Interactive Skill Games Association Trade Body Formed

Skill-based game portal companies FUN Technologies (Skilljam.com)and King.com, announced the joint formation of the Interactive Skill Games Association (ISGA), and have selected attorney and former Director of the California Division of Gambling Harlan W. Goodson as its President. The companies say the ISGA will offer its members within the industry the opportunity to compete with one another in "an interactive environment of the highest integrity." The ISGA will also fund ongoing legal research for the benefit of its members, with the aim of promoting a larger understanding of the industry for regulators and lawmakers. Both companies label themselves specifically as purveyors of skill-based games, defined as those in which the winner is determined based on the skill of the participants rather than on chance. The particular definition has previously been implicated in discussions surrounding the legality of online gambling -- as the "skill-based games" business model is one wherein users pay to play against one another, with the winner collecting the majority of the pot. “Skill Gaming is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of online entertainment and there is a pressing need to ensure the integrity of our games and to promote understanding of the services we offer,” said Toby Rowland, co-founder and co-CEO of King.com. “Mr. Goodson, as a former chief state regulator, is the natural choice to lead the new trade association toward these goals.” “Through the creation of this new association, it is our goal to develop a code of conduct and best practices for the skill games industry, to which we hope member operators will voluntarily adhere without the need for government intervention,” commented Lorne Abony, CEO of FUN Technologies.