The Biggest Gambling Stories of 2011

2011 was without a doubt one of the most exciting years in the history of the gambling industry, with big changes occurring in the US, European and Asian markets and big stories that broke out throughout the year which kept gamblers and gambling industry employees glued to their seats.

Now that the New Year has started and we are all refreshed and energetic, it seems like the perfect time to recount the top five gambling industry stories of 2011:

5. Old Enemies becoming Friends

Since the early days of the online gambling industry there has been a backlash from the land-based casino industry that saw the online industry as direct competition and did everything in its power to promote legislation which will limit the scope of the online industry.

In 2011 several big online operators entered into joint ventures with land-based operators in preparation of further regulation and due to the ever-increasing popularity of the online industry.

4. European Companies entering the US Market

European gaming companies such as William Hill which have a strong online and offline presence in Europe bought Nevada-based sportsbook operators. This move has put William Hill in an advantageous position for when the US online market finally opens up.

3. Black Friday

In April 2011 the US Department of Justice (DoJ) seized the dot.com domains of several big online operators, froze their bank accounts and filed federal indictments against its managers. Some of the companies affected managed to bounce back (PokerStars) while others suffered an irreparable damage and have ceased operating to the dismay of millions of their customers (Full Tilt Poker).

2. The End of Full Tilt Poker

Following the events of Black Friday, Full Tilt Poker was unable to return funds that belonged to US players. This resulted in the loss of its interactive gambling license which forced the company to stop players from joining its brand or playing on their platform.

Non-US players were amazed when one fine morning they discovered that they too were locked out of their player accounts, unable to play poker games and unable to withdraw their own money out.

Following this there were frantic efforts to try and find a buyer for the dying company. Eventually a French cooperation purchased it and reached a resolution with the DoJ. Regardless the brand is still not operational and the same “system update” message is displayed on their website (it has been displayed for the past seven months).

1. US Department of Justice U-turn on Online Gambling

Over the past year several US states tried to pass local online gambling laws that would permit online gambling to residents of the state. Any state that attempted to do so was quickly informed by the DoJ that doing so would be against the law.

The DoJ based its ruling on an archaic law from the 1960’s – long before the internet and internet gambling was even a reality.

Just before Christmas the DoJ decided to give the online gambling industry a very nice Christmas gift in the form of dropping its rigid stance and conceding that under current US laws each state has the right to regulate online gambling.