More Gambling Online

New Zealand reports an increase in gambling online, Ukrainian mobile gaming and suspicious Tennis matches are the main topics in this weeks Gambling News round up, featuring some of the top stories this week!

More Kiwis Gambling Online

New Zealand will need to take an honest look at whether its online gambling policy is working, by noting the latest statistics revealed by the Racing Board. While the government continues to ban online casino gambling, over 177,000 gamblers take their fun to offshore sites and spend up to $2 billion each year.

"Many of these offshore operators are not required and do not have in place any proactive measures to minimize the harm from problem gambling," said Bill Colgan for the New Zealand Racing Board. A licensed and regulated industry may change all that for Kiwis keen to play safely online, and bring in extra revenue for the government.

Another Tennis Match Triggers Suspicious Betting Patterns

A tennis match between Daniel Kollerer of Austria and Spain’s Oscar Hernandez as part of the Ordina Open in the Netherlands, triggered sports betting sites to suspend betting and void all bets after suspicious betting patterns were picked up.

Odds in favor of Hernandez winning at 5-1 were seen as illogical and groups such as Unibet, William Hill and Ladbrokes took the necessary stops to end wagering. “It was a toss- of-the-coin-market where you'd expect to see a spread of bets, but it was one way traffic for Hernandez,” said David Williams of Ladbrokes. “Alarm bells go off, we suspended the market, taking the view we're going to sit this dance out.” Hernandez eventually won the game in two straight sets.

Mobile Gambling Company Taps into Ukrainian Market

Spin3 is working through its partnership with 777Mobile to tap into the lucrative and virtually untouched Ukrainian gambling market. Three games have already been translated into Ukrainian (Major Millions, blackjack and roulette) and the country’s most popular web based payment processing company, WebMoney has been incorporated into Spin3’s system.

“It was important to localize every aspect of the player experience – from the game’s help and instruction pages right through to the way they deposit, top-up and collect their money,” said the Head of Spin3, Matti Zinder. “In this way, we have been able to fully support 777Mobile’s ambitions of entering one of Eastern Europe’s most promising markets.”

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