Sportsbook News

Matchbook Betting Exchange Looks to Expand in Europe, Asia With Multi-Currencies

Matchbook Betting Exchange is delighted to announce the release of their new multi-currency platform. This will allow all customers to bet in Euro, Sterling, Canadian and Hong Kong Dollars, as well as the previously available US Dollars. Since being newly acquired in early 2011, there has been heavy investment in the product and this is the first of a number of exciting announcements, including a fully functional mobile application, to come in the next few months.

Bwin.Party Formally Applies for Nevada Internet Poker License

Bwin.Party, the world’s largest real money gambling firm, has officially filed for a Nevada state Internet poker license.

Nevada looks to allow intrastate online poker in the coming months following passage of legislation late last year.  Nevada could incorporate multi-state pacts in the future as well.  Ultimately, the state was looking to become a hub for online poker companies following the passage of a federal law, however, many experts now believe the industry will develop exclusively at the local state level. 

Bodog Shuts Down Costa Rica Office

Bodog has shut down its Costa Rica based office.  Employees reported arriving to find they were locked out. 

The company still operates from bases outside of Montreal, Quebec, Antigua and in London. 

Pirates Come to Ayre’s Defense

The Pirate Party of Canada has lashed out at the US Government’s indictment of native son and Bodog founder, Calvin Ayre. 

Almost Paradise: Poker Site Sees Sharp 33 Percent Decline

Paradise Poker, once among the top three largest Internet card rooms in the world, witnessed a sharp decline in revenues of 33 percent in the first 6 months of its financial year to end January 2012.

The company, which is owned by sports betting powerhouse Sportingbet Plc, called the current poker market conditions “challenging”.

Poker makes up 6.0 percent of gross gaming revenue.

Sportingbet overall recorded a loss for the period. 

Bodog, Calvin Ayre, et al. Indictment (Full Court Document)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  :

v.

BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com, CALVIN AYRE, JAMES PHILIP,

DAVID FERGUSON, and DERRICK MALONEY,

Defendants.

: :    CRIMINAL NO. :      (Conducting gambling business, :  18 U.S.C. §1955; Money :      laundering conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. :       §1956(h); Aiding and :   abetting, 18 U.S.C. §2; : Forfeiture, 18 U.S.C. :         §§982(a)(1) and 1955(d)). :

...ooo0ooo... INDICTMENT COUNT ONE (Conducting gambling business)

Defendants in Hellinger Case to Reach Plea Agreement Tuesday

Gambling911.com has learned that defendants in an online gambling case dating back to 2005 are set to enter pleas on Tuesday.

The US Attorney’s Office in Eastern Pennsylvania charged Don Hellinger and four other men with illegal distribution of over $40 million in Internet gambling winnings during the years 2005 and 2006 through a money transfer company, Payment Processing, Inc.  Hellinger was also alleged to have been involved in mail fraud. 

US Government Responds to Hellinger Case Motion to Continue

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Friday responded to defendant Jami Pearlman’s Motion to Continue and Sever the March 12, 2012 trial whereby he and five other individuals are charged with illegally processing payments for various online gambling companies during a period from January 2005 to February 2006. 

i-Gaming North America 2012 Conference to Take Place March 4-6

Everybody with even the slightest interest in the potential for legalized Internet gambling in North America will be in attendance at the first ever i-Gaming North America 2012 Conference, being held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas March 4 thru 6.

i-Gaming North America describes itself as the first networking and educational event designed to introduce the land-based gaming businesses of North America to the global iGaming industry.

Speakers include:

Alexandra Berzon, Reporter, Wall Street Journal

Over 200 Sports Fixing Probes in Last Four Years

The Daily Star this weekend reports that there were over 200 sports match fixing probes in the United Kingdom in just the last four years. 

From The Daily Star:

Of 210 cases probed by the Gambling Commission since September 2007 nearly all have been over sporting fixtures.

And the majority involve football, horse racing, tennis and snooker.

But they also show that very few cases ever get to court.

Everleaf Poker Should Never Have Been Allowing Washington State Citizens to Play

We have finally learned after days of speculation that Everleaf Poker’s woes come from transmitting funds for online poker to and from the state of Washington.  It is the only state in the U.S. to make playing Internet poker a Class C felony and has done so since 2009 when the investigation into a payment processor utilized by Everleaf had commenced. 

Title 18 U.S.C 1084(b) was cited in the seizure affidavit issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Music Execs Streaming Pirated NFL Games as DOJ Seizes Hundreds of Similar Websites

The music industry has been behind a massive push to knock file sharing and download websites offline while engaging in the same practice they condemn last week.

VEVO, a music portal owned by a few major record labels in the US reportedly had a pirated NFL playoff game playing on screens throughout its ‘PowerStation’ venue at last week’s Sundance festival, according to TechCrunch.

William Hill Becomes Official Sponsor of England Football Team

The United Kingdom’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, has been confirmed as an official sponsor of the England football team.

Peter Daire, the FA's Head of Sponsorship, said:

"We are delighted to have William Hill on board.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Seizes 16 Live Streaming Sports Sites Days Before Super Bowl

U.S. prosecutors seized 16 websites that streamed live sports events on Friday, just two days prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl.  A Michigan man was charged with running nine of those websites.

Yonjo Quiroa (AKA Ronaldo Solano), 28, faces one count of criminal infringement of a copyright and will likely not serve any prison time.