Sportingbet Talks -- Reuters reports that Sportingbet is the latest U.K.-listed online gambling business to engage in talks with U.S. authorities. CEO Andy McIver told the news agency that the company is working on a deal to end the threat of prosecution for taking bets from U.S. customers. "We are in talks," McIver said. "It's a very slow process, you work to their agenda." Rival firms PartyGaming and 888.com have had similar discussions with the U.S. authorities.
Fun Feud -- Skill games provider and Fun Technologies subsidiary WorldWinner today introduced an online real-money version of "Family Feud," the popular long-running TV game show. The new game, a product of a deal between WorldWinner and FremantleMedia Enterprises, licensor of Family Feud, enables players to compete against each other online for cash prizes. WorldWinner has launched a television advertising campaign in conjunction with the launch.
EIG 6 -- Over 1,000 professionals in the I-gaming industry today witnessed the commencement of the sixth annual European I-Gaming Congress & Expo in Barcelona. The day's conference sessions included discussions on harmonizing EU I-gaming regulations and an evaluation of US policy, as well as an I-gaming CEO panel. Casual games, affiliate marketing, mobile betting and gambling in the Web 2.0 era are just a few of the many topics on tap for Wednesday and Thursday. The expo hours have been expanded, meanwhile, to span all three days of the event.
Predicting the Future -- Slotland is vying for the coveted psychic market by introducing a new game, "FourCast," through which players predict the suit and/or value of cards as they are dealt. Four cards are dealt face down and the player predicts the suit and/or value of the next card dealt. Bets multiply exponentially each round. Third- and fourth-round winnings increase by 50 percent or 100 percent respectively.
Quoteworthy -- "Two years ago, when you spoke of this subject, France could say, 'But the great majority of European states are like me, protectionist and monopolistic.' Two years later, you can't say the same thing anymore. The states which were extremely protective of their monopolies like Italy have changed their policies and opened their market. Other states, notably eastern countries have done the same. Sweden is also taking stock of this phenomenon and Belgium is on the verge of adopting a new law to regulate on-line gaming. There's important resistance of course too but in this case, it's true that the EU and the Court of Justice are acting as the driving force."
- Thibault Verbiest, a lawyer with Paris-based Ulys, as quoted by Bloomberg, commenting on the European Commission's campaign against gaming monopolies.