Gaming software provider, Net Entertainment “saw good development during Q3/2010 with a 21% growth in revenue (35% in local currency) which should be compared with the 14% market growth predicted by H2 Gaming Capital for the full year of 2010″, commented Johan Öhman , president and CEO.

Third Quarter Highlights included:

• Revenues for the third quarter increased by 20.8% to SEK 91.6 (Q3/2009: 75.8) million
• Operating profit increased by 13.8% to SEK 34.1 (Q3/2009:30.0) million
• Operating margin was 37.2 (Q3/2009:39.5) percent
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 30.0 (Q3/2009:20.8) million
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.76 (Q3/2009:0.53) before and after dilution
• Two new license agreements were signed

First Nine Months 2010:

• Revenues for first nine months increased 25.2% to SEK 268.7 (214.6) million
• Operating profit increased by 21.0% to SEK 102.7 (84.8) million
• Operating margin was 38.2 (39.5) percent
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 91.4 (75.3) million
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.31 (1.90) before and after dilution
• Eight new license agreements were signed, including Gioco Digitale/bwin, Interwetten, Intralot and Stan James, and eight new customers’ casinos were launched

Important Events in Q3/2010:

Revenue growth for the third quarter was 35.1% in local currency compared to the Q3/2009 and 6.0% compared to the previous quarter. The strengthened Swedish currency has held back revenue growth in SEK.

The regulation of casino games online in Italy continued during the quarter. The market is still expected to open at year-end. The integration has continued during the quarter.

Agreements were signed with an operator in South America, which is a region expected to become an important market for online gaming in the future. The integration of Stan James has progressed well and launch is still planned for the fourth quarter.

Net Entertainment has received a license to offer its casino solution to gaming operators who are licensed by the Alderney gaming authority or other reputable gaming authorities. In addition, this gives an opportunity to further strengthen the customer offering by providing alternative hosting if serious disturbances occur, so called disaster recovery.

Comments from Johan Öhman, President and CEO:

We saw good development during the third quarter with a 21% revenue growth (35% in local currency) which should be compared with the 14% market growth predicted by H2 Gaming Capital for the full year of 2010.

The announced agreement with Universal will allow us to develop games based on well recognized brands where the first release will be made during the first half of 2011.

The regulatory development in Italy is progressing well and the first casino licenses are expected to be awarded around year end. Operators holding an existing license in Italy will be first out which will benefit Net Entertainment as several of the licensed operators are existing customers to us.

Significant efforts have gone into setting up a hosting facility in Alderney which will be commissioned during the fourth quarter. The Alderney Gaming Commission issued license which was received during the fourth quarter will enable us to better address certain markets such as the UK but equally to provide disaster recovery services to our existing licensees.

The Aussie Millions is held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne each year and is the Southern Hemisphere's biggest poker tournament.  Full Tilt Poker has a plan to send you into the 2011 Aussie Millions competition in style with a $16,000 USD prize package.  Start planning your Aussie Millions vacation in January of 2011 starting November 6th, 2010 and you can keep building the plan until January 8th.

The world's best poker players are always in attendance and its an event that has grown every year since it began in 1998; known then as the Crown Australian Poker Championship.  Tyron Krost picked up the 2010 Aussie Millions main event title and $2,000,000 and the first place payout is estimated at $2M again in 2011. The Aussie Millions will boast 20 Events, along with satellites and cash games, that will keep your poker appetite sated as chips fly across the green felt from Thursday January 13th to Friday January 21st.

Here's how you put the Aussie Millions plan in action: if you have a Full Tilt Poker account, you've just made it through phase one of the plan, if not, download Full Tilt Poker and get ready for action.  

On November 7th, Full Tilt will be running satellite tournaments to all Aussie Millions Qualifier tournaments on the cheap – you can enter for as little as $0.50 or 50 Full Tilt Points.  But starting October 30th there are FreeRolls running twice a day. See how easy it is?  The FreeRolls are Round 1 qualifiers and at least 54 seats will be awarded to the Round 2 FreeRoll that starts on the following Friday.  Round 1 FreeRolls start October 30th at 03:30 ET (19:30AEST) and 05:30 ET (21:30 AEST).  Once you've won a ticket to the Round 2 Freeroll, they kick off at the following times:

    * Friday, November 5th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 6th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, November 12th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 13th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, November 19th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 20th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, November 26th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 27th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, December 3rd at 22:30 ET (Saturday 4th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, December 10th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 11th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, December 17th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 18th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, December 24th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 25th at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, December 31st at 22:30 ET (Saturday 1st at 14:30 AEST)
    * Friday, January 7th at 22:30 ET (Saturday 8th at 14:30 AEST)

The only way you can get a seat in a Round 2 FreeRoll is to win it.  Round 2 FreeRolls will find the top 54 finishers picking up a Tournament Ticket to the next available Aussie Millions Main Even Freeroll Final.  Those Main Event Freeroll finals run on the following dates:

    * Saturday, December 4th, 2009 at 21:30 ET (Sunday, December 5th at 13:30 AEST)
    * Saturday, January 8th, 2010 at 21:30 ET (Sunday January 9th at 13:30 AEST)

If FreeRolls aren't in your plan, you can buy in to the Aussie Millions Satellites for $600+$40.  These satellites run one per week and guarantee at least two players will win an Aussie Millions prize package.  Check the following schedule:

    * Saturday, November 6th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 7th)
    * Saturday, November 13th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 14th)
    * Saturday, November 20th 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 21st)
    * Saturday, November 27th 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 28th)
    * Saturday, December 4th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 5th)*
    * Saturday, December 11th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 12th)
    * Saturday, December 18th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 19th)
    * Saturday, December 25th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 26th)
    * Saturday, January 1st , 2011 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 2nd)

*The weekly Qualifier on Saturday, December 4th, 2010 at 22:00 ET (14:00 AEST Sunday, 5th) Full Tilt will conduct a $600 + $40 buy-in tournament where at least three (3) players will win an Aussie Millions prize package.

At 22:00 ET on Saturday, January 8th (14:00 AEDT Sunday 9th) 2011, Full Tilt will hold a $600 + $40 buy-in tournament where at least four (4) players will win $16,000 Aussie Millions Main Event prize packages which include an Aussie Millions Main Event seat.

Put your plan into action and get ready to enjoy Australia, laced with poker, and all the fun you can handle – courtesy of Full Tilt Poker.

LotsaLoot It has been a busy start to the week at online casinos and many of the top games at these casinos are paying off jackpots. LotsaLoot, Wowpot, and Fruit Fiesta are just a few of the games that have already made online gamblers happy this week.

Mega Moolah Major is a slot game that pays out on a regular basis and it has become one of the latest jackpots hit. The game paid $10,379 to a lucky player yesterday. The slot also paid a jackpot of over $10,000 three days ago.

LotsaLoot is a slot that has seen its jackpot hit three times in the past week. Three days ago, the jackpot was hit for $13,214. Before that, LotsaLoot paid out $39,774 and $35,248. In the past month, seven players have left their computers at least $10,000 richer after playing this popular game.

One Fruit Fiesta player won a small jackpot three days ago for $3,333. Two players before that this week hit for the much larger sums of $43,188 and $40,761. Fruit Fiesta has been hit five times in the past month, with the largest jackpot being the $43,188 of six days ago.

Another popular game for online casino players is Wowpot. The game has a smaller denomination, with only $1.50 necessary per spin to hit the jackpot. The wins are not as big, with the latest being a $4,573 jackpot.

The summer is usually the hottest time for players to be on their computers playing online slots, but thousands of players still frequent their favorite casinos in the Fall.

On Tuesday the new members of the Poker Hall of Fame will be announced. Last year only one person was inducted, Mike Sexton. This year only two poker players will be enrolled, and while many online poker players may be very talented, most of the candidates are live poker pros, although many play internet poker on sponsored poker sites. The Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 is to be announced once the 16 living members of the Hall along with a 17-member media panel make their decision.

Online cash game legend Isildur1 is being touted as poker’s newest sponsored pro, sending railbirds worldwide all-a-flutter.

According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, a well-known high stakes player has signed a major deal with an online poker site and all fingers are pointing to the mysterious Isildur1, whose identity has been one of the game’s major talking points since his/her emergence in late 2009.

Battles with  Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and Tom ‘Durrr’ Dwan on Full Tilt’s nosebleed tables saw Isildur1 recording million dollar swings last year, and the rumour mill went into overdrive in early 2010 when Viktor Blom’s arrival on the live scene carried all the trademarks of Isildur’s hyper-aggressive style, leading many to believe he was the face behind the legend.

While the 20-year-old Swede has so far denied all claims, a sponsorship deal could finally lift the veil surrounding Isildur1 in what would be a major coup for any poker site involved.

PokerPlayer.co.uk will update you when, or even if, a signature is formally announced.

For more poker news, strategies and competitions, subscribe to Poker Player magazine.

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PokerStars will be hosting the brand new Regional Championships of Online Poker beginning this fall, giving players the chance to compete against others in their region for more than $7 million in cash.

RCOOP will be held in 13 different regions, each with its own 11-tournament series and while its usually English only on PokerStars, RCOOP players will be permitted to chat in their native tongues during the events.

Team PokerStars Pros are expected to compete regionally with local bragging rights and a ton of cash on the line.

Each region has a guaranteed prize pool and its own main event, with more than $7 million in total being awarded across all regions.

The 13 regions include Russia, Nordic countries, Baltic countries, USA, Canada, Germany, Asia-Pacific, UK & Ireland, Mediterranean countries, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Iberian countries, and Benelux countries.

Russia will kick things off beginning Oct. 31 and while most of the regions will run events in November some are set for December and bleed into next year.

More info and the full schedule for each region can be found on the PokerStars RCOOP web page.

It would appear that it takes a substantial amount of publicity to wring a comment from the Malta online gambling regulator, the LGA. After widespread news coverage on a reported provision in Malta law concerning gambling debts being unenforceable, the LGA ignored requests for comment, but last week published a clarification on its website.

Characterising the genuine fears of players regarding the law as the media creation of ‘unnecessary concerns’ and ‘mere speculation’, the regulator said in its website statement:

“This Public Notice is being issued in order to clarify a legal issue which has been circulating various blogs and news headlines in relation to Player Winnings and Gaming Debts.

“Kindly note that the provisions being invoked in relation to Gaming Debts, are extracts from the Civil Code, refer to Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta (refer to articles 1713-1717A) which are not applicable to Games which are authorised/licensed under the Gaming Act, Chapter 400 of the Laws of Malta (refer to article 34) and to Games authorised/licensed under the Lotteries and Other Games Act, Chapter 438 of the Laws of Malta (refer to articles 48 and 49) and the Regulations issued there under, which include the Remote Gaming Regulations.

“The Lotteries and Gaming Authority’s interpretation is that the Civil Code articles above captioned are applicable to gaming debts arising out of unauthorised/unlicensed games, which in any case are considered as illegal and tantamount to a criminal offence.”

Translation: gambling debts are enforceable in Malta provided the gambling establishment concerned is licensed by the LGA.

The issue arose from a complaint made to the LGA by an online player, who claimed that Casino Club had wrongfully deprived him of a €167,500 progressive jackpot that he had won whilst a member in good standing. The LGA found in favour of the casino, but its reasoning has not been made public.

The regulator has not responded to media enquiries as to its finding, and on what grounds, and the website notice makes no reference to the controversial ruling.
The player is presently engaged with a Malta lawyer to pursue the issue further.

The Russian spy Anna Chapman has her own poker app for the iPhone. Rumors were that she was interested in making some kind of poker application before she was deported from the US. The app, called ‘Poker with Anna Chapman’ came about when she signed over her image rights to Zeda, the company that put together the iPhone app. The app has both Texas Hold’em and 5 Card Draw and additional bonuses playing off the Russian Femme Fatale impage of Chapman, complete with a photo gallery and access to her blog.

Online poker room Full Tilt Poker has brought back a popular promotion. The Take Two poker promotion will run for ten days. The events will be held from Friday October 24th through Sunday October 31st. The Take 2 promotion was a popular promotion for Full Tilt Poker players as it is set towards micro and low-limit players. During the ten days of the Take Two promotion players will earn double the Full Tilt Points. The condition is that players must play on at least two cash game tables at the same time.

After seven years of operations, the e-cash processor ePassporte is closing shop “due to a lack of revenue and circumstances beyond our control.” A company statement advises that, effective immediately, the call centre, ePassporte’s sales and marketing team and risk management staff will no longer be available.

“A small group will remain to organize wallet requests and help disburse funds,” the statement continues. “On the ePassporte website, in the near future, wallet holders will be provided further information on what is needed to obtain your funds.

“This will mainly be a process to protect wallet holder funds from fraud. We expect this will be a simplified process, and as we receive the necessary information, our small remaining staff will process requests as quickly as they can. Please direct your wallet questions, concerns and requests to walletrequest@ePassporte.com.

“For those of you with funds on your Visa Accounts, we are informed that St. Kitts Bank is working on a plan to provide everyone with full access to their funds through their Visa Electron Cards or by bank wire transfers and will inform you accordingly.

“We appreciate your support for the ePassporte program over the past 7 years and deeply regret we must close our doors at this difficult time.”

The processor’s Visa privileges were suspended on September 2, and allied to difficulties in the market this was probably the final blow.