The list is out, and more than 1,000 online gambling sites may not be able to advertise in the United Kingdom when the Gambling Act comes into force Sept. 1.
Parliament has used new powers in the 2005 Gambling Act to ban gambling advertisements from companies operating outside the European Economic Area that haven't been given approval by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS). Play route 66 poker.
Jurisdictions outside the EEA that wished to be exempt from the ad ban had to pass a stringent assessment of their regulatory standards. In an announcement from the department today, only Alderney and Isle of Man are approved jurisdictions.
They demonstrated that they had in place a licensing regime designed to stop children from gambling, protect vulnerable people, keep games fair and keep out crime.
"I make no apology for banning adverts for Web sites operating from places that don't meet our strict standards. Protection is my number one priority," said James Purnell, DCMS secretary. Women poker players.
"The fact that only Alderney and the Isle of Man have been able to meet the high standards demanded by our white listing criteria shows how tough the Gambling Act is. Indeed white listing has actually helped drive up regulatory standards in some countries."
He uses Isle of Man to prove his point.
"The Isle of Man, for example, has made significant improvements to their regulatory regime in order to secure a place on the white list," he said. "This includes requiring all licensees to make contributions to problem gambling research, education and treatment in line with requirement on U.K. operators."
Alexander Canadian Reservation, Netherlands Antilles and Tasmania all had their applications for exemption to the gambling ad bad rejected. Any online poker or casino businesses based there will not be able to advertise in the U.K.
Gambling operators in jurisdictions that didn't apply for exemption, such as Costa Rica and Belize, will also not be allowed to advertise in the United Kingdom after the new Gambling Act goes into affect.
Still waiting for approval or denial are Kahnawake, in Canada, and Antigua. Until they get approval, online gambling operations there will also not be allowed to advertise.
Antigua is considered to have the largest number of gambling operators. It has 537 of the estimated 2,300 world-wide online gambling sites. One of which is Bodog, which recently moved there from Costa Rica. Play online poker.
Bodog is planning a campaign to kick off its expansion into Europe later this year. Not being able to advertise in the United Kingdom could put a dent in its plans.
Costa Rica has the second largest amount of gambling sites with 474, and it didn't even apply for exemption.
Costa Rica is followed by Kahnawake, with 401 sites, and Netherlands Antilles, with 343 sites.
Full Tilt Poker is certified by Kahnawake, and it and several other major poker sites and casinos may be looking at a ban for advertising in the United Kingdom.
Gambling operators can choose to move from the "black listed" jurisdiction to the approved jurisdictions or to the EEA. The jurisdictions they move to will then have to reapply for a place on the "white list."
The ban will apply to all forms of advertising including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, taxis, buses, the tube and some Web sites. Operators, publishers, broadcasters and advertising companies caught break the rules could face fines or even imprisonment. Download poker wallpapers.
Those that are allowed to advertise in the United Kingdom will have to follow strict guidelines for advertising as well.
The Gambling Commission put in place rules and guidelines designed to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by advertising that features or promotes gambling.
These rules will go into effect Sept. 1 along with the Gambling Act. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.
Internet gambling goliath 888.com has joined with fraud-management organization Ethoca Limited to share data to wipe out customer scams online.
The operator - which runs the Web site Pacific Poker, among others - is one of several companies to provide Ethoca with data-sharing information.
The agreement is another landmark signing for the anti-fraud body, which tracks information between companies processing remote transaction by Internet, phone, fax or mail. Women poker.
"As fraud and other unwanted activity grow in size and sophistication, businesses need to stay ahead of the curve," Ethoca CEO Andre Edelbrock said in a release. "Ethoca enables them to do that by sharing their fraud experience for mutual gain in a manner that safeguards their proprietary customer data at all times." Play online poker.
The organization will allow companies such as 888.com to share fraud experiences without compromising personal customer data. Though the company already has a state-of-the-art fraud prevention system, said the release, the agreement will increase the operator's global reach and operational capabilities. Download poker wallpapers.
Ethoca's customers are connected by member-supplied customer transaction information, which is kept secure to protect the privacy of customers and businesses. Though the company's pooling the data are often competitors, Ethoca says the Internet operators see the security measure as an area of cooperation. Play $500 match poker bonus.
"Taking care of our customers has been one of the cornerstones of 888's success and an area where we have set high standards in terms of responsible gaming and fraud prevention," said 888 CEO Gigi Levy. "The Ethoca membership allows us to be at the forefront of our industry by enhancing our high anti-fraud standards and reinforcing 888's position as one of the most responsible online gaming operators. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Analyst says technology allowing newcomers to gain years of experience within months.
What do a 22-year-old from New York, a software engineer from Virginia, and a psychologist from California all have in common? They've each reached the final table in Tuesday's World Series of Poker at Las Vegas' Rio Casino, and they've done it by ousting some of the biggest names in Poker.
"The days of the 'big name' poker players dominating the WSOP are over," says poker analyst Glenn Anderson of LearnPokerSpy.com. "Several years ago, players like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, and Dan Harrington had a huge advantage over the average player due to their many years of experience. But in recent years, technology has allowed newcomers to gain the same experience at 10 times the speed using powerful software analysis tools. It's a much more level playing field." Download poker wallpapers.
Anderson owns a site providing instruction in how to harness these powerful technologies used to play and analyze 10 or more poker games at a time.
"It's like Poker on steroids," says Anderson. "Using these tools, a novice player can quite easily play 1000 or more hands an hour and have complete recall of how they and their opponents behave. Note the ages and experience level of the WSOP final table this year. There's only one player over 40 and many of the finalists have only been playing for a couple of years." Play online poker.
Entering Tuesday's final table, only nine players remain from a field that saw 6,358 players & women poker players pay the $10,000 entry fee. The chip leader is 31-year old online player Philip Hilm with 23.1 million in chips, followed by a host of other Poker unknowns competing for the $8.25 million top prize.
"I expect that we'll continue to see those who properly use technology rather than time to gather Poker experience to outperform their more famous opponents from now on," says Anderson. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
The Flying Dutchman, Marcel Luske, earned his now infamous moniker in his early years on the European poker tournament trail, flying from city to city to build his rep and his bankroll.
Ten years or so on, Luske has seemingly picked up an affinity for the comforts of a mellow Mediterranean cruise as well, becoming the prominent poker face of MonteCarlo Tournaments, the world's first dedicated tournament cruise company. Download poker wallpapers.
And you'll be able to join him on an upcoming three-day €1,000 No-Limit Hold'em cruise, if you'd like, with poker cruise prize packages worth $3,200 now available at Titan Poker.
MonteCarlo tournaments are held on-board the luxury cruise ship MS Jules Verne, sailing out of Malaga (Spain), with a maximum of 500 players per tournament. Play route 66 poker.
The particular cruise the Titan prize packages are for will head out Jan 27, hitting Tangiers and Gibraltar before returning to Malaga June 30.
Here's how you can get aboard: Daily $11+$1 sit-and-gos and multi-table tournaments are already up and running, with one seat in a MonteCarlo Tournaments main event available for every 10 players & women poker players.
Two of those main event super satellites are then set for Nov. 18 and Jan. 6, with a $100+$10 buy-in if you fail to qualify in advance. Play online poker.
At those, one $3,200 prize package, including tournament buy-in, deluxe room on board, €500 spending money plus flights and transfer costs, will be available for every 32 players.
Online Casino offers three types of poker tournaments and plenty of chances for players to win big.
What's more thrilling than playing poker online with players worldwide? Playing against them in poker tournaments. All of the players who enter CasinoUnreal.com's online Poker tournament begin with an equal amount of chips and play until one player wins everything. After regular time periods, the blinds and antes are raised, making the pots larger and the play more intense. The advantage of a poker tournament for players, especially beginners, is they get to learn the game, and skills, of poker without losing large amounts of money. The best part is if you do well in the tournament you can win big.
There are three main types of tournaments; Single-Table, Multi-Table and Freerolls. Play route 66 poker.
Single-Table Tournaments are usually comprised of one table and are not scheduled. A sit & go poker tournament will start as soon as all the seats are filled and the prizepool is fixed. Some sit & go tournaments are available 24-7 and some (like the special satellite tournaments) are only available at certain times of day. Play $500 match poker bonus.
Multi-Table Tournaments are scheduled in advance of the tournament start time and players must register in order to participate. As the tournament progresses and players are eliminated, the tables are consolidated until one "final table" in reached. Play will continue until someone wins. Download poker wallpapers.
Freeroll Tournaments are exactly like a Multi-Table Tournament except there is no buy-in fee to enter. In other words, players can enter for free and win money. Some freeroll tournaments have requirements (such as player points) and others have none. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Mary Jones the 2006 WSOP Ladies Champion defeats Kelly “All In” Flynn in a exciting heads up battle.
The Small Town Poker Tour Pro Am Championship took place at the South Point Hotel, and Casino. STPT Tournament Champions gathered to play along with a strong field of local Las Vegas players.
The final table included STPT Louisiana winner Brandon Parker, 2006 WSOP Ladies Champion Mary Jones, Bob Meyer, Under The Gun Video Magazine Executive Producer Kelly “All In” Flynn, Jeffery Hfu, Founder of the Taiwanese Poker League, Raquel Hakim and Moose Antley. Online poker.
Play continued till Mary Jones and Kelly Flynn battled heads up. Which lead up to an exciting series of play that had Flynn battle back from a few chips to get within reach of Mary’s massive chip stack. It all ended when Mary went all in pre flop and Kelly called and flipped over king seven suited. Mary turned over two aces. The aces held and Mary Jones became the first STPT Pro Am Champion.
The real winner was the charity Corps of Compassion when Mary Jones donated a substantial amount of her winnings back. “Mary is what the STPT is all about, poker players & women poker players uniting for a good cause and giving back", stated Mark Fracalossi STPT Creator. “I would also like to thank Mary publicly for her support of Charity poker, she truly has a big heart," Fracalossi added. Mary is also involved with the Queen of Hearts and Poker Cares, two groups promoting philanthropic poker.
The event was also attended by Corps of Compassion founder Scott Sullivan. His continuing commitment to homeless children kept him from seeing the conclusion of the tournament when he had to leave to deliver backpacks of food. "Scott’s mission to the children is what made us choose his charity as benefactor of the STPT Pro Am," Fracalossi stated.
Poker Cares team members Annie Van Bebber, and Dianna Donofrio, assisted with the event planning. “Annie and Dianna did an impressive job in making this event happen", Fracalossi stated.
Poker Cares is made up of Poker Players, Professionals, Fans, Industry Insiders, and Fundraising Experts who are committed to helping facilitate the growth of Charity Poker Tournaments. The goal is to unite all in the world of poker through the PokerCares.com website. Members include Annie Van Bebber, Dianna Donofrio, Wendeen H. Eolis, Michael Terpin, Lisa Wheeler, Marcel Luske, Mary Jones and Mark Fracalossi.
The STPT travels the world raising funds and awareness for various charities. The STPT ends its season with the STPT Pro AM Championship. STPT Regional winners advance to participate in Las Vegas against an open field of pros and amateurs. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
A Temecula psychologist held a commanding lead late Tuesday in the unofficial world poker championship, and was trying to outlast his final three challengers from a field of more than 6,000 players & women poker players in the main event at the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Jerry Yang, 39, began the day Tuesday in eighth place at the nine-person final table of the poker world's signature event, but won nine of the first 20 hands to quickly assume a lead, which he had not relinquished by The Californian's press time.
First prize in the event is $8.25 million; second is $4.8 million, third is $3.05 million and fourth is $1.85 million. More than nine hours into the final day of the 11-day event, Yang held a two-to-one chip advantage over the second-place player, Raymond Rahme of South Africa.
Yang won his seat at the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold'em event in a $225 satellite tournament at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, where he plays regularly. On Tuesday a crowd of people in the poker room there cheered him on, as the event played out on the room's television screens. The games slowed or came to a halt whenever Yang was involved in a pot. Download poker wallpapers.
"It's like watching a hometown hero," floorman Jeff Page said.
Yang has a big fan club at the poker room, where he is known as "Doc" to many of the players and is respected not just for his play but for his demeanor.
"He's very easygoing and quiet," and never loses his cool, said Kimberly Reavis of Temecula.
"He's very quiet and softspoken," said Robert Reel, of Murrieta, who said he plays against Yang about once a week. "He's very polite and a good sportsman."
He's anything but easygoing in his style of play, though. "Aggressive" was the word most often used to describe his play by his Pechanga colleagues, and his World Series opponents would almost certainly have to agree. Yang won dozens of pots Tuesday with aggressive betting and raising, often winning without ever having to show his cards. He used that style to eliminate three other players in the first five hours. Play route 66 poker.
Roger Cochran, of Canyon Lake, said he also plays against Yang about once a week but tries to avoid tangling with him very often, because he's too strong a player.
"You have to be prepared to put all your chips in when you go against him," he said.
Yang's demeanor has a lot to do with his success, his fellow players said. He rarely if ever shows emotion in a hand, even when he's handed a "bad beat" -- losing to an opponent who made a poor percentage play but got lucky. That lack of visible emotion makes him a hard "read," they added.
"He's very hard to put on a hand," said Reel, meaning it's difficult to guess from the way he plays a hand what cards he might hold.
Yang couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday, but told The Associated Press before the day's event began that his background as a psychologist to help him read other players. Play $500 match poker bonus.
"I spend a lot of time studying my opponents very carefully," he said. "I try to create a mental image of my opponents and use that as a weapon. If I have to fire big bets, I'll do it."
For his colleagues back at Pechanga, watching Yang fight for the title was a thrill.
"It's exciting," said Reavis. "I play with Doc all the time and there he is."
"It's awesome," said dealer Pedro Sanchez, who said he deals to Yang once a week or so. "It's everyone's dream to be at the final table. Every poker player here wants to be up there where he is. ... He's going to have a lot of new friends when he comes back."
The final table was one of the most eclectic groups in the tournament's history. Along with Yang, who was born in Laos, and Rahme, were Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Danish play online poker pro living in England; Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old online player from Mississauga, Ontario; Jon Kalmar, a 34-year-old pro from Chorly, England; Lee Watkinson, a 40-year-old pro from Cheney, Wash.; Alex Kravchenko, a 36-year-old businessman from Moscow; Lee Childs, a 35-year-old computer engineer from Reston, Va., who quit his job a month ago to play poker for a living; and Hevad Khan, a 22-year-old Internet pro from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Kalmar, who finished fifth, said he was thrilled to have made nearly $1.26 million and intended to use his winnings to pay bills and perhaps buy a car back home.
Only minutes before Kalmar went out, Khan became the fourth player eliminated when his ace and queen of spades couldn't top a pair of jacks belonging to a surging Yang. Khan didn't seem disappointed with sixth place and his $956,243 payday as he celebrated with friends in the audience.
The elimination of Kalmar and Khan followed exits by Watkinson and Childs, who both lost head-to-head, all-in bets against Yang.
"I was playing for the bracelet," said Watkinson, who finished eighth and took home $585,699. "I wasn't going for third, fourth or even second. I wanted to make a play and be a contender."
Childs won $705,229 for his seventh-place finish.
"My goal when I came in to the poker tournament was to trust my instincts, make the right decision and hopefully not get unlucky," Childs said. "I was that close to doubling up."
First to fall was Hilm, a Dane who lives in England. He won $525,934 for his ninth-place finish after busting out on the day's 15th hand.
"The final table says a lot about the globality of poker and the globality of our fans," said Jeffrey Pollack, World Series of Poker commissioner for event owner Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
The list is out, and more than 1,000 online gambling sites may not be able to advertise in the United Kingdom when the Gambling Act comes into force Sept. 1.
