New York company promotes remote gambling system

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001 | 10:42 a.m.

A New York company is promoting a live Internet gambling system it hopes to promote through Las Vegas casino companies.

Kenilworth Systems Corp. calls the system "Project Roulabette." The system would broadcast table games being played live in Las Vegas, and allow customers to bet on the outcome from remote locations. The company said it is talking with the Nevada Gaming Control Board about regulating the system under the same rules that currently oversee remote betting on horse and dog race simulcasts.

Remote location terminals could then be placed in hotels, bars, racetracks and "other public places," allowing customers to bet on the events for as little as 25 cents at their location, provided the state allows such simulcast betting. The system could also be used for in-home, interactive TV wagering. Nevada would receive a guaranteed annual fee plus a percentage of the win, Kenilworth said.

Kenilworth said it has filed to patent the system, and is currently attempting to raise cash and recruit management to market the system.

Currently, Las Vegas-based i2 Corp. claims patent protection for any remote wagering system that allows patrons to bet on live events or casino games, provided the betting system is completely electronic. As Kenilworth did not discuss payment methods, i2 can't determine if the Kenilworth concept would violate its patent, said i2 President Chris Almida.

"If they provide a remote patron with live wagers on a live game or event with electronic pay, that will fall under our patent," Almida said. "We'll defend any infringement."

"Our best present knowledge is that the proposed 'Project Roulabette' does not infringe presently existing patents," a Kenilworth statement said.

Kenilworth is now in the process of reorganizing after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1998, and until earlier this month, had not held an annual meeting in 13 years. The company's stock currently trades over-the-counter as a pink sheet.