- Pirate poker sites are parasites.
- Facing off against “industry Goliaths.”
- Issues with payment processing.
- Cross promotion.
Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling has been busy over the last two and a half months with a personalized video blog series that conveys detailed explanations of issues his company is facing in the regulated US online poker market.
The most recent entries go into further detail about the issues Ultimate Poker must confront in order to advance as a front-runner in its industry.
Pirate Poker Sites Are Parasites
“The most successful Internet companies always own their own technology, and we do”Tom Breitling’s most damning comments over the past month have been directed toward unregulated, unlicensed online gaming websites.
These sites put US regulated sites at a distinct disadvantage because many currently operate within most states in the US while licensed operators are restricted to operating in the three states that have regulated online gaming—consisting of less than 5% of the American population.
Specifically citing Bovada/Bodog, Breitling stated that “we call [the unlicensed sites operating in the US] pirates but they’re really parasites feeding off the American player and offering absolutely no benefit to them or the American economy.”
“It’s frustrating because when people try to transact with our company through a Visa card and they fail, they tend to think it’s a problem on our site, which is not the case. Visa simply won’t accept the transaction”“For years they’ve been operating without a license, they’ve been breaking federal laws, breaking state laws, not paying taxes.”
Referring to regulated markets such as New Jersey and France, Breitling pointed out that recent studies show that a significant percentage of online gaming customers in those markets still hold active accounts with unlicensed sites.
Facing Off Against “Industry Goliaths”
Breitling is quick to point out in his June 11 video blog entry that Ultimate Gaming is currently facing stiff competition from “industry goliaths” in the regulated US online poker market.
“We figured early on that all of the US goliaths were going to have to start from scratch (just like us) and find their own technological solutions, but that was not the case. And this has put us at a slight disadvantage in the short term.” the Ultimate Gaming Chairman explained.
Insisting the his company is currently playing the competition game in the “top of the 1st inning” the former Expedia executive focuses on the fact that Ultimate Gaming owns its in-house technological platform.
“The most successful Internet companies always own their own technology, and we do,” said Breitling. “We have the only regulatory compliant platform built right here in the USA.”
Issues with Payment Processing
In his June 4 video blog release, Breitling revealed that Ultimate Gaming has more failed transactions from Visa than approved transactions from MasterCard.
Breitling touched on the fact that Visa and American Express do not currently accept transactions for online gaming in the regulated US market.
“It’s frustrating because when people try to transact with our company through a Visa card and they fail, they tend to think it’s a problem on our site, which is not the case. Visa simply won’t accept the transaction,” the Ultimate Gaming chief told viewers.
“The cruel irony to this is that the illegal gaming sites (pirates) process Visa transactions and openly promote it on their sites by falsifying the transaction and pretending to be selling flowers or something like that.”
To combat these difficulties, the Chairman communicates that his company is in the process of seeking our new ways to process regulated online gaming deposits and withdrawals. These options include pre-paid cards, PayNearMe remote cash payments, and facilitating transactions directly from casino cages.
Cross Promotion
The most recent video blog release from the Ultimate Gaming Chairman deals with cross-promotion of online and land-based gaming.
Referring to Station Casinos’ majority ownership stake in Ultimate Gaming, Breitling explained that “we have learned over the last year that customers like to play online and in a casino. From Day 1, we have been working on ways to support the land-based operations of the 17 properties in the Station Casinos family.”
Mentions of Ultimate Gaming’s exclusive relationship with the UFC were prevalent in the video clip, which focused partly on how the company is driving awareness and cross-promoting its brands to attract new players to both the online and brick-and-mortar venues.
Easy deposit and withdrawal to and from Ultimate Gaming Nevada can be handled via land-based casino cage transactions on sister properties, added Breitling.
Summary
The Ultimate Gaming Chairman’s video blog entries are extremely candid and up-front when outlining the issues the company is battling on various fronts.
However, it remains to be seen whether the iGaming firm’s revenue numbers will improve in months to come as the seasonal downward trend in online poker reverses during the cold-weather months.
