Visa Betting
CENTREBET CONSOLIDATES IT STRUCTURE
2012-04-23
The post-acquisition process will include the consolidation of Sportingbet and Centrebet s call centres, wide area networks (WAN) along with the migration of Centrebet s infrastructure to Sportingbet s internal platform which is currently underway.
Following Centrebet s takeover last year by UK online gambling firm Sportingbet the company has embarked on a process that will streamline its IT infrastructure.
Shayne Paterson, Centrebet s network operations manager said: The outcomes will be significant cost reduction, simplified management and not having to worry about multiple WAN links.
BESPOKE ONLINE GAMBLING FINANCE LAUNCHED ON THE ISLE OF MAN2012-02-06The Isle of Man-based Conister Bank has announced the launch of the Island’s first ever e-gaming dedicated banking product, created specifically for the Island’s e-gaming operators, with the approval of the local Gambling and Supervision Commission (GSC).
The bank can accept gaming operators’ funds and place these on a fiduciary service with other banks. The product, branded ProTect, also meets the player protection requirements of the Online Gaming and Regulation Act (OGRA) which requires that player funds be segregated from operational accounts.
Conister Bank managing director, Juan Kelly, believes that ProTect is exactly the type of tailor-made banking solution the Island’s e-gaming industry has been calling for.
“The e-gaming sector has been underserved historically,” he said. “It is now high time for positive action and I am proud that Conister Bank is the first bank on the Island to step up to the plate.”
Explaining the planning that had gone into the product, Kelly said there were two key issues that had to be addressed.
“One was our ability to take funds on our own balance sheet and the other was to provide a fiduciary service or conduit for e-gaming companies. We now have a compliant, transparent and efficient system in place which protects both player funds and the reputations of e-gaming operators,” he explained.
“Whilst international banking groups might be constrained in their ability to accept funds from e-gaming operators, Conister has sought to overcome all these constraints with the assistance of the GSC and the Isle of Man government. We are now at the point where we can offer an attractive Isle of Man banking solution for this truly dynamic industry. We are also confident ProTect will help attract more e-gaming businesses to our shores,” he said.
Despite the growing numbers of Isle of Man e-gaming licensees, over the last couple of years the GSC and the island government’s Department of Economic Development has warned that the shortage of local banking facilities was potentially dissuading new e-gaming businesses from moving to the Island.
The launch has been welcomed by John Shimmin, MHK, Minister of Economic Development. “This will help the Isle of Man attract more e-gaming companies looking for a bank that can offer credible services,” he said
SWEDISH HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WARN ON YOUNG PROBLEM GAMBLERS2011-08-04Problems among young men have doubled in the past decade.
General levels of problem gambling in Sweden have remained stable over the past decade, but a marked increase in the male 18 to 24-year-old demographic has prompted the Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsöinstitutet - FHI) to issue a warning.
The results of the latest FHI study of problem gambling in the Scandinavian country, where the state holds a monopoly through Svenska Spel, show that despite the considerable expansion in gambling alternatives over the past ten years, the number of those suffering from gambling problems has remained stable, and has even declined among minors, the newspaper The Local.se reports.
However, there has been an alarming 100 percent rise in problems among young men aged 18-24, with 40,000 gamblers in this demographic reported to be suffering from gambling problems of varying severity.
"When we look at the evolution of different population groups, there are number of warning signs," said Marie Risbeck, FHI's coordinator gaming prevention, in a statement this week.
"Among men aged 18-24, the proportion of problem gamblers has doubled in ten years and today amounts to around 10 percent of the age group - around 450,000 people in Sweden."
Risbeck said that a total in excess of 260,000 Swedes, of which 75,000 are children, are impacted by gamblers with problems.
Sweden is well-served by organisations providing help and counseling for problem gamblers.
However, the FHI report calls for improvements in what is on offer to problem gamblers, and for better coordination across the country.
AAMS AND ARJEL IN COLLABORATION2011-05-18Italian and French regulatory bodies in co-operation agreement
The Italian regulator AAMS is due to sign a memorandum of understanding with French regulatory body ARJEL in the near future, tmnews.it reported this week.
The memorandum seemingly covers various issues including the exchange of information on licenced operators, player protection, defending the integrity of sport and the fight against unlicenced operators.
AAMS and ARJEL have refuted media speculation that the agreement may lead to a shared liquidity over the two jurisdictions.