Wayne Parry, Associated Press · November 20, 2014
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey’s chief gambling regulator says a preliminary investigation has found no proof that the CEO of a tribal Internet gambling company was involved in or knew of an online cheating scandal at a previous job.
David Rebuck, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, said Jim Ryan, chief executive of Pala Interactive, was CEO of a company whose software was used to cheat online card players in 2006. Pala started offering Internet gambling in New Jersey this week, the first Indian tribe to do so.
In a letter posted on the division’s website Thursday afternoon, Rebuck said an investigation of the UltimateBet scandal determined that it occurred while Ryan was head of Excapsa Software. That firm’s software was used to cheat players by revealing their hidden cards to other users, resulting in losses of nearly $20 million to players. The money was ultimately refunded. But the software was actually developed by a different company that pre-dated Ryan’s employment at Excapsa, according to the report.
“I had no knowledge of it, was not involved,” Ryan told The Associated Press. “It was incredibly regrettable. It was a pretty sophisticated scheme.”
His current company, Pala Interactive, began a test of its new software this week in New Jersey. The company is owned by the California-based Pala Tribe of Mission Indians. The company expects final approval over the weekend to launch its full palacasino.com site on Monday. Ryan said the software Pala is using in New Jersey now is different and has been tested by the state.
Full Article: NJ: No proof that Pala CEO knew of cheating
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