GIGSE 2005 Winds Up - Day 3
Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
GIGSE 2005 WINDS UP - DAY 3
Charity races and heavyweight discussions on last day
The final day of this year's Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo (GIGSE)started
on a serious note but ended in typical light-hearted fashion as delegates from
47 countries started heading back to their offices and homes.
Online gambling issues in law and regulation were under the microscope
by panels that reviewed everything from the UK Gambling Act to the US legal climate
and recent actions against US advertising media by the Department of Justice.
In the UK, the soon-to-be-announced commission that will control gambling in Britain
will be faced with consultation and framing regulation to govern companies seeking
a UK home. And the word at GIGSE was that come August this year the industry will
hopefully know what the tax rate for online gambling companies falling under British
law will be, a key consideration for gambling groups considering a move to that
jurisdiction.
The current sovereignty litigation on cross border gambling within the European
Community was summarised by lawyers from several countries, trying to guide delegates
in the sometimes complex path of legal action taken by state bodies that see their
monopolies threatened by the borderless nature of on line gambling.
Later in the day, Sanjay Balakrishnan of Party Gaming in Gibraltar and
Costa Rican based David Gzech of True Poker reviewed thevibrant poker sector
and possible growth areas in terms of marketing, location and technological advances.
There seemed to mixed views on how fast mobile poker could take off. Most
delegates could see the potential for this new area, and certainly all the main
providers seem to be developing solutions in this area. Poker Room staffers put
on an excellent practical demonstration of their good looking and cleverly focused
product, showing razor sharp graphics. Using a large screen, delegates were taken
through the intuitive steps required and were generally impressed.
Back in the Expo Hall, Gambling Federations Talia Paschini said that the
provider had recently acquired an RNG certificate from the independent TST labs.
With some 88 licensee brands on board, the group has introduced multi-currency
services and is busy integrating the Tribeca Tables poker software with a July
launch in mind for its licensees.
GFED has some 85 games in its inventory now, and is committed to launching a new
game every month using its proprietary software. Caribbean Poker, described as
a blend of poker and blackjack was on display, together with a slot called Dragon's
Lair. The group is also set to offer the popular Oriental tile game Mahjong following
a deal with Mahjong Mania.
Skill Games are on GFED's agenda, too but will be outsourced from FUN Technologies
subsidiary SkillJam.
Alan Weinrib's CredECard that was discussed at the EIG in Barcelona late last
year was soft launched just before GIGSE as an anlternative payment solution for
the industry. The full operational debut is scheduled for August this year.
Soaking up knowledge and making contacts was a 9 man delegation from the South
African government, which is considering genuine regulation of online gambling,
depending on the conclusions of a special study task force due to present its
findings to government before June next year. The group, which included officials
from the SA Reserve Bank has received advice on different regulatory options by
well known figures in the international regulatory sector including Andre Wilsenach
from Alderney and Andrew Beveridge, the CEO of eCOGRA.
A decision in favour of i-gaming could have benefits for the industry and the
country, which has advanced telecommunications and financial services infrastructures.
On the Chartwell Technologies booth, Aideed Shortt told us that Chartwell
Technologies was busy integrating the new MicroPower poker technology into its
systems following the acquisition of this company recently. A no-download poker
variant using Flash technology is due for introduction within the next two months.
Other Chartwell developments include new bingo offerings and intensive in-house
activity is taking place on mobile casino and soft games. Impressively fast and
slick looking soft games (one is called Matterhorn) were demonstrated on the Chartwell
kiosk, with crisp and imaginative graphics and a fun gamestyle.
Although Skill Gaming is on the Chartwell agenda it is not apparently an immediate
priority for the company. The full suite of Chartwell games is now available on
both download and no-download platforms, and the companys 30 plus brands will
have new games in all categories at the rate of 8 to 10 each quarter.
As we went to press GIGSE was closing on a high note of confidence, and not a
little sense of fun after a thoroughly absorbing series of discussions and the
ever useful networking. Segwat commuter vehicles were being used in a series of
races between industry execs to raise money for a Californian problem gambling
project this year, and $50 000 had already been reached before the conference
began. The final champion had yet to be announced as we went to press, but our
money was on Mike Staw of RTG, whio looked as if he had been getting in a lot
of practice on the unusual two-wheeler.
With many delegates flying out to global destinations, River City officials were
being congratulated on a particularly successful and confident online gambling
conference that showcased an industry of growing maturity and positive ambitions
for the future.
