OPAP Seeks Sports Betting Partner
Although Greece's lottery operator OPAP (Organisation of Football Prognostics) stated over the summer that it would operate its sports betting game Pame Stihima in-house after the expiration of its contract with Intralot expires in January 2007, it is now believed to be preparing an international tender for a betting partner to assist with forming odds and providing risk management. The company has reportedly changed its mind on outsourcing the duties because it will not be ready to perform them itself by the beginning of 2007. The betting partner could be offered the opportunity to hold a stake in an OPAP subsidiary or to receive a management fee. OPAP intends to make its operating costs paid to the new partner lower than what it now pays to Intralot.
Japanese Internet-only Banks Profit from Betting
Two Japanese Internet-only banks have been reaping great benefits from selling betting tickets for horse races, the soccer tote and wagering on other events. eBank and Japan Net Bank do not charge fees for ticket sales or for transferring winnings to user accounts. The primary benefits to the banks come from receiving commissions from the operators of the gambling services and from enticing more people to open accounts with them.
Games, Inc. Betting on More Online Lotteries Emerging
Cincinnati-based Games, Inc., which operates online skill game sites Gameland.com and Skillmoney.com, has awarded its shareholders with a dividend in the form of shares in Lottery Corporation at a rate of one share of Lottery Corporation per each four shares of Games, Inc. Carol Meinhardt, CEO of Games, Inc., explained the dividend by stating, "Lottery Corporation will give our shareholders a 'pure play' in the expected growth of lottery online. Working with our Executive Vice President, Dennis Kennedy, former Lottery Director of the Ohio Lottery, as well as our CTO, Tristan Smith, we will continue to deliver quality services to state lotteries and will actively support those jurisdictions which are actively exploring offering lottery online to their customers." Lottery Corporation owns and operates Lottery.com, a state and provincial lottery information site that provides co-branded lottery results to a wide variety of Web publishers, including Yahoo!, AOL, Gannett, USA Today and more.
Investment Bank Could Form Consortium to Bid for UK Lottery License
Anthony Fry, head of U.K. investment banking at U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, last month provided an interview to the Financial Times in which he confirmed that the bank is considering forming a consortium to bid for the next U.K. National Lottery license, which will be awarded in 2007. The bank's planning for the license bid is being headed by Fry, who while working for NM Rothschild in the '80s wrote a paper for the Treasury explaining how the National Lottery's operating costs could be shouldered by the private sector. Lehman Brothers recently advised private equity group Charterhouse on its £2.2 billion sale of Coral Eurobet to Gala, and according to Fry, "From a Lehman viewpoint, no other financial institution has participated in this way. It begs the question: Is [a bid] something we should be doing on behalf of clients or should we do something more active and pull together a consortium, as I did in 1994? I don't see why we shouldn't act as more than an intermediary and have an equity participation." Fry also stated that Lehman Brothers would probably take an equity or financing role in a consortium and that it is already talking to potential partners.
Spanish Operator Offers Lottery Products Via SMS
In Spain LotoJuegos.com now offers users of the Movistar service the ability to buy tickets for lottery games Loteria Primitiva, Euromillones, Gordo de la Primitiva and Bonoloto via mobile phone SMS messages.
Avago Launches on NTL, Changes Ownership
Interactive media group Yoomedia signed an agreement last month to operate its Avago interactive numbers betting channel on the NTL cable television network in the United Kingdom. Two weeks later, British gaming group Gala signed a deal to acquire the Avago brand and all associated intellectual property, along with its database of over 250,000 registered customer accounts, from YooMedia. Gala plans to re-brand the numbers game channel and re-launch it by the end of the third quarter of 2006. YooMedia will receive a net income contribution of between £5.1 million and £8.05 million depending on performance of the channel over an initial three-year period in which it will continue to receive a share of gaming revenues and offer support.