Garber Exercises More Options -- PartyGaming Chief Executive Mitch Garber, in accordance with his planned sale program announced in March, has exercised 5.25 million share options at 24.41 pence per share.
Big Numbers for GigaMedia -- In a presentation at the ThinkEquity Growth Conference in San Francisco, Calif., this week, Taiwan-based software provider GigaMedia reported 6.5 million unique users in the last 30 days for its online games. The company, which operates Everest Poker, said on Monday that it had secured an exclusive license to operate the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Holic, in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The news follows GigaMedia's strong second-quarter report, released mid August.
Fore Cash -- SkillGround this morning announced the beta launch of its real-money UTour Golf game at utourgolf.com. In July, the company agreed to supply Sportingbet with real-money, peer-to-peer games.
Lucrative Maturation -- Germany-based operator Fluxx AG this morning issued a convertible bond that, by 2011, could yield as much at 9.7 million euros, which the company would use in part to place distance between itself and the cloistered German lotteries market. The company, fronted by outspoken board spokesman Rainer Jacken, said it is keeping an eye on several "interesting" acquisition targets.
The UK Responds -- The BBC carries a report documenting reactions across the United Kingdom to Wednesday's release of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007. Click here to view reactions from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and more.
The Bluegrass Debate -- The U.S. Poker Players Alliance reports that it has initiated a poker advocacy campaign in Kentucky, where elections this November could play a role in determining the fate of casino gambling in the state. The PPA hinted at its support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear, who is campaigning on the promise of allowing voters to decide if casinos should be allowed to open there. "In the polls that I've seen, 80 percent of Kentuckians want their voice heard," Kentucky Downs President Corey Johnsen told local radio station WBKO. "They want casino gambling at pari-mutuel facilities, the tracks, in the state. So, I think it's in the best interest of the legislature and the governor to allow them to vote on it." Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher has, according to the Kentucky media, made abundantly clear that his "ethics plan" did not include brining casinos to the Bluegrass State.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, PartyGaming was down 0.50p to 23.75, Neteller was down 3.25p to 88.75 and 888 was down 0.75p to 116.