Like the events that provided its foundations, the unveiling was controversial, confirming what industry insiders have suspected for some time - that Warren Jolly’s CAP has continued to benefit from the events despite apparent attempts to portray this as a fresh and seperate activity.

Ironically, one of CAP’s most vociferous detractors back in the early months of 2009 was the Gambling Portal Webmaster’s Association, and it is on the message boards of this body that the latest drama played out.

It involved the disclosure of certain commercial information - since deleted - by a GPWA associate answering an affiliatewho was seeking clarification on the CAP-iGB financial relationship.

The response reportedly resulted in a growing furore and the imposition of a temporary posting ban. It also appears to have prompted an iGaming Business representative to post, confirming that there was a financial arrangement, although details were not provided. This same representative had determinedly refused to confirm this earlier in the year.

That, in turn, appeared to trigger a statement from Jolly, who remains the CAP chief executive officer, which we quote verbatim from the GPWA public forum:

“Back in late 2006, around the time UIGEA was passed, Alex Pratt (Publisher of iGaming Business) and I conceptualized a series of iGaming affiliate conferences which would be completely free for affiliates who were members of both CAP and the GPWA - these conferences would become the “official” CAP conferences and would take over our already established event series, CAP Spring Break, which had been in existence since 2002.

“It is important to mention, iGB and CAP already had an existing relationship as iGB was (although a name change has since been instituted to “iGB Affiliate Magazine”) responsible for the publication, editorial, and advertising sales of the official magazine of CAP - “CAP magazine”.

“A deal was struck whereby iGaming Business (hereafter referred as “iGB”) would handle all of the sales, logistics, and planning of these conferences, and CAP would handle all of the marketing to affiliates and operators.

“All invoicing was to be handled by iGB and there would be a split of profits on these conferences (the exact split is not relevant, nor will it be discussed from either side as our contract treats this as strictly confidential).

“The first event launched in January 2007 in London and the rest is history - these events are now clearly the largest and most established conferences within the iGaming affiliate sector, world-wide and CAP has continued to market & promote these events the same way as we did since the first CAP Euro London conference.

“In early 2009, due to our own internal challenges & restructuring, a decision was made to distance the events and magazines from CAP.

“Until this point, CAP had full authority to veto any sponsorship, offer discounts/combined sponsorships, and control other matters. We gave up this control and provided 100 percent latitude to iGB in an effort to focus our time, energy, and resources on resolving the internal disputes at the time.

“A decision was also made to re-brand the conferences, which remains in effect today.

“From a financial perspective CAP is still a beneficiary - we co-founded the conferences, attracted the affiliates/operators, and rightfully deserved to continue to benefit financially from these events.”

Whilst the need to distance the conferences from the uproar at CAP, and the distaste with which these events were viewed by the industry, is understandable it remains puzzling as to why such an upfront statement was not made at the time instead of the prevarication that prevailed back then.

The incident has illustrated that the affiliate community is a forgiving one, however; posts by many affiliates on several message boards indicate that whether CAP profits from these events or not, they will be supporting this year’s conference.

In an interesting interview Stewart makes the point that the prophets of doom predicting that everything from a bad economic climate to market saturation would cause the industry to falter and regress have been resoundingly proved wrong in 2009…and he produced a few stats to back his opinion about online casino games.

Stewart told Poker News Daily that the overall market has grown by an impressive 35 percent, with Full Tilt Poker enjoying a good year, doubling in size and increasing market share from 15 percent to 23 percent in its pursuit of the biggest site in the world, Pokerstars.com. Much of the growth occurred in the second half of the year, it appears.

Full Tilt closed the gap during the year and is now 65 percent the size of its gigantic rival, with both substantially ahead of Playtech’s third placed iPoker network. The dominance and growth of these super-sites has resulted in smaller companies - especially those lower than the top 12 sites on the leader board - growing slower than the market itself.

A possibly serious contender, depending on the extent to which their respective player databases overlap, could be the much speculated upon possible merger of Bwin and Party Gaming.

Stewart confirms that the sites that have the most players tend to attract more players because they offer continuous poker action around the world, and he estimates that Pokerstars and Full Tilt between them enjoy a 60 percent share of the available market. But there is still enough to go round, he observes, commenting that there are at least 15 other networks with enough players to remain healthy and competitive, even in terms of non-US action.

Going by Pokerscout’s usually accurate and up-to-date statistics, the year’s biggest loser has been Sweden’s state-owned Svenska Spel, which is down by 9 percent - probably as a result of owner-restraints on its marketing efforts.

Pokerscout looks to be even more informative in 2010; Stewart revealed that there some valuable additions planned for the site next year that include an expanded traffic report and more information on rakeback deals.

Packer pointed out that internet casinos do not exploit problem gamblers because it’s a poor “business model” and defended Crown’s reputation and controls, the report said.

Packer also criticized the media focus on a handful of online gambling addicts over the millions who gamble responsibly.

WagerWorks is thrilled to announce the release of Cleopatra® which will join other leading titles ported for mobile gambling including Rainbow Riches®, Ooh Aah Dracula R.I.Peater, Elvis Top 20 and Hi-5.

Cleopatra® on mobile runs true to its land-based roots boasting unparalleled graphics, high quality audio and an unbeatable range of unique features. Now fans on a wide range of mobile handsets can enjoy the action including 5-reels, 20-paylines, Wild Cleopatra® symbols and the legendary Free Spins Cleopatra® Bonus!

Offering the captivating game play of the original game, Wild Cleopatra® symbols on a win line doubles the award whilst three Sphinx symbols transport players to the Free Spins Cleopatra® Bonus! The Cleopatra® Bonus rewards players with not only 15 free spins but a 3x multiplier for all wins during the free spin period.

Oliver Lofthouse, Director and General Manager at WagerWorks commented, “The release of Cleopatra® on mobile is an important milestone for WagerWorks as the premier provider of game content across multiple casino platforms. This highly popular title is available in the land based casino market and now online and on mobile through WagerWorks, which is a major development for the IGT Group as a whole. This launch allows us to reach a much wider audience and paves the way for developing further top performing casino titles on mobile.”

“We are very pleased to extend our relations with 888, one of the world’s most popular online gambling companies. We believe that innovative features and enhanced gameplay will enrich 888’s offering and will strengthen our relationship,” said Udy Yosha, CEO of CTXM.

As a result, the 888 casinos will feature a total of seven games developed by CTXM, including Freaky Wild West and Freaky Gym 3D slots. The games will be integrated into 888’s award winning gaming environment, combining popular gaming designs with 888’s gaming arena, gaming history and shared wallet.

CTXM launched new 3D slots Freaky Wild West and Freaky Gym this September at the EIG Expo. Freaky 3D Slots support all standard and high end slot features and offers unique gameplay, with multilevel and multidimensional play, humorous story-lines, advanced bonus games and thrilling 3D effects.

“During EIG our new slots received special attention from our existing and potential partners. We did our best to increase excitement in our games bringing an extraordinary gaming atmosphere to players. We believe that our new gameplay will increase player immersion and will maximise revenues of our partners,” said Udy Yosha.

“We constantly look to deliver a superior gaming experience to our players,” said Itai Frieberger, Senior Vice President - Head of Offering Division of 888. “CTXM games have provided such an experience and we are confident that these new games will also be well received by our players.”

As part of the IGT initiative of “Taking Gaming to the Next Level”, WagerWorks will showcase the remote internet gambling expertise of IGT at this year’s G2E.

WagerWorks, the premier provider of online casinos and mobile game content utilizes not only an impressive list of mainstream brands, but also a highly dynamic catalogue of established land-based titles migrated from IGT and from sister company, Barcrest Group. During G2E 2009, WagerWorks will present its latest online games incorporating unique game play and new levels of player excitement including Dungeons and Dragons: Crystal Caverns, Super Hoot Loot™, Rainbow Riches® Win Big Shindig™, TRANSFORMERS: Ultimate Payback™ and a full suite of mobile games including the recently launched Rainbow Riches® Pots of Gold and Cleopatra®.

Continued delivery of top tier partner agreements over the past year is testament to the reputation WagerWorks has gained in the marketplace as the leading game provider, offering streams of game content in interactive digital television, mobile gaming and internet gaming markets. Newly signed online partners include St Minver, Jenningsbet, Talarius and Entergaming with additional distribution agreements established with Finsoft and GTS. Existing online customers, Sky and Rank, have also recently integrated mobile content, making WagerWorks games available to an even greater numbers of players across multiple platforms.

Commenting on the prospects for Wagerworks at G2E 2009, Oliver Lofthouse, Director and General Manager at WagerWorks said, “Our presence at G2E reinforces the reputation of IGT as a leading provider of innovative and technology-driven solutions in the gaming market. WagerWorks will have the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to offer great game content across multiple remote gaming channels. This is an exciting time for both companies as the remote gaming market evolves, and we look forward to meeting new and existing customers at this year’s show.”

To view all that is current and innovative in the remote gaming market visit WagerWorks on IGT Booth #913 at G2E 2009.

The event started back on Wednesday, the four day event has been expertly run by the online casino known for the largest poker tournaments in New Zealand, Sky City Auckland. There were 29 different nationalities that were in contention for the title and the $789,000 NZD prize pool. This continued to the final table with a German, French, US and Chinese, joining the antipodeans.

The first two places were taken by players who qualified via PokerStars with Simon making his way through via a $22 qualifier, not a bad return on investment. The heads up battle between Simon Watt and Frenchman Gerome Gitteau was shorter than expected, it only took the courageous local five hands to take out the championship. Gerome was unlucky in the first of these when a good read saw him call when he a pair of eights after the flop, up against Watt’s Ace, 4. Unfortunately the ace arrived on the turn which crippled the man who came to the final table as chip leader. The very next hand Simon’s pair of fives held up and the hometown hero was crowned champion of Auckland.

The 26 year old software developer was delighted with his victory. After the win Simon exclaimed, it has been an amazing field to come through, all the people I have played against I have enormous respect for but I have been feeling lucky all week and this seems to have helped.”

One of the great stories of the tournament was the progress of Team PokerStars PRO Australia Eric Assadourian and his father Assadour Assadourian. Eric finished the best of the team in 19th but could not outdo his father. Assadour made it through to the final table and an impressive seventh place. The other notable players in the international field included Lee Nelson, Tony Hachem, Emad Tahtouh, Grant Levy, Celina Lin and Bryan Huang. Returning champion Daniel Craker also had an impressive return falling just short of a repeat final table knocked out in 29th place.

The lucky winner will win a trip to watch the finale of the Spanish Poker Tour (SPT) and a seat at one of the SPT side events at the Casino Costa Meloneras on Gran Canaria (26th-27th Nov), with accommodation and spending money included in the winnings.

This bombshell of a prize is a fantastic marketing strategy from one of the veteran gambling companies in the Spanish market. With most of the key players in the lucrative Spanish iGaming industry attending iGB España (29th–31st Oct), it seems that nothing screams ‘best of the best’ than a good game of poker and a fantastic prize. But why now at this event?

“As one of the first companies to support the Spanish gaming market there is a natural synergy between Everest Gaming and the iGB España and we are delighted to be so actively involved in the event. This initiative will pave the way for affiliates and operators alike to become really successful by getting together, exchanging ideas and understanding the potential this market has to offer.” Dorrit Borensztajn, Director of Affiliate Marketing for Everest Gaming, continues “For that reason, I believe that there is nothing more suitable than rewarding the affiliates participating in iGB España with the chance to enjoy the full Everest experience at the Finale of our own Spanish Poker Tour”.

The freeroll will be held at EverestPoker on Thursday 5th November at 20:00 GMT. As this is an exclusive opportunity for attending affiliates, a password will be sent to delegates via email but they will have to register for the event and be in attendance for a chance to win the grand prize on offer. This however does not appear to be a problem as affiliates have registered in droves for the event.

“Since Everest have announced their exclusive freeroll we have had an overwhelming response from the Affiliate community” Alex Pratt, Publisher of iGaming Business and organizer of the event, stated “Everyone is excited about the freeroll and the chance to meet the top operators in the Spanish Market. We know from past experience that it’s necessary to mix high quality conference sessions, with the best speakers and cutting-edge strategies to increase your gaming business, and a sense of fun, such as the three fantastic sponsored networking parties and a little gambling, to give true value for money for our delegates. We are in no doubt this is going to be a smashing success”.

Pending legislation introduced by Chairman Frank in May 2009, the internet gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267), seeks to establish a framework to permit licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. and mandate a number of significant consumer protections.

Thomas Kiessling, Bwin’s Chief Technological Officer, has announced this new initiative and it’s his department that is designing and constructing the new Shoutbox tool The tool is specifically being designed so that players can comment on the betting action that is happening – either their own bets or the bets of their friends and others in their network. The idea is to make the wagering a much more social interaction between friends rather than just the current opportunities where gamblers may be in social environments when they are placing their bets, but there are very few community features in the betting and wagering process.

Shoutbox will address this lack of social networking and look to give online casino gamblers and bettors specifically the sort of fun and social community interactions that major sites like Facebook and Myspace are currently allowing.