Fighting the Fight -- William Hill on Friday applied to the Greek government for licensure to operate sports betting outlets in the country--a conspicuous challenge against OPAP's monopoly on the market. While several news sources predict that the London-listed operator's application will be rejected, William Hill CEO David Harding said the company is prepared to take the case to the European courts if necessary. "We believe the recent European cases mean that what is happening is in breach of EU law," Harding said. "If it is rejected we will go to the courts to argue our case and that could involve going to the European Court of Justice."
Moderate Trouble -- Gaming Intelligence Group reports that Svenska Spel has been accused by Swedish MP Tomas Tobe of deliberately targeting low-income areas with gaming machines. Tobe, by way of corroborative survey findings, is arguing that the state-owned monopoly is "placing machines in low income areas with major social problems, while at the same time avoiding areas where the opposite is true." In an interview with Swedish Radio, however, Svenska Spel CEO Jasper Karrbrink said that the company was simply placing the machines "where the players are." Tobe, a Moderate Party member, added that the survey results confirm that current gaming regulations in Sweden are ineffective.
Appointed -- Winunited.com, the Maltese sports book, has appointed Ian Marshall as its CEO, effective today. Marshall, 33, was previously international business development manager at Ladbrokes.
Breaking Ground -- The Financial Times reports that Genting has received permission from Singapore to break ground on its $3.4 billion casino project on the resort island of Sentosa, despite concern regarding the Malaysian gaming group's ties with Stanley Ho, "the controversial Macau gambling tycoon."
Orwell Rolls in Grave -- The China Daily reports that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is set to dispatch "virtual cops" to "monitor and wipe out pornography, gambling and other illicit activities on the Internet" this June. The news sources quotes Zhang Xinfeng, vice-minister of the MPS, as saying: "The existence of these problems has affected the healthy development of the Internet, brought harm to the youths' minds, contaminated the social ethos and disrupted the social order." Web sites under surveillance will feature a floating cartoon icon of a policeman; the sites will also be linked to local police stations and have an alarm system, the Daily said.
Stock Watch -- Standard & Poor's Rating Services (S&P) said it has revised its outlook on Rank Group to negative (from stable). "The outlook revision follows indications that key leverage rations for 2007 will exceed previously set target levels, not helped by recent changes in U.K. gaming taxation and earnings pressures from the extension of the smoking ban in Scotland to Wales and England," S&P said. Meanwhile, Australian operator Tabcorp was dealt a setback after the Victorian government announced plans to increase the annual levy on electronic gaming machines. Tabcorp shares fell 1.5 percent to A$16.73. And on the LSE today, Ladbrokes is up 4p to 420.75, Playtech, which this morning released its annual report, is up 10.50p to 376 and William Hill is up 4p to 641.