Vegas firm in sex industry, gambling deal

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

A Las Vegas company that has patented an online gaming system said it has sold a distribution and operating license to a West Indies adult entertainment Internet company.

Chris Almida, president of i2corp.com, Las Vegas, said the deal will produce revenue for his company, Home Gambling Network, an i2corp.com subsidiary.

The license agreement was signed with Broadcasting Concepts LLC, Nevis, West Indies, which operates a live "adult chat video system" with more than 40,000 paying subscribers.

Broadcasting Concepts operates Pure Porn Live and Peekshows, two pay-to-view Internet sex sites.

Almida said he doesn't think his company's association with an Internet sex site will hurt the company's credibility or the budding Internet gambling industry's bid to become legal in the United States.

"There are people who have problems with Internet gambling and there are people who have problems with adult entertainment on the Internet," Almida said. "We're about live entertainment and live people and are coming from this from a different perspective than some of the existing gambling sites that have graphical interfaces."

Almida said Broadcasting Concepts will use i2corp.com's patented live Internet gambling concept with an adult theme when it begins operations in April. It will feature live dealers who will be "provocatively dressed or undressed" when they deal the games via streamed video on the Internet, Almida said.

The first sex-themed casino will be operated from Europe, the companies said.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.