2010 | - Part 2

Archive for 2010

eWalletXpress Exits US Poker

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Another online ewallet payment processing company bites the dust in the US online poker market. There has rising speculation regarding the reasons why eWalletXpress has been removing itself as a payment option at leading US facing online poker sites. At first the group said that it was facing “technical issues” and was trying to solve them.

However, it soon became clear that things were more serious than simple technical problems. Last week, the industry got wind that US authorities had issues warrants to seize eWalletXpress funds, and this was confirmed through a statement issued by the group which read: “We regret to inform you that we are no longer able to continue service at this time due to a federal warrant issued to seize our funds.”

The last time US online poker players remember this type of scenario was when the Feds seized $55 million in funds from giant epayment processor, Neteller which, at the time, was the main method of funds transferring for North American players. It took a couple of years before the issue was resolved and Neteller customers finally saw their money, and this was only after the payment group settled with the DOJ and paid a hefty fine.

eWalletXpress told account holders that they can contact payouts@ewalletxpress.com to request to have their funds paid out. However, it stressed that the money will be transferred back into checking accounts once the “technical issues” have been ironed out. As such, the group has not given any commitment to a timeline for when players can expect to see their funds.

A number of top US poker sites offered eWalletXpress as a payment method, including Bodog, Cake Poker, Doyles Room and Carbon Poker.

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NJ Continues Push for Legal i-Gaming

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

New Jersey has not given up on its dream to legalize an intrastate online gambling system. While the Republicans may be making their way back to the House in January, individual states are still fighting for their rights to make their own decisions regarding gambling, including New Jersey.

Senators in the state are in the process of reviewing a bill that could create an intrastate e-gaming system in New Jersey, with the aim of keeping revenue flowing from casinos and racetracks.

According to the bill (introduced last year by Senator Raymond Lesniak), casinos in Atlantic City will be allowed to offer a form of online gambling to New Jersey residents. The gambling would be based on games in the casino’s portfolio.

The Garden State hopes that income from this venture would bring in 20% of annual gross revenue from the casinos and re-establish Atlantic City as one of the world’s gambling capitals. Lobbyists for this idea do not see any problems in terms of regulation and licenses, saying that solutions can be found very quickly if the senators give the green light to begin.

This week, the New Jersey Senate’s Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee met to consider Senator Lesniak’s proposal to legalize online gambling in the state.

Supports of the bill say that okaying this venture would help relieve a number of issues facing the state and its floundering gambling industry. Money could be earmarked to support struggling Atlantic City casinos, and the legalization of online gambling would also create several thousand much-needed jobs.

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Maryland Casino Makes Millions First Week

Monday, October 25th, 2010

The expansion of gambling in Northeastern states continued to prove to be a good thing, with positive statistics coming out of Maryland this week. The state’s lottery said that the Hollywood Casino Perryville brought in a whopping $2 million in the first four days that it opened in September this year. This was despite the fact that the casino opened three days earlier than it advertised, on September 27th.

The casino is the first for Maryland, which introduced legalized casino gambling after it saw the expansion of the industry in neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and Delaware. The state felt that since its residents would be crossing state lines to gamble anyway, they might as well introduce a legalized and regulated system and benefit from the millions of dollars in revenue for its own needs.

Of the $2 million brought in over the first four days of operation, the gambling operator group, Penn National will earn $685,000, while education funds in Maryland will earn $1 million.

Maryland Lottery said that the Hollywood Casino Perryville has 1,500 slot machines on its casino floor. While authorities first projected that each machine would bring in $210 day per day on average, they were surprised to see that this number was much higher, with each machine bringing in $346.

The success of these states’ gambling industries may be good news for the states involved, but deals a further blow to New Jersey, which enjoyed a monopoly on the region’s gambling markets for many years. Atlantic City casinos continue to fare miserably, and the introduction of new casinos in the area, such as the new Maryland resort, will not help matters.