Best of PRO This Week: New Jersey Insights and South African Regulation

Key Takeaways

South African Online Gambling Regulation No Longer a Distant Prospect.
DGE Director Provides Insight into New Jersey’s iGaming Regulation.

Lead Features

South African Online Gambling Regulation No Longer a Distant Prospect

Comments by South African Finance Minister contribute to a growing belief that online gaming regulation proposals may be back on track. Online gaming regulation may be moving from aspiration to near term reality in South Africa.

DGE Director Provides Insight into New Jersey’s iGaming Regulation

David Rebuck talks to Global Gaming Business Magazine on licensing suitability, casino partnerships, affiliates and more. David Rebuck, Director of the Division of Gambling Enforcement for the state of New Jersey, recently granted an interview with Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine.

Exclusive News Articles

GeoComply Confirms New Jersey Application

Nevada-based geolocation provider among applicants ready for November. Geolocation service provider GeoComply confirmed Thursday that it had applied for an Internet Ancillary Service license for online gaming in New Jersey.

DoubleDown Exec Bullish on US Federal Regulation

Charles Harper, Director of Business Development at DoubleDown, gave an upbeat prediction about prospects for US federal gambling regulation at the Casual Connect conference in San Francisco.

Bulgaria Blacklist Reaches Three Figures

Bulgaria’s blacklist has been expanded once more. Ten more additions, published Wednesday, bring the total number of domains blocked in the country to 104.

Colombian Public Information Campaign To Convince People Gambling is Safe and Fair

Coljuegos President argues that “gambling develops the intellect” in a bid to change the industry’s image. Four months after a publicity campaign to convince people that online gambling was illegal—and that people should report gambling sites to the police—the Colombian regulator Coljuegos has launched another campaign designed to promote gambling as a safe non-criminal activity.

Poker Revenues Reduce French Operator Losses

Total online poker operator losses were €36m in 2012 thanks to an effective tax rate of 37%. French regulator ARJEL published Wednesday further data on the regulated online gambling market in 2012.

RGA Complains About Plans To Re-Establish Greek OPAP Monopoly Via Blacklist

Backroom deal on OPAP starts blacklist process for potential competitors—accidental disclosure gives the RGA a chance to complain. The Remote Gaming Association (RGA) has challenged a Greek review of the 24 temporary operating licenses issued to online gaming operators. The RGA has written to the Hellenic Gaming Commission demanding that the review process be stopped.

bwin.party Rumored to be Considering Gray Market Business Spin-Off

Global gaming group bwin.party is rumored to be considering splitting its business between its regulated white-market and gray-market operations, London’s Financial Times reported Monday.

New Jersey Confirms License Applications Ahead of Online Gaming Launch

37 letters of intent filed with the DGE. The Division of Gaming Enforcement for the state of New Jersey has confirmed that it has received 37 applications or letters of intent from companies seeking to be involved in online gaming in New Jersey.

WPN Traffic Grows, Merge Gaming Steadies

The spring traffic decline may have found its bottom for some offshore US-facing sites: The traffic at Merge Gaming has steadied, and the Winning Poker Network (WPN) has shown recent growth.

PokerStars, Winamax Fight for Top Spot in France

Less than 1% separates the two networks. For the first time in over 18 months, PokerStars.FR briefly overtook Winamax in cash game traffic.

CIE Still “Preparing to Launch” in Nevada

In prepared remarks for its second quarter financial results, Caesars CEO and President Gary Loveman stated that Caesars Interactive Entertainment is preparing its Nevada launch, but gave no timetable. The group also stated it was hoping to launch in New Jersey by the end of the year.

Skrill Sponsors English Conference League

Payment provider becomes title sponsor of the football division. Skrill, formerly MoneyBookers, has signed a three year deal as title sponsor of the Football Conference, putting their name to the premier, north and south divisions.

MPN Introduces Mini-Game to Blaze Poker with Cash Prizes

Changing the game: Blaze Poker players will take a break after winning 20 hands—and be presented with an arcade-style game for prizes up to €100. MPN has added “Blazing Cannon” —a feature straight from the casual gaming world—to its fast-fold Blaze Poker product.

24hPoker Drops Relax Gaming’s Fast Poker

From July 31, iGame’s poker product will work exclusively with MPN and Blaze. 24hpoker has given up on Relax Gaming’s fast fold poker game and from July 31 will offer only Blaze Poker. Until now it has run the two fast fold products in tandem.

Belgian Lottery Raid Pressurizes Unfair Competition in Sports Betting

Online poker operators offering sports betting may benefit from Belgium’s crackdown on unfair competition from the National Lottery. The Belgian National Lottery has been the subject of surprise inspections by the Competition Council. The council is investigating whether the National Lottery has abused its market position.