Washington Post Responds To PartyGaming Settlement, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 9th April 2009

After the announcement Tuesday of the settlement between PartyGaming PLC and the United States Attorneys Office, the Washington Post followed up on its 2008 two day investigation into online poker with a response.

Headed by Gilbert M. Gaul - who investigated the scandals of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet in cooperation with the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” in late 2008 - the Washington Post article delved into some of the ramifications that the settlement could have for the online poker world. Gaul’s article states that the settlement is “…a development that could signal a shift in the murky and unregulated world of online gambling.”

The settlement between PartyGaming and the U. S. attorneys in New York calls for a fine of $105 million to be paid by the company over the next 3 ½ years. Along with the payment of the fine, PartyGaming also admits to violating what the Post article calls “a disconnect between 21st century technology and the 20th century laws used to protect Americans from gambling” through violations of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was enacted in late 2006. Under the terms of the “Statement of Facts” agreement with U. S. representatives, PartyGaming officials said the government would not prosecute the parent firm or any of its subsidiaries for offering Internet gambling services to U.S. customers between 1997 and October 2006, when it voluntarily withdrew from the market after the UIGEA enactment.

In the Post article, Gaul states that “The (Department of) Justice’s position is considered controversial with some members of Congress and gaming analysts, arguing it has steered U. S. players to unregulated offshore sites.” Along with this statement, Gaul includes a quotation from Joseph M. Kelley, a professor of business law at the State College at Buffalo. “The U. S. government has now succeeded in driving out the reputable, publicly-traded Internet gaming operators,” he proposed. Kelley, who has also served as an expert witness for gaming and government interests, added: “It has not decreased online gambling, but has reduced the ability to monitor suspicious transactions.”

The stock of many of the publicly traded online gaming companies on the London Stock Market rose after the settlement announcement. Gaul believes it is because “some financial analysts see the settlement as possibly leading to others, thus reducing uncertainty in the industry and opening the door to industry consolidation and expansion outside the U.S. Some analysts said PartyGaming also had now increased its chances of gaining a license from any future regulated U.S online gaming market.”

While the dust hasn’t settled regarding the agreement of PartyGaming and the U. S. government, Gaul’s Washington Post article does point out many of the advantages of such settlements for the online gaming world. For a full look at Mr. Gaul’s outlook on the settlement, view his article at the Washington Post. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PKR Launches New Software Upgrade, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 9th April 2009

Imaginative poker site PKR has launched an array of new features and games to its award-winning software.

The online poker room, which features real-time 3D graphics and a videogame experience, added Omaha Hi/Lo to its most recent upgrade, as well as several other features and items in the PKR Shop. The popular Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit and Limit options will now be available across cash games, Sit & Gos and Multi-table Tournaments.

PKR has also added Mini Roulette to its online casino, joining Blackjack and Casino Hold’em on the site’s table game roster. Mini Roulette is just like American or European Roulette only with fewer numbers. PKR also offers Craps, Sic Bo and Wild Viking among its wide variety of casino games.

A new “time bank” feature has been added to the poker software to give players additional time if needed to make a critical decision. In cash games, the more hands you are dealt means more time added to your bank -- up to the table maximum -- while in tournament play the additional time allotted to each player is fixed. In addition, PKR has added a “Break Skip” option so that players can opt out of regular breaks at the final table of a Multi-table Tournament. If all players decide to skip their break then the action will continue right away.

PKR’s Shop has also taken a step up. Players will be able to spend their PKR points on a wide range of high-end electronics as well as new poker books, accessories and subscriptions to PKR.com’s partner training site Bluefire Poker, hosted by high-stakes legend and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Galfond. In tournaments, players receive 100 PKR points for every $1 spent in entry fees. At cash tables, points are awarded based on raked hands and calculated against the amount that a player has put into the pot divided between the other players at the table.

“Our community is highly valued and as we grow we like to make sure we provide our players with exactly what they need”, said PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger. “Many of the features in our updates are in response to popular demand and we are constantly working on improvements for the future.” (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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London Lad Strikes It Lucky!

London, 6th April, 2009 – Following the success of last year’s poker festival in the city, Virgin Poker held its second Newcastle poker event at Aspers Casino over the weekend. Over 200 poker enthusiasts took part in the exciting two-day live tournament setting sights on the impressive prize pot of over £30,000.

Having won a place at the tournament via a €150 buy-in at Virgin Poker, players at the main event took part in a Texas Hold’em No Limit Freezeout extravaganza to compete for their share of the prize pot. Ross Javis, London based journalist who writes for Poker Player magazine was the chip leader as he entered the final table and maintained his lead throughout the final leg securing him the Virgin Poker festival title and the impressive top prize of £7,000. Kris McLackland from Newcastle put up a good fight and walked away with second place prize money of £5,500.

To add a Virgin twist to the tournament, players in the main event were given the chance to knock-out professional poker opponents whose heads carried bounties of fantastic Virgin giveaways. Prizes included Virgin Rally Driving Days & Virgin Hot Air Ballooning.

For those not lucky enough to win a seat in the main tournament, there were a variety of side events on offer to give everyone the opportunity to get involved - regardless of their poker playing abilities. Practice tables offered ‘live play classes’ for less experienced players, whilst a Wii bowling battle for those who still wanted to prove their competitive streak.

Joe Legge, Poker Manager for Virgin Games Poker, said: “It was great to return to Aspers Casino for a second time and bring the fun of the Virgin Games experience to the people of Newcastle. Local residents, poker professionals and the Virgin Games staff entered into the spirit of the weekend and dressed to impress – outfits included, Newcastle football strip, a Las Vegas show girl and another wore a horse’s head to celebrate the Grand National. It’s all slightly crazy but all part of the fun and what makes the festivals such a great experience!’

For further images and information on the Virgin Poker Festivals visit http://www.virgingames.com/poker/festival.aspx

- Ends -

Main Event – Winners

Place Prize Winner
1st £7,000 Ross Jarvis
2nd £5,500 Kris McLackland
3rd £4,000 Andy Edgington
4th £3,000 Brian Clarke
5th £2,500 Richard Potts
6th £2,000 John Crawford
7th £1,500 Krzysztof Zawierucha
8th £1,000 Dave O’Connor
9th £750 Glenn Hopley
10th £400 Simon Kinnaird


Player Bounties - Winners


Player Bounty Winner

Maria Demetriou Guaranteed Entry to a £100K Tourney on Kris MaLackland
Virgingames.com/poker


Shelley Rubenstein Guaranteed Entry to a £100K Tourney on Anthony Cross
Virgingames.com/poker

Kara Scott £150 Virgin Voucher The Mole Nick Kris MaLackland
Wealthall £150 Virgin Voucher


About Virgin Games
Virgin Games, a subsidiary of Virgin.com Ltd, launched in June 2004 and has quickly established itself as one of the leading gaming websites in the UK. Virgin Games comprises three distinct entertainment offerings, giving consumers the chance to play their favourite online games the Virgin way:

• Virgin Casino, part of the Wagerworks network, provides a taste of Vegas online, with classic casino offerings like blackjack and roulette, as well as popular feature slots like Elvis, Cleopatra and Vegas, Baby!
• Virgin Poker, part of the Boss Media network, offers a huge array of games and content for beginners through to experienced pros – as well as the most generous loyalty scheme in the industry. The successful Virgin Poker Festivals, which take place in casinos around the UK throughout the year, now allow gamers to experience the fun of Virgin Poker offline too
• Virgin Bingo, part of the St Minver network, offers cash prizes worth thousands of pounds in the progressive jackpots, as well as regular promotions and an unrivalled loyalty scheme

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Joint venture with Intralot announced

April 8, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- Apparently unrelated to yesterday’s story that PartyGaming has agreed to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice comes the news that the company also has plans to expand into the currently red-hot Italian market in the very near future.

The expansion will be in partnership with Intralot, a Greek lottery systems provider. The two companies are hinting that, if the Italian venture proves successful, they will attempt to enter into more overseas deals in the coming months, as well.

“Intralot is the first member of PartyGaming's poker network in Italy and will promote the new service through its retail network, which includes 600 betting outlets,” reported Reuters news service this week.

"This is our third business-to-business deal in 2009 and we are confident of continuing to build our portfolio over the coming months," PartyGaming Chief Executive Jim Ryan commented in the Reuters article.

Click here to read the coverage on Reuters.

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Debate Over Impact of PartyGaming Settlement

Whether ultimately good or bad for the industry and for PartyGaming, yesterday's settlement is bringing a great deal of attention to the legal status of online gaming in the United States

April 8, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- Yesterday’s announcement that PartyGaming has settled with U.S. prosecutors over its online gaming activities in the United States has been greeted with a flurry of coverage in some high-profile media outlets.

Even though some in the iGaming industry are apparently unhappy that PartyGaming is relenting under what seems to be biased and unfair persecution by the U.S., the general consensus has been markedly positive.

As reported yesterday, the immediate point of interest was a sharp rise in shares for the U.K.-based gaming company, as well as for other gaming companies. PartyGaming’s shares “soared more than 15 percent,” according to the Associated Press. There's also a great deal of speculation that a wave of mergers and consolidation will be forthcoming, finally allowed by the resolution of this long-standing thorn in the industry’s side.

“That's because some financial analysts see the settlement as possibly leading to others,” writes Gilbert Gaul in the Washington Post, “thus reducing uncertainty in the industry and opening the door to industry consolidation and expansion outside the U.S.”

“[The settlement] does remove a big uncertainty,” agrees Jeremy Warner in the U.K.’s Independent magazine, “which ought in time to allow renewed access to equity and debt markets so the company can begin the process of consolidating this still-fragmented industry.”

The settlement is also being greeted as good news by many analysts because it allows PartyGaming to escape criminal prosecution, and because the sum that was negotiated is lower than many analysts had predicted. (The fee is $105 million, to be paid out in installments through September 2012.)

“The settlement covers the period from 1997 to October 2006, when PartyGaming offered internet gaming to US players, including real-money poker and casino gaming,” writes Chris Tryhorn and Julia Kollewe in today’s online edition of the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper. “The company admitted that even before the 2006 crackdown -- which forced it to abandon the US market -- some of its activities had broken US law.”

"Prior to 13 October 2006, certain of the US customer transactions intended for PartyGaming that were processed by third parties, and other gaming and payment-related activity, were contrary to certain US laws," PartyGaming representatives said in a statement published at the Guardian.

In his Independent column, Jeremy Warner goes on to conclude that the settlement can also benefit PartyGaming by creating a positive relationship with the U.S. in case online gambling is ever legalized there. “This is not altogether impossible at some stage in the next few years,” he writes. “In the search for new sources of income, some of the big physical gaming groups in the US are dropping their objections to the genre. Some privately owned poker sites, such as Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, still operate illegally in the US, and as a result have cleaned up in the online poker market.”

The U.S. market, though off-limits at the moment, still represents the world’s largest and most enthusiastic group of poker players. According to the AP, the U.S. accounted for 80 percent of PartyGaming’s revenue before it was forced to leave the market.

Finally, amid the wave of positive reactions, there is some frustration about an industry leader of PartyGaming’s stature admitting to breaking laws that are vague, confusing, and seemingly haphazardly applied. After all, the settlement essentially amounts to admission that the company committed bank fraud, writes Roger Blitz at the Financial Times, who also hints that the financial results may not be as positive as initial reports indicate.

The Washington Post’s Gilbert Gaul also takes a more skeptical view: “Prior to the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October 2006, PartyGaming operated one of the largest and most active Internet poker sites in the U.S. The company immediately withdrew from the U.S. market and stopped accepting U.S. players, which caused a dive in its earnings and stock price. Nevertheless Justice Department prosecutors continued to consider charges against the company for targeting U.S. players before 2006, contending that previous laws also outlawed Internet gambling.”

The Washington Post article also features some helpful analysis on the state of the anti-UIGEA movement in the U.S.; click here to read it. The Financial Times article can be found here, and the Guardian article can be found here. Click here to read Jeremy Warner’s article in the Independent, and, last but not least, the Associated Press coverage can be viewed via the Forbes website, here

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Party Gaming Settles Dispute With U. S. Attorneys, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 7th April 2009

In a case that has been years in the making, it was announced this morning that Party Gaming PLC, the company that has been at the forefront of providing poker and casino services to Internet players, has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York.

The agreement comes after months of discussions between the two parties about Party Gaming’s operations in the United States prior to the enactment of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). As part of the agreement, Party Gaming has accepted from the USAO an irrefutable “Statement of Facts” regarding its business activities prior to when the UIGEA was entered into law. Party Gaming, per the settlement, has agreed to pay $105 million over a three and a half year period that ends on September 30th, 2012. These payments will be due semi-annually and will come from the company’s existing financial resources.

As a part of the non-prosecution agreement, Party Gaming has admitted to offering online poker and casino games for real money to players in the United States from 1997 until October 13th, 2006, which was the day that the UIGEA was signed into law. The company also is conceding that transactions from customers in the U.S. intended for Party Gaming were processed by third parties and other gaming and payment-related companies, which is contrary to current U. S. laws.

According to the website Gaming Intelligence Group, this marks a new dawn for Party Gaming in the eyes of its CEO, Jim Ryan. Ryan states, “The resolution of our position with the U. S. authorities marks an important day for Party Gaming. It has been a long and complex process, but we have reached an amicable solution with the USAO that makes commercial sense for our business and is in the best interests of shareholders. We are now well-placed to seize organic as well as strategic opportunities that previously were beyond our reach.” The shareholders of Party Gaming stock on the London Stock Exchange appear to approve of the agreement, as its stock price as of press time has climbed 33 pence, or slightly over 13%, to 252 pence. The company is traded under the symbol "PRTY" in London.

This marks the close of Party Gaming’s disputes with the U. S. Government regarding its operations in the United States. Back in mid-December, Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit admitted to violating the Wire Act of 1961 in the Southern District Court of New York. The judge in that case, Jed Rakoff, did not immediately sentence Dikshit to jail time, which could have put the founder of PartyGaming away for up to two years. Instead, Rakoff scheduled sentencing for December 16th, 2010 with the posting of a $50 million bond. Dikshit has continued to cooperate in any online gaming investigations by the U.S. Government. It was also agreed that Dikshit would pay off a $300 fine million in three installments within months of the plea deal. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Online punters rushing to play, by Nick Galvin - The Age - 4th April 2009

In 2000 the Federal Government was interested in attitudes to the embryonic online gambling industry. Would Australians cop a ban on all local gambling sites - and if a ban was enforced would punters simply go offshore for their gambling fix?

Results of the consequent survey seem almost quaint. Ninety-six per cent of people said they had no interest in online gambling, and 1 per cent said they would consider playing on an overseas site if they "stumbled upon it".

"These points suggest that currently involvement in internet gambling is only minimal and not likely to increase rapidly in the near feature," the government report concluded. The next year the Interactive Gambling Act made it an offence to provide online gambling services in Australia; as late as 2004 a review boasted about the ban's effectiveness.

Fast forward to 2009. Exact figures are impossible to obtain, but industry sources agree that hundreds of thousands of Australians regularly play poker on overseas servers.

Causes of this growth are complex. Television exposure played a part; so too did the number of Australians with home internet connections - up from a third of households in 2001 to two-thirds by 2006. And there is no shortage, it seems, of Australians willing to trust the internet with their credit card details. (Credit: The Age)

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Aussie Gambling Reforms Close to Collapse - Gambling911 - 3rd April 2009

The revolutionary reform of Victoria's $5-billion-a-year gambling industry, which would end Tatts and Tabcorp's duopoly control of pokies by handing ownership to venues, is on the brink of collapse.

That's the news courtesy of The Australian:

"Gaming Minister Tony Robinson warned that the Government would have no choice but to walk away from its reforms if Opposition parties continued to block them in the upper house.

"The Coalition and the Greens, whose support Mr Robinson needs, hit back, accusing the Government of trying to ram through a flawed bill by scaremongering.

"The minister said his plan to auction pokies to individual venues and slash TAB's turnover tax on racing would collapse, leaving the industry and its 100,000 employees in chaos, unless the bill to achieve it passed in the next session of parliament in early May. He threatened to renew the duopoly deal if the "Opposition and the Greens would not support the bill. A nasty political brawl looms over the deadlock. The Government is expected to portray the Opposition and the Greens as lackeys of the two gambling giants."

Gambling911.com spoke with Australian Media Man, Greg Tingle regarding the gambling reforms issue:

"Things are still heating up in Australia on the gaming front. Australian's are amongst the world's biggest gamblers be it in clubs, hotels, casinos or online casinos. You can imagine the competition for the entertainment dollar, and of course the Australian government wants their cut also. The knives are out. Australian professional sports codes are upping the ante with magazine front cover promotions, in house sports betting like Betezy's BunnyBet, and so it goes on. In the meantime the world goes through a recession but the Australian gambling market looks pretty healthy."

Tingle deals with the online gambling community himself out of Australia and he claims times have never been better.

"Our numbers here at Media Man Australia are still holding up. We (Media Man Australia) had our recession a couple of years back but the last few years have been full steam ahead. That's an indication that the gambling sector, online gaming, igaming and the brave new world of internet portals are here to stay. Overseas operators still want in to Australia and for many like PokerStars, PartyGaming and The Bingo Affiliates, the internet is the way to go, backed up by "free to play" .net websites, complimented by live shows and offline promotions at the likes of Crown, Star City and Burswood Casino. Indications show that the industry is going to be further regulated, however as the ACMA blacklist policy shows there's going to be a few challenges and teething problems as the Australian government tries to regulate an industry that can be traced back to the underworld, 'Underbelly' days and the mob in Vegas and Chicago. If there ever was a "casino economy" the time is now."

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PKR Add Omaha - Bluff Europe - 4th April 2009

PKR.com revolutionised online poker with customisable and controllable avatars, merging our favourite game with The Sims in a way that worked amazingly. Now the site has announced updates to their software including the addition of PLO.

Pot-Limit Omaha and its split-pot variant, Omaha 8, are two games steadily growing in popularity online. Many claim that PKR’s PLO games are the softest on the web, so you have no excuse not to check them out.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, “Our community is highly valued and as we grow we like to make sure we provide our players with exactly what they need. Many of the features in our updates are in response to popular demand and we are constantly working on improvements for the future.”

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Aussie Senator Admits Error in Internet Censorship Policy, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 2nd April 2009

A blacklist authored by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) aiming to censor various “indecent” websites, including online poker sites, leaked last month with the help of anonymous sources. Now, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is beginning to own up to errors within his controversial internet censorship policy following an uproar from the Australian community.

Among the more than 2,000 blacklisted sites were numerous online poker sites, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, as well as sites with hyperlinks to such banned sites. These websites were scheduled to be secretly blocked by Australia’s Internet service providers (ISPs). The list was leaked by wikileaks.com, a leading online antagonist of government censorship and a supporter of freedom of information made up of anonymous submissions.

ABC TV’s “Q&A” program that aired on March 26 was Senator Conroy’s first major media appearance to discuss the government's internet censorship plans. The response from viewers was substantial as more than 2,000 people sent in web and video questions regarding the government’s censorship proposals.

“We’ve never seen anything like the avalanche Stephen Conroy has generated,” said the show’s host, Tony Jones, when introducing Conroy.

Conroy’s admissions during the broadcast created even more of a stir and left considerable doubt regarding the government’s ability to filter the internet without unintentionally blocking legitimate websites. He acknowledged that images taken by artist/photographer Bill Henson were added to the prohibited websites list in error, and cast blame on the “Russian Mob” for the addition of a dentist’s site to the list, saying that the Mob hacked into the dentist’s site. Several other sites were on the blacklist even though they changed hosting providers and cleaned up their sites several years ago.

“The classification board looked at (Bill Henson’s) website and actually said it’s PG,” Conroy said. “A technical error inside ACMA I’m advised included it, but it was actually cleared by the Classification Board, so it shouldn’t be on the list.”

“I’ve asked ACMA in the last few hours to go through their entire list again to see if there are any other examples of this.”

Conroy’s comments raised concerns from Australians about freedom of speech issues. Because the community doesn’t have access to the blacklist they’re unaware of the criteria used in the banning process.

Such a ban on poker websites would have a huge effect in Australia, where the industry has been thriving even despite recent restrictions enforced by ACMA. The Internet Gambling Act 2001, which has been around for years, makes it unlawful to provide an interactive gambling service to a customer physically present in Australia. Only recently has ACMA become more determined in restricting such illegal material.

Some of the biggest poker tournaments in the world take place in Australia, including the multi-million dollar Aussie Millions as well as the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Asian Poker Tour, and Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PKR Ups The Ante

1st April 2009

LONDON, England - (PRESS RELEASE)- Next-generation poker room PKR.com has released a new upgrade to its award-winning software that adds a range of new games and features to its already market leading offering.

New games:

• Omaha Hi/Lo – Pot Limit and Limit variants of the popular split-pot game are now available across cash games, Sit & Go's and MTTs.
• Mini roulette – The world's favourite casino table game follows Blackjack and Casino Hold'em onto PKR.com's embedded game roster.

New features

• Timebank – Players facing difficult decisions can now take more time to make the right move. In cash games, the more hands you are dealt means more time added to your bank – up to the table maximum – while in tournament play the additional time allotted to each player is fixed.
• Break skips – Available at the final tables of all tournaments, players can now opt to skip the break. If all remaining players choose this option, the action continues.

PKR Shop items

• A raft of cool new items has arrived in the PKR Shop. PKR.com players will be able get their hands on a wide range of high-end electronics as well as fantastic new poker books, accessories and subscriptions to PKR.com's partner training site Bluefire Poker, hosted by high stakes poker prodigy Phil Galfond.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said. "Our community is highly valued and as we grow we like to make sure we provide our players with exactly what they need. Many of the features in our updates are in response to popular demand and we are constantly working on improvements for the future.

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Online Poker site offer Champions League Prizes - 30th March 2009

The Champions League final takes place in Rome on the 27th May and could well be another all English affair. With Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Liverpool all into the quarter finals, this years competition has again been dominated by Premiership teams.

PKR.com offer players 3D virtual online poker allowing users to change appearance, dress code as well as emotional behavior. The site will be giving away several VIP packages to players each worth $3,500.

The prizes can only be won by Gold, Platinum and Diamond club members who finish top of the PKR points earners table in April. The packages include, flight's, two nights accommodation in a luxury hotel and excellent seats in the ground.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, "The Champions League Final is the most celebrated event on the European football calendar. We are extremely happy to offer this fantastic incentive to our players, many of whom have as much of a penchant for the green turf of the football pitch as they do for the poker baizes."

PKR are famous for being the first internet site to offer 3D games and have now acquired millions of players from around the globe.

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Internet Filtering Continues to be Hot Topic in Australia - Gambling911 - 31st March 2009

The coverage related to Internet filtering in Australia continues to be a hot topic. A report aired just the other night with some 377 plus people commenting on what was transpiring. As Gambling911.com has been reporting, the Australian government, led by Communications Director Stephen Conroy, has been working to filter some 2000 plus websites they claim were "indecent" but as it turns out, a number of those sites were related to online poker, religion and politics.

One individual wrote:

"The fact that the black list already contains politically controversial sites -of religions with which the government does not agree- should be taken as a sign of things to come. That information on euthanasia has been blocked is fairly hypocritical. It was legal in the Northern Territory under 15 years ago. The filter only covers http traffic - not peer to peer traffic. Anyone hosting illegal content over http is advertising their location. Surely distributors of illegal content would use P2P."

Another had this to say:

"Both during his appearance on Insight and Q&A last week, Conroy described it as a "Genuine conundrum" that blacklists have to be secret in order to work - therefore disenabling legitimate sites from knowing and protesting their blacklisting. I don't really see how it is a "Conundrum". If the sites are blocked, then supposedly people won't be able to access them ANYWAY. So what's wrong with transparency? And those who really want to view illegal sites will already know of them and can bypass."

Our man on the street, Greg Tingle, had this to say:

"I'm an adult and if I wish to watch adult porno that should be my business only. If I want to visit a poker or online casino website to place a bet, so be it. If I want to link to Betfair, I should have every right to. Here's a movie to watch, John Carpenter's 'They Live'. Part science fiction thriller and part black comedy, the film echoed contemporary fears of a declining economy, within a culture of greed and conspicuous consumption common among Americans in the 1980s. In They Live, the ruling class within the monied elite are in fact aliens managing human social affairs through the use of subliminal media advertising and the control of economic opportunity. Rudd, any bells ringing here. Liberal, you have found your next election winner I believe. The way this is going Australia is heading for a riot which will make Cronulla, Maroubra, Thailand, China and France look like child's play. Rudd and Conroy, it's happening on your watch. Is the Australian government happy with themselves now. I would suggest that some Australian politicians are going to do well to get bodyguards, if they don't have them already, such is the dislike of some of their jackass policy, and some of them are the clowns that signed off some of this garbage."

This is a hot topic that won't be going away any time soon. (Credit: Gambling911)

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Mickey Rourke Headlines Celebrity Bounty Tournament at DoylesRoom - Gambling911 - 28th March 2009

Mickey Rourke Headlines Celebrity Bounty Tournament at DoylesRoom

From 9 ½ Weeks to The Wrestler, no actor has lived the Hollywood dream like Mickey Rourke. Giving his all on the movie set, boxing ring and wrestling mat, Mickey’s true grit and talent are undeniable. Mickey will now take on challengers of another kind, DoylesRoom.com poker players.

DoylesRoom.com today announced the guest list for the DoylesRoom Celebrity Bounty Tournament. Mickey Rourke teams up with returning bounty celebs; billionaire heiress Nicky Hilton and Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler. New to the celebrity cast is the multi-talented singer and actress, Eve. With over 7 million albums sold, numerous movie roles and a BET, MTV and a Grammy award under her belt, this self-made queen of hip hop is up to any challenge. These 4 celebrity guests join 10-time WSOP winner Doyle Brunson, and poker’s famed educator and statistician, Mike Caro, for a blockbuster evening of poker.

It all kicks off on Thursday, April 2nd at 9:30 pm ET as the star-studded cast takes to the tables and the Celebrity Bounty Tournament begins. For a $27.50 buy-in, players compete in this fast action multi-table Texas Hold’em tournament. One lucky online poker player can win a $25,000 cash prize by knocking out all three key bounties. A handsome $5,000 consolation prize will be awarded if a single player knocks out two key bounties and $500 will be awarded to the player who knocks out any single bounty. First-time players have nothing to lose and everything to gain, as DoylesRoom.com will generously issue a full-refund of their buy-in and fees.

Since 2005, the weekly Doyle’s Bounty is the online poker world’s benchmark for guest bounty style tournaments. Its success has directly contributed to the crossover between mainstream entertainment and the excitement of online poker. (Credit: Gambling911)

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Poker Mag Launches new Poker Academy - 24th March 2009

With Poker being one of the most favoured of all gambling games, it was only a matter of time before professional tutorials were in demand.

One of the first to do so has been the well known poker magazine Bluff Europe, as it announced the launch of its new poker academy. The academy will be a series of tours, where the public are given lectures and advice from professional poker players.

The tour starts on the 4th April and will take place at The Casino of the Empire in London. The lectures are open to all and will cover various concepts in professional poker, including luck and variance, dealing with defeat and bankroll management.

After the lectures there will also be tournaments scheduled for attendees where they will be given direct supervision from some of the best players in the world.

The Editor and Chief at Bluff Europe, Michael Caselli said, “I’m really excited about the pros we have involved, we’ll be announcing who they are shortly, but let’s just say they are huge.”

Bluff also revealed that each series of the tours would be presided over by online poker professionals along with Bluff columnist Alex Rousso.

Alex Rousso went on to say, “This is a great opportunity for poker enthusiasts to learn to improve their games with the help of some of the best players around.”

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European Commission Finds U.S. in Violation of Trade Agreements, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 27th March 2009

Last March, the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) learned that its complaint filed with the European Commission would be acted on. The complaint stems from the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, which the RGA charges unfairly discriminates against foreign operators. On Thursday, the European Commission released its preliminary report.

The Commission agreed with the RGA (and many other industry organizations) that the United States is in violation because "the treatment of foreign Internet gambling operators by the U.S. under existing domestic law constitutes a barrier to market access for European companies and is inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules," according to a press release on Friday from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI).

The complaint charges that the United States approves of domestic internet gambling, specifically wagering on horse racing, but shuts out international operators. One such domestic site, TwinSpires.com, has been called into question in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where Governor Steve Beshear and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown are engaged in legal action to force the forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names. On the national level, the SSIGI has watched as Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit admitted to violating the UIGEA and Wire Act of 1961 in a New York court room. Dikshit agreed to hand over a $300 million fine in three installments and risks up to two years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December of 2010.

SSIGI spokesperson Jeff Sandman commented, "“The European Commission investigation further highlights the need for the Obama Administration and Congress to regulate Internet gambling not only to protect consumers, but in order to restore integrity to the international trade system. The Obama Administration should seek to forge a new direction on Internet gambling, rather than keeping in place a protectionist trade policy that hypocritically discriminates against foreign online gambling operators.” A recent study released by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that up to $52 billion could be raised over a 10 year period by taxing and regulating internet gambling in the United States.

E.U. Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton gave her take on the next steps: “It is for the U.S. to decide how best to regulate Internet gambling in its market, but this must be done in a way that fully respects WTO obligations. I am hopeful that we can find a swift, negotiated solution to this issue." Last September, E.U. trade officials arrived in the U.S. on a two week fact finding mission, culminating in Friday's report. The RGA's initial complaint was originally lodged in December of 2007.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) was slated to introduce internet gambling legislation in March in the United States. However, with just four days remaining in the month, no bill has been introduced. Frank, who is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has been preoccupied with one of the worst economic climates in the history of the United States. His previous bill to regulate and tax the industry was HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. The bill, which was introduced in 2007, did not see time on the House floor during the 110th Congress and therefore must be reintroduced for consideration.

The RGA's members include a veritable “who's who” of European internet gambling operators including Betfair, CryptoLogic, Ladbrokes, Microgaming, Playtech, Paddy Power, Party Gaming, and William Hill. The London-based organization is headed by Clive Hawkswood. The SSIGI is based in Washington, D.C.

The European Commission could elect to work out an agreement with the United States directly or seek the intervention of the WTO. The SSIGI even cited U.K. Parliament member David Blunkett, who claimed, "I fully support the call by the E.U. Trade Commissioner, Cathy Ashton, for urgent U.S. action to regularize the trade relationship, respect WTO rules, and to regulate online gambling. This would provide not only fair competition, but protection for individuals and families, and a legal basis on which substantial revenue could be raised at a time of considerable pressure on public finances." The official European Commission report is expected to be released next month.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the European Commission. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Australians Are The Biggest Gamblers In The World - Gambling911 - 26th March 2009

A report out of Canada paints Australians as the biggest gambling degenerates in the world. The report, obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph, shows Australian and New Zealand gamblers spend an average of $435 online every month.

This is five times what punters put through poker machines and has prompted renewed calls for bans on online gambling, which allows people to bet using credit.

The study also found the prevalence of problem gambling was up to four times higher for Internet gamblers than those who used traditional means such as poker machines.

More than 20,000 adults from 105 countries were surveyed for the study, conducted by University of Lethbridge professors Robert Wood and Robert Williams.

"Australian Internet gamblers do report higher average monthly gambling spending than the overall average we observed among our sample," Prof Wood said.

"This would suggest that Australian Internet gamblers do indeed spend more on gambling compared with Internet gamblers from most other countries."

Australian Media Man for Gambling911.com, Greg Tingle, rejoiced at the news.

"Ahoy. This report confirms my suspicions and my own findings... online gambling is red hot in the land down under... Australia. I think this officially marks a gold rush for the promised land. Our phone hasn't stopped ringing, and there's a constant stream of overseas enquires.

"The Australian government's ACMA website blacklist doesn't appear to have slowed down those seeking to make a killing down under. We're seen a trend in more .net ventures taking off and online casinos are generally keeping the "play for free" or "play for money" option. Australian newsrooms are also starting to run more stories regarding the online gambling sector and most are surprisingly balanced stories. We're gladly assisting them on (some) of the inner workings of the online casino industry." (Credit" Gambling911)

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Falling in Love with Pot Limit Omaha, by Sean Gibson - Poker News Daily - 26th March 2009

As a part time professional poker player my history is very similar to a lot of the fellow early 30-somethings I meet in this industry that play either part time or full time for their income. We all started out playing Stud before the Hold’em boom, and then migrated over to No Limit Hold’em as soon as the Moneymaker Effect took over the entire United States at large. We all jumped on Party Poker or PokerStars and decided to grind out (of all things) low stakes Sit & Gos. From there almost universally all of us moved to cash game poker where we’ve all carved out a nice bit of coin grinding out a modest win-rate at the low and medium stakes. All of us remember the days when we all had great win-rates at cash games or amazing ROI numbers for Sit & Gos when the UIGEA was not in effect and the global economy hadn’t done its best impersonation of the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl (that’d be a nosedive). In effect, the No Limit Hold’em games are frankly a lot harder than they used to be and good players just have less of an edge than ever.

Now that everyone from top professionals like Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi to the lowliest of goons on internet forums all say the same thing about online No Limit Hold’em, what’s a good player supposed to do to really carve out a great win-rate?Many simply opt for grinding it out, playing hundreds of thousands of hands at a near break-even point and simply live off their rakeback or VIP program. That lowly existence certainly isn’t for those of us who have a competitive edge and aim to get better and actually profit when we put in a session. Is there a game out there with a big edge beyond the micro-stakes?

Players might want to look for the answer into the popular off-shoot of Hold’em: Omaha. As Sammy Farha says, if No Limit Texas Hold'em is the Cadillac of poker, then Omaha is the Porsche. The question that a lot of poker players ask themselves is whether they’re able to handle such a fast and sexy vehicle. The game is a lot more complex than Hold’em, as well as introducing the Hi/Lo variant of the game where there are split pots. But is Omaha really going to boom because of an edge for good players? For the answer I asked some mid-stakes players on various sites.

“I don’t think that PLO Hi/Lo will attract many players in the near future because split pots just seem to keep the fish away,” commented “alavet” a low-stakes Russian player on PokerStars. “I believe the number of players for PLO Hi will definitely expand hopefully another 50% in the next year. Hold’em games are getting too nitty and boring, especially for the higher limits.”

What about the edge for micro-stakes beginners playing Pot Limit Omaha Hi for the first time? Mid-stakes player “stacks_for_sale” gives some interesting insight, “Should NLHE lose its popularity, PLO for sure will be the next wave of poker as a lot of good NLHE players will (and in fact have been) making the transition to PLO. PLO is already big in Europe, and will definitely come before PLO/8 because it is simpler to play. That is to say, because it is played ‘high only’ there are less rules, math, and strategy associated with it than the high-low variant. In addition, Omaha games in general are action games meaning people are playing a wide range of starting hands and hand values change wildly with board texture.”

With the major poker room sites offering plenty of Omaha action for Hi, Hi/Lo, or even Limit, the availability of games for players to jump into is wide. PokerStars regularly runs guaranteed Omaha tournaments every day, and both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have regularly populated cash games and Sit & Gos. There is even an Omaha hand tracking utility, although slightly outdated, in PokerTracker Omaha Edition which can be coupled with PokerEV to do all the things any other hand analyzing program can do.

Now that the entire Omaha possibility has intrigued you, where do you go for some good solid Omaha experience and knowledge to give you a leg up on the competition? In the world of published books the most famous book is Sammy Farha’s “Farha on Omaha” which has received poor reviews in Amazon’s book store. The highest rated book in the store is Jeff Hwang’s “Pot-Limit Omaha Poker” which sells for a ridiculously low $10.17 for a new paperback edition of the book. On top of that, the popular online poker training school DeucesCracked.com offers some of the best Omaha online training around.

So is Omaha the new sexy girl at the bar that everyone is trying to hit on? For now Omaha just might be that girl a lot of us are getting the courage to finally get up and ask out on a date to see if she’s our type, hoping she won’t dump us right away. Whether it’s the next boom in poker remains to be seen but in the meantime I’ll keep enjoying my 10BB/100 win rate at the microstakes. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Australia Blacklist May Cost Election - Gambling911 - 25th March 2009

The controversy continues regarding Australia's leaked list of blacklisted websites which included, among others, the legal gambling enterprise, Betfair, as well as some online poker portals.

"We didn't know [about the ban]," said Betfair CEO Andrew Twaits. "We've been licensed to operate in Australia for three years and have never received a complaint or any allegation that Betfair locally or globally is not allowed usage by Australians. The global Betfair site is used by Australians every day."

Some 2500 websites were reportedly brandished as "unacceptable for viewing by Aussies". Besides numerous porn websites, there were YouTube links and poker room sites listed as well.

Poker sites on ACMA's blacklist include big names like partypoker.com, fulltiltpoker.com, 888.com, pokerroom.com, pokerstars.com, and mansion.com.

"As many as 400,000 Aussies are playing poker on the Web," an industry spokesperson told Network World, adding the amount gambled could be $US1000 per person every year.

But portal news websites like PokerNews.com were also on the blacklist. It was not immediately known if Gambling911.com was on the list as well.

Even more shocking, a Queensland dental surgery website was also among those blacklisted.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, who is pushing for the Web filtering, claimed that porn had been implanted into the dental surgery website by hackers.

"Australians have proven themselves to be very pro active, passionate and rather effective protesters and activists over the decades," said Australia Media Man, Greg Tingle. "Australia is also home many Internet entrepreneurs and self styled publishers."

Tingle added: "Australia is also known for its fearless whistle blowers, likely the most notable being "The Human Headline" Derryn Hinch. Hinch and others have risked (and done) jail to stand up for justice! The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, of which I'm a member, have enjoyed some strong successes in protecting the rights of journalists.

"To state the obvious the matter of censorship is of significant relevance and interest to journos and their editors. There's an old expression by a wise man in New York... "News is something, someone, somewhere, doesn't want someone else to know, everything else is PR! Nathan, the Australian government "blacklist" is huge news. It appears that by making websites or whatever "illegal" and "banned" it boosts interest and makes them every more sought after.

"Many industries have thrived in an underground and underworld type environment in the past including some of Australia's (unadvertised) land based casinos, as showcased on Network Nine's 'Underbelly'. Bottom line... Australians do care a rats ass about censorship."

Thus far, Conroy shows no sign of backing down.

Speaking at a Sydney press conference Thursday morning, Conroy said the leaked list would serve only to publicise Web sites that promote terrorism, hate and child porn.

"Does the [leaked blacklist] mean we are going to stop blocking access to the sites? No. People can continue to put up the lists if they are proud to do that," Conroy said.

"It is completely untrue that the leaked blacklist contains political content. This is a list which contains sites that promote incest, rape, child pornography and child abuse.

"If people think [leaking the list] is a victory for free speech, to make available that sort of information, they have a perverse sense of free speech. You can oppose the filter and not be a supporter of child pornography, but equally you can support the filters and still be supporter of free speech. (Credit: Gambling911)

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Asian Poker Tour Announces 12 Day Macau Poker Festival, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 23rd March 2009

On August 12th, the Asian Poker Tour's (APT) Macau event will kick off from the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino, tournament officials announced on Monday. Last year, the event ran for just five days. This year, the APT has been granted permission to hold it for more than twice that length of time.

In 2008, the APT Macau Main Event guaranteed $1.5 million, which it claimed was the largest guaranteed prize pool ever offered in Asia. When the smoke cleared, 20 year-old Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who is known as "atimos" in the online poker world, grabbed $500,000 for the win. He bested players from over 40 countries in the process, including Americans Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who are second all-time with ten World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets behind Ultimate Bet's Phil Hellmuth. In addition, reigning WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda and National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed were also in attendance last year.

One year ago, the tournament series was acquired by AsianLogic, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "ALOG." At the time of writing, it was trading up ₤0.50 on the day to ₤15.00, a jump of 3.45%. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's stock has traded in a broad range of ₤8.00 to ₤89.75. The APT's ambassadors, known as the "Poker Pack," have helped build the tour's brand name and company's stock price. They consist of Nam Le, Quinn Do, J.C. Tran, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee.

The buy-in for the 2009 APT Macau Main Event will be $4,300. The action gets underway on August 19th with the first of three starting days. The final table, which will be televised, kicks off on August 23rd. APT officials will once again fly Tournament Director Matt Savage in for the event. Savage serves as the officiate of high-profile poker tournaments around the world, including the recently-completed World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star event in San Jose. Its champion, Steve Brecher, received over $1 million for his efforts and defeated popular poker pro Kathy Liebert heads-up.

APT officials are also expecting a wide variety of side tournaments and ring games. The high-stakes HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000) cash game is expected to return. However, a press release distributed on Monday claimed, "With the APT-sponsored poker room at the Starworld now witnessing six-figure pots in games on a daily basis, the stakes will be significantly raised." A schedule of events for APT Macau was not available at press time.

APT CEO Chris Parker commented on the upcoming Macau poker tournaments, “The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia’s first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit.” Last year's event began on August 27th and ran through the 31st. This year, APT Macau begins on August 12th and concludes on the 23rd.

In 2008, the APT made waves by publicly reaching out to U.S. Olympic swimmer and eight-time gold medalist Michael Phelps, inviting him to compete free of charge. The invitation came as a result of Phelps telling his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to compete in the WSOP. Although Phelps did not make the flight from Beijing, the site of the 2008 Olympics, a total of 257 players made their way to Macau.

In addition to the festivities in Macau, the APT also held tournaments in January in Manila. The Main Event was won by Neil Arce, a local poker player, who earned $185,000 for his efforts. A total of 262 players turned out for the $2,700 buy-in event, which was held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City. Amazingly, South Korea's own Steve Yea finished as the runner up in both the Macau and Manila Main Events for a combined $350,000.

iPoker Network rooms, Full Tilt Poker, PKR, Everest Poker, PartyPoker, 888, and Microgaming's 32Red Poker are among those that are scheduled to offer online satellites to the 2009 APT Macau event. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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UFC May Juggle Online Poker Sponsors, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 25th March 2009

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) may be ousting Full Tilt Poker as a sponsor, according to multiple sources. In its place, according to MMAFix.com, could be Absolute Poker, which is owned by Tokwiro, also the parent company of Ultimate Bet. Full Tilt continues to have affiliate banners in place on the UFC's website.

MMAFix.com revealed in a post dated on March 23rd, "We received word from multiple inside sources that Full Tilt Poker is 'banned' from the UFC as a sponsor in the octagon or on its fighters. Whether or not this ban is permanent or temporary is not yet known." Gus Hansen, a Full Tilt Pro, recently battled Theo Jorgensen in Copenhagen inside a boxing ring, displaying the edge of the online poker site and some of its pros. In the end, however, he was bested by Jorgsensen.

The advertisement on UFC's website for Full Tilt Poker shows Phil Ivey saying, "I work on my game at Full Tilt Poker." In the place of Full Tilt, MMAFix.com speculated that one of the two Tokwiro-owned rooms would become its newest sponsor. It explained, "It appears as if UltimateBet’s sister site, Absolute Poker, will be part of this deal, although we’re awaiting confirmation. The real shame here is the UFC is screwing over its fighters yet again. Full Tilt was spending good money on sponsorships, and limiting the competition does them no favors."

When approached by Poker News Daily, officials from Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker could not confirm a potential partnership with UFC. Ultimate Bet is the official sponsor of World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) WrestleMania XXV in Houston, sending one lucky customer to the annual spectacle. A total of 317 players entered the final online qualifier, with Alex Cummings emerging victorious from the pack. He took home two tickets to the event in Houston, round trip airfare, three nights' hotel accommodation, CDN $500 in spending money, two replica WWE championship belts, a framed poster, and a pair of commemorative chairs. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Ultimate Bet member.

On sponsoring WrestleMania, Ultimate Bet's own Annie Duke told Poker News Daily, "“As two organizations concerned with providing the ultimate entertainment experience, our Canadian partnership with WWE WrestleMania XXV is a natural fit. Our players are among the millions of loyal and avid watchers of WWE and it’s a privilege for us to give them the chance to play poker to win their way to be part of this marquee event on April 5, while also adding to UltimateBet.net’s reputation for delivering much sought-after prizes.”

On April 18th, UFC will present UFC 97: Redemption, with a headliner of Anderson “The Spider” Silva against Thales Leites. In addition, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell will battle toe to toe with Brazilian superstar Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The festivities will take place inside the Bell Centre in Montreal. On May 23rd, UFC 98 will feature a fight between Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida. Poker players in Las Vegas will be able to stroll over to the MGM Grand Garden Arena to watch the action unfold in person when the event kicks off at 7:00pm local time.

Full Tilt Poker is gearing up for the release of the schedule for its 12th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). The slate of events is anticipated to be unveiled today, although at the time of writing, no announcement has been made. Last week, the online poker site ran the first installment of its Friday Night Fights, which pitted Andy Bloch against Gus Hansen. Both are card-carrying members of Team Full Tilt, with Bloch coming out the victor after connectivity issues slowed the action early on. The match-up for this Friday has not been announced. The site regularly holds a Friday Night Fight $500 Knockout tournament that boasts a guaranteed prize pool of $75,000. The $535 buy-in means that each player has a $100 bounty on their head, making it a unique tournament.

On Sundays, Full Tilt runs the Sunday Brawl, another high-stakes bounty tournament with a healthy $350,000 up for grabs. The $256 buy-in sends $200 to the prize pool, $16 to Full Tilt, and $40 as a bounty on each player's head. The Sunday Brawl regularly attracts around 2,000 players, making it one of the largest recurring online poker tournaments in the world.

We'll have more news from the world of UFC as it develops right here on PokerNewsDaily.com. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Aussie Blacklist Controversy Escalates

Leaked lists of banned websites "closely resemble" the government's official list, according to Australian insiders

March 25, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- At first, Australia Communications Minister and Senator Stephen Conroy denied that the recent lists of websites that appeared on Wikileaks (a website dedicated to publishing and commenting on “leaked documents alleging government and corporate misconduct”) had any connection to the Australian government's official watchdog lists.

Now, it appears that he may be changing his story.

"Senator Conroy admitted that the latest list, dated March 18th, 'seemed to be close’ to ACMA’s current blacklist," writes Chloe Lake, Technology Editor for Australia’s news.com.au, in an article from today’s online edition.

(ACMA, or the Australian Communications and Media Authority, is the department that mandates government intervention in that country's media and communications. An official government blacklist of Internet sites would most likely come from this office.)

What was really controversial about last week’s leaked lists, though, was the inclusion of many reputable, widely respected companies among the thousands of pornography and criminal activity-related websites -- including Betfair, the world's largest betting exchange.

Many in the Australian media are understandably upset at the list, and the implications it represents -- that the Aussie government can randomly select which Internet destinations it allows its citizens to visit, without any kind of public hearing on the matter.

“When ‘they’ (‘they’ usually being the government) tell us it’s ... for our own good and to ‘trust us’, it’s time to be concerned,” Media Man Australia’s Greg Tingle told CAP. “The recent actions by the Australian government regarding censorship of the Internet are the sort of actions that inspire riots, something our friends in America and France would be well aware of.

“When things become ‘illegal’ or ‘banned’, the world history books effectively show that these matters become more popular, often more profitable, but less regulated, so that consumer protection measures are reduced or dissolved.”

Mr. Tingle goes on to claim that not only Betfair but also PokerStars and PokerNews are on the published lists, although whether this is true or not is difficult to confirm in an official capacity.

So, the big question comes back to authenticity: Are the lists really the official black lists of the Australian government?

That still hasn't been confirmed -- and perhaps cannot be, given the understandable reluctance of Aussie politicians to claim responsibility for such a controversial topic.

Independent Australian news agency Crikey has been reporting furiously on the topic, publicly calling on Senator Conroy's office to confirm whether or not the new lists were indeed the ACMA blacklist. The jury is still out on whether or not it is, but the lack of an official denial or confirmation is just adding fuel to the fires of controversy at this point.

If there's a silver lining, it's this: Perhaps this storm of criticism will inspire the Aussie government to rethink the very notion of Internet censorship, a concept to which most citizens seem firmly opposed.

Read the Crikey coverage here; and click here to read the news.com.au coverage.

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Banned poker sites make joker of ACMA's Internet blacklist, by Rodney Gedda - Computer World - 23rd March 2009

Banning URLs not a substitute for lack of policing

Less than a week after the federal government's URL blacklist was leaked and caused a furore over the status of online betting company Betfair, Australia's poker industry is now in the firing line over the number of legitimate poker sites that could be banned by the filter.

The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it an offence to provide, or advertise, certain interactive gambling services and online poker is no exception, but that hasn't stopped thousands of Australians for participating in a game of Texas Hold'em over the Web on .com poker sites.

ACMA is responsible for investigating formal complaints made under the Act in relation to prohibited Internet gambling content and is now prepared to filter poker URLs as well.

A representative of a local, in-person poker tournament company who requested to remain anonymous said ACMA's decision to include online poker sites in the blacklist may well be justified if they are operating illegally from the government's perspective, but there are “better ways of doing it than banning URLs”.

“All they need to do it to prosecute one person,” the spokesperson said.

Many Web sites of local in-person poker tournament operators openly promote and link to international online poker sites, apparently in flagrant disregard of the Internet Gambling Act.

“Linking to a .com poker site is illegal, but local poker companies and Web sites do it because no one has been prosecuted yet.”

Poker sites on ACMA's blacklist include big names like partypoker.com, fulltiltpoker.com, 888.com, pokerroom.com, pokerstars.com, and mansion.com.

It may be illegal to run or promote an Internet gambling business in Australia, but that hasn't stopped thousands of Aussies joining the online poker scene – with real money to boot.

“As many as 400,000 Aussies are playing poker on the Web,” the spokesperson said, adding the amount gambled could be $US1000 per person every year.

Furthermore, in a case of what might be seen as the government going too far with filtering, even poker news site pokernews.com was on the blacklist.

“They are included because its technically illegal. ACMA should be doing better things than chasing gamblers.”

So the local legitimate poker industry wants the government to take action, not filter the Internet.

“I don't agree with making online poker illegal, but if they are going to do that why not blacklist them?”

What's the advice for in-person and online poker players? The spokesperson said while many tournaments and operators are not doing anything illegal, many are “looking for a back door into online poker so stick with a reputable company”.

“I'm p...sed off at guys doing it illegally,” the spokesperson said.

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Gambling News Down Under: Australia Website Blacklist Debacle - Gambling911 - 24th March 2009

Evidence is mounting that the list of websites published by Wikileaks is almost certainly ACMA's "secret" blacklist. Senator Stephen Conroy claimed the first leaked list, dated August 2008, was too long to be real. 2395 URLs instead of 1600-odd. However, more recent lists, leaked late Friday night, are another story.

"There's not much if any room for doubt that the Wikileaked lists of 11 and 18 March are anything other than the ACMA blacklist," says Irene Graham, who maintains censorship information website Libertus.net.

Even apart from the giveaway file name, "Websites_ACMA.txt", ACMA' statistics for November 2008 say they added an item "RC-Publication" that month. That means an electronic version of a print publication, like a book or magazine (remember them?), which had been "Refused Classification". It's the only "RC-Publication" item ACMA has ever blacklisted.

When books are banned, it's not a secret. The Classification Review Board's database shows, to choose a completely random example, that on 27 February, 2007, they banned The Peaceful Pill Handbook by Phillip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart.

Mainstream media reported that Nitschke then published the book online in October 2008, hosted outside Australia. The leaked blacklist dated 11 March, 2009, shows the relevant website added on 12 November, 2008 -- the same month ACMA added their solitary banned book to their list. Coincidence? Yeah right.

"This is turning into the Grim Reaper and Y2K of 2009 all in one!" says Australian Media Man, Greg Tingle. "I wouldn't be surprised if this stays one of the hottest news stories in Australia for all of this year. This effects ever man, women and child. The word on the street is that the Australian government has gone to far and will be thrown out of office at the next election." (Credit: Gambling911)

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Australian Gambling News: Tasmania Wants to Force Breaks on Gamblers - Gambling911 - 23rd March 2009

The Tasmanian government wants to reduced the number of people addicted to pokie machines by forcing them to take breaks.

The Treasurer Michael Aird has announced a range of measures to further protect people addicted to poker machines.

They include a mandatory code of practice for gambling, reducing the maximum bet on poker machines.

"The more player breaks you can induce the more you can mitigate player behaviour," Aird said.

"'They' are at at again!" declared Australia Media Man, Greg Tingle. "'They' are wanting to control people's behavior. They are Government and organisations with hidden agendas. ‘They' are sometimes church groups, lobby groups and government spooks. ‘They' are everywhere and amongst us."

Tingle also warns of the language that "They" use in describing the need to control gambling behavior.

"Be watching out for the word ‘mitigate'," he says. "It's another word for ‘Control'. Mitigate - To moderate (a quality or condition) in force or intensity!"

....Good Friday Bets Won't Happen In South Australia: Gambling Minister Tom Koutsantonis says he wrote to UNiTAB, which owns the South Australian TAB, to make clear it is not allowed to take bets on Good Friday.

He says UNiTAB has withdrawn its plan for the Good Friday trial.

"The TAB were about to, for the first time in SA, have a trial. They were going to open a call centre and take internet bets. On Good Friday and Christmas that's illegal in SA and in breach of their agreement," the Minister said.

"If they continued with that trial they could have been open to a $60,000 fine."

....Internet Service Provider Pulls Out of Australia Censorship Trial: Australia's third largest internet provider, iiNet, has withdrawn from the Government's internet censorship trials, saying it could not "reconcile participation in the trial with our corporate social responsibility".

The move comes after the anonymous whistleblower site Wikileaks last week published a leaked copy of the secret Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) blacklist of prohibited websites, which forms the backbone of the Government's censorship policy.

That list included online poker sites.

"The ISP's have started to pull out of the trial, starting with iiNet, now that the Government's real agenda is becoming much clearer thanks to the leaking of information about the list," Tingle said.

"Industry rumours indicate that not only has Betfair been banned but also PokerStars and PokerNews.com I can't wait to find out if our Casino News Media has made the Government's hate list also. They don't always see eye to eye with journalists or gaming entrepreneurs, so I'm betting I'm on the list! I would also bet that if Gambling911 gets a .com.au they will make the list also!"

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Bernard Lee Previews 2009 East Coast Poker Tournaments, by Bernard Lee - Poker News Daily - 22nd March 2009

Over the last few years, people are always surprised that I still live in the Boston area. Poker players repeatedly ask me why I don’t move to the West Coast, specifically Las Vegas, assuming that I would be closer to big poker tournaments.

However, the truth is that I like the East Coast. Not only did I grow up and go to college here, but most of my family still lives on the East Coast. Although it is freezing during the winter, I look forward to going to Boston Celtics games during the bitter cold months (I have had season tickets for over 10 years). During the past decade, I have seen some really lean Celtics teams, but this past season was simply a magical ride. During the playoff run, I was able to attend every game including Game 6 of the NBA Finals. I was on the floor with my wife when the Celtics won, capturing their 17th championship banner.

The season’s run can be summed up by the following formula.
34 + 5 + 20 = 17!

For those outside of the Boston area, it stands for Paul Pierce’s Jersey Number + Kevin Garnett’s + Ray Allen’s = Celtics 17th NBA Championship.

Although I had to come back early from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to go to a couple of games, it was well worth it. Remember, the WSOP is played every year, whereas the Celtics don’t make the Finals every season (it had actually been over 20 years since the last time they played for the Championship). Let’s hope they have another tremendous run this summer.

Anyway, back to the East Coast poker discussion. With the introduction of the World Poker Tour (WPT) as well as WSOP Circuit events, East Coast players like me can readily compete in numerous No Limit Hold’em Main Event tournaments relatively close to home. With large prize pools attracting top players, East Coast players can compete against very impressive fields for huge sums of money.

Here is sampling of my schedule for the first half of 2009:

JANUARY:
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure: Although technically on the East Coast, this event is not really that close. However, for Northeastern players who endure very cold winters, the PCA is a nice break from the weather. Additionally, this is the only tournament during the year in which my family joins me, as it is held at the magnificent Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas. This year, the Main Event increased its buy-in to $10,000, which consequently boosted the first prize to $3 million.

Southern Poker Championship: This WPT event (originally called the Gulf Coast Poker Championship back in September of 2007) is held at the beautiful Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Once again, this tournament series, which has a $10,000 Main Event buy-in, is not extremely close, but is still relatively closer than the West Coast. In this year’s event, which had a $1 million first prize, I had a nice run, making it to Day 3 and finishing in 23rd place.

Borgata Winter Poker Open: Previously a WPT tournament, this event still has numerous preliminary events with huge fields and prize pools. This year, the casino reduced the Main Event buy-in to $3,000 (from $10,000 last year) and guaranteed a prize pool of $2 million. This watershed amount was easily surpassed, as 1,017 entrants participated with a first place prize of over $650,000.

FEBRUARY:
WSOP Circuit Event, Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, Iowa: During the first half of the year, this is the WSOP Circuit event held near the East Coast. Last year, I completed in the $5,000 Main Event and made the final table. After a nice run last year, I plan to return in 2009, hoping to better my fourth place finish.

MARCH:
WSOP Circuit Event, Caesar’s Atlantic City: In back to back months, the WSOP Circuit has an event convenient for East Coast players. In Atlantic City, the WSOP Circuit events often have their largest size fields here on the Jersey shore. The WSOP Circuit usually returns to Atlantic City in December for another event.

APRIL:
Foxwoods Poker Classic: Foxwoods Resort and Casino is the Mecca of poker in New England. Known years ago as the New England Poker Classic, this WPT event has numerous preliminary events ranging from $300 to $5,000, culminating with a $10,000 buy-in Main Event.

MAY:
WSOP Circuit Event, Harrah’s New Orleans: The third WSOP Circuit event held relatively close to the East Coast. Known for its money presentation using a stuffed alligator, this tournament is the final WSOP Circuit event of the 2008-2009 season.

JUNE / JULY:
World Series of Poker: I realize this tournament is not on the East Coast. However, as a poker player, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. To be a true tournament poker player, you have to head to the WSOP in order to compete for one of the over 50 coveted gold bracelets. This year, in addition to the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event and the $50,000 HORSE event, the WSOP is having a $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the WSOP.

During the second half of the year, there are also numerous events held on the East Coast including:
• Borgata Poker Open in September (a WPT event)
• World Poker Finals in October/November (a WPT event)
• WSOP Circuits events held in Southern Indiana (usually in October), Chicago area (usually in November), and Atlantic City (usually in December)

So you see, if you are an East Coast poker player, there is no need to call your real estate agent and move out to Las Vegas. The East Coast tournament schedule is alive and well. You can stay here and play in numerous events throughout the year against some of the best players in the world.

Good luck to everyone! The next time you are at a major tournament on the East Coast, please stop by and say hello. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Daniel Negreanu Gives Up, Goes Broke on High Stakes Poker, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 16th March 2009

Episode three of GSN's "High Stakes Poker" hit the airwaves on Sunday night. The well-known cash game featured the same lineup as during the first two episodes. This week featured a meltdown of sorts for Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, who lost his $200,000 buy-in.

The first hand of the show saw Doyle's Room namesake Doyle Brunson put his entire chip stack at risk. Holding pocket kings, Brunson called a raise to $2,500 pre-flop by Negreanu. Show commentator Gabe Kaplan noted, "Doyle thinks this is an aggressive table. He's hoping to catch someone holding a marginal hand putting in a raise." Eli Elezra made it $13,300 pre-flop holding pocket nines and Brunson shoved for $95,600. The two poker veterans decided to run it twice, meaning that in order for a player to rake the pot, they must win both boards. The first ran out J-7-8-Q-7, giving the win to Brunson. The second came 5-4-3-10-6 with four hearts. Elezra held the only heart, giving him a flush and resulting in a chopped pot.

The show featured very little action by Tom "durrrr" Dwan, who had been featured heavily over the previous two weeks. Instead, much of the buzz was around Daniel Negreanu, who came out on the losing end of a $151,000 hand. In it, Barry Greenstein raised with J-10 on the button and Negreanu called holding A-8 of spades. The flop came 8-9-Q, giving Greenstein the nuts. He led out and bet $5,500 and Negreanu called. The dealer flipped over an ace on the turn. Negreanu checked, Greenstein fired out $15,000, and Negreanu called. The river was a king and Negreanu once again checked. Greenstein bet $50,000 and Negreanu went into the tank before calling. Kaplan noted that, upon seeing Greenstein turn over J-10, Negreanu "is going to see the last thing he thought he would."

Shortly thereafter, Negreanu (A-8) was involved in four-way action to the flop with Brunson (A-9), Greenstein (2-2), and Elezra (K-Q). The four poker veterans saw a flop of A-K-Q, giving Elezra bottom two pair and Brunson and Negreau top pair. Brunson bet $9,000, Greenstein folded, and Elezra called. Perhaps on tilt from the previous hand, Negreanu raised to $24,000. Brunson got out of the way and Elezra called. The turn came a jack. Negreanu checked while acting extremely frustrated and Elezra bet out $35,000, prompting Negreanu to fold. Kaplan explained, "Daniel is making a fundamental mistake that I've never seen him make before: He's giving up."

Coming back from a commercial break, Negreanu spoke on his influences in poker: "The biggest influences on my game are the guys I grew up with: Guys like Phil Ivey, John Juanda, and Allen Cunningham. We were the young guns. We'd go to dinner and discuss strategy."

Another out of character move by Negreanu came after reigning World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate inadvertently bet $32,000 into a $13,000 pot. Negreanu commented, "You have the wrong color" and then quickly covered his mouth and laughed. Elezra then promptly made it $140,000 and Eastgate folded. Kaplan said, "Daniel really influenced the action in that pot. If Eli didn’t know that Peter bet the wrong amount, he might not have raised and Peter could have won the pot. It was a mistake by Daniel that should not happen in a game like this."

On the final hand of the evening, Negreanu raised with pocket jacks pre-flop to $2,800. Eastgate called with pocket threes, David Benyamine called with pocket fours, and Elezra splashed around with 3-2. The flop came 2-4-7 with two diamonds, giving Benyamine a set. Negreanu was the first to bet, firing $8,000 into the pot. Eastgate called and Benyamine raised to $41,000. Kaplan commented, "Daniel knows that David is capable of making this raise with a hand like A-5 of diamonds." Negreanu called and Eastgate got out of the way.

The turn came the four of clubs, giving Benyamine quads. Benyamine bet $35,000, which Kaplan described as a "really good bet. If Daniel is drawing to a flush, he wants him to continue to draw. If Daniel has an overpair, he wants him to call." Negreanu shoved for $156,200 and Benyamine insta-called, scooping the $416,200 pot. Negreanu asked Dwan if he had $200,000 to reload with and the credits rolled.

High Stakes Poker airs at 9:00pm ET on Sunday nights on GSN. It is followed by an episode of Season VI of the World Poker Tour. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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