InterCasino has noted a particular surge in the popularity of online gaming over the Christmas period.

New research by the established online gambling website noted that while for some Christmas is a family time or a chance to get away from it all, this festive season gamblers were logging on to its online casino in their droves.

When compared to any other Sunday or Monday in the year, activity on the site increased by 12 per cent over Christmas and Boxing Day with the most popular reason being to hide away from unwanted visitors.

InterCasino’s UK spokesperson, Jane Bentley, said: “We are delighted that our online casino provided people with enjoyment and a much needed break from the Christmas festivities.”

So ‘fess up, what were you doing on Christmas and Boxing Day?

InterCasino is maintaining its high reputation within the gaming community by offering all its players greater access to independent arbitration in the event of a dispute.

The new service is being provided in conjunction with respected industry watchdog Casinomeister and is designed to increase the confidence of its clients to play in a safe gaming environment, according to Onlinegamingnews.

Entitled the “InterCasino Group Independent Arbitration Service”, the launch marks the first time an online gaming company has offered this sort of service.

Casinomeister has been authorised by InterCasino to arbitrate all issues that cannot be resolved between a customer and the casino.

When involved, Casinomeister will first ensure that a customer has attempted to seek a resolution via InterCasino’s support centre.

In the event the matter cannot be solved through that channel, then Casinomeister will arbitrate the situation with InterCasino abiding by its final ruling.

Peter Marcus, Intercasino spokesman, said: “The goal has always been to provide players with an exciting site they can trust and enjoy.

“Having Casinomeister in position to investigate and remedy any issues that can’t be resolved by our management team will give players an added level of confidence.”

Peter Hughes has been named as the new chief operating officer of the World Poker Tour (WPT) organisation.

The move, effective from today, means that Hughes will be in charge of the day-to-day running of WPT Enterprises as well as furthering the group’s profile internationally.

Formally a top figure in the sports world, he has previously worked with the National Football League and was most recently the executive vice president of SFX Sports Group.

WPT currently broadcasts its events in over 130 countries and Hughes will be aiming to develop the production, marketing, licensing, sponsorship, business development, and website of the brand.

Hughes said: “WPT Enterprises is one of the most exciting and dynamic ventures in the sports and entertainment business today. Its explosive growth and worldwide impact is only now beginning to be truly felt.

“WPTE presents an enormous opportunity for me to help coalesce its various divisions and provide the kind of direction that will lay groundwork for its long-term business expansion, and the global growth of poker as a sport.”

InterPoker’s new poker show started airing on Talksport on January 20th and is aimed at targeting those gambling enthusiasts amongst the station’s 2.2 million listeners.

The show is a series of features that will be broadcast on Mike Dickin’s show at 22:00 and will educate the listeners about poker matters, according to online-casinos.com.

The idea for the show came in response to recent research by Online Gambler Magazine and InterCasino, which indicated that enthusiasts of the game are always on the look out for new poker tips and discussion on poker-related issues.

Each show will have interviews with leading poker players, tips on how to play and also a guide to poker terms.

There will also be a live-phone in where eager listeners can call in and speak directly to some of the industry’s best experts.

Peter Marcus, InterPoker spokesman, said: “As one of the oldest casinos we pride ourselves on our innovation and on bringing players what they want.

“The poker phenomenon is continuing and our recent research shows that players and would-be players are wanting more information and advice on how to play.

“The aim of this radio feature and live phone-in, one of the first for radio, is to provide this.”

The Fair Gaming Advocate (FGA) for the international standards body eCOGRA has reported positively on the service being provided for player disputes.

ECommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) has said that the ‘Play it Safe’ seal is proving to be a very accurate indicator of reliable online casinos, according to onlinecasinonews.

The FGA report gas stated that overall the level of complaints remains very low at eCOGRA approved venues and represent only a minute percentage of the total volume of business involved.

Andrew Beveridge, eCOGRA CEO, said: “Since FGA operations commenced in April 2004, there has been a total of only 690 complaints, a miniscule percentage of the vast volumes of business handled over that time by some of the largest online groups in the business.”

Tex Rees, a FGA official also said that the success of the system could be measured by the low ratio of complaints to the total amount of business handled.

Over 95 per cent of any disputes were dealt with in less than 48 hours – a industry benchmark that eCOGRA has pointed out has not been obtained by any other ‘watchdogs’ or industry organisations.

The ongoing debate of which sex makes the best poker player look set to continue with Deanna Goodson firmly throwing down the gauntlet to the poker-playing world.

Deanna Goodson, a successful professional poker player, has laid down a challenge to any player – male or female – to take her on in low-stakes tables or buy-in tournaments at a venue of her choice, according to onlinecasinonews.

The editor of Chicksnchips, a poker site for women who play poker, Goodson has been playing the game professionally for a number of years.

A successful player in her own right, she is looking to step up to the plate in the next few years and win not only a World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament nut also a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).

And with so much female talent in the poker world including InterPoker’s very own Kathy Liebert – winner of the 2005 Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes – this debate looks set to run and run.

Who do you think the best female poker player is? Log on and let us know.

An innovative new television programme will pitch the top stars of the poker world against the pick of the golfing profession.

With both games requiring deep levels of concentration, skill and an ability to dig deep when the chips are down, the new series will see opposing players competing in a set of challenges designed to test their range of skills.

The Golf and Poker Invitational show will be produced by the World Golf League (WGL) and Mandalay Sports Action Entertainment (MSAE), according to Poker News.

Six top PGA players will take on six poker pros in a crossover competition where the winner takes all.

David Salzberg, MSAE president, said: “Poker and golf are a perfect match and offer tremendous broadcasting opportunities.

“This is a reality concept that will definitely resonate with viewers, participants, and corporate partners, and we anticipate our only real challenge to be limiting the field to six poker pros and six golfers.”

The WGL echoed Salzberg’s comments and said that the mix of poker and golf fans will add an extra dimension to proceedings.

Its statement read: “Working with Mandalay and what we’re certain will be a group of recognized and accomplished poker and golf professionals will bring this next concept to life, and we can’t wait to see those pros take their ‘chips’ from one discipline to the next.”

InterCasino has emerged as one of the industry’s ‘good guys’ after winning the Casinomeister Humanitarian Award 2005.

The award was given to InterCasino thanks to its generous donation of $111,000 to Unicef’s Children’s relief fund for the Boxing Day tsunami tragedy.

Casinomeister’s Humanitarian Award is presented yearly to casinos that go “one step beyond the norm to assist those in need” and raise money for good causes from some of the significant funds involved in the industry.

This year, the money raising took the form of an auction organised by Casinomeister and also Ted Loh from Got2bet.

They came up with the notion of auctioning off a banner spot on each of the website’s main index pages with the top bid receiving the spot for a full 365 days.

It was decided that 100 per cent of the proceeds would go to the charity and after the software had been set up on the site to make it possible, fierce bidding amongst some of the web’s top online casino firms began.

InterCasino bid strongly throughout the auction and with just two seconds left in the auction entered the winning amount of $111,000.

The moment was finalised when Peter Marcus, InterCasino’s spokesman, presented the $111,000 cheque at last year’s ICE to both Casinomeister and Ted Loh of Got2bet.

The game manufacturer 2K has announced it will be releasing a World Poker Tour (WPT) game for the Playstation Portable (PSP) this spring.

WPT will be produced in partnership with Take-Two Interactive Software and will allow players to play poker at some of the world’s most prestigious tables.

There will also be the facility to battle head-to-head against other live players by using the PSP wireless connection capability.

WPT is already available for the PS2, Xbox and Nintendo Gameboy Advance and features real life professional poker players, enhanced Artificial Intelligence players and all the venues that star in the televised WPT TV series.

Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts, said: “With the growing popularity of televised poker shows such as World Poker Tour, poker has become a mainstream sport.

“By partnering with the trusted World Poker Tour brand, we are bringing both gamers and poker fans alike the most realistic poker experience available.

“And now that World Poker Tour will be available on the PSP, gamers can enjoy the game wherever they go.”

In line with the recent announcement by Bluff magazine of it’s annual Reader’s Choice Awards, inter-blog is asking who you think the best in the game is.

The Bluff Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards are split over 19 different categories which are broken down in three further areas of online, live and televised poker.

There will also be the key category of the Favourite Poker Player of the magazine’s readership, according to PokerNews.

Voting began on January 12th and will run until June 1st with the results being published in the summer.

Eric Morris, Bluff Magazine co-president, said that his title was “at the forefront of the poker industry by giving their readers influence and a voice in shaping the future of poker”.

“Never before have poker players been able to deem ‘the best of the best’ in over twenty different poker categories,” he added.

So until the results are released the responsibility falls on the members of inter-blog to discuss who is really the best.

Log on and let us know your favourite. Whether it be Kathy Liebert, Pete ‘The Beat’, Thuan ‘Scotty’ Nguyen or Maciel Gracz, one thing is for sure – this discussion could run and run!