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Online Poker Gambling - The Year That Was - 12-30-05
Published: 2005-12-30
 December 30 - 2005 marked the busiest and most lucrative year for the online poker gambling industry to date. The online poker industry was highlighted by huge corporate activity, new entrants and some very controversial stories...
Party Gaming without any doubt created the most news in the online poker industry. After a somewhat shaky start of its public debut, the online poker monster kicked into action. It first rejected an offer from Empire Online, its biggest "skin" to buy them out. A couple of weeks later, it announced that it was moving all its own players (90% of the network0 to an upgraded platform. The skins, including other high profile names like Coral Eurobet, were left out in the cold. But the saga continued, with Party making a much lower offer to Empire, which Empire now rejected, threatening to take Party to court. These threats were subsequently withdrawn, but this story is set to continue into 2006.
The second big newsmaker in the online poker industry was Ongame, the owners of Pokerroom.com. Poker Room showed significant growth this year, and in a move that shocked the industry last week, was sold to European betting giant, betandwin.com. This will probably leave some skins out in the cold, most notably Coral Eurobet, who will again be left in the dark after the Party Gaming fiasco.
Then onto yet another hair raising story. Excapsa software, which licenses Ultimatebet.com, granted a license to Pokershare.com, a very innovative poker concept. But after only two months, Excapsa pulled the plug on Pokershare.com, closing all of its US customer accounts. Pokershare spent a fortune on marketing, and their model was based on players receiving a "share" in the company. A mass exodus of Ultimate Bet players to Pokershare followed. Needless to say, Ultimate Bet was not amused, and after repeatedly exerting pressure on Excapsa, Pokershare was no longer able to acquire North American customers. Now I am not here to judge, but what exactly was the agreement between Excapsa and Pokershare? How could a software license agreement allow this top happen? This is a classic case of the big guy calling the shots, and Excapsa buckled under the pressure from Ultimate Bet. Shocking.
Next, a couple of big names entered the p0oker madness. ESPN and Virgin both launched poker rooms that would not take real money play from US citizens.
"Texas Dolly", Doyle Brunson himself, launched an online poker room, Doylesroom.com. A consortium involving Doyle made a failed bid for the World Poker Tour, and are under investigation by the SEC.
Betfair Poker announced that is was to leave the Cryptologic network in the new year, and apparently have purchased PokerChamps.html>Poker Champs, part owned by poker pro, Gus Hansen.
And finally, yours truly isn't losing as much player online poker any longer!
I hope the poker gods shine on you in 2006!
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eCOGRA Named Top Poker Watchdog
Published: 2005-12-30
 Earl Burton
The voluntary online gaming regulatory agency eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) has been named the Top Watchdog of the online gaming industry by the readers of Gambling Online Magazine.
27,000 Gambling Online Magazine readers responded overwhelmingly in naming eCOGRA the best for a variety of reasons. "Throughout the year, eCOGRA has set admirable benchmark standards for player protection and operational efficiency at its "Play It Safe" seal casinos and poker rooms, benefiting players and the industry alike," said Gambling Online Magazine manager Lisa Gregory. "The work of the Fair Gaming Advocate in particular has been an inspiration in terms of transparent, fast and fair resolutions and highly professional communications."
One of the main goals of eCOGRA is in voluntary regulation of the gaming industry through its exhaustive review process of a room's activities. Their "Play It Safe" seal has been granted to over sixty online casinos and poker rooms since the inception of eCOGRA and they continue to lead the drive towards making the online gaming arena free of any misconceptions about online gaming. Resolving player disputes with the casinos and poker rooms under its authority is a key aspect of eCOGRA, which is an international non-profit body. Their Fair Gaming Advocate mediation service to players who have been unable to resolve disputes at casino or poker room level has been lauded for its quickness in conflict resolution to the satisfaction of all involved.
Andrew Beveridge, the CEO of eCOGRA, said that the board of directors was delighted with the accolade. "Player protection is the primary goal of eCOGRA around which our requirements and standards are framed, so it is very rewarding that players have recognized our efforts in this way," he said. Disputes involving eCOGRA's "Play It Safe" seal operators are a miniscule percentage of the large number of wagers placed every day, Beveridge noted. "Every case is assessed independently on its merits. On average, our Fair Gaming Advocate has been able to resolve the majority of issues within 48 hours. That's a standard we are proud of and will strive to maintain."
Congratulations to eCOGRA for such outstanding recognition and here's hoping that more in the online arena recognize the need for such an organization to exist. It is only with such stringent monitoring and review that the ugly stigma that some still hold about online poker and other games can be erased. It is refreshing to see that eCOGRA is going to be at the forefront of that action.
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