Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Readers and online gambling observers asked us why we maintain a more than
skeptical approach on Antigua Gaming and its director Kaye McDonald's
actions in the BETonSPORTS debacle. In reality we couldn't care less about
Antigua per se. While the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
revolutionized the landscape of the online gambling industry, certain things
remained the same as they were before the storm. With the sole exception of
Australia and Panama to some extent, no other gaming jurisdiction across the
globe provides factual protection to bettors' funds or entertained actions
to protect bettors' funds. Costa Rican officials never lifted their fingers
when sports books went under, nor Curacao did any better when Aces Gold
collapsed in 2002, stiffing thousands of punters for more than 12 million
dollars. Antigua has yet to provide any kind of support to the victims of
Alladin Gold, an Antiguan based operation that went bankrupt in 2002.
However neither Costa Rica nor Curacao or any other gaming jurisdiction
claims to be a safe environment for consumers or alleges to be in the
position of preaching countries like the U.K. how to handle online gambling
like Antigua does. "All online casino operators in Antigua must follow
strict guidelines and regulations laid out by the Financial Services
Regulatory Commission." The Antigua government recently stated. The Antigua
Minister of Finance and the Economy L. Errol Cort doubled up by saying that
"Antigua offers its unique experience and insight wholeheartedly in
developing regulatory standards for the international remote gambling
industry as part of the expert working group proposed by the DCMS." Bettors
not being paid by Antigua Licensed BETonSPORTS plc have taken these
statements as an insult, and rightly so in our opinion. BETonSPORTS plc
voluntarily shut down its operation on July 19 2006. The Antigua Gaming
commission and its director Kaye McDonald silently watched. BETonSPORTS
disclosed its inability to meet its obligations towards creditors on August
11 2006. Antigua continued to watch the drama unfold in a passive and silent
mode. At the end of November 2006 Antigua apparently awoke from its
self-induced torpor and issued a restraint order on alleged assets belonging
to BoS Antigua Ltd, until then a mere marketing unit of BETonSPORTS plc
suddenly "dignified" of much greater importance and role by Antigua Gaming
leading to speculations of window dressing to protect UK held assets. "I
think Antigua did the right thing by issuing the restraining order on
remaining assets.They knew some assets, limited at best, where still in
Antigua." BETonSPORTS former spokesperson Kevin Smith said, stressing that
BoS Antigua Ltd assets are limited, at best. On February 20 2007 came the
announcement that the Antigua and Barbuda Financial Services Regulatory
Commission (FSRC) is assisting and supervising BoS (Antigua) Ltd (BOS), the
operator of the BetonSports family of remote gaming products, in a process
for the collection of funds owed to BOS and the onward, orderly payment of
collected amounts to BOS creditors and employees.

The alleged BoS debtors are payment processors and advertisers. While some
payment processors, primarily SolidPay and FirePay according to BETonSPORTS
former communication director Kevin Smith, withheld funds in transit and
rolling reserves following the indictments of July 17 2006, Antigua Gaming
acknowledgement that advertisers shall return funds to BETonSPORTS
represents something worse.

In simple words the regulating and licensing body of Antigua recognizes that
BETonSPORTS plc utilized players' deposits at hand to finance its marketing
campaigns.

"We are pleased with the agreement of BOS's Directors to cooperate with
Antiguan and Barbuda authorities to ensure the proper discharge of
creditors, namely players and employees in this difficult case." said Kaye
McDonald on February 20 2007. "We expect BOS debtors to cooperate with the
process, and I am sure BOS is prepared to use all legal remedies available,
to ensure that they do so." she added.

Let us simplify the issue to the bone and say things the way facts induce us
to see them in their real light.

Antigua Gaming and its director Kaye McDonald sat aside and silently watched
their licensee BETonSPORTS plc shut down its operations, fire (but not pay)
its former employees and put all its debtors on hold.

They watched BETonSPORTS plc entering into an agreement with the U.S.
department of Justice and then claim that debtors are owed by their fully
owned and directly managed former marketing unit, BoS Antigua Ltd.

Seven months after BETonSPORTS voluntarily suspended its financial
transaction Antigua Gaming and its director Kaye McDonald are pleased to
cooperate with the Board of Directors of BETonSPORTS, the same men that
literally shredded Antigua's gaming regulations into pieces.

Antigua says to be prepared to allow BoS Antigua Ltd to use their funds, the
funds that should be used to pay BETonSPORTS's creditors, to pay for legal
expenses to recover funds from payment processors and advertisers.

All this happens while BETonSPORTS plc and its Board of Directors, the same
Antigua is delighted to work with, are burning their remaining UK assets and
cash at hand to pay those attorneys that will hopefully get them off the
hook of the criminal charges filed against the company in the US.

The words "pleased to cooperate" stroke us. We followed the actions of the
Panama Gaming Commission and the way its director Raul Cortizo Cohen dealt
with the Directors of failed Betpanam. Unlike the Antiguans, the Panamanians
never sought cooperation from the book's directors, let alone entertained
pleasing relationships. They issued and executed an order that obliged
Betpanam to pay qualified players.

We would have no problem and we wouldn't have wasted a minute to write about
Antigua if only they were to act like any other gaming jurisdiction that
issue gaming licenses as a mean to grind money.

But that's not Antigua's case. The claim to be safest online gambling
jurisdiction, to have the strictest guidelines and regulations in place and
the pretence to preach and teach how to regulate online gambling leaves us
no other option than to expose their hypocrisy.