Acquired -- Fluxx AG announced today that it has won its takeover bid for German horse betting company Sportwetten.de AG. Fluxx now holds a 59.6 percent stake in the company and has the possibility of extending its holding in the future.
Split and Listing -- 24hPoker Holding AB has revealed today that on Jan. 21 it will be listed as Entraction AB on the First Northmarketplace of the OMX Nordic Stock Exchange. 24h announced in December plans to split the company into two components: the supplier organization and the gaming operations. Entraction AB reflects the new name of the software supplier.
Quoteworthy -- "The commission does not believe this piece of legislation is in line with community law."
- Oliver Drewes, spokesperson for EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, told the International Herald Tribune on Tuesday that the European Commission would possibly decide by the end of the month whether or not to pursue legal action against Germany for its Internet gambling ban.
Someone Needs a Ban-Aid -- Speaking of bans, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is planning to introduce an amendment to the Lottery Act (the country's gambling law) that would protect citizens from losing too much money gambling online. The proposal enables players to reclaim their losses and the payers would potentially be the online gambling companies or the winning players. The Ministry is confident that this law, in practice, would create a self-imposed ban of Internet gambling altogether because foreign companies would find it too great a risk to operate in Finland.
Stock Watch -- 888 closed on the LSE at 134.50, down 7.5p, while Sportech ended the day down 4p to 89, Playtech fell 4.25p to 340.75 and BSkyB closed at 523, down 12p. Meanwhile, Rank Group gained 2.75p to 87.