Almost 1 whole year after BetPanam closed down its doors to the public, a large majority –if not all- of the players have yet to receive the pending balances they had with this online sportsbook. Many feel they will never see a cent of what’s rightfully owed to them, others are hoping to get anything they can. As confusion reigns, hope fades.
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By now, online players know one thing for certain: this BetPanam deal was not all it was cracked up to be. In fact, it might very well be one of the most flagrant ‘stiff jobs’ to ever be conducted in the history of online bookmaking. Players were stiffed. Online operators in other jurisdictions -who were offered a license to operate in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sportsbook Haven</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Panama-</st1:country-region></st1lace>, were stiffed. Agents got stiffed. And to make matters worse, the results of this process that was supposed to be guaranteed by the Government of Panama has prolonged for almost 12 months; very painful months for those parties who lost their hard-earned cash in this deal.
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Today, one day after the release of the Bond # 15-048600-8 -signed on July the 30th of 2004- was ordered by the Director of the Panamanian Regulatory Council of Gaming, Mr. Raul Cortizo Cohen, there still are some areas that remain unclear.<o></o>
How many players will be paid? How much will they be paid?
What about the other players? Will they ever receive what’s owed to them?
How will the gaming licenses will be issued now?<o></o>
Some of these questions have been addressed in the resolution issued by the Regulatory Council of Gaming of the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1
laceType w:st="on">Republic</st1laceType> of <st1laceName w:st="on">Panama</st1laceName></st1lace> (English translation for ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá). While this document successfully addresses some issues, many players were left in the dark as it was redacted in Spanish and written in Legal terms. In an effort to shed some light on this subject, I have created a translation of this document. Please visit this link (http://www.sportscrew.com/review/panama.php) to read it.<o></o>
After having studied the document, I have drawn some conclussions and I would like to bring them forward for further discussion. These are my conclusive statement drawn from this document:
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All comment wil be appreciated,
Peace out
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o>By now, online players know one thing for certain: this BetPanam deal was not all it was cracked up to be. In fact, it might very well be one of the most flagrant ‘stiff jobs’ to ever be conducted in the history of online bookmaking. Players were stiffed. Online operators in other jurisdictions -who were offered a license to operate in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sportsbook Haven</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Panama-</st1:country-region></st1lace>, were stiffed. Agents got stiffed. And to make matters worse, the results of this process that was supposed to be guaranteed by the Government of Panama has prolonged for almost 12 months; very painful months for those parties who lost their hard-earned cash in this deal. <o
></o>Today, one day after the release of the Bond # 15-048600-8 -signed on July the 30th of 2004- was ordered by the Director of the Panamanian Regulatory Council of Gaming, Mr. Raul Cortizo Cohen, there still are some areas that remain unclear.<o
></o>How many players will be paid? How much will they be paid?
What about the other players? Will they ever receive what’s owed to them?
How will the gaming licenses will be issued now?<o
></o>Some of these questions have been addressed in the resolution issued by the Regulatory Council of Gaming of the <st1
lace w:st="on"><st1laceType w:st="on">Republic</st1laceType> of <st1laceName w:st="on">Panama</st1laceName></st1lace> (English translation for ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá). While this document successfully addresses some issues, many players were left in the dark as it was redacted in Spanish and written in Legal terms. In an effort to shed some light on this subject, I have created a translation of this document. Please visit this link (http://www.sportscrew.com/review/panama.php) to read it.<o></o>After having studied the document, I have drawn some conclussions and I would like to bring them forward for further discussion. These are my conclusive statement drawn from this document:
<o
></o>- The parties involved in or affected this conflict are:
A. The Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama or ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá’: this institution represents the Government of Panama and it’s the responsible for regulating all gaming activity in that country
B. International CYBERGAMING Corp: the Corporation to which the Regulatory Council of Gaming conceded a gaming license. This license encompassed 10 licenses for online sportsbooks and 10 for online casinos; but they were not given the power to issue sub-licenses to 3<SUP>rd</SUP> parties, without the explicit authorization of the Council.
C. Corporacion Britania S.A: legal inscription of the company that actually run BetPanam.
D. The players who are owned monies
<o></o> - The Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama or ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá, denies any direct responsibility for the pending funds. They argue they never authorized BetPanam –registered as Corporacion Britania S.A- to operate as an online sportsbook in or from within the Republic of Panama. The further state that “in order to operate online gaming systems in or from within the Republic of Panama it is required the subscription of a contract with the Government of Panama –represented in this case by The Regulatory Council of Games- in virtue of which there will be issued the gaming licenses in favor of the Administrator/Operator and NOT of a third party as International CYBERGAMING Corp., has intended to construe; and in this case the Administrator/Operator was clearly warned at the moment of signing contract #375 (refer to clause #4 of the clause).”
<o></o> - The Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama or ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá’ claims that “in order to fight the pernicious effect that this conflict might have had in the reputation of our jurisdiction and the impact it might have on the image of our growing online gambling industry, the Regulatory Council of Games of the Republic of Panama is now faced with the following choices: to determine its intervention on this conflict or not or rather delimitate its field of action regarding this conflict with International CYBERGAMING Corp., Corporacion Britania S.A. and/or BetPanam.”
<o></o> - William Commee was the registered director and general manager of International CYBERGAMING Corp. The company that is ultimately responsible for the monies owed to the bettors registered at BetPanam. Chester Hunter figures as the legally registered Risk Manager for Corporacion Britania S.A or BetPanam.
<o></o> - William Commee was never explicitly authorized by the Regulatory Council of Gaming to issue any form of sub-licenses. Furthermore, as of January the 25th, 2005 the Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama has “restrict[ed] the Concession Contract #375 in favor of International Cybergaming Corp., to 2 licenses: one to be used as an online sportsbook and one to be used as an online casino.”
<o></o> - The Director of the Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama or ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá’, Raul Cortizo Cohen has ordered “the release of the Bond # 15-048600-8 signed on July the 30th of 2004 and due to be released on January the 25th, 2005 consigned in absence of an escrow account by International Cybergaming Corp., through Corporacion Britania S.A. with Aseguradora Mundial, S.A.; so that, using the same system used to make the deposits, the latter assumes the fulfillment of the obligations according to the attached inform by the Regulatory Council of Games”
<o></o> - Through this resolution the Regulatory Council of Gaming of the Republic of Panama or ‘la Junta de Control de Juegos de la República de Panamá’ has demmanded “from International Cybergaming Corp. and from Corporacion Britania S.A., according to the statistical report presented by the Regulatory Council of Games in the Annex #1 of this Resolution, the payment of the owed monies to the 35 players who proved they had an active balance at www.betpanam.com , by presenting their respective balance sheets.” This amount of 35 players is by no means the totality of bettors, owed monies.
<o></o> - While Roberto Castiglioni –owner of theoffshorewire.com- has made this document available to the public, the document itself does not mention Mr. Castiglioni as a determining or eeven invloved party in the process
></o>- Some players will be paid some of the money. The large majority of the monies owed to bettors has yet to be settled.<o></o>
- William Commee never had autorzation to issue or negotiate any sub-licenses<o></o>
- This document fails to explain what will be done with the total amount of funds contained in the Bond # 15-048600-8 signed on July the 30th of 2004 and due to be released on January the 25th, 2005 consigned in absence of an escrow account by International Cybergaming Corp., through Corporacion Britania S.A. with <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Aseguradora Mundial</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">S.A.</st1:country-region></st1lace><o> </o>
- Some players will be paid some of the money. The large majority of the monies owed to bettors has yet to be settled.<o
></o>All comment wil be appreciated,
Peace out
