German Bookmaking Acquittal -- IGN is investigating a report carried by Reuters regarding an independent bookmaker who, today, was acquitted by the German Federal Constitutional Court. According to a prepared statement released by the court, it determined the illegal status of sports betting in the country was ambiguous enough for the accused--a male, for whom no name was provided--to be unclear of whether he was acting legally. Moreover, the court went so far as to call the bookmaker's error "inevitable," given the indefinite character of the law. At this time, it is not known whether the acquitted bookmaker offered Internet sports-betting services. Additionally, the impact of the decision (if any) on bwin and other operators looking for a legal ingress to the German market has yet to be gauged. More on this to come.
$7 Million Memo -- In news from Australia, Tabcorp and Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a 15-year, $7 million partnership. Under the terms of the MOU, Tabcorp will support HRV through a sponsorship that gives Tabcorp naming and signage rights to HRV's new Melton Harness Racing and Entertainment Complex. "It is an investment in the future of harness racing and the future of Melton, as the complex will a focal point providing unique entertainment and employment opportunities for the local community," said HRV chairman Neil Busse.
Q2s from Zone4Play -- I-gaming content developer Zone4Play has released its second-quarter report, which shows revenue up 22 percent, $205,598 to $251,132, against figures from the previous year period. Operating loss was down 73 percent, $2.7 million to $778,052, compared to Q2 2006. Acting CEO Uri Levy said that the company has downsized its workforce to 16 employees, and has cut its monthly operating expenses to $150,000. "We are attempting to complete these changes without jeopardizing the company set goals, which are to strengthen our partnership with Two Way Media in our cross-platform, fully-legalized gambling operation in the United Kingdom, as well as to maximize our multiplayer casino tournaments engine solution and our mobile gambling offering," Levy said.
Swedish Stock Slump -- Swedish daily The Local reports that gains on the Stockholmsborsen (Stockholm Stock Exchange) have been negatively impacted--"wiped out"--due to instability in the U.S. mortgage market. Rodney Alfvén, chief analyst at Chevreuz Nordie, told the paper that bankrupt mortgage lenders were "the source of the instability." Shares in Betsson were down SEK 4.85, or 8.86 percent, to SEK 49.90, while shares in Unibet were down SEK 7.50, or 3.92 percent, to SEK 184.00.
Take a Gander -- Korean electronics giant Samsung has recently filed patents to develop a portable gaming device via its mobile phone division. Click here to view the schematics and a write-up from TrustedReviews.com. Samsung hasn't stopped at mobile gaming, however. Click here to view an interesting product and a cheeky review.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, 888 was down 6.75p to 104.25, PartyGaming was down 1.25p to 23.75 and Rank was down 9.75p to 153.75. On the Wiener Borsen, bwin was down 1.29 euros to 17.50 euros.