Americans Excluded From New Motown-Themed Online Gambling Sites - Detroit Entrepreneur

The media in Detroit is reporting on the launch of the new Hitsville online casino and poker room sites with a comment that online gambling in the state of Michigan is illegal under state and federal laws. This means that the Detroit entrepreneur behind the project, Herb Strather, has been forced exclude his own countrymen from playing.

Strather, who is one of the original local partners in MotorCity Casino L.L.C which owns Hitsville, told reporters that the new Web sites he created won't accept wagers from anyone living in the United States. However, those turned away from making bets will still be encouraged to play the games on both Hitsvillecasino.com and Hitsville poker.com but for ‘play’ rather than ‘real’ money.

Ellen Whittemore, a gaming and regulatory law attorney hired by Hitsville, said that the Hitsville sites use a vendor with sophisticated player and Internet protocol address tracking systems to guarantee that the sites operate legally. “WagerWorks is a subsidiary of International Gaming Technologies and has the best mechanisms to accomplish this,” she added.

“I wanted the sites to help revive national and international interest in Detroit's music heritage,” said Strather. He recruited former Motown stars and non-Motown musical stars to add their names, photos and new music to the sites. But he was unable to negotiate the use of the brand “Motown” in the online venture because Universal Music Group, which owns the Motown label, and EMI, which owns its song copyrights, would not permit the use of the music on the sites.

Then Strather discovered the name “Hitsville” was available so he used that instead, a nod to the “Hitsville USA” name used for the Motown headquarters on West Grand Boulevard during the label's early days. He said, “We want to capitalize on the Motown legend, the Motown sound, and Detroit's strong music heritage.”
Strather launched Hitsvillecasino.com and Hitsville poker.com by hosting a party for 700 people in the former Berry Gordy mansion in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood.

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