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Compliance Updates

PokerStars Founder Isai Scheinberg Pleads Guilty

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PokerStars PokerStars Launches Poker, Sports and Casino Under Local Licence in Greece Isai Scheinberg Pleads Guilty
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Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ISAI SCHEINBERG, the founder and former executive of PokerStars, an online poker company, pled guilty  to running a multimillion-dollar unlawful internet gambling business.  SCHEINBERG pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Ten years ago, this Office charged 11 defendants who operated, or provided fraudulent payment processing services to, three of the largest online poker companies then operating in the United States – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker – with operating illegal gambling businesses and other crimes.  As Isai Scheinberg’s guilty plea today shows, the passage of time will not undermine this Office’s commitment to holding accountable individuals who violate U.S. law.”

As alleged in the Indictment filed in March 2011 in Manhattan federal court, PokerStars was founded in approximately 2001, with headquarters in the Isle of Man.  PokerStars offered online poker games to players around the world, including in New York, New York.  SCHEINBERG was PokerStars’ founder and principal.  On October 13, 2006, the United States enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”), making it a federal crime for gambling businesses to “knowingly accept” most forms of payment “in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling.”  With the enactment of UIGEA, leading internet gambling businesses – including the leading internet poker company doing business in the United States at that time – terminated their United States operations.  However, PokerStars, along with Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, continued illegally to make internet poker available to U.S. customers through March 2011.  

In pleading guilty, SCHEINBERG admitted that he knew operating a business that offered internet poker to New Yorkers violated state law, and that it was the clear position of the U.S. government that offering online poker in the United States violated federal law.  Nonetheless, Scheinberg decided to continue running his multimillion-dollar online poker business in the United States.

SCHEINBERG, 73, a dual Canadian and Israeli national, was arrested in Switzerland on June 7, 2019, based on the U.S. charges.  In early October 2019, SCHEINBERG was ordered to be extradited to the United States by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, a decision he initially appealed.  SCHEINBERG subsequently withdrew his appeal and surrendered to U.S. federal agents on January 17, 2020.  He was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker on the same day.

 

Source: justice.gov

Compliance Updates

Aviatrix flying in Italy following certificate approval

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Aviatrix flying in Italy following certificate approval
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Aviatrix, the groundbreaking crash game renowned for its unique engagement mechanics, is building new partnerships in Italy following the granting of a certificate in the country.

The Italian certificate enables Aviatrix to collaborate with operators regulated by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, introducing casinos fans in Italy to the award-winning game for the first time.

Players at many of the biggest brands in Italy will soon be enjoying Aviatrix.

Anastasia Rimskaya, Chief Account Officer at Aviatrix, said: “We are excited to be bringing Aviatrix to players in Italy for the first time. This is a market where innovation and player engagement are highly valued, so we’re certain our product will be a great fit. And more than that, we have an opportunity to play a central role in one of Europe’s most vibrant online gaming cultures. We can’t wait to get started with operators in the country.”

Aviatrix is fast establishing itself as an important game in regulated jurisdictions, as it already is in emerging ones.

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NSW Govt Appoints New Board Members to ILGA

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The NSW Government has made appointments to the board of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), including a deputy chairperson and two new members.

Associate Professor Amelia Thorpe and Nicholas Nichles have been appointed following a rigorous public expression of interest selection process. Additionally, existing member Chris Honey has been appointed deputy chairperson.

ILGA is a statutory decision-maker responsible for a range of liquor, registered club and gaming machine regulatory functions including determining licensing and disciplinary matters.

The appointments follow the end of the term of appointment for outgoing deputy chairperson Sarah Dinning, and also fill vacancies that existed on the board.

Mr Honey, who was appointed a member of ILGA earlier in 2024, has been named deputy chairperson until the end of his current appointment term (11 February 2027).

Mr Honey has extensive experience in the advisory and restructuring field, including working extensively in highly regulated sectors.

Associate Professor Thorpe and Mr Nichles have both been appointed for four years commencing 6 November 2024.

Associate Prof Thorpe is with the Faculty of Law & Justice at the University of New South Wales and an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court.

Mr Nichles was previously a Consul General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Australian Government agency Austrade, based in the US.

The new appointments bring the ILGA board membership to seven. The new appointments will join chairperson Caroline Lamb, new deputy chairperson Mr Honey and current members Cathie Armour, Jeffrey Loy APM and Dr Suzanne Craig.

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Compliance Updates

Ireland’s New Gambling Regulator to Begin Work on Phased Basis Next Year

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Ireland’s new gambling regulator is likely to begin overseeing betting businesses in the Republic midway through next year, industry figures predict.

President Micheal D Higgins recently signed the new Gambling Regulation Act, which overhauls licensing and creates a new authority to govern betting firms, into law. Industry figures forecast that the new regime should begin operating midway through next year, a key point for many businesses as they will have to renew online betting licences by that time.

Government also has to pass several milestones before the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland can start functioning, including appointing the seven people the body requires.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee appointed senior civil servant Anne Marie Caulfield as chief executive designate of the authority in summer 2022. Her office has 11 staff. According to the Department of Justice, the State’s Public Appointments Service will shortly begin recruiting the authority’s seven members.

The Minister will appoint the candidates the service recommends.

The department could not say when the authority would start regulating but noted this would happen in a phased “timely manner” after its establishment.

Jack Chambers, Minister for Finance, earmarked €9.1 million for the authority next year in this month’s budget. That includes €4 million for technology.

Ms Caulfield wrote to industry organisations last week confirming that her organisation would begin its work on a “phased basis” but pointing out that it has already completed many preparations. In a statement she said that the authority was committed to keeping the industry fully informed so businesses can “plan for the new regulatory regime”.

Meanwhile, the Public Service Appointments Service last week advertised for someone to head the authority’s social fund. Under the new law’s provisions, betting businesses will contribute to this fund which the authority will use to tackle problem gambling.

Betting businesses regard the fund’s establishment as one of the key steps towards establishing the new regime.

Alongside that, they say that the authority will also have to set up its new licensing system. The law demands that all gambling businesses operating in the Republic be licensed and makes it a criminal offence to operate without a proper permit.

Lawyers at Arthur Cox recently noted that current permits are preserved until licensing sections of the act come into force. Existing high street and online bookies’ licences will have a run-off period, but lawyers said that how this would work in practice depended on how the regulator developed the new system.

Betting businesses are keen that the authority works on a national self-exclusion register for customers who voluntarily ask bookmakers not to take their bets. Currently, most individual bookies have systems where customers who fear they have a problem, or are at risk, can exclude themselves in this way.

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