2003 - A year of online gaming in retrospect
We will conclude our first year of reporting online gaming news,
with a summary of the 7 major trends and events of online gaming
in 2003.
UK introduces draft bill to regulate online
gaming
In sharp contrast with the developments in the US, the United Kingdom
took a first step on the path to legalize online gaming, by introducing
a draft gambling bill, outlining the regulatory framework to legalize
online gaming in the UK.
Isle of Man exodus
In 2003, five major gaming companies have left the Isle of Man for
other jurisdictions: Littlewoods Casino, Casino Atlantis (Kerzner),
Club Fiore (Action Online), Hard Rock Casino (Rank Interactive) and
MGM Mirage. While a license by the Isle of Man should theoretically
be a huge competitive advantage, due to the respect and trust that
comes with it, in reality it meant a slower time to market (bureaucracy),
and no access to the US gaming market.
eCOGRA - a new fair gaming initiative
In April this year, the biggest gambling software provider, Microgaming,
and the largest online casino, Casino-on-net, joined forces in founding
the eCOGRA. The E-commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance
(eCOGRA) is a new online gambling watchdog that aims to provide
online gamblers with "high levels of assurance of fair, honest,
and responsible gaming." eCOGRA appointed Julie Sidwell as
their Fair Gaming Advocate in October, who, through her work at
Gambling Grumbles, is widely recognized within the online gambling
industry as one of the most important fair gaming advocates. Unfortunately,
Julie passed away December 18, in her home in Texas, a huge loss
to her family, friends, and the online gaming industry in general.
The Poker Boom
Online Poker already was growing fast in popularity, but after Chris
MoneyMaker won the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker,
it's popularity exploded to new heights, previously deemed to be
impossible. Moneymaker was the first WSOP world champion that qualified
himself via an online poker tournament.
Major gaming portals sold
This year saw a change of ownership of three top gaming portals:
Casino.com (sold by Boss Media), Gambling.com and the sportsbook
portal The Prescription.com. Though the sale of gambling.com was
cancelled, after the buyer, IGH, couldn't furnish the required capital,
it's still an indication that the online gaming industry is moving
towards consolidation.
DOS attacks
A new and disturbing development this year, has been the sharp rise
in Denial of Service (DOS) attacks against online sportsbooks. The
attacks are likely to be initiated by organized Russian crime, in
an attempt to extort the sportsbooks.
Largest online jackpot ever
For the third time in it's short history, and the second time this
year, the famous Microgaming progressive jackpot, Major Millions,
has been hit. The lucky player was Jim L., who won the largest online
jackpot to date, $1,683,526.64, at Lucky Nugget Casino. The first
time Major Millions was hit, was on May 30, 2002, when Tony P. won
$1,594,694.21, at Captain Cooks Casino. The second time was on February
20, 2003, when Ronald H. won $1,626,184.56 at Golden Tiger Casino.
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