People news 28 June 2012
A round up of industry moves from the last week (22 June to 28 June 2012).
Stars confirms Nadal deal
Tennis star becomes fourth member of Team SportStars and fourth Spaniard to represent operator.
PokerStars has announced the signature of tennis world number two Rafael Nadal as the newest member of its Team SportStars.
Nadal joins fellow tennis player Boris Becker on the team, as well as two Olympic gold medal winners in hockey player Fatima Moreira de Melo and skier Marcus Hellner. Nadal himself won Olympic gold in 2008.
He is the fourth Spaniard to sign with the operator, which was licensed to operate in the EU member state earlier this month, joining professional poker players Juan Manuel Pastor and Ana Marquez and Team Online member Javier Dominguez.
The 26-year-old, who won last week’s French Open final, will play poker in his spare time during the summer months, the operator said, before devoting more time to representing PokerStars in online tournaments, charity events and marketing campaigns this autumn.
Sports Offshore sentencing due this week
Daniel Eremian, the principal of Antigua-based online bookmaker Sports Offshore will be sentenced this Thursday in a Massachusetts Court.
The brother-in-law of US Representative John Tierney, Eremian was involved with Antigua-based operator Sports Offshore before his conviction on racketeering and Wire Act violation charges in December last year.
The company had taken bets from the United States while operating out of Antigua without a valid egaming licence.
Eremian’s fellow defendant, Todd Lyons, was notably the first individual in the US to be convicted for violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), while both were cleared of separate money-laundering charges. Lawyers for the pair moved for a judgement of acquittal last month, but the motions were denied.