I-gaming companies have come forth with over $50,000 in donations for the third annual charity event at the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo to be held May 16-18 in Montreal. Leading the way in corporate contributions this year is PartyGaming, which has pledged $25,000, and BetOnSports, which has pledged $10,000. The recipient of this year's fund-raising efforts is the Gordon House Association, a U.K.-based provider of residential support to gamblers recovering from addiction.
This year's charity competition entails five rounds of "grudge" matches featuring well known industry professionals donning Velcro ski boots and racing each other on a 24-foot soft Velcro track. The main event will be showdown between PartyGaming's new CEO, Mitch Garber, and Empire Online boss Noam Lanir. Other confirmed rivalries include River City Group's very own party girl, Nancy Krause, vs. Kerry Mills of TrustMarque and Casino City's Michael Corfman vs. Ken Dreifach of the New York Attorney General's Office.
As always, the charity event will include a silent auction of donated items on which attendees can bid. All proceeds will go to Gordon House.
Gordon House
The Gordon House Association is an organization that provides residential support to gamblers recovering from addiction. It is a provider of both the GamAid and GamStop programs and has over 30 years' experience in providing specialized support and treatment to acutely addicted gamblers.
Gordon House CEO Kevin Farrell Roberts and his brother, Tony Roberts, developed an online crisis intervention service called GamAid/GamStop and began marketing it to online gambling operators in September.
The Round Up
Donations so far this year total $56,500--breaking the GIGSE record for corporate contributions (and the event is still 34 days away). GIGSE charity events raised $31,650 in 2004 and $44,923 in 2005, with donations going to Gamcare and the California Council on Problem Gambling respectively.
This Year's Contributors:
Party Gaming: $25,000
BetOnSports: $10,000
Excapsa: $5,000
River City Group: $5,000
Microgaming: $3,000
Unibet: $2,500
Golden Palace: $2,000
Real Time Gaming: $1,000
Trident Gaming: $1,000
Winward Casino: $1,000
eCogra: $500
World Gaming: $500