The Week that Was 9/29 – 10/3/08

In what was one of the grisliest weeks in recent memory in much of the world’s economic sector, the online gaming industry took its share of hits as well. Not only did Barney Frank’s UIGEA clarification bill H.R. 6870 fall dead on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in the wake of unprecedented buyout talks – but former World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Russ Hamilton has been confirmed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to have played the leading role in the UltimateBet super-user scandal.

Here’s what’s happening:

• 1994 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Russ Hamilton has been formally named by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission as the main culprit in the so-called NIONIO UltimateBet super-user scandal. The KGC announced in a statement released earlier this week that they had “found clear and convincing evidence to support the conclusion that between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008, Russell Hamilton… was the main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents.” In addition to a rash of refunds to date running a $6.1 million USD total, UltimateBet will be forced to pay $1.5 million in penalties to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. For a complete story on the KGC’s findings, penalties and plan of action moving forward, follow this link: Russ Hamilton Found Guilty.
• Rep. Barney Frank’s (D – MA) potentially landmark UIGEA clarification and re-examination bill H.R. 6870 has atrophied under the weight of continual talks of a US federal bailout package specifically targeted at the US financial sectors. The bill had been approved for vote by US House of Representative Committee for Financial Services in mid-September but was banished to the legislative back burner by the sudden downswings in the US Stock Markets. For a full article on H.R. 6870, follow this link: H.R. 6870.
• The UK Committee of Advertising Practice along with a few other British broadcast regulatory bodies have released new standards directly impacting the advertising and marketing sectors of the gaming industry. Amongst the many guidelines set by the new CAP code, the release most notably states “Advertisements for gambling must not suggest that gambling can provide an escape from personal, professional or educational problems such as loneliness or depression.” Though the findings are not directly attributable to recent quarrels over the decency of several UK television advertisements, the British penchant for cheeky humor in gaming advertisements has been waning for over a year now.
• A decade old definition of poker as a game of chance rather than of skill found by the Dutch Supreme Court has been directly challenged by Dutch mathematician Professor Van der Genugten. Van der Genugten has developed a series of skill v. luck ratios which he claims provides irrefutable mathematical evidence that poker is primarily a game of skill rather than of luck. The crux of the ratio hinges on the notion that poker can be learned and that a player’s winning rate can improve in a quantifiable fashion. If poker were found to be a game of skill rather than chance, not only could the taxes imposed against the Poker Industry change, but several Dutch citizens currently in legal troubles concerning the organization of private poker tournaments could be retroactively exonerated.
• Online gaming mega-giant, Cryptologic appears close to entering the blossoming Russian Gaming Market. Cryptologic is announcing that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Kurastica to begin operating a Russian based online casino in the first Quarter of 2009. This comes as big news for Cryptologic as Russian players have exploded onto the high stakes Poker scene with big finishes in the recent World Series of Poker Tournaments and continued success on many of the leading Online Poker sites.

And that’s what’s happening in Poker.