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Disputes National Arbitration Forum News

MGM Resorts going after typo domains following reversal of online poker policy

Mandalay Bay

According to reports, Nevada may become the first state in the U.S. to offer online gambling, this, following the Department of Justice’s policy reversal on the Wire Act.

Now MGM Resorts International, the Nevada based corporation that owns and operates over a dozen gaming properties in Nevada, has apparently filed a complaint (case number: 1422265) over the typo domains belaggio.com (correct spelling bellagio) and mandalabay.com (missing a ‘y’).

The case, which commenced today, was filed with the National Arbitration Forum.

According to WHOIS records for belaggio.com and mandalabay.com, both domains are owned by Modern Empire Internet Ltd, a Hong Kong based company that owns over 3,000 domains. 

The names are currently parked with Above.com, an internet company that offers parking services for domainers who want to maximize their parking revenues.

Modern Empire Internet Ltd has been the respondent in several domain disputes in the past, including cases that involved popular typos like wlmart.com and theknott.com, both of which it was ordered to transfer to the complainants.

Because the National Arbitration Forum doesn’t publicly identify complainants on its website until a decision has been issued by a panel, the official complainant isn’t immediately known.

But it’s safe to say MGM Resorts International is the complainant, as they own both mandalaybay.com and bellagio.com.

(Image of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino via MandalayBay.com)

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Best sales year possible for domains in 2011? Another big gambling domain goes up for sale

tournament

2011 could be the year gambling domain names hit the mega millions jackpot with properties like gambling.com already up for sale, which some expect could fetch as much as $20 million (its previous sale price back in 2005). 

What looked like a good year in 2010 with the sale of Slots.com  for $5.5 Million, could only be getting better in 2011, as online gambling developments take place in the United States with New Jersey being the first state to license and regulate online gambling. 

Billionaire Calvin Ayre, the buyer of Slots.com, still hasn’t commented on whether he’ll bid on gambling.com.

But with more options on the market, Bodog Brand could have its sights set on a number of properties.

Tournament.com up for sale by Mandalay Media Group

Today, Eric Bianchi of Calvin Ayre’s Tablog is reporting that Costa Bingo and Casino Choice (Mandalay Media Group), have put the domain name Tournament.com up for sale.

Tournament.com is the latest name to come on the market, after creators of Costa Bingo and Casino Choice, Mandalay Media Group, put the domain up for sale.

Owners of Mandalay, Richard Skelhorn (pictured) and Alex Holt, said: “The word ‘tournament’ is very descriptive and generates over five million Google searches per month. It could be developed into a very powerful brand in the right hands.”

As far as what it was used for before, the site hosted pay-to-enter video game tournaments for games such as CounterStrike, but Skelhorn and Holt explained that is no longer a viable option.

“We believe that unless a content owner like EA approach it themselves and therefore remove the license fee element we will not see a third party operator again on the scale Tournament.com achieved.”

If you pay a visit to Tournament.com, you’ll be asked to fill out a short form asking for your name, company, email and a message.

Read more about the sale of Tournament.com.