Tight-Lipped -- Following his congressional hearing on Friday regarding online gambling, Barney Frank has yet to comment on the future of his bill to regulate the industry within the United States. Frank's spokesperson Steve Adamske refused to comment on upcoming actions Frank would be pursuing, but urged Americans who support the legislation to contact their congressional representatives.
Inked -- PartyGaming recently announced that it has completed a deal allowing advertising network Traffic Marketplace to provide exclusive ads for PartyGaming's U.S.-facing play-for-fun poker rooms and poker school. The arrangement will allow Traffic to both place ads within PartyGaming operations and to market Party brands elsewhere on the Internet. Ads from Traffic Marketplace reached 108 million Internet users last year, or 61 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic.
Conflict Rising -- Now that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has stated that it is the only body in the island nation with the power to issue gaming licenses, economic groups such as the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone (ZCSEZ) and the Freeport Authority are beginning to come into conflict over the financial fallout. If the conflict continues, Pagcor predicts that the nation considerably less attractive as a host for online gaming companies. Companies in the region have begun to make contingency plans outside of the ZCSEZ in case the conflict continues.
Offer Made -- Fluxx AG has expressed an interest in purchasing a majority stake in German lotteryLotto Rheinland-Pfalz GmbH. Although the lottery was originally intended to be taken over by the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate, Fluxx officials hope that their reportedly more attractive offer will convince shareholders to give them a controlling interest over the state.
Accused -- Prime Table Games (PTG) has accused Antigua and Barbuda of hypocrisy in its dispute with the United States, claiming that the twin island nation has violated its own copyrights while making a similar claim against the United States. PTG claims it owns the rights to Three Card Poker and therefore deserves damages in the form of any revenue that resulted from unlawful use of the game by Antigua-based online casinos. Although financial retribution is doubtful, PTG seems more concerned with calling out the hypocrisy of the situation.
Expanding -- Bodog.com is planning an expansion into the European market in the fall of 2007, beginning with the launch of its first online bingo game and a revised version of its poker product. Representatives of the company have stated that they hope to have a full sports book operational in Europe by the end of 2007.
Stock Watch -- Multimedia Games will be initiating a tender offer to buy back more than two million shares of its common stock between now and July 10, 2007. All shares will be sold for between US$12.50 and $13.50 in a modified "Dutch Auction" system that the company hopes will provide liquidity and a stable sale price for any investors wishing to sell their shares.