Firm faces complaint over Internet betting

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

And Reno-based International Game Technology is pulling out of another online-related venture in Australia after disclosing the deal to state regulators and hearing their concerns.

AWI has decided to fight what it considers overzealous attempts by an undercover Control Board investigator to circumvent protections designed to block Americans from wagering with the company's online sportsbook in Australia, Mega$ports.

The Control Board's Dec. 16 complaint says a board agent in Las Vegas was able to place 12 Internet bets on baseball games after opening an account with Mega$ports.

The complaint says the agent got past software designed to prevent Americans from placing bets with Mega$ports by opening an account with a Canadian Internet service provider. He later tried to collect his original $100 investment and $14 in winnings and by sending the company a falsified birth certificate.

Mega$ports closed the account and returned the initial $100 deposit after employees became suspicious that the documentation was bogus.

Bob Ciunci, AWI's chief financial officer, said Monday the company is challenging the complaint. "We have taken every precaution we felt possible," he said. "We just feel it's an internal control violation."

In the IGT case, the worlds largest slot machine manufacturer is dropping its stake in Access Systems, a Sydney software maker specializing in online gambling systems.

IGT, which bought a minority stake in Access in early 1999, expects to complete its selloff of the interest "within a quarter or so," said Ed Rogich, a vice president for marketing.

Rogich added the investment was seen at first as a legal financial opportunity, but IGT gradually became concerned about links to another company, and disclosed its concerns to Nevada regulators.

Prior to IGT's investment, Access had a software deal with Lasseters Online, the first licensed and regulated Internet casino in Australia and an aggressive marketer to American bettors.

"A lot of people were reading into this that we were positioning ourselves in Internet gambling," Rogich said. "That's not the case. It was just an investment."