Just as the deadline for obtaining an iGaming license from the UK Gambling Commission came into effect, Tony G announced that his online poker and sports betting site had been approved. TonyBet and TonyBet Poker received the required licensure to accept players from the UK just days ago. TonyBet Poker is best known for being the global leader in the provision of online Open Face Chinese Poker (OCF) games.
Antanas ‘Tony G’ Guoga is what most of us would call a savant. He had already achieved the title of Rubix Cube Champion in his home country of Lithuania before moving to Australia at the age of 11, where he went on to master the game of chess. Thus it should come as no surprise that he’s an efficiency expert on the poker tables as well. But he’s also a highly successful businessman who’s undertaken a number of affluent ventures since the early 2000’s. You might even say he has the ‘Midas Touch’.
OnlinePokerRealMoney.co.uk tries to dispel some legal confusions stemming from passage of George Bush's UIGEA of 2006 . Federal status seems to depend on interpretation of the wire act and other laws which were crafted many years ago and which remained high level in nature. The United Kingdom has much clearer laws including their own real money gambling commission .
As the online poker boom was just getting underway, Tony G saw a great opportunity in the media department. He sent $6,000 to purchase the domain, PokerNews.com, and quickly turned it into the leading live tournament reporting source in the world.
The poker pro spent the next few years writing for his news website and playing live poker around the world. Tony G won the European Poker Championship Main Event in 2005 for $456,882, and followed that up with a win at the 2006 APT Singapore Main Event for $451,700. By 2009, he was looking for another major business investment, thus his very own online sportsbook, TonyBet, was born. Four years later, he ventured into the business side of the online poker industry by extending his website to include TonyBet Poker in December of 2013.
A few months later, the UK Gambling Commission decided to amend its regulatory definitions. Legislation was passed stating that online gambling sites that wanted to continue accepting UK bettors would be required to obtain a license from the UKGC and pay a 15% Point of Consumption tax on all UK-based customers. Like most UK-facing online poker operators, Tony G had to think long and hard on the matter of profitability, but in the end, chose to apply for the license.
“It’s the best online gaming market in the world and we want to make it fun and enjoyable for our customers,” said Tony, who was thrilled with the notice of approval that arrived just in the nick of time.
TonyBet Poker was already preparing to celebrate its first year as a premier OFC online poker room, but now has even more reason to celebrate. The festivities will begin on Monday, December 8th, as TonyBet Poker is hosting its very first live poker event. The 3-day OFC Poker World Championship will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, kicking off with a $10,000 High Roller re-entry event on Monday, followed by a “last minute” satellite into the €1,000 OFC Main Event slated for Tuesday.
“The championship will celebrate the incredible year that we had at TonyBet Poker, and we will make sure there’s plenty of action for our players,” said a spokesperson for the online poker room. “Being the biggest global OFC poker site, we decided to seize an opportunity and give some live action for the players… We are set to run the biggest live OFC event in history.”