Glass Half Full -- According to a survey conducted by I-gaming portal 777.com, 75 percent of respondents believe that online gambling will be legalized in the United States within the next three years. The figures broke down as follows: 42 percent of respondents said the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) would be lifted in 2007; 13 percent, 2008; 9 percent, 2009; and 11 percent 2010.
No Deal -- After media sources on Wednesday suggested that Harrah's had announced a sponsorship agreement with World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), CardPlayer.com reports WSOP communications director Gary Thompson said WSOPE has yet to reach a deal with Harrah's and remains in discussions with several potential sponsors, Party Poker among them.
Multi-Lingual -- Everest Poker has added Polish to the list of languages supported by its poker software. "Poland has embraced poker wholeheartedly and we want to make it as easy as possible for more people there to understand and enjoy the game," said Everest Poker property manager Jonathan May.
Quashed Rumors -- PokerNews.com on Thursday reported that an unnamed online gaming company "with a poker room of its own" had expressed interest in acquiring Everest Poker. However, Melissa Pauléat of the Montreal-based poker site told eGaming Review that the rumors "are not true at all."
Fined -- Italian football club AC Milan has been fined $134,000 for donning their bwin-branded apparel during a Champion's League match with Bayern Munich, said a Munich city council spokesman on Thursday. Under German law, only state-owned betting companies may advertise in Bavaria (and other states) in the country.
Quoteworthy -- "America's most likely response is to do nothing. After all, two tiny islets less than three times the size of Washington, D.C., have little chance of forcing it to yield. Antigua is hoping that right will trump might and that America will submit to the ruling to protect the integrity of the WTO, a body it appealed to this week in a piracy dispute with China. If moral suasion fails, Antigua says it might engage in a bit of music or software piracy, a form of retaliation permitted by WTO rules. The odds of America folding, although low, have improved."
- From The Economist, regarding Antigua's long-standing dispute with the United States over I-gaming restrictions before the World Trade Organization.
Sounding Off -- The Financial Times reports on U.S. Congressman Barney Frank's effort to repeal the UIGEA. Hopes have been "damped," the paper said, as the prospect of a reversal in both the House and Senate would constitute a long-shot. Frank told journalists in Brussels on Thursday that he remained committed to overturning the legislation, saying of last year's arrest of a "senior British gambling executive," "… one of the most Stalinist things I have ever seen my government do was to arrest this poor guy."
Stock Watch -- On the LSE today, CryptoLogic is up 21.50p to 1,293, William Hill is up 2p to 637 and 888 is down 2p to 128.