Makin' Deals -- Online bookmaker Sportingbet is acquiring Sporting Odds, the fixed odds business of Sporting Index, for £4.5 million. Sportingbet will pay for its purchase by issuing £2 million of its ordinary shares to Sporting Index Holdings and by taking out a £2.5 million loan. Sporting Odds, which has been operational since June 2000, had turnover of £38 million last year. Under the acquisition agreement, Sporting Index will still link to Sporting Odds, and Sportingbet will have a link from its site to the spread betting business of Sporting Index. Nigel Payne, chief executive of Sportingbet, said the addition to his company will increase its European presence. "Over the past year, Sportingbet has grown its European business significantly and this acquisition, which will be run on shore in the United Kingdom, materially increases our critical mass into the region and our aim of making Europe a substantial profit-making part of the group along with our existing profitable businesses into the Americas, Asia and Australia." Sungold Entertainment Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Horsepower 2, is entering a marketing agreement with GameEast.com, a games service provider and operator for the Hong Kong gaming market. Orient Gaming, which operates the Chinese site got2bet.com, is also teaming up with Horsepower 2 to provide online marketing. Horsepower 2 will also be working with Southern Entertainment, which operates Internet cafes in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a marketing agreement. Wells Fargo said recently that it will be providing secure Internet payment processing for online payment network PayPal. As per the agreement, Wells Fargo will process PayPal transactions that allow customers to use credit cards to deduct money from their checking accounts.
Names and Faces -- Sungold Entertainment Corp. is appointing Louis Hop Lee to its board of directors. Sun International Hotels is hiring Deloitte & Touche LLP to replace Arthur Anderson LLP as its independent public accountant. The change is effective immediately; Sun said the decision was not based on a disagreement between it and Arthur Anderson.
UK Tidbit -- The United Kingdom's National Lottery could be nationalized. Tessa Jowell, the country's culture secretary, is expected to make an announcement suggesting three possible options for the lottery, which suffered from its largest ticket sales slump ever last fall. Camelot's license to operate the lottery ends in 2009.