Gambling
Tel A-Heave Ho: Fish Feeder, Rabbi, Hairdresser on Books at William Hill Tel Aviv Office
The turmoil continues at William Hill following a mass exodus of employees in its Affiliates United Tel Aviv-based online support centre last week. The company revealed on Monday that it had canned three of its managers based out of Israel.
The support centre is 79 percent owned by Hill and 21 percent owned by its software provider, Playtech.
William Hill Execs Locked Out of Their Own Office: Implosion Within, Shares Fall
The riff between William Hill and its Tel Aviv-based online support and affiliate center, Affiliates United, continued through the weekend following a mass employee walkout last Sunday. Fewer than 20 employees reported back to work.
The Affiliates United employees were told by a former manager of the support center that they would be relocating to William Hill’s Gibraltar base.
Donald Trump Could be Trump Card for New Jersey’s Chances of Legal i-Gaming
Donald Trump’s announcement that he is looking to enter the online gambling fray last week has offered hope on the state front. New Jersey, which is home to a handful of Trump properties including the Taj Mahal, is one of the states looking to legalize Internet gambling as well as sports betting.
Oklahoma Online Bookie Gets Four Years Behind Bars
An Oklahoma online bookmaker was sentenced to a four year prison sentence following a plea agreement that would require him to cooperate with prosecutors.
David Roy Tune, 62, pleaded guilty to 20 counts of violating anti-gambling laws and one count of conspiracy. Most of the wagers were placed online with a now defunct Costa Rica sportsbook.
It was revealed that Tune forwarded some of the money collected from losing bettors to a man in a man in Costa Rica beginning in 2008.
Sopranos Actor Arrested as Part of New York Sports Betting Sting
John Marinacci, 56, was one of the individuals caught up in a New York State sports betting sting alleged to have ties with the Gambino crime family. Marinacci appeared in two episodes of the popular HBO series “The Sopranos”. He has also appeared on another HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”.
Marinacci was charged this week with enterprise corruption for taking bets and collecting monies for "the Gambino Bookmaking Enterprise," court papers revealed.
The complaint alleges that the New York sports betting ring utilized an offshore wagering call center.
Tim Trushel Abruptly Resigns from his Own Website Sports Memo
Tim Trushel, the president and owner of the Sports Memo group announced his resignation on Tuesday in a shocking development in the sports advisory business. (see blog post here)
Popular APCW Video Account Suspended by YouTube.com
APCW’s slickly produced “Perspectives Weekly” online gambling industry videos may no longer be available on YouTube.com after the video uploading website apparently suspended their account on Thursday. J. Todd runs the APCW site and is widely considered one of the industry’s leading crusaders.
Clicking on the YouTube.com graphic on the APCW website, visitors were greeted with the following message:
Bugging Devices and GPS Tracking Used in Illegal Sports Betting Investigation
37 individuals were arrested on Tuesday in New York and charged with running two illegal sports betting and loan-sharking operations. Those arrested include alleged members of the Gambino crime family.
William Hill Promises Its Affiliates United Branch Staff Six Months Notice of Termination
The United Kingdom’s largest online bookmaker, William Hill, has promised its Tel Aviv-based online affiliate staff, Affiliates United (AffUtd), one month's extra pay and six months notice in the event their jobs are set to be terminated.
Poll Shows New Jersey Residents Would Overwhelmingly Approve Sports Betting
If the election were held today, an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution allowing gambling on sporting events in Atlantic City casinos and at the state's race tracks would easily win approval, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Wednesday.
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll results: NJ sports betting vote
William Hill Share Price in Tizzy Following Tel Aviv Uprising
William Hill’s share price was -4.1p at 224.7p Wednesday as executives from the company tried desperately to quash an uprising in its Tel Aviv Internet support centre.
The company issued a statement on Tuesday that several higher-ups at that office would receive disciplinary action for suggesting to employees they were either being relocated to the company’s Gibraltar office or that their jobs might ultimately be disposed of altogether. More than 200 of the Tel Aviv employees abandoned their jobs as a result of this news.
William Hill Takes Action Against Tel Aviv Execs
England’s biggest bookmaker says it is taking actions against executives in charge of its Tel Aviv online gambling support center for wrongly telling employees they were being relocated to Gibraltar.
Headlines were made this week when more than 200 employees walked out after reports surfaced that the Tel Aviv office would be shut down. William Hill dispatched a team of senior executives to help quell concerns.
Mass William Hill Walkout Could Have Effect on Internet Business
The resignation of Eyal Sanoff, the chief marketing officer, from William Hill has prompted a mass walkout of over 200 staff members from the company’s Tel Aviv online support centre, the Sun reports. That office handles nearly all of William Hill’s Internet marketing.
The Israeli-based staff is worried over rumors that Hill’s CEO Ralph Topping is preparing to dump them and move all operations back to the United Kingdom and Gibraltar.
BetOnSports Founder Gary Kaplan Out of Prison
The founder of BetOnSports.com, Gary Kaplan, has completed his prison sentence in connection with running what was considered the biggest North American facing sports betting business of its kind during its heyday. Numerous sources have confirmed to Gambling911.com that Kaplan is out of jail, whereabouts unknown.
BetOnSports and nearly a dozen of its executives were indicted in July of 2006 just prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October of that same year. Charges included racketeering, money laundering and mail fraud.
Online Sports Betting Way Up at Legends, BetOnline.com: Volume Way Down
Sportingbet Has Sold Its Turkish Business to GVC Sports
Following news this week that takeover talks involving Ladbrokes had fallen through, Sportingbet has sold its Turkish sports betting business to GVC Sports for €142.5m. Gambling restrictions in that nation forced the sale.
Andy McIver, Sportingbet’s chief executive, offered the following statement:
“Given our other big markets, Spain and Greece, have recently regulated their gambling markets, Turkey was the one which stood out [and] that has often been cited as an overhang on our equity,” he said. “So it was a question of when, not if.”
Gambling911.com is Panama Bound: Visiting Legendz Sportsbook, BetOnline.com
Gambling911.com heads to Panama City, Panama this weekend to visit two stalwarts in the online sports betting world, Legendz Sportsbook and BetOnline.com. We will also be visiting with pay per head operator PayPerHead.com, which is represented by none other than The Sopranos Johnny Sack.
Verisign Wants Power to Seize Domains: ACLU Says “Not So Fast”
In the wake of a number of Internet gambling websites and music downloading website having their domains seized, Verisign has signaled they would like to pursue the policy even further.
Online Gambling Blamed for Drone Computer Virus
A common malware that allows the theft of log-ins and passwords used in online gaming is being blamed for infecting military systems that are part of a computer program used to control unmanned drones.
Air Force officials claim the virus infected ground systems that are separate from drone flight controls and did not affect operations.
The Air Force added that computer keystrokes were not logged by the malware, which is designed to steal passwords from people who gamble online.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
Politico.com: Unlikely Duo Working on Internet Poker Measure for Subcommittee
Ultra conservative Republican Joe Barton and Liberal Barney Frank are working on a bill that would legalize Internet poker. They are in the process of presenting their measure to a subcommittee in charge of slashing the deficit.
Ironically, a member of this chosen subcommittee is none other than Jon Kyl, the Republican outgoing Senator from Arizona who authored the current online gambling prohibition.
Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations
Vin Diesel’s Underground Gambling Series Raising Blind Comes to FX
Vin Diesel’s One Race Films production company is moving to the small screen with FX scheduled to air Raising Blind.
It is a series delving in to the world of underground gambling. Great timing considering this past summer’s news about a Hollywood high stakes underground poker ring coming under fire for allegedly having a role in an investor ponzi scheme. The likes of Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon and Toby Maguire were linked to the scheme with Maguire named as a defendant in a complaint filed by said investors.
New Chief Minister of the Isle of Man for Online Gambling Revealed
FORMER Treasury and Economic Development Minister Allan Bell has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of the Isle of Man today (Tuesday October 11, 2011).
The Ramsey MHK was elected to the position by Tynwald, the Island’s parliament, of which he has been a member for 27 years. He takes over as leader of the Manx Government from Tony Brown, who has retired from politics after a long and distinguished career.
Another Big Parlay Payout at BetDSI.com
The popular online sportsbook BetDSI.com has confirmed to Gambling911.com that it has paid out yet another massive parlay (ticket can be seen below).
“We had another big winner this past weekend as a guy hit a 12 team parlay risking $150 to win $150,000,” a BetDSI.com representative informed G911.
ESPN Magazine Asks: How Often Do You Hear About Betting Odds?
ESPN Magazine had a great little piece about how often folks from various sports sectors hear about betting odds and point spreads mentioned.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the respondents in the poker, NFL, NBA and International football (soccer) claimed to hear about the point spreads most often.
Poker pro Vanessa Rousso: “It’s our culture. Women are always underestimated and I get motivated when I see I’m at 75-1 (odds) in a field of 64 (to win the World Series of Poker)”.
Betfair Scandal: Critical Credit Card Hacking Data Withheld From Players
The world’s largest betting exchange, Betfair, has found itself in the middle of a major scandal that resulted in the firm’s Head of Security stepping down.
More than three million customers were affected by a massive credit card hacking scheme. The company made the situation worse by failing to advise customers. The hacking incident in question occurred over 18 months ago.
Canadian Gaming Association Welcomes Changes to Allow Enhanced Sports Wagering in Canada
Famed G911 Reporter, Former Colts Cheerleader Lisa Perry Wants Your Vote
Our good friend Lisa Perry will be competing in an upcoming fitness contest here in our stomping grounds of Miami Beach, Florida. Ms. Perry once served as a writer for the Gambling911.com website and was captain of the Indianapolis Colts cheerleading squad.
The event is the 2011 NPC National Bodybuilding Championships, scheduled November 18-19. Come on down and support our girl Lisa!
How did you get in to the fitness industry?
Gambling911.com to Visit BetOnline, Lock Poker
Gambling911.com has announced its October 2011 schedule, which includes visits to Panama City, Panama (home of BetOnline.com) and a meeting with Lock Poker executives and poker pros in London next week.
“We are very excited to be visiting with two of the industry’s fastest growing brands,” noted Payton O’Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website.
