Industry gathers in Barcelona

it’s all go in Barcelona this week as the sixth annual European i-Gaming Congress and Expo kicks off with a host of online bingo hall operators and developers of online bingo games joining the action.

Major players in the online gaming industry will be gathering to discuss a whole range of issues related to the industry, but the one issue that is sure to dominate is the effects being felt by the industry since the implementation of the UIGEA law in the US.

What is likely to come out of the meeting is the general feeling that the industry has shown a remarkable resilience in the face of losing the huge US market thanks to UIGEA. Bouncing back from being shut out of the US market will be a major focus of discussions by various industry representatives and operators from all walks of online gaming will be there trying to glean tips on how to prosper in a post-UIGEA world.

While I don’t expect to hear of any shocks or earth-shattering developments from the congress, it will be worthwhile taking note on how the industry mood fares once this showcase event finishes. Let’s see if bingo online and the online bingo community can learn anything from the offerings of a myriad of online gaming industry speakers – you never know what number is coming up next!

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Neteller tells it as it was - Online Bingo News

There was an interesting moment at the European i-Gaming Congress and Expo currently going on in Barcelona that caught my attention, and probably the attention of a few other online bingo industry observers.

While discussing the penchant for gambling monopolies in many European states, Ron Martin from Neteller came out with a beauty when he commented that: “…the past year had been unexpectedly unchallenging for Neteller and not much fun. The brand had been damaged and repair work was in progress”.

Of course, online bingo players will remember that Neteller’s troubles started with the arrival of the US’ UIGEA law and had little to do with any European state-run gambling monopolies. However, I found the understated nature of the comment on his company’s recent troubles almost unnerving.

To call Neteller’s brush with US authorities ‘a unique and dangerous situation’ for a company involved in the reputation-heavy industry of online payment processing would not be understating the facts. As most players of bingo online know, things got pretty tight for Neteller and their US customer base who began to wonder if they would ever see their money again once US authorities latched on to the Isle of Man-based company.

But all’s well that ends well and Neteller are in the process of wrapping up payments to those US customers who saw their funds frozen for nearly six months while Neteller faced off with US Department of Justice heavies. Better still for the company, things do seem to be on the up and up as they diversify their interests away fro the US market.

In fact, diversifying one’s interests away from the US of A seems to be a theme at this year’s congress – I wonder why?

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