On one side of the world this week a U.S. Senator plugged away at attempting to somehow flush Internet gambling out of the United States. Meanwhile thousands of miles away, where flushing incidentally swirls in the opposite direction, American Wagering, Inc. became the first Nevada licensed company to accept wagers over the Net when it went live with its website, MegaSports Australia.
The launch of the site, located at http://www.megasports.com.au, follows an extensive licensing procedure and approval by the Australian regulatory authorities.
"We are pleased to announce the culmination of several years of work and effort to create a secure and
credible Internet site for the acceptance of wagers on sporting and other popular events," said American Wagering CEO Victor Salerno. "This opens new wagering markets such as World Cup Soccer, Formula I Racing, Academy Awards and other international events. One can only imagine the size of betting pools that will be created on World Cup Soccer. Imagine the citizens of Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and other countries being able to place wagers on their home teams over the Internet with a licensed bookmaker fully regulated by the Australian government. Also, Formula I Racing is the most watched sporting event on television and has the potential of creating large international pools.
"We have been pioneers in the Sports Betting business in Nevada and now have brought that same expertise to the worldwide Internet gaming market. Wall Street recognizes that Internet Gaming has explosive growth potential and we feel that American Wagering is timely and well positioned to take advantage of this growth. Our Internet operation should bring a significant increase in revenues for the coming year. We look forward to continuing the expansion of our international and domestic businesses."
American Wagering, Inc., owns and operates Leroy's Horse and Sports Place, the licensed bookmaker with the largest number of sports book locations (48) in the State of Nevada; CBS, the supplier of sports and race book equipment and software in Nevada and creator and operator of Mega$ports. The company also owns and operates a 150 room hotel/casino complex in Las Vegas and has formed an Australian Subsidiary to operate Mega$ports on the Internet.