advantage over the domestic offering. The risk that the Irish book maker must take to expand in Ireland may override the company's loyalty to it's country sending those future jobs to some other more profitable local.

Patrick Kennedy the Chief Executive officer of the firm said in a Financial Times interview, "We don’t have an issue with paying betting taxation," adding, "Our issue is if we have to pay it solely because we employ people in Ireland." Kennedy commented that at least ten other online gambling firms offered their product to the Irish gamer only two had any actual physical presence there and the proposed tax was effectively "a tax on Irish jobs."

Currently Paddy Power is paying the Irish government 19 million euros for the value added tax and corporation levy and should the new extra one percent on betting on the internet will cost the company an additional five million euros.

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Bulgaria Takes Tough Stance on Illegal Online Gambling
Founded in 681, Bulgaria is one of the oldest states in Europe and with that comes some of the old world problems facing many of the Balkan countries. The Bulgarian National Assembly consists of 240 members who are elected for a four-year period. Bulgaria entered the European Union in 2007 and has made a significant progress and success in exporting light industrial products, foods and wines. Bulgaria is also a tourist destination all year round and is well known for it's Black Sea resorts. In 2008, Bulgaria regulated and legalizing online gambling. The decision was motivated primarily to stem the capital outflow to offshore gambling sites and been collecting taxes from punters ever since. The tax levy imposed by the Bulgarian authorities is 10%, which is extremely high compared to the average of 1.5% collected from other online gambling sites.

One such large online gambling operation in Bulgaria is the government owned monopoly on sports betting. The Sports Totalizator web site features both a sports book and a lottery. Fifty percent of the proceeds of the site go to supporting Bulgarian sports teams.

Bulgaria gambling laws have been in question for at least ten years and the end of this era of controversial new laws doesn't seem to have come to an end just yet. There are 132 online gambling sites available for play in the Bulgarian language and currency.

A draft proposal for changes to Bulgaria's gambling laws which is hoped to be implemented by the end of the year, threatens operators of internet wagering sites in the country doing so without a license with up to five years in jail and fines between 20,000 to 50,000 leva (€10,000 to €25,000). Investing at least €500,000 is a must to obtain a licence for an operation in the country a long with a physical presence in the country in the form of “payment shops” where players make deposits and cash out their winnings. The proposed law also proposes Bulgarian ISPs to filter the internet, blocking unlicensed gambling sites.

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MasterCard and InterCash Team Up For Internet Wagering
In America as well as some other countries in the world gambling online is not necessarily illegal it's the electronic processing of the funds, that falls under the scrutiny of officials. The USA has made it illegal to transfer money associated with online gambling and thus has left much of the policing of the action up to the banks and financial institutions. MasterCard and Visa followed directions from the Department of Justice in the States and discontinued it's processing services to online gambling customers. MasterCard has been loosing millions on commissions not made while their services have not been available to the wagering public. Now the company has found a viable solution to the issue and has teamed up with InterCash to offer a new credit card to online gamblers. The new prepaid card works like other prepaid options with the additional bonus that it lets the punter withdraw funds to MasterCard. This eliminates having to wait for a cheque or wire transfer. Players load up their card using their personal bank account and start to play. When withdrawing funds, they can transfer the money directly back onto their prepaid card, after which they can use the card at any retail outlet that accepts MasterCard.

For those casinos using Playtech software using the Intercash card means that operators require no special integration or setup to begin offering players the prepaid MasterCard as a convenient and reliable payment option. Any of the 29 million ATMs or points-of-sale on the MasterCard network, are available to the new prepaid MasterCard user.

Intercash, CEO, Patrick Seguev, commented, "We’re very proud to be launching our new MasterCard® card program on the Playtech software through Fastengine, one of Playtech’s largest groups of sites," adding, "The venture between our companies marks a significant step into what is becoming an industry standard, with many online gaming software providers and operators integrating our safe, efficient, and smart payment solutions as a standard part of their software package."

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