Online gambling scammer Fred Khalilian has been booted from Monster Technology Group less than a year after selling the company his worthless gambling technology.
On Tuesday, electronics firm Monster Products issued a press release celebrating its 40th anniversary, while casually mentioning that its chief operating officer, one Fereidoun ‘Fred’ Khalilian, had been “successfully exited out of the company as of July 27, 2018.”
The release went on to say that Khalilian was the subject of a temporary restraining order issued in California’s Superior Court “for the protection of numerous employees of Monster against threats of mutilation, death, and threats to family.”
Furthermore, Monster has filed reports with the South San Francisco Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, “including the FBI,” concerning “allegations of fraud, theft and conspiracy.” Accompanying Khalilian on his way down Monster’s shame chute was “the team he brought into the company to do a hostile takeover.”
The press release goes on to cite a raft of unfavorable online articles concerning Khalilian’s past exploits. The linked articles detail Khalilian’s ‘colorful’ history, including a handful of assault charges, his $4.2m settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission to resolve a deceptive telemarketing case, and Khalilian’s ongoing cons of would-be tribal gaming operators involving hyping in-development online gambling sites that never actually develop into a going concern.
Last October, Monster raised eyebrows by announcing that a subsidiary had struck a deal to acquire the online gaming software assets (such as they were) of Khalilian’s Universal Entertainment Group (UEG), with the plan to use said assets to launch PokerTribe.com on behalf of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
PokerTribe was the second incarnation of Khalilian’s efforts to pull a fast one on unsuspecting tribal groups. Khalilian collected $9.5m from his original Oklahoma tribal partner before new tribal leadership pulled the plug on the site (PokerTribes.com – plural) which never actually opened for business. This led to lawsuits and a probe by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
This spring, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma launched GreySnowPoker.com, apparently deciding that the PokerTribe brand had been irrevocably tainted. PokerTribe.com (singular) currently redirects to InSkyCasino.com, another of Khalilian’s improbable can’t-miss schemes, in which gamblers strapped into airline seats would be allowed to play online casino games, you know, as opposed to doing so via their mobile devices with any one of thousands of existing online gambling operations that managed to launch without Fred’s help.
Despite the fact that he walks around with red flags positively shooting out his ears, Khalilian has proven remarkably resilient in rebounding from his very public setbacks. But with any luck, this will mark the end of Khalilian’s dalliances on the fringes of the online gambling industry.
September 27, 2018
September 19, 2018
Banning companies from sponsoring sports won’t tackle problem gambling
With the battle on fixed odds betting terminals over, the debate around gambling has shifted to TV advertising and sports sponsorship. This was given added fuel by England's relative success in the World Cup which led to high viewing figures on terrestrial TV.
No one can deny that there is a high concentration of gambling advertising around sport, particularly football. And some argue banning gambling TV advertising before the watershed, and stopping gambling companies from sponsoring clubs, would protect children and vulnerable people.
But I do not believe a watershed or the banning of sponsorship would be the most effective way of getting to grips with problem gambling.
Societies and governments around the world have grappled with how to regulate online gambling. There are many things wrong with the industry in this country. But one major positive is that the vast majority of it – over 95pc – is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and pays a point of consumption tax to the UK Government. This is the result of sensible regulation, including the ability to advertise.
Countries that take a more restrictive approach on advertising still have a gambling industry and they still have problem gambling. Eight out of the nine "front of shirt" gambling sponsors in the English Premier League come from overseas – predominantly Asia – as a means of targeting consumers in their home countries that watch the games.
But because these countries do not allow advertising and it is not tied to a regulatory regime, they have no means to force these companies involved to improve their behaviour.
This is where the greatest promise lies in the UK. Fundamentally, we should use the carrot of being able to advertise on TV as a means to drive up standards across the industry. You cannot advertise on television in the UK without a licence from the Gambling Commission. So the standards needed to secure a licence should rise markedly.
With the rapid shift to online betting, it is my firm belief that companies should only be licensed in the future if they are able to demonstrate higher standards that make the most of technology to help customers.
This should include defined processes that identify likely problem gamblers, a willingness to interact with customers who show signs of harm and offer them tools to modify their behaviour – and in serious cases a preparedness to intervene with customers to stop them from harming themselves.
At Sky Betting & Gaming we have increased the number of interactions we have with customers who show signs of gambling related harm. These conversations, and the marketing campaign we have implemented to highlight them, has in turn markedly increased the use of responsible gambling tools on our platforms.
Most importantly, we have stopped a number of customers from harming themselves by returning sums of money they either could not afford or should not be betting with.
To take a recent example, during the World Cup, our risk and responsibility team identified a young customer had placed a large bet on Spain and Portugal to win their respective matches. After a conversation with that customer he decided he couldn't afford that bet, so we returned the money, and agreed a deposit limit. This has happened with a targeted number of other customers too.
We do not have all the answers though and will never over-claim. That is why we would support these standards being made uniform and legal requirements across the online gambling sector in the UK.
There are other measures you could also take to beef up the requirements to secure a Gambling Commission licence. We would, for example, support the Gambling Commission's intention to introduce an affordability test. And we'd like more help from the banks to allow vulnerable customers to block themselves from spending money with gambling companies via their bank accounts.
Finally, there is a legitimate debate to be had over the content of gambling advertising. The Committee for Advertising Practice issued new guidance earlier this year over the standards expected. But I believe all operators should be required to dedicate a proportion of their advertising budget to educational adverts on how to gamble responsibly.
We already spend a defined portion of our marketing on safer gambling advertising and would be relaxed about that being codified into law.
This is a debate I welcome. We should always keep a sense of perspective: problem gambling rates have remained broadly stable over the last decade and are low by international standards.
Being able to advertise our products helps create a more vibrant and competitive market for the five million people that enjoy betting on the football or otherwise gambling online, and who do so safely and without harm. This advertising helps keep sport on TV, particularly horse racing, and helps keep football clubs afloat.
But nonetheless over the years I have met people whose lives have been greatly harmed by gambling, and as an industry it is clear than we can and should do more to help the most vulnerable customers.
A watershed for gambling advertising, or a ban on football sponsorship may make for an easy headline – but other measures would be more effective to help the people who need it most.
No one can deny that there is a high concentration of gambling advertising around sport, particularly football. And some argue banning gambling TV advertising before the watershed, and stopping gambling companies from sponsoring clubs, would protect children and vulnerable people.
But I do not believe a watershed or the banning of sponsorship would be the most effective way of getting to grips with problem gambling.
Societies and governments around the world have grappled with how to regulate online gambling. There are many things wrong with the industry in this country. But one major positive is that the vast majority of it – over 95pc – is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and pays a point of consumption tax to the UK Government. This is the result of sensible regulation, including the ability to advertise.
Countries that take a more restrictive approach on advertising still have a gambling industry and they still have problem gambling. Eight out of the nine "front of shirt" gambling sponsors in the English Premier League come from overseas – predominantly Asia – as a means of targeting consumers in their home countries that watch the games.
But because these countries do not allow advertising and it is not tied to a regulatory regime, they have no means to force these companies involved to improve their behaviour.
This is where the greatest promise lies in the UK. Fundamentally, we should use the carrot of being able to advertise on TV as a means to drive up standards across the industry. You cannot advertise on television in the UK without a licence from the Gambling Commission. So the standards needed to secure a licence should rise markedly.
With the rapid shift to online betting, it is my firm belief that companies should only be licensed in the future if they are able to demonstrate higher standards that make the most of technology to help customers.
This should include defined processes that identify likely problem gamblers, a willingness to interact with customers who show signs of harm and offer them tools to modify their behaviour – and in serious cases a preparedness to intervene with customers to stop them from harming themselves.
At Sky Betting & Gaming we have increased the number of interactions we have with customers who show signs of gambling related harm. These conversations, and the marketing campaign we have implemented to highlight them, has in turn markedly increased the use of responsible gambling tools on our platforms.
Most importantly, we have stopped a number of customers from harming themselves by returning sums of money they either could not afford or should not be betting with.
To take a recent example, during the World Cup, our risk and responsibility team identified a young customer had placed a large bet on Spain and Portugal to win their respective matches. After a conversation with that customer he decided he couldn't afford that bet, so we returned the money, and agreed a deposit limit. This has happened with a targeted number of other customers too.
We do not have all the answers though and will never over-claim. That is why we would support these standards being made uniform and legal requirements across the online gambling sector in the UK.
There are other measures you could also take to beef up the requirements to secure a Gambling Commission licence. We would, for example, support the Gambling Commission's intention to introduce an affordability test. And we'd like more help from the banks to allow vulnerable customers to block themselves from spending money with gambling companies via their bank accounts.
Finally, there is a legitimate debate to be had over the content of gambling advertising. The Committee for Advertising Practice issued new guidance earlier this year over the standards expected. But I believe all operators should be required to dedicate a proportion of their advertising budget to educational adverts on how to gamble responsibly.
We already spend a defined portion of our marketing on safer gambling advertising and would be relaxed about that being codified into law.
This is a debate I welcome. We should always keep a sense of perspective: problem gambling rates have remained broadly stable over the last decade and are low by international standards.
Being able to advertise our products helps create a more vibrant and competitive market for the five million people that enjoy betting on the football or otherwise gambling online, and who do so safely and without harm. This advertising helps keep sport on TV, particularly horse racing, and helps keep football clubs afloat.
But nonetheless over the years I have met people whose lives have been greatly harmed by gambling, and as an industry it is clear than we can and should do more to help the most vulnerable customers.
A watershed for gambling advertising, or a ban on football sponsorship may make for an easy headline – but other measures would be more effective to help the people who need it most.
September 10, 2018
888sport launches in New Jersey
Yaniv Sherman, 888's senior vice-president and head of commercial development, has relocated to the company's New Jersey office to spearhead the company’s expansion plans across the US after the 888sport brand was launched in the state.
With 888sport now available in New Jersey, it is the first time that 888 has offered sports betting to customers in the US. 888 CEO Itai Frieberger described the move as a “major milestone” for the company.
With FanDuel and Caesars also now live in New Jersey, there are now six operators offering online betting in the state, with DraftKings, SugarHouse and William Hill all available.
“This provides 888 with a unique and truly multi-product proposition in what is currently the largest regulated US state,” Frieberger said.
“888 has been committed to developing its position in the US since launching in Nevada, the first regulated US state, nearly six years ago and today we are the only operator with a presence in all three regulated US states.
“We now have our sport, casino and poker products all operational in the US and are continually developing our proposition, brands and technology to ensure that the group remains exceptionally well positioned to capture the potentially significant future growth opportunities as new regulation allows.”
888sport has been launched in New Jersey in partnership with Kambi, the company’s sportsbook provider across global regulated markets.
Kambi, which recently launched the Cash Out live ticket system in New Jersey, also went live with Teaser+ to mark the start of the 2018-19 NFL American football season this past weekend.
Teaser+, a new version of the teaser parlay, offers a different method of pricing the wager, with Kambi’s in-house trading team generating a price based on each individual leg of a player’s chosen parlay.
“When we considered how the market priced the classic teaser, we felt the processes involved had failed to evolve with the wider industry, or kept pace with technology, therefore we identified and implemented a more efficient and transparent way of offering these bets,” Kambi CEO Kristian Nylen said.
In a further development in New Jersey’s online sports betting market, DraftKings has become the latest sports betting provider to add PayPal to its list of payment deposit options – a move that is likely to provide a further boost to punters in the state.
FanDuel, SugarHouse and Caesars sportsbooks already offered PayPal, according to Legal Sports Report, which added that credit card decline rates are still understood to be at about 50% in the state for online gambling, having improved from about 75% five years ago.
This Wednesday, the figures covering the first full month of online sports betting in New Jersey featuring DraftKings will be revealed by the state. DraftKings said last week that it had already processed one million sports bets in New Jersey since launching its sportsbook in August.
With 888sport now available in New Jersey, it is the first time that 888 has offered sports betting to customers in the US. 888 CEO Itai Frieberger described the move as a “major milestone” for the company.
With FanDuel and Caesars also now live in New Jersey, there are now six operators offering online betting in the state, with DraftKings, SugarHouse and William Hill all available.
“This provides 888 with a unique and truly multi-product proposition in what is currently the largest regulated US state,” Frieberger said.
“888 has been committed to developing its position in the US since launching in Nevada, the first regulated US state, nearly six years ago and today we are the only operator with a presence in all three regulated US states.
“We now have our sport, casino and poker products all operational in the US and are continually developing our proposition, brands and technology to ensure that the group remains exceptionally well positioned to capture the potentially significant future growth opportunities as new regulation allows.”
888sport has been launched in New Jersey in partnership with Kambi, the company’s sportsbook provider across global regulated markets.
Kambi, which recently launched the Cash Out live ticket system in New Jersey, also went live with Teaser+ to mark the start of the 2018-19 NFL American football season this past weekend.
Teaser+, a new version of the teaser parlay, offers a different method of pricing the wager, with Kambi’s in-house trading team generating a price based on each individual leg of a player’s chosen parlay.
“When we considered how the market priced the classic teaser, we felt the processes involved had failed to evolve with the wider industry, or kept pace with technology, therefore we identified and implemented a more efficient and transparent way of offering these bets,” Kambi CEO Kristian Nylen said.
In a further development in New Jersey’s online sports betting market, DraftKings has become the latest sports betting provider to add PayPal to its list of payment deposit options – a move that is likely to provide a further boost to punters in the state.
FanDuel, SugarHouse and Caesars sportsbooks already offered PayPal, according to Legal Sports Report, which added that credit card decline rates are still understood to be at about 50% in the state for online gambling, having improved from about 75% five years ago.
This Wednesday, the figures covering the first full month of online sports betting in New Jersey featuring DraftKings will be revealed by the state. DraftKings said last week that it had already processed one million sports bets in New Jersey since launching its sportsbook in August.
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