IGC terminates membership of Gambling Federation
March 11, 2005
The Interactive Gaming Council today accepted the resignation
of Flaviano Fogli from its Board of Directors. The IGC Board has
also terminated, by unanimous vote, the membership of the Gambling
Federation, a Canadian company for which Fogli serves as chief executive
officer.
The Gambling Federation provides services to online casinos, primarily
acting as an affiliate network. According to published reports,
the company had installed malware (malicious software) in Gambling
Federation’s software that players downloaded to enable play
at certain casino sites. When installed, the malware prevented the
players from accessing three specific casinos that had been involved
in an earlier dispute with Gambling Federation.
Fogli said the malicious code was designed to block access to the
three casinos that were involved with a former Gambling Federation
employee who Fogli alleged had stolen the email addresses of players
at Gambling Federation casinos. The affair was discussed on several
message boards devoted to online gambling, and Fogli issued an apology
in a posting on a forum at CasinoMeister.com. Fogli exhibited remorse
for the retributive action taken, something he conceded was inappropriate.
After an investigation of the situation and an interview of Mr.
Fogli, the IGC took the step to terminate Gambling Federation’s
membership and accept Mr. Fogli’s resignation. It was the
determination of the IGC that the actions of Gambling Federation
were contrary to the letter and spirit of the IGC’s Code of
Conduct and contrary to the best interests of the interactive gaming
public and industry.
In a letter to Fogli after the IGC Board of Directors met on March
9, Mark Stone, the IGC’s chair, thanked Fogli for his “openness
and candor” at the board’s meeting. Stone told Fogli
that, “the Board understands your outrage at the conduct
of your competitor. The theft and conversion of property, be it
software or email lists, is reprehensible and should not be practiced
or condoned by any reputable business. But there are also appropriate
means by which to deal with such actions. It is felt that the action
by Gambling Federation in this case is not one of those appropriate
means.”
Stone added that the actions of Gambling Federation “jeopardized
the integrity of the entire industry. The act hasn’t just
prevented a competitor from getting a few visitors; rather it has
shown the general public one more example of how vulnerable each
individual’s computer and personal data are to attack and
interception.”
Rick Smith, executive director of the IGC, said the organization
had to take an unequivocal stance when confronted with an action
such as that of the Gambling Federation. “Causing someone
to download intrusive software onto his or her personal computer
is totally unacceptable by anyone, under any conditions,”
Smith said. “I am saddened that this was done by an
IGC member, and I apologize to our many upstanding members and to
the online gaming public.”
The Gambling Federation had been a member of the IGC since March
15, 2004. The termination of its membership is effective immediately.
InfoPowa News
|
