Postponed -- In a note to the London Stock Exchange today, Betex, the Asia-facing lottery and gaming company, said it will postpone its full year results--scheduled for release on May 3--owing to uncertainty over the arrests of two senior executives. On April 18, the company reported that the detained individuals were being investigated by the Chinese police on allegations of "illegal conduct," and that the investigations did not extend into its other activities. The police have also restricted access to two Beijing Lottery Technology (BLT) accounts, as one of the detained executives was a legal representative for BLT, it said. The names of the detainees have not been released.
Approved -- Dynasty Gaming has announced that the Chinese government has granted 95Joy, Dynasty's Chinese operating partner, approval for Dynasty's play-for-points mahjong software. "This product approval now clears the way for Dynasty to begin generating revenue from its China strategy," said CEO Albert Barbusci. "We are very excited about launching the mahjong game with [our] Sohu [games portal] and our prepaid card distributor, Beijing Junnet Online E-Commerce Ltd. (Junnet)" The company said prepaid cards for use on its Mahjong World Cup Web site will be distributed and sold across 7,000 Junnet-managed Internet cafes.
Joint Venturing -- Scientific Games has announced a joint venture with Chinese technology company Inspur to launch instant tickets in the Shandong Province of China. "We are very enthusiastic about the potential for the Chinese lottery market, especially instant tickets," said Scientific Games CEO Lorne Weil. "Inspur is a great asset to us as a local partner, with a robust history in Shandong, and we look forward to launching Shandong as a model for instant ticket sales throughout the PRC."
Added -- Playtech has added three new video slots games to its casino games package, which are scheduled for release in the coming weeks.
Inked -- Inspired Gaming Group and wireless broadband provider The Cloud (TC) have signed a seven-year agreement, which sees Inspired provide network services for TC. Under the terms of the deal, Inspired will extend its WiFi network for TC with the rollout of 11,000 WiFi access points across its digital entertainment terminals in pubs and other leisure sites throughout the United Kingdom. TC will pay Inspired over $2.7 million between now and July 2009, with Inspired also set to receive a share of TC's net revenue from the services it provides customers at WiFi hotspots.
Acquired -- Scientific Games has acquired instant lottery ticket manufacturer Oberthur Gaming Technologies (OGT) for $100 million. "OGT has a strong international presence in Canada and Australia, two important gaming markets for Scientific Games," said CEO Lorne Weil. In 2006, OGT reported revenues of approximately $140 million.
Board Change -- Leisure & Gaming has said Benjamin Shaw, previously an executive director, will become a non-executive director.
All that Glitters -- Third-party payments processor E-Gold has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. On Feb. 23, IGN reported that the company, in compliance with the UIGEA, had added a software option for all merchant accounts enabling gaming companies to block payments from U.S. account holders. In a prepared statement issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia today, no mention was made of illegal Internet gambling transactions.
Predatory, Acquisitive -- The Independent suggests that 888 "could turn predator" after the dissolution of its negotiations with Ladbrokes last week. "We will definitely be looking to grow, with acquisitions and not just organically," said 888 CEO Gigi Levy. The Times calls 888 "acquisitive," and quotes Levy as saying he is confident the company will have a sports-betting business by the end of this year. Levy also told the paper that the company was in talks over possible deals, including an acquisition or a joint venture
Growth-Oriented -- The Financial Times carries a piece on Gala Coral. The casino, betting and bingo operator predicts it will secure 10 percent of the Italian retail betting market, the second largest European market behind the United Kingdom, "as it seeks to demonstrate its long-term growth prospects abroad before an expected public listing." The company purchased 400 Italian licenses for a £25 million ($50 million) price tag, and plans to purchase an additional 200 betting shops. Chief executive Neil Goulden said the company would also target the Spanish sports-betting market and plan for a listing in the fourth quarter of 2009. "We would like it to be an IPO straight into the FTSE 100," Goulden told the paper. "We need that valuation to get the right return investors would be looking for."
Stock Watch -- On the LSE today, 888 is up 2.75p to 123, CryptoLogic is down 17.50 to 1,503 and PartyGaming is down 1.75p to 46.25.