We don’t really know what online payment method was the first to come along, but have a suspicion that it might have been Neteller or Paypal. We suppose if we researched this we would know who came along first. But the online gambling industry has seen a great many of these virtual wallets come into being. Some are specific to certain countries, while others such as PayPal are global, now we find a new payment method that has been specifically designed with the mobile gambler in mind.

There is nothing that precludes us from making use of any of the normal payment methods that we have traditionally used to gamble online, when gambling on the go. We are talking about Skrill (which used to be Moneybookers), InstaDebit, EziPay, ECO, Clickand Buy, and so on, there is a very long list, as long as my arm. But this particular method called PugglePay only requires a Mobile number in order to make a deposit.

The design comes from Scandinavia, and we are pretty certain that it is going to be popular as well as reliable. Most software products and solutions that come out of this cold corner of the world, are of an incredibly high quality. Many people from Scandinavian countries are huge fans of gambling online, so, it makes sense that they would also be keen on the mobile form of these games. Must be the snowy cold weather, and dark long winters that keeps players in-doors, and needing to be entertained!

Now mobile entertainment has been made so much more simple to pay – PugglePay is an über secure payment method for funding mobile, and even online gambling accounts. It is an instant cash device – virtually speaking – for phones which allow us to transfer funds at any time, from any place without requiring private data or the use of credit cards, debit cards or other e-wallet. FYI – a “Puggle”, is baby echidna, if this means anything at all to you.

Some forward thinking casinos online have already taken up this product, and rolled it out to their customers, we believe it is only a matter of time until others follow suit. Both Betsson and Mr. Green have partnered with this new payment solution, understandably so, as both of these casinos offer gaming to the UK and Europe, but enjoy an extra high market share in Scandinavian countries.

This socially responsible payment system works with simple information that the user already knows – money is deposited with a few clicks on the keypad of the mobile device, and the payment pops into the mobile gambling account. The user is identified only by their mobile number, with no cost to the phone account. The invoice is confirmed by an SMS code, and the gamer can go on to play and win.

The price tag is a massive €38.3 million, and the acquisition is the online poker affiliate business known as PokerStrategy – this business specialises in poker coaching, and teaching strategy. The purchaser is Playtech, and it looks as though they are rather keen to generate new revenue streams. Online poker has not been performing as well as it did in the past, so, it makes sense for a company as large as Playtech to look at new ways to strengthen its position in this market place.

Playtech is an Israeli-owned software company that is massively prominent in the UK online gambling space. A number of the very large brand name gambling ops in Britain, partner with this turnkey software developer for their online operations too. The announcement of this acquisition was recently made by Playtech, where they made it clear that the company is optimistic about diversifying their business profile. The aim of the game appears to be to open up an independent poker school – but not just any online poker school – the largest independent one in the world.
They are looking into including community licensees, as well as "cementing existing relationships". It is their belief that incremental opportunities will be created for both PTTS marketing and software development. In other words they believe the new acquisition to be a sound move to enhance their earnings.

PokerStrategy.com, together with affiliates, own assets worth something like €18.5 million, while profits before taxes are somewhere around the €19.5 million mark in 2012. As we said earlier online poker earnings have been dropping, but not only for Playtech partners, for many other internet poker firms. So, this indeed could just be the right thing to do to create more revenue generating synergies.

Playtech has also announced that they are of the opinion that no re-branding exercised needs to take place. So, PokerStrategy.com will remain as it is, as well as preserve its independence in the online market place. Interestingly enough their management team will also remain the same. Having PokerStrategy on-board will allow for more breaks for Playtech to rethink, and adjust their poker business.

PokerStrategy is expected to assist in upgrading the Playtech poker software, and we believe this is not before time. While Playtech continues to work with their existing partners, they will be able to add new poker rooms to choose from – this is relevant to the iPoker Network which is one of the largest networks of its kind in the world.

It is no secret that the offshore territories of the UK have done really well out of the fact that the offer tax havens to the UK-facing online gambling industry. This applies to Alderney, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta and recently even the Isle of Jersey, although Jersey seems to have come on board rather Late.

Now that the British Government has been looking for ways to tax online gambling services, rather than making taxation more attractive for existing as well as start-up operator, they are thinking of a point of consumption tax. This seems quite a sensible move, as offshore operators benefit from offering gaming to UK customers, but only paly local license fees and taxes.

The introduction of a point of consumption tax seems ready to go ahead, and should be in place by December 2014. The remote gambling industry are obviously keen to find out how this tax will affect them so, neighbouring gambling jurisdictions need to be thinking ahead regarding these new regulations.

The Economic Development Minister of the Isle of Man’s – John Shimmin – is already rolling-out a new five-year plan of strategy to ensure they keep on top of things. He is quite rightly of the opinion that the sooner they take a pro-active approach, the better off they will be. We have to bear in mind here that the online gambling industry revived the economies of these island states to a great extent. It creates highly paid, highly technical jobs, generates tax income and has seen many professional relocate to be closer to where they work. Their spending stimulates these economies too.

The planned tax regime for 2014 has John Shimmin concerned that with better taxation regulation in place, firms may be tempted to relocated back to the UK. This would mean the Isle of Man (and the others) may lose some of their licensees. It is obvious that they should be prepared for this, and that they should also be able to offer incentives for firms to remain. They have already signed a tax sharing agreement with the UK, and met with the UK Gambling Commission.

Shimmin has guaranteed their support their to e-gaming operators, and confirmed that they fully understand any implications that may affect their regulatory regime. They are still seeking to attract even more new licensees, so, business must be good. Currently big names such as PokerStars, Paddy Power, and the new Full Tilt Poker, amongst others are firmly entrenched in the Isle of Man.

The fundamental concept of any online business, is that business can take place on a global scale, and this concept applies to online gambling. This type of business without borders is also a model that is intrinsic to the freedom of trade principles adopted by law-makers of the European Union (EU). However, when it comes down to online gambling and EU free trade principles, many EU countries still practice monopolistic approaches. This is frowned upon by the EU.

Now Dr Christos Dimitriadis – Intralot’s Head of Information Security has spoken at a Berlin conference, and said that “it is inevitable that new types of mobile games that could incorporate gambling features will become legal across the European Union”. Intralot builds lottery systems, terminals, and so on, and has a presence in fifty-five countries globally.

He was a guest speaker at the ISACA Insights World Congress 2013, when he made clear that their firm would be both keen, and able to investigate new business breaks, if the entire EU were to make mobile gambling legal. The gambling sector is currently merging mobile services and the cloud, which is proving to be incredibly popular with punters, and is showing exponential growth with many UK-based operators.

The problem with this form of gambling for EU member countries, is that they are not all on the same page, when it comes down to legalising games of chance that are internet based. As we said in the first paragraph – even though the European Commission has drafted an across-the-board framework for the online gambling industry – member states are being very reluctant to come to the party. It is unfortunate that regulatory changes have to be made country-by-country, but it is what it is.

The belief is that eventually there will be a way in which each member state controls e-gambling. They must play a regulatory role because of the “responsibility” factor. Gambling is believed to be best when it is controlled by law, or otherwise unscrupulous operators are able to take advantage of the public. The problem is that the EU has a great business model to follow in the UK, but don’t seem to be able to apply the lessons learned by the UK into their own situation.

Great Britain is home to the most mature sector of the global online gambling industry, and their legal framework seems to work, although like times, technology changes, and laws should be tweaked to compensate for this change. Mobile gambling in the UK, has hit the ground running in the past couple of years, and consistently appears to be enjoying an exponential growth swing.

eCOGRA is an independent standards, testing and certification body for online gambling websites, who are there to protect the public too. It basically offers certification to reliable online gambling websites in regulated territories.

The internet gambling public have learned to look out for this certification before playing at any site, as they have learned how meaningful it actually is. This is particularly pertinent to the UK, because the audience for these games in the country are today highly evolved – what we like to refer to as knowledgeable and sophisticated players. This week it was revealed that eCOGRA would be expanding their operations, and is involved in the process of employing more staff.

These expansion plans are only one small indication of the type of growth that is still being experienced in the online gambling industry. It is also a further indication of how the growth of mobile gambling markets is taking off like a bat out of hell. Mobile concerns as well as online firms, require this form of accreditation.

Apparently ten specially recruited professional staff will be joining the current team, with skills sets such as certified information IT systems auditing, chartered accounting (courtesy of the Big 4) and software test engineers.

Tex Rees – the Executive Director of eCOGRA – released this breaking news during a recent management update. Substantial investments have also been made in areas such as audit software, internal control systems, programmes, and testing laboratory infrastructure. It is Rees’ opinion that these expanded capabilities will extend capacity, and better enable them to service an ever-growing online gambling operations client base, within licensed, and regulated territories.

Founded in 2003 – eCOGRA has seen this industry through its infancy and well into a new era. They are now responsible for testing many of the biggest online operations, and recently inked a software deal with Net Entertainment. A Swedish software firm – Net Ent are certainly putting some of the best games we have ever seen out into the online gambling marketplace, and more and more operations are clamouring for their products. eCogra also has an eGAP standards and monitoring agreement in place with Paf – another Scandinavian operator.

eCogra certification has become synonymous with superior operating standards, and representation in terms of the highest quality for fairness in the online gambling industry. They are recipients of ISO approval from the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS), and what this means to the online gambler, is that any site bearing this seal has been rigorously tested, and is being continuously monitored. It also offers a protection aspect for the gambler themselves, and may be requested to help in terms of mediation, should any fairness disputes arise.