Independent statistics show G-Tech subsidiary outperforms all non US facing poker networks

G-Tech subsidiary Boss Media made some strong claims for its International Poker Network this week, claiming that the online poker site outperforms all other non-US-facing poker networks. The company cites numbers from the independent poker statistics portal PokersiteScout.com as the basis for its boast.

Since the acquisition by GTECH last year (see previous InfoPowa reports) Boss Media has continued to achieve significant increases in revenue across all products. The International Poker Network (IPN) continued to grow during the last quarter (Q4 2008 v Q3 2008) through strong player acquisition supported by the launch of the grand Euro 1 000 000 guaranteed tournament and recently launched Bad Beat Jackpot, which currently stands at Euro 200 000.

With a 14 percent increase in active daily players, 22 percent increase in maximum concurrent players and a 28 percent growth in daily registrations the IPN was the fastest growing independent European network during 2008.

Commenting on the achievement, Rahul Parekh, CEO of Boss Media says: “I’m delighted with our progress. Following the acquisition of Boss Media by G-Tech in Q2 2008, we recognised that we had some challenges and opportunities to address. Whilst we still have more work ahead of us, we’re heading firmly in the right direction.”

Continuing the success with Svenska Spel and Austrian Lotteries, Boss Media became one of the first to launch an online poker network in Italy in cooperation with Lottomatica Scomesse, one of the world’s leading gaming operators. This makes Boss Media the only European supplier of poker for 4 poker networks with more than 100 000 players using the software each day.

Björn Lundsten, Poker Product Manager, says “With our substantial increase in technical resources and capacity well underway, we expect to surge forward on this positive path. Our licensees and lottery customers can look forward to the benefits of our investments in the coming months”.

Boss can look forward to further growth in player liquidity as it heads into 2009 - late last year the online gambling software company Cryptologic announced that its online poker clients will merge with Boss Media during the first quarter of 2009, leaving Cryptologic to concentrate on its core business of games and software development.

Independent survey will look at how online betting experiences differ across different cultures

The online gambling group Betfair has commissioned another interesting and independent study of factors influencing Internet gambling, hiring cxpartners to look at how online betting experiences differ across different cultures.

The outcomes of the qualitative study will enable Betfair to tailor its gambling products and services to users across the world, making its product portfolio more usable and appropriate to different target audiences, reports Netimperative this week.

The manager responsible for user experience at Betfair, Louise Croft Baker, said: “The way in which people bet online differs, according to a number of factors; language, culture and regulation all affect the online experience. By conducting usability studies in a number of countries we hope to understand further how these habits differ and to use this intelligence to make sure Betfair is providing the most relevant service for such a diverse customer base.”

The cxpartners research will be carried out by a network of agencies across a number of countries over a two week period.

Giles Colborne, Managing Director at cxpartners commented: “Our experience of conducting these kind of studies is the perfect fit for Betfair as we have a proven track record of conducting qualitative usability research for organisations in the leisure industries. This study will help Betfair to further understand its customers’ needs and in doing so create opportunities to make its services more relevant to users across the globe. This is a significant contract for us and we’re very much looking forward to seeing the outcome.”

Online gambling sites are being hit by hackers using botnets that fix the odds to ensure large winnings

According to SC Magazine, scammers using scripts are simulating the actions of legitimate gamblers and gathering information that can be used to increase the odds of winning bets. The claim was made by Guri Geva, regional director UK, Northern Europe and Israel at Radware, a company that develops, manufactures and sells application delivery and network security solutions.

Since the scripts simulate real user behaviour, they are hard to track by regular security tools.

“Online gambling is all based on the web, so hackers can go in and use ‘web scraping’ tactics to take the details,” Geva told the magazine. “They will use bots to grab the odds and use arbitration systems to play the odds at a better level that will mean that they are guaranteed to win.

“They are using the bot to simulate a user: they collect the odds, arbitrate and gamble and it is very hard to track by standard security tools as the way that it works simulates regular user activity.

“The hacker can use the bot to manipulate the odds to improve the winning margin; it can also measure times so it can hit the site when it is at its busiest, going as undetected as possible.”

Geva claims that the problem can be countered by enabling the sites to detect scam attacks as they happen through transparent real time analysis of user behaviours.

“Webscraping is going on all of the time; it can steal information from a website, put the details on to another and redirect people to it. This can lead to fraud and even phishing, you could blacklist IP addresses but that will require a lot of time”, said Geva.

“When the US does open up, we’ll be ready.”

Edward Wray, the respected founder of the Betfair online gambling empire, spoke his mind on the American legal situation in an interview with the UK publication Real Business this week, commenting that he was not a fan of prohibition as an alternative to regulation.

That said, Wray does not intend to take any risks and told the publication: ““We’re not interested in going into grey areas. We have 25 people in our legal team and we get professional, detailed opinions on every country that we operate in. As a rule, however, I don’t believe in prohibition; it’s futile. People will find a way to gamble online, regardless of whether you tell them not to do it.”

The interview follows news earlier this week that Betfair has acquired the US-based TV Games Network from Macrovision for $50 million in cash (see previous InfoPowa report). TVG is among the most widely-distributed horseracing networks in the world and is also a leading provider of [legal] advance deposit wagering services in the U.S. TVG covers racing from 70 tracks 16 U.S. states, including the key racing centres of Kentucky, California and New York. It also accepts bets from residents of those states, dividing the profits with the racecourses concerned.

David Yu, CEO of the Betfair Group Ltd, commented then: “We have waited to enter the U.S. market until we had a high quality, and above all, legal product offering, and we believe with this acquisition we have secured those goals.”

Yu also stressed that Betfair has no plans at present to introduce its betting exchange model into the US market, but will use its cutting-edge technology to improve the pari-mutuel betting services offered to TVG clients. “We have waited to enter the US market until we had a high quality, and above all, legal product offering, and we believe with this acquisition we have secured those goals,” said Betfair’s chief executive.

Wray was pragmatic regarding the change in the political leadership in the United States, voicing an opinion on whether President Obama is likely to prove a better bet for online gambling. “I’m delighted that he won but, let’s face it, gambling legislation isn’t going to be on the first or second page of Obama’s to-do list,” Wray opined. “I think the country will move to regulation but it may take five years, it may take ten years.

“We’ve had the luxury of growing at our own pace over the past decade and we’ve spent tens of millions of pounds on technology. Our website won’t fall over.

“When the US does open up, we’ll be ready.”