Estonia legalises online gambling

The small Baltic nation of Estonia has legalised online gambling meaning that its citizens can now compete on nation-based gaming platforms such as the one developed by Playtech Limited and operated by Olympic Entertainment Group.

The recent liberalisation is down in no small part to the current economic recession with the Estonian economy expected to drop by around 36 percent while a new tax on gaming operators should help the public purse.

The move brings Estonia into line with many other nations including Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Poland and The Netherlands while next year should see it open up its market to international gaming operators in order to satisfy European Union requirements.

“We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer for Playtech.

The nation passed its new Gambling Act in October and the legalisation and regulation of online gambling should also help Estonia combat money laundering and corruption.

Source: www.igamingbusiness.com

Internet Gambling: Money Laundering With Moneygram

The money laundering scandal at the Coye Moneygram Agency is big apart from one point five million dollars in cash stuffed in suitcases, and seven people charged with money laundering, we’ve also got wholesale identity theft and fraudulent misuse of the entire driver’s license database. But tonight, it’s gone from big to huge as the former Moneygram master-agent in Belize Dean Fuller and his companies OMNI NETWORKS and FULTEC have been charged for money laundering.

Fuller appeared in Belize City Magistrate’s court today with his attorney Michael Peyrefitte. As the principal of both companies he was charged with two counts of money laundering, one for OMNI NETWORKS and the other for FULTEC. The charge sheet states that between 9th of October 2007 and the first day of January 2009 those companies were involved in transactions that were the proceeds of crime. His attorney Mike Peyrefitte today told us that he couldn’t say much because there is not a single specific allegation in the particulars of charge are very vague.

Fuller pleaded not guilty to both counts and his case was adjourned until tomorrow, July tenth. Why such a brief adjournment? Well, Magistrate Aretha Ford inquired if this charge was connected to the Coye case and when she confirmed that it was she decided to synchronize it with that case which is going back before the Chief Magistrate tomorrow. So when the Coye’s appear, Fuller will appear with them. Because the two matters are now joined, the Magistrate also took the decision that bail wasn’t required since it is being treated as an additional charge in an ongoing case.

Overall, it’s a huge development as the most sensational money laundering case to ever go before the courts has now taken on a significant added dimension. We say that because the suspicion of the Financial Intelligence Unit which is leading the investigation now spreads past the Coye’s who ran the Moneygram agency to Fuller who was the master agent. In June, he told us that as master-agent he had nothing to do with the operations of his sub-agency and was unaware of any suspicious activity or any inordinate volume of transactions. But the FIU’s decision to charge him suggests that they take a different view. At Omni which owned the Moneygram master agency, shareholders included Fuller and his wife, CEO in the Ministry of Tourism Mike Singh, Fred Shyu , Ruth Esquivel and others all those we listed were also directors.

The Moneygram case erupted On December 31st of 2008, when police and the FIU swept into the Coye residence and discovered over a million dollars in cash. Since then, subsequent revelations have shown that the Coye agency processed thousands of transactions presumably for online gambling using the names and personal particulars pilfered from the Traffic Department’s database.

Source: 7 News Belize

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Online Gambling Dispute: Oddsmaker pays player in full

I would like to thank Oddsmaker, JimmyMac (The Player) and mofome (Head Moderator EOG.com) for all of their hard work and assistance in this matter…
There are literally dozens of scam artists each day that try and abuse these generous bonus offers. Bookmakers look for signs of abuse in order to catch these criminals before it is too late.
Although JimmyMac turns out to be innocent of bonus abuse, he did manifest several “red flags” that caused Oddsmaker to initially shut down his account.
However, I believe after careful review, both Oddsmaker and EOG came to the conclusion that the player did nothing wrong that should penalize him from receiving the entire $8400 dollars he won…

The check is in the mail baby!!!!

THE PLAYER’S RESPONSE ON EOG.COM
Guys where do I begin? This has been a long battle lasting almost a full month. By now you guys know that i was informed today i would be paid in full. I was very happy to get this news. After all, this is all I ever wanted. I never wanted things to go as far as they did.

It started with my call to Jim at the OSGA. Jim had provided me with some valuable information in the past. He made a generous effort but was unable to make much headway. Then I went to SBR as i was familiar with them from a few years ago when i was inquiring about the Betonsports debacle. They too were unsuccessful in reaching a settlement. The General was very kind and seemed very eager to help me. He showed that by referring me to the shrink whom he had nothing but good things to say about. He told me shrink may be able to help. So i went to Ken for help. From the start he was very interested in doing what he can to help. I now realize that me going to the forums as soon as i did put everyone in a tough place. Had i known there was so many player advocates out there i would have exhausted all remedies before going to the forums. I regret that. I got into a heated discussion with the book and I made some poor decisions in how i reacted. Yes i felt i was being mistreated. But i should have calmed down and thought of the best plan of action. I am irish and italian and sometimes my temper can get the best of me. Had i reacted differently and did some research things may never had gotten this far.

That said, I am glad in a way because i got to see how cool you guys on these forums(with some exceptions!) are and how you stick together. Its like a fraternity of brothers. I feel like a have a few hundred new friends. Strange as i have never met any of you. Probably bumped in to some of you in Vegas at least once. After all we are all a lot alike.

So I want to THANK all the guys that went to bat for me. I am not a sensitive guy at all but even I have been touched by how genuinely you guys seemed to care that I get a resolution. Its been amazing. Thank you so much. I will never forget it and I promise to not ONLY use these forums when i need help. I will try and get on them more often. I can go on a streak here and there with baseball so if im hot ill post my picks. when im cold STAY away!

Now i want to say some things about the shrink and Mofome. Guys I know things were a little crazy this week but i think these guys knew what they were doing. In my opinion they thought outside the box on this one and took a different approach that was controversial for sure. But truthfully harrassing the book was not working. These guys did what they thought was best to help me out. I know a lot of you will say it was the pressure from the players and I know that is a huge part of this for sure. However, i really believe these guys are smarter than you think and had a plan. We can debate this for days I am sure.

The shrink in my opinion was rushed into a quick judgement without having all of the facts and because of the popularity of this case had to do something. All that matters is he got it right in the end. I am trully grateful for his help.

Now MOFOME simply put is the MAN! Had i gotten his PMs earlier I think we would have avoided a lot of this weeks drama. he and I had not spoken on the phone so he was left to make a judgement based on information he was given from the book and what he was reading,etc. Once we spoke and began to iron out the details of what happened he began to better understand what really happened. I admitted to him where i was wrong and guys i was not perfect here as i said before.

Mofome began to spend countless hours figuring out how to best approach this. Two nights in a row he was up till 6 am working on this. This morning he sent me an email at 5 am of what he was sending to the book. It was a very thorough explanation and very well written. He really spent the time to get to know me and that meant a lot. It also helped solve things. Its no coincidence that hours after this email was sent we had a final resolution. This guy really cares. Before you judge he or shrink you have too put yourself in their shoes. It was not an enviable position to be in given how public this had become. Had i come to them much earlier things would never have ended like this.

Either way I am so grateful to all of you guys for caring enough to get involved.

One other thing i would ask is for guys to leave oddsmaker alone now that they have settled this. I probably do not need to tell you guys this as the only reason you called was to get justice. I know they have received a lot of calls. Most of them went to their phillipine offices where they were not informed of my situation so that is why it seemed they had no clue what was going on. i know a lot of you will say they put themselves in this position,etc but in the end they did the right thing. They do have a lot of bonus abuse I guess so they are paranoid about it and I can understand that more now.

So to summarize I really appreciate everyone that helped me so much in this dispute. I am so happy I came to the forums. I gotta figure out a way to buy everyone on here a beer! Or we can plan a weekend in vegas and whoever can make it we all meet up. That would be kinda strange given we have never met but it would be fun. Or if your in Chicago send me a PM and I will buy you a drink or 10!

Sincerely,

Jimmy Mac

Article by: Eog.com

NBA Betting Preview: Denver Nuggets (0-1) at Los Angeles Lakers (1-0)

Can the top-seeded team in a conference steal a game on its own home court?

Well the Los Angles Lakers did exactly that on Tuesday when they rallied to sneak by the Denver Nuggets, 105-103, in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, sank six free throws in the final 30.5 seconds and came up with the game-sealing rebound in the final moments of that one, as the Lakers stunned Denver.

The Nuggets now hope to bounce back from the tough loss tonight when play resumes in Hollywood.

Trevor Ariza came up with a huge steal in the last minute of Game 1, and Bryant had 18 of his points in the pivotal fourth quarter for the top-seeded Lakers, who were coming off a Game 7 rout over Houston on Sunday in the conference semifinals and rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final frame.

“(Bryant) was a scoring opportunity for us tonight,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson after the Game 1 win. “We had very little else going on for us tonight. He muscled his way through that game.”

Pau Gasol contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, while Derek Fisher also scored 13 as the Lakers beat Denver in the postseason for the 11th straight time.

Carmelo Anthony poured in 39 points, on 14-of-20 shooting from the field, for the Nuggets, who are in the conference finals for the first time since 1985 when they lost to the Lakers in five games. Los Angeles went on to win the NBA championship that season, beating Boston.

Chauncey Billups, appearing in his seventh straight conference finals series, had 18 points and eight assists for the Nuggets, who had a much easier time in the West semis, disposing of the Dallas Mavericks in just five games. They were ahead by as many as 13 on Tuesday before faltering.

“We lost out on a great opportunity to steal this game,” said Billups. “We played probably good enough, but I think we lost the game on poor free throw shooting. We missed 12 free throws and it comes back we lost by two points.”

To make matters worse for Denver, two key contributors came out of Tuesday’s game banged-up.

Power forward Kenyon Martin, who scored 15 points and pulled down eight boards, fractured his left ring finger, while sharp-shooting reserve J,R. Smith suffered a right calf strain. Both players are expected to be in George Karl’s lineup tonight but wingman Renaldo Balkman is listed as doubtful with a right ankle sprain.

“The positive standpoint to me is we played a hell of a game,” Karl said at Wednesday’s practice. “And we competed the right way, did good things (on) both ends of the court. I just feel bad because I just think in finishing the game, I wish I could have done better at, and I think our players wish they could have done better.”

LA also took three of four games from Denver during the regular season this year with the Nuggets lone win coming in the Rocky Mountains on February 27.

The two teams have met in the playoffs on three different occasions with the Lakers coming out on top each time. LA took a first round series in 1979, won the Western Conference finals in 1985 and swept the Nuggets in a first round set last year.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven set is Saturday in Denver.

By: Eog.com

Bonuses-The view from the Casino

When you think about the risks in online casino gambling, you usually think about casinos stealing credit card numbers from players or changing a game’s odds when the player lays big. But the fact of the matter is that the real risk in this business is to the house, not the player.Recently Gambling Online Magazine published an article entitled Milking Casino Bonuses (April/May issue), the article was an outline of how to practice “Bonus Taking” on unsuspecting casinos. What the article failed to mention is that bonus taking (also called “bonus hunting”) will result in the “hunter” being barred from ever playing a hand of cards online again. Names of bonus hunters are submitted to industry wide databases, which blacklist players making it impossible for them to get another casino account anywhere in cyberspace, thus making them a virtual-casino outcast.

According to leading Swedish casino developer BossMedia, if a player is caught milking bonuses, they lock the player’s account and notify the player that he/she is no longer welcome in any of their numerous casinos. BossMedia says they very rarely have to do this, but when they do the action is swiftly carried out in order to protect their ability to give genuine players the bonuses they deserve.

Since the publication of “Milking Casino Bonuses”, many online casino have taken a hard look at their bonus schemes and have added new levels of protection against bonus hunters. Almost all casinos now require a minimum wager amount to qualify for any bonuses, and have added a caveat that if bonus taking is suspected, the casino has the right to bar the hunter.

To find out what specific casinos are doing about bonus taking, we have asked Helen Jansson of BossMedia to tell us why bonus takers don’t succeed in their casinos?

“We checked before sending a payout and if the bonus requirements aren’t fulfilled, the transaction is held and the money posted back to the player’s account. In the meantime, a message is sent to the player telling them about the rules and what has happened. We, in effect give, players a second chance to comply with the bonus conditions.”

Helen explains how BossMedia find bonus hunters: “If a player just places the minimum strictly to the promo rules to collect the bonuses e.g.wagers twice the value of the bonus only and not a cent more, and then makes a withdrawl, it’s pretty evident to us that he/she is a bonus hunter…A real gambler appreciates a casino bonus and genuinely uses the goodwill to try to win in the casino because he/she loves the thrill of the play.”

Gambling responsibly doesn’t just mean betting within your means. It means playing in a manner that is fair to everyone involved, to the player and the casino. If the online gambling industry is going to continue to offer large bonuses and higher payout percentages that land based casinos, then players will need to remember that one bad apple does indeed spoil the lot.

Articles by: Gamblingarticles.com

Counting the Cards…Or Playing the Odds

Card Counting is a skill practiced by a small number of successful gamblers. Are they just gamblers? The likelihood is that mentally they could match the finest doctors, lawyers and rocket scientists. It takes a special kind of mind to memorize the exact sequence in which the cards rotate from the pack to the table and back. It’s not a skill which can be learned by people whose minds get bored quickly, or for those hot for action. No deal heat for these guys. Not only are they are cool, its essential that they’re calculating. The card counting practitioner needs to couple his mental ability with his statistical skills to determine his probability of success or failure.

Memorizing the sequence of up to 312 cards is beyond the mental capabilities of 99.5% of card players, but statistical calculation is not, so don’t despair. And you’ll be happy to know that statistical calcualtion gets easier with fewer players at the table which leads to more occasions in which one cn grasp and assess the cards being dealt. In online casino games card counting skills don’t confer any advantage. It’s just you against the house with the rules on display. In an online game you are isolated from the actions of other players so the statistical calculations, the ones that anyone can master, become all the more important. With a little study and practice, you can master the skill that can help you raise your odds enormously. Additionally, knowledge of odds is transferable between the computer, the card table and the racetrack. So it doesn’t matter where you use these skills, they can always pay off.

Everyone gets taught arithmetic at school, and a little application of mental arithmetic here and there will be all you need to learn to calculate the odds of your hand winning. Provided you are prepared to lend your mind to calculating each hand, you’ll be able to increase your chances of winning and you’ll bet with greater confidence. The more confidence you have in your game the more enjoyment and pleasure you’ll derive from the game and you’ll thus increase your prospects of a being a winning player.

more times than not, players forget that they can calculate the odds of their carrds being winners. If you are emtive and impulsive be sure to curb these aspects of your personality when gambling online. But don’t worry, the ability to know the odds of your hand winning will help you keep your head. Don’t ever forget winning is about attitude.

A pack holds 52 cards and that is the basis of all calculations. The odds of nominating any single card, sat the Ace of Hearts, to be dealt from a pack is 51/1 (52 less 1 over 1), the odds of being wrong making this call are 1/51. The odds of picking an Ace at random are 48/4 or 12/1/. The odds of nominating a random (or matching) pair say an Ace and a Jack to be dealt from a full pack are 168/1 (13 x 13 less 1). The odds of the Jack, actually following the Ace are 51/4 (52 less the Ace leaves 51 cards of which there are 4 Jacks or 11.75/1). The odds of getting the suit right are 39/13 or 3/1 and likewise the odds of being wrong are 1/3.

The process of understanding the odds of the cards needed from a pack or the cards held by another player involves calculating the odds using the the number of cards which are in the deck; an example follows below.

In a poker game based on five cards, with two players remaining if you hold four Jack’s and a Queen it follows that: you’ll be beaten by, 4 Aces and 1 of the 7 remaining pictiure cards, or 4 Kings and any of the 3 remaining Queens or an Ace.

And you’ll win if your opponent holds any other set of cards.

You don’t know the stacked players’ cards and let’s say there were 2 of them and the total pot is $4, $1 of which you’ve stacked already. In this instance the stacked must be included in your calculations. In situations where you see the stacked cards you discount them. This enables you to have a more accurate grasp of what can happen.

The probability that your opponent holds a winning hand is 221/1 or 0.452% against. [the calculation is arrived at as follows - 52 less 5=47 divided by 4 Aces times 43 (the remaining cards) divided by the 7 possible cards that can contribute to a winning hand.]

The probability that you’ve won is 221/1 on (99.548%). Remember that in all situations the total sum of all individual possible outcomes must always come to 100%.

Each bet you stake money (odds of 50%). The odds of reward are the total return available to you divided by your total stake, in this case 54/46 against. So if you bet $10 you stand to win $13, and a total return of$24 for $11 staked. This is a good value bet.

Value is measured by subtracting from the actual probability of the odds of reward, in this instance 99.548% less 50%, the quote is therefore 49.548% positive. If the Actual Probability is less than the odds of reward, then your prospective bets are termed bad value.

In the long run the bet will lose 4 times in 10,000. This gives you a theoretical possiblity, to a single bet, on each occasion of winning $99,550 plus anything that’s already in the pot. But if you can continue to bet the odds of reward will get smaller but never fall below evens.

So theoretically we see that a long drawn out dual with the house is only worthwhile when you are confident that the probability of your hand winning is high, preferably the range between 99 to 100%. In online games with multiple players it is worthwhile avoiding long drawn out battles, as the odds don’t improve. The actual value diminishes with each additional bet.

If you concentrate on securing the value, your chances walking away a winner increase dramatically.

Articles by: Gamblingarticles.com

College Sports Betting Ban

One of the reasons some congressmen have given for their support of a ban on all gambling on college sports, ridiculously, is that it would deter widespread betting by students. Oh, sure! I remember so well how my college buddies and I would slam all our dough into a game and sweat out the score, … and then we’d go back to the dorm and eat our dinner of Kraft macaroni & cheese, at 25 cents a box. What widespread betting by students? Does anyone really believe this is a serious problem? Certainly the economy has improved the financial status of a lot of people so there are more students who are also flourishing, but if they are gambling, for instance, their next term’s tuition away, then those ones were probably shaving points on their SATs anyway.

No, I’m more convinced that certain lawmakers are jumping on a moral pretense bandwagon which does not serve the people in any substantial way. The casinos, whose business it is to know this stuff, cite statistics showing that their sportsbooks contribute in a relatively small way to their overall income compared to the slots and table games. However, college sports comprise up to about 40% of the sportsbook’s revenue. Moreover, the casinos seem to agree that having a sportsbook section adds an important element to the clientele they attract, and wish to continue to attract: namely, men (and women) who enjoy sports. We’re not speaking of underage or impoverished students.

Articles by: Gamblingarticles.com

Money Laundering and Internet Gaming

Offshore internet casinos are proving an easy bet for organized groups to launder money, according to British officials.They warn that escalating numbers of online casinos, particularly weakly regulated ones in the Caribbean, means dirty money can flood through sites and out again without even nearing a poker game. A British government official commented, “This is a relatively new area and one which causes us great concern…We are looking into it in a number of jurisdictions.”

Laundering is made easy for criminals due to immense numbers of offshore casinos which fail to comply with international regulations. The idea is simple, an account is set up with a gaming site and the ante is stumped from whatever source. The ‘gambler’ just decides when he wants to stop gambling (regardless of whether they have or have not placed a wager) and according to a British source close to the fight against money laundering, they casino will then “send out a check or bankers draft made payable to whoever you want.”

Weak regulation in Antigua is presently an area of concern. A British task force visited the island in October and warned “the offshore gaming industry in Antigua [is] still perceived to pose a high risk to the integrity of the global financial system.”Concern stems from casino such as the Kings Casino which declares it possible on its website to open an account via cash sent through registered mail. This is an even easier option for criminals. Although some attempt has been made to modify procedures, there is still some way to go before anti-money laundering deficiencies are ironed out.

Antigua is not the only country to fall prey to laundering, it’s suspected Costa Rica also has the same predicament, whilst several other Caribbean islands remain on a list of countries deemed “non-cooperative” by an international group fighting money-laundering, the Financial Action Task Force. It’s estimated that between $600 billion and $1.5 trillion is laundered worldwide annually.

Articles by: Gamblingarticles.com