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Harrah's closes UK gambling site

Harrah's suspends online gambling site after suffering losses of $9.3 million last year

Friday 4th March 2005

Harrah's Entertainment has suspended its online gambling site based in the UK after suffering losses of $9.3 million last year.

This is the second time the gambling giant has failed to tap into the online craze. The site, called Lucky Me, was introduced in November 2003 for British bettors and was suspended in October, the company disclosed Tuesday in its annual report to shareholders.

Harrah's spokesman David Strow said, “The site was discontinued because it was losing money.”

Rather than the typical method of gambling for money, the web site allowed players to access as many games as possible -- with new games offered every seven-and-a-half minutes -- with a monthly subscription. Gamblers paid from about $17 to $84 per month for access to bingo and other games with cash prizes ranging from $8.50 to $1.7 million.

Lucky Me featured an identification process that prohibited bets from U.S. residents as well as from other countries where Internet gambling is prohibited.

Strow said the gambling bill and legislative concerns didn't factor into the decision to abandon the Web site.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews