Gambling Magazine Has Been Busy Piecing Together All The Information We Have Received.
Gambling Magazine has been busy piecing together all the information we have received regarding Norfolk Island, the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority, and game developers, including Cryptologic, and we can say unhesitatingly that this has now become a fascinating, many-sided story with real consequences for all those involved.
The Federal Government of Australia has been getting itself into a real spin over plans to place a moratorium on the granting of new online gambling licenses, and this is another facet that needs to be read alongside these articles, which will be published over the next few days. The Senate has just passed the Interactive Gambling Moratorium Bill; it bans any new online gambling licenses being distributed for 12 months, backdated to last May.
Most people knew well in advance that the chances that this legislation would be passed were very high. That did not stop Cryptologic from "piling it on" in one of their press releases:
"The fact that Jupiters has chosen CryptoLogic as their technology partner is a meaningful endorsement of our organization and qualifications. Together, we will work to advance the certification of our software by Australian government authorities for that market and apply for Jupiters.com's regulatory approval."
When you read "Australian government authorities," that tells you something, it sounds impressive, and on the strength of that, investors piled into the shares in a big way. Now, if they had said: "…to advance the certification of our software by the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority," it would not have sounded quite so impressive, even though that gaming authority is making a real effort to provide a first-class service. They make real checks, it seems, and probe the identity and financial standing of those wishing to apply for licenses. The gaming authority has already received more than 260 inquiries.
Have a look at this document. It demonstrates how proper gaming licensing is a serious business, giving details of the license, administrative conditions, financial conditions, operational conditions, levies, duties and taxes, etc. Tomorrow we will also publish more documents, including the INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM OUTLINE DOCUMENT and the STANDARD FORMS INTERNET CONDITIONS (Conditions of License). These are very real attempts to get to grips with regulated gaming in an ordered way, and have ultimately to be for the benefit of players. Nevertheless, we still stay that to imply something is just not the same as stating a fact correctly, without ambiguity.
Another point that should not be missed is that Cryptologic did not point out, when they made such a fuss about the "Australian government authorities," that Australians would be unable to play! Very odd really, if the online casino to be run by Jupiters was to be licensed by the Australian government authorities. Here it is in black and white:
"Restrictions on Internet bets from players with an Australian or a Norfolk Island registered address apply."
This continues, anxious not to ruffle any feathers in Australia, by not taking bets from Australians, and depriving their Australian counterparts of revenue.
"It is important that a good relationship with our counterparts in Australia is maintained."
Brief to Applicants
The idea behind the Moratorium Bill is supposedly designed to allow the Government time to conduct an inquiry into whether or not a total ban on Internet Gambling is feasible, and to look at the consequences of such a ban. This has led to a chorus of criticism. Here are some of the objections:
"The Federal Government would be better off putting its resources and energy into more effective things, such as working with the states on an interactive gambling code of practice."
"If we go down this path we'll end up giving a free kick to those already licensed who will continue to monopolies. They can literally do anything they like."
"[The moratorium] won't in any way diminish Internet gambling, [The Feds] are flogging a dead horse. I really can't fathom why they would bother persisting."
You can catch up on the background to the Australian Moratorium Bill at any of these links below:
Temporary ban imposed on Internet gambling
Senate blocks Nett gaming
Democrats spat as gambling bill passes
Behind the scenes there is a big play going on to decide the future of Internet Gambling down under. Should there be a national code? If Australian sites are banned, players will just access hundreds of other [unregulated] sites, so any ban would not work. How can high standards of "player protection" be achieved? Is there time to spend debating the issues when online sites from around the world will just attract more business while the Aussies make up their minds?
Two well-known online gambling sites in Australia are Lasseters and Gocorp; they were said to be leading the way towards an ordered online gaming environment. Australia has already attracted a great deal of interest from around the world, mainly because at one time it looked likely to take the lead in regulated Internet gambling. And, as Gambling magazine has already reported, many investors thought that Cryptologic would be adding licensees who would operate from Australia proper and be part of that regulated environment. They bought Cryptologic's shares on this information, and we will show once more how that turned out not to be true.
Semantics comes into this, of course. As far as Gambling Magazine is aware, the facts have always been that Jupiters is a licensee of Cryptologic's, and we certainly did not intend to infer, ever, that Cryptologic is or will be licensed by Norfolk Island Gaming Authority.
Mr. Leyshon writes:
"The Authority has not and will not be licensing Cryptologic. The license in question is a license granted to a Jupiters wholly owned subsidiary company. Jupiters hold the license not Cryptologic. However, the indication from Jupiters is that they would like to use the Cryptologic system. For this to happen, the system has to meet our standards as laid down and the system has to be compliance tested against those standards by qualified and credible testing houses, as mentioned above. Also, in the process, not only will the Cryptologic systems will be thoroughly reviewed but Cryptologic directors and senior personnel will be reviewed by the Authority and by the Australian Federal Police."
When we first received an e-mail from the Director of the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority, Mr. Kevin Leyshon, it's true we had our doubts. It was sent to the "Dear Editor/Publisher/Mr. Jules ****, if involved…"
Was he thinking of Jules Verne, the French writer, author of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)? Norfolk Island is a long way away, and most people haven't a clue where it is, with the exception in earlier days of Jules Verne, who might have known. The Director does like name dropping (see below):
"I am the hired hand in this frontier like land of Internet gaming. I aim to shoot straight. More of the James Garner type than the John Wayne type when it comes to law and order, if you get the drift. The problem with these analogies is that I look more like Clive James!"
Just to set the record straight about the convicts, after suggesting that we went a little too far in our previous article, making disparaging remarks about the island residents having convicts for ancestors, in the document below, Mr. Leyshon writes, confirming the fact: "To Norfolk Island were sent the worst of the worst convicts (it being more than a little difficult to escape from such a place)…"
8th Australasian Gaming Convention
We can say now that Norfolk Island has formalities and procedures for intending licensees that are excellent, and this will be reported in the next article in this series. It is clear that the whole business of acquiring a gaming license from Norfolk Island is subject to a battery of checks that make the granting of licenses in Antigua, for example, the equivalent of buying one off the shelf from the grocery store.
How these Antiguan gaming licenses can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars with the most minimal checks imaginable, and thought of as meaningful in any way, is a mystery, but not when you realize how corrupt these people are, how they will do anything for a few dollars. The Antiguan "licenses" are available to anyone stepping off a plane at the airport in Antigua with a suitcase of money.
