The provincial government of Quebec, which owns the lottery, has now agreed to reimburse the costs of addiction treatment between 1994 and 2002 to the plaintiffs. The money is to help gambling addicts who were not previously covered by Quebec health insurance. The province began covering the cost of therapy for problem gamblers in 2002.

The plaintiffs originally sought about Cdn$1 billion in damages, but have settled for around Cdn$50 million.

Former journalist Nelson Labrie, the first witness called to testify, told the judge he thought video lottery terminals were ridiculous until he couldnt stop playing them. He went on to describe how his addiction had cost him his home and more than $250 000.

Legal representative for the plaintiffs Roger Garneau said that his clients had succeeded in proving that VLTs are dangerous, but that experts were not able to prove that playing on video lottery terminals caused people to become addicted to gambling.

Not everyone was happy with the result. Agreeing to the settlement was a mistake, said gambling counsellor Sol Boxenbaum, a consultant on the case who felt that the lawsuit could have created a precedent that would have forced Loto-Québec to warn people about the dangers of VLTs.

“How did we give up on a point like that?” Boxenbaum asked. “[There] should have been no question about a settlement unless we get that warning put onto the machines.”

Plaintiffs who disagree with the settlement will have an opportunity to state their cases when the agreement comes before a final court hearing on March 8 for ratification by a judge.

CBC reports that VLTs bring in more than one quarter of the provincial gaming corporation’s Cdn$3.8-billion in annual revenues.

Stern told SI writer Ian Thomsen that legalised sports betting in the United States could be a “huge opportunity,” setting the stage for a closer relationship between reputable sports betting and the NBA.

The sports executive’s comments came out in SI.com’s all-decade project highlighting the best and worst of sports in the 2000s. In the interview Thomsen asked commissioner Stern to examine the last 10 years while also envisioning what the future may hold — including legalised sports betting on NBA games. In the interview, Stern moved closer than any major commissioner in modern times to an acceptance of legalised betting on his games, although he made no firm commitments.

He did, however, open the door to a dialogue that could ultimately lead to a new relationship between the NBA and legalised sports betting, for the first time referring to nationally legalised gambling on the NBA as a “possibility” that “may be a huge opportunity.”

Thomsen’s concluding remarks gave an encouraging perspective gleaned from the interview when he wrote: “…legalized betting on professional sports in the U.S. is inevitable for two reasons:

(1) If sports wagering becomes a legal and taxable form of revenue, then governments will actively police sports betting in order to protect that revenue base, as well as to safe-guard the leagues that create the windfall of new taxes; and

(2) Betting on games will create more fan interest and, ultimately, bring in more money to the NBA and other leagues.”

Plus-Five Gaming will offer companies and brands looking to enter the online gambling market, a cost-effective end-to-end white label service using the latest software from leading gaming suppliers.

Andy Jones, CEO of AliQuantum and Plus-Five said, “After running AliQuantum-Gaming for a number of years, we were getting more and more enquiries from clients who wanted a fully managed online gaming service.

“Everyone told us that in the UK there is a lack of companies offering a good selection of games with a fully managed service: The few companies that do [provide this sort of service] want large set-up fees with a tie in to one software supplier. They tend towards the larger company/brand or PLC with deep pockets, meaning smaller companies have no viable route to market.

“We decided we could do better and began working on the plans at IGE last year. After a lot of hard work and negotiations with software suppliers, CRM and payment providers, we will launch our first site in January.”

Plus-Five Gaming will offer casino games, bingo, poker, sports betting, skill games and mobile phone games from one platform, operating through a single wallet.

“The UK market is hyper competitive and therefore we are happy to have such a talented and skilled country manager in Kat McClure to lead Mr Green’s entry into the market,” said Mikael Pawlo, managing director at Mr Green.

“Kat’s combination of recent experience with one of the world’s super brands and prior to that in the entrepreneurial environment of a startup ISP will prove very useful in establishing our brand in the UK.”

McClure was Dynamics Audience Marketing Manager for Microsoft, and also worked for successful start-up company Mistral Internet, where she was responsible for leading the marketing and PR for Mistral’s award winning high-speed ADSL and Hosting services.

She also has previous experience with the National Geographic Channel and BSkyB, where she was involved in both consumer and B2B marketing.

“Mr Green is already experiencing phenomenal success across the Scandinavian market, so when the opportunity came up to launch the brand in the UK, I jumped at the chance to replicate that success in the UK,” said McClure this week. “The forward thinking ethos of the company drew me to the role and I see this as a real opportunity to spearhead marketing campaigns that will launch and grow Mr
Green within the UK market.”

Mr Green management claims it will be the only online casino operator in the UK offering a diversity of casino games from four different casino software providers: NYX Interactive, Net Entertainment, Wagerworks and Betsoft Gaming.

The dispute started when slots fan Marie-Helene Jarguel claimed a Euro 2 million jackpot in March this year after inserting Euros 50 into the one-armed bandit, reports Reuters news agency. But her claim was contested by her casino gambling partner Francis Sune based on the fact that he had actually activated the machine by pressing the spin button.

The judge had to weigh up who made the biggest contribution to the win and the realtionship between the litigants, and awarded 80 percent of the jackpot to Jarguel and 10 percent to her gambling partner.

Reuters comments that the ruling was a legal innovation; the judges noted that in French law there was “no judicial definition of the winner in a slot machine game.”

But the interesting aspect of the PokerScout numbers lay in the substantial combined growth of the two monster gambling sites, which PokerScout calculates at 68 percent, suggesting that predictions of the online poker industry’s saturation and fading fortunes may be a little premature.

The growth was not confined to the market leaders, either. Other sites increased their traffic by 12 percent, with PartyPoker, Ongame Network, Everest Poker and Bodog all showing growth and the market overall continuing to increase in size.

Full Tilt Poker appears to have been doing some catching up on its long term rival and market dominant PokerStars, especially during the second and third quarters of the year, which have seen its growth rate approach and match that of its main competition.

Market dominance can be a fleeting glory subject to dramatic changes in the market and the growth of rivals, and this is particularly so in the online poker sector, where the elephant in the room remains the US market and the possibility of legalised online poker either nationally or in individual states.

PokerStars and Full Tilt have had things pretty much all their own way since the UIGEA, which triggered the exit of pioneering online giants like Party Poker, and industry consolidation moves such as the predicted merger between Party Gaming and Bwin could add some exciting new competitive dynamics.

PokerScout lists the following as the 20 currently largest sites or networks in its Week 50 assessment. The calculation is based on hourly average number of players in a 24-hour period.

While the results show that there is still plenty of work to be done, the five major betting operators in Great Britain, accounting for around 80 percent of betting shops, have made considerable progress, the report reveals.

Following disturbing andhadlie grabbing results in May this year when almost all shops failed a similar exercise, these results show that in 65 percent of the 160 shops visited, a person under 18 years of age was prevented from placing a bet at the counter.

The report shows that at Ladbrokes premises 74 percent of ‘underage’ sting attempts to enter were turned away; William Hill shops rejected 68 percent; Tote 63 percent; Betfred 60 percent and Gala Coral 57 percent in casino bonuses.

The Commission is meeting the operators concerned next week to discuss the detailed results and how they plan to secure the further improvements needed. The rolling programme of test purchase visits will continue as part of te Commission’s ongoing compliance programme.

This exercise also covered initial visits to a small sample of those medium and smaller betting operators in England and Wales that make up 20 percent of the total number of betting shops. The results were poor with only 35 percent of betting shops visited preventing someone under age from betting at the counter.

Again, the Commission, working with local councils, is rapidly engaging with those operators whose shops were visited to secure immediate improvement plans.

The Director of Regulation at the Commission, Nick Tofiluk, said “The Commission is pleased that operators have responded rapidly to the action we took earlier this year. However young people under 18 are not permitted to gamble; there must be no let up in the effort to improve. Test purchase exercises, by both the Commission and licensing authorities, will continue.”

This week the company started rather belatedly addressing a dispute that has created some acrimonious allegations on the internet casinos in recent months, issuing a press release on its intentions going forward.

The release refers to what the company characterises as ‘often inaccurate information exchanges on the Internet’ regarding the closure of its affiliate program, and as a ‘responsible and respectable business’ makes disclosures of fact.

“Casino gambling management has reached the conclusion that there is a need to present its point of view, and more importantly to address any perceived shortcomings regarding payments to affiliates genuinely impacted by the Grand Prive Affiliates closure,” the statement explains.

The disclosures include:

* For purely commercial reasons, a decision to close Grand Prive Affiliates was taken, and a communication exercise aimed at affiliates commenced.

* This was followed by payment to all active affiliates of all amounts owed.

* The termination was, in Management’s opinion, conducted according to the terms of Grand Privé’s contract with affiliates, and in addition to these Grand Privé also entered into mutually agreeable compensation settlements with all affiliates who at that time had players considered to be reasonably active.

* Following these initiatives, Management is not aware of one single affiliate claim for compensation being submitted directly to Grand Privé, despite a rising noise level on the Internet.

The comment regarding a paucity of complaints is especially surprising in view of the considerable and often heated discussion among affiliates that the issue generated, and the opprobrium heaped upon Grand Prive as a consequence.

However, the company concedes in its statement that ‘certain smaller and relatively inactive affiliate accounts may feel prejudiced by the closure’ and acknowledges that this needs to be addressed with both an apology and a fair and reasonable financial settlement, all of which leads into its plan of action to deal with the situation.

That plan consists of commissioning the player protection and standards non-profit, eCOGRA, to deploy its audit-qualified professional staff to:

* Investigate the circumstances surrounding the Grand Prive Affiliates closure both within and without the company and issue a public report.

* Facilitate the submission of claims by any affiliate that considers an amount to be owing by the Grand Prive Affiliate program as a result of player wagering activity and

* Perform a full and professional review of the Program software and data to confirm amounts owing to claimants as at 21 December 2009.

The statement pledges that “Grand Prive will cooperate whole-heartedly with this process, and has asked eCOGRA to involve all leading affiliate watchdog organisations in informing affiliates of their opportunity to submit legitimate claims.

“We have accepted on eCOGRA’s insistence that we will be bound by its findings and recommendations arising from the investigation, remaining at arms length from the enquiry unless asked for pertinent information,” the statement avers, ending with an assurance that the company’s primary concern is to address any genuine wrongs in a fair and forthright manner.

In summary, then, the door to payment of legitimate and verifiable affiliate claims is open and accessible through eCOGRA, which we understand will soon be issuing a statement of its own detailing its involvement and how claims can be lodged.

Grand Prive earlier claimed that on closing its Grand Prive Affiliate Program it had ensured that all affiliates had been paid up to date, and had subsequently engaged in settlements, asserting that despite internet casinos criticism it has yet to receive a single affilate complaint regarding its actions.

Under the heading “GRAND PRIVÉ AFFILIATES INVESTIGATION”, the eCOGRA press release reveals:

London, 7 December 2009 – Following a number of Internet-based allegations concerning payments following the closure of the Grand Privé Affiliate Program on 1 December 2008, eCOGRA’s professional services have been engaged by the management of the company.

Pursuant to an independent and fair resolution of the issues involved, eCOGRA has been tasked with:

* Independently investigating the manner in which the Program was terminated and the reasons therefore; subsequently compiling a full and transparent report.

* Gathering and verifying claims by any affiliate that considers an amount still to be owing by the Program as a result of player wagering activity subsequent to 1 December 2008; and

* Carrying out a full and independent review by suitably qualified staff of the program software and data to confirm amounts owing to claimants at 21 December 2009.

eCOGRA is open to all submissions concerning the closure and payments owed, and urges affiliate watchdog organisations in receipt of this email to assist it in order to ensure that respective affiliate members are informed of this opportunity to submit legitimate claims.

Claims can be submitted prior to 21 December 2009. Former Grand Privé affiliates who believe they have a legitimate and verifiable claim will be asked to complete the Claim Submission Form that they will find on this link.

The following information will be required on the Claim Form, and will be treated in strict confidence:

FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

BANNER TAG

EMAIL ADDRESS

WEBSITES

PHYSICAL ADDRESS

TELEPHONE NUMBER

BANKING DETAILS

AMOUNT OF LAST PAYMENT RECEIVED FROM GRAND PRIVÉ

DATE OF LAST PAYMENT RECEIVED

Closing dates for submission of claims is 21 December 2009.

In the interests of transparency, eCOGRA’s findings will be publicly released on conclusion of the investigation.

There are some of the other great Microgaming online slot games that have been included in this double Players Club points scheme. They are The Great Galaxy Grab, Liquid Gold, Silver Fang, 5 Reel Drive and Burning Desire. The Great Galaxy Grab has made a permanent name in online gaming history by being the 400th online casino game released by Microgaming. The slot game is befitting its stature with interactive bonus rounds that follow a story. Burning Desire has also made a name for itself by being the first online slot game that enables all 243 paylines.

Online slot games are not the only casino games that have been designated for double Players Club points at Roxy Palace online casino. A number of table games that include French Roulette, 3-Card Poker Gold and European Blackjack will also offer double loyalty points during this period. French Roulette is extremely popular at Roxy Palace online casino because it offers an extremely low house edge. Video poker enthusiasts can play Aces & Faces for double Players Club points.

The Roxy Poker challenge promotion is also currently running at Roxy Palace online casino. It will get over on November 9. In this event the players with the highest winning percentages on video poker games during the promotion period will share the prize pool. Only those players who deposit at least $100 and wager at least $2,500 on any video poker games during the promotion period can qualify for the prizes.

Another promotion that has just started on November 6 and will run till November 9 is the Bonus Slots Magic. Players who wager the most on online slots during the promotion period will share the prize pool. Roxy Palace online casino offers a fantastic range of online slot games that include Mega Spin slots, Fruit Machines, Classic 3-reel slots, Video slots and Progressive Jackpot slots. In order to qualify for this event, players must deposit at least $100 during the promotion period.

Roxy Palace online casino is powered by Microgaming. It is licensed by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta and has been certified as Safe and Fair by eCOGRA.