D
donkey_boy
Guest
Is OPA still is contact with WorldGaming higher ups about non-payment of winners by version 3.2 operators early this year?
Any hope of getting paid?
Any hope of getting paid?
D
donkey_boy
Guest
Please, do not all respond at one time 
As one of the OPA's volunteer workers not specifically involved on this project (the Complaints Section has it) I don't have the detail of where things stand at present but I will try and give you the overall picture.
I do know that there were exchanges with the now departed CEO Michael Aymong who turned out to be something of a dickhead and was trying to palm off responsibility to the nine or so licensees who were involved in the screw-over of the players on the generous bonuses that were on offer. These licensees were trying to get WG to accept responsibility on the grounds that the version 3.2 software was responsible for the bonus construction screw-up that left them facing thousands of dollars worth of claims.
The WG operations man in Antigua, Liam Gillen (who I think may still be with them) was on taped record at CasinoGazette essentially confirming that the players did have a case but that the licensees involved were responsible because they didn't use the software correctly...at least that's the way I remember it - the interview is probably still available in the CasinoGazette archives.
The OPA then issued a Players' Cautionary Notice naming the defaulting casinos, and this was sent to Aymong. No response. Publicity on the issue was then generated, but World Gaming was by that time in deep doo-doo with it's shareholders up in arms over a series of unrelated bad news impacting very badly on the company. They had litigative and financial hassles aplenty.
That unhappy situation led to Michael Aymong heading into the sunset and the involvement of a guy called McKay taking up the reins because he agreed to loan the seriously struggling company some $1.5 million. He was an odd (perhaps the only) choice because he had previously been involved in buying the soft porno sites off Starnet and there was some debate over whether he had actually paid up.....jeez, this is one tangled web!
There was a lot of acrimonious debate on the WG shareholder boards about mutually beneficial and none Board authorised golden parachute deals made by Aymong and McKay and the last I heard McKay had departed, having not put up the loan as promised. He was threatening the Board and they were refusing to pay up the illegal golden parachutes. So that looked like more litigation.
Last I heard a guy called David Craven had taken over as CEO and was trying to bring some order to the situation. He was a McKay appointee, and he managed to raise the loan needed to keep WG viable from Sportingbet.com (I think?)
Futurebet has allegedly been converting WG licencees to their software, adding to the tribulations of WG, and there were strong rumours last week that WG had surrendered its membership of the IGC.
Unfortunately it is difficult to confirm any of this or get WG's version because Mr. Craven simply does not respond to emails.
Sorry to take up so much space on this, but I thought a round-up of the current situation would illustrate that WG is besieged by many problems, is not responding to emails and I suspect will not move of its own accord on the now six to eight month old WG scandal.
So the short (and personal assessment) answer I would give you is that it does not appear that WG will voluntarily resolve this issue and that stronger measures to warn players about the licensees involved will probably have to be brought to bear. That could include a complaint to the Antiguan and Netherlands Antilles authorites who recently promised to take a serious approach to these matters, and other contacts who can have an impact on the businesses involved.
One of the defaulting licensees is a certain washout right now, and if your complaint is against that one you are unfortunate - Black Rhino moved to Futurebet from WG in a very hostile atmosphere, and has now gone belly-up with Futurebet too. I doubt that the owner, Ron Stopchyki will be amenable to resolving complaints made against his casino back in the WG days.
I do know that there were exchanges with the now departed CEO Michael Aymong who turned out to be something of a dickhead and was trying to palm off responsibility to the nine or so licensees who were involved in the screw-over of the players on the generous bonuses that were on offer. These licensees were trying to get WG to accept responsibility on the grounds that the version 3.2 software was responsible for the bonus construction screw-up that left them facing thousands of dollars worth of claims.
The WG operations man in Antigua, Liam Gillen (who I think may still be with them) was on taped record at CasinoGazette essentially confirming that the players did have a case but that the licensees involved were responsible because they didn't use the software correctly...at least that's the way I remember it - the interview is probably still available in the CasinoGazette archives.
The OPA then issued a Players' Cautionary Notice naming the defaulting casinos, and this was sent to Aymong. No response. Publicity on the issue was then generated, but World Gaming was by that time in deep doo-doo with it's shareholders up in arms over a series of unrelated bad news impacting very badly on the company. They had litigative and financial hassles aplenty.
That unhappy situation led to Michael Aymong heading into the sunset and the involvement of a guy called McKay taking up the reins because he agreed to loan the seriously struggling company some $1.5 million. He was an odd (perhaps the only) choice because he had previously been involved in buying the soft porno sites off Starnet and there was some debate over whether he had actually paid up.....jeez, this is one tangled web!
There was a lot of acrimonious debate on the WG shareholder boards about mutually beneficial and none Board authorised golden parachute deals made by Aymong and McKay and the last I heard McKay had departed, having not put up the loan as promised. He was threatening the Board and they were refusing to pay up the illegal golden parachutes. So that looked like more litigation.
Last I heard a guy called David Craven had taken over as CEO and was trying to bring some order to the situation. He was a McKay appointee, and he managed to raise the loan needed to keep WG viable from Sportingbet.com (I think?)
Futurebet has allegedly been converting WG licencees to their software, adding to the tribulations of WG, and there were strong rumours last week that WG had surrendered its membership of the IGC.
Unfortunately it is difficult to confirm any of this or get WG's version because Mr. Craven simply does not respond to emails.
Sorry to take up so much space on this, but I thought a round-up of the current situation would illustrate that WG is besieged by many problems, is not responding to emails and I suspect will not move of its own accord on the now six to eight month old WG scandal.
So the short (and personal assessment) answer I would give you is that it does not appear that WG will voluntarily resolve this issue and that stronger measures to warn players about the licensees involved will probably have to be brought to bear. That could include a complaint to the Antiguan and Netherlands Antilles authorites who recently promised to take a serious approach to these matters, and other contacts who can have an impact on the businesses involved.
One of the defaulting licensees is a certain washout right now, and if your complaint is against that one you are unfortunate - Black Rhino moved to Futurebet from WG in a very hostile atmosphere, and has now gone belly-up with Futurebet too. I doubt that the owner, Ron Stopchyki will be amenable to resolving complaints made against his casino back in the WG days.
D
donkey_boy
Guest
Thanks Jetset, doesn't look to good.
Black Rhino wasn't involved in my case but I doubt the other deadbeat WG licensees will make good.
Black Rhino wasn't involved in my case but I doubt the other deadbeat WG licensees will make good.
It's difficult when these casinos and WG won't respond to civilised email communications even at top level - very disappointing behaviour by this new CEO David Craven and it doesn't auger well for WG's future imo.
At the very least the offending casinos should be placed on the NOT RECOMMENDED list for this blatantly unfair rip-off.
At the very least the offending casinos should be placed on the NOT RECOMMENDED list for this blatantly unfair rip-off.
The other lesson to be learned is that if this is the way WG behave when a bunch of their licensees screw players, is it worth the risk of playing at their casinos in the future?
When all's said and done the ultimate power lies with the player....
When all's said and done the ultimate power lies with the player....
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2000
MelatNova is a World Gaming licensee who is of the opinion that the software is sound.
Which it may well be; it was Liam at World Gaming who claimed it was a software problem with 3.2. Liam no longer works for World Gaming.
The company has been more responsive to the licensees lately. He will continue to bring this up with World Gaming.
World Gaming is a very troubled company at the executive level. Craven had much higher priorites to deal with than some unpaid players. They are involved in some multimillion dollar lawsuits, including investigating Aymong for skimming the company for everything he could. They are seriously behind on their required financial filings for regulators.
Which it may well be; it was Liam at World Gaming who claimed it was a software problem with 3.2. Liam no longer works for World Gaming.
The company has been more responsive to the licensees lately. He will continue to bring this up with World Gaming.
World Gaming is a very troubled company at the executive level. Craven had much higher priorites to deal with than some unpaid players. They are involved in some multimillion dollar lawsuits, including investigating Aymong for skimming the company for everything he could. They are seriously behind on their required financial filings for regulators.
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