The state of New Jersey on Monday sued three Internet gambling sites for offering their services to residents of the Garden State.
The state has targeted 7sultans.com, Alohacasino.com, and RoyalClubCasino.com, alleging that the casinos do not do enough to prevent children from gambling online.
The lawsuit aims to stop the companies from taking bets from New Jersey residents and advertising the sites. Investigators also want to know how many bets these sites accepted, and how the bettors fared.
State officials may be forced to serve legal papers by e-mail, as they are having difficulty locating company officials. Alohacasino.com and 7sultans.com do not list the location of their corporate headquarters, but RoyalClubCasino.com is based in St. Kitt’s in the Caribbean.
The lawsuit was launched in response to highway billboards advertising the sites.
Net Entertainment Debuts Spanish Casino
Net Entertainment, the premier developer of Java Singapore Online Casino gaming software, is due to release a new Spanish-language online casino, Apuestas Casino, together with Gruopo Zeta, one of the leading media groups in Spain. The grand opening is set to the beginning of June 2001.
Targeting a Spanish-speaking audience, the Apuestas Casino will be based upon the Net Entertainment Internet casino platform. The Apuestas Casino will be easy and fast to access at ordinary modem speed, and because of the its Java-based platform, it will be suited for a diversified target group.
“Gruopo Zeta is the perfect partner with lots of media channels, giving Apuestas Casino good media exposure towards the Latin and South American countries,” said Pontus Lindwall, CEO for Net Entertainment.
Apuestas Casino is the first online casino to be totally converted into another language than English. The games are Spanish-themed with Spanish design and game names. Apuestas Casinos also feature English-language games.
“We are very proud to present Apuestas Casino, as it shows what can be done in localization of a casino in an extreme manner,” commented Lindwall.
Net Entertainment, developer of online casinos such as CasinoDomain and Cherry Casino, specializes in the creation, development and management of interactive entertainment content for the Internet, Digital TV and Mobile Internet.
Gruopo Zeta owns and manages TV and radio stations, magazines, Internet sites and other media-related businesses in Spain and Latin America.
Australian Government Modifies Gambling Ban
The Australian federal government has announced that it will relax parts of its planned ban on online gambling.
The revamped legislation will allow online sports betting and lotteries to do business as usual, but takes aim at offshore gambling sites – something that earlier drafts had not done.
Communications Minister Richard Alston said the fledgling online casino industry needed to be brought under control before it became a major social problem in Australia. The country already has one of the largest populations of problem gamblers in the world.
Alston did note, however, that the Australian racing industry had raised valid concerns about the sweeping nature of the original Internet gambling ban.
“In the case of the racing industry, the government remains concerned about the impact of Internet wagering, but recognizes that this concern needs to be balanced against the impact of a ban on a bona fide and long established industry,” he said.
Four amendments to the ban will exclude wagering on horse and greyhound racing, sports betting and lotteries. Gambling companies will, however, be banned from both advertising and providing their services. The government hopes this will limit the access of Australian and offshore gaming companies to the Australian public.
It also plans to make it an offense for overseas gambling companies to offer their services to Australians, although Alston did not say how the government planned to enforce this measure.
The changes have satisfied some critics, but the Australian Casino Association expressed its displeasure with the changes. In a statement, ACA Executive Director Chris Downy commented, “Online gaming regulation, whether for wagering or casino style games, must be consistent.”
