APPOINTED Last Friday the board of directors of Norsk Tipping A.S. appointed Torbjørn Almlid, 58, as the Norwegian national lottery operator’s new chief executive.
Mr. Almlid will leave his position as chief executive of Sykehuset Innlandet, or The Innlandet Hospital Trust, when he takes over as chief executive at the beginning of next year.
“Torbjørn Almlid has all the qualifications necessary to successfully lead Norsk Tipping through the challenges we will doubtless face in the years ahead,” said Sigbjørn Johnsen, Norsk Tipping’s chairman of the board, in a prepared statement. “He is an excellent leader and has the ability to create space for development and growth within the framework in which the company operates.”
BETFAIR BENEFIT Tote Tasmania announced yesterday it has achieved a 30 percent increase in turnover from the previous year to earn a record-breaking 498 million Australian dollars this fiscal year.
The company brought in 478 million Australian dollars in parimutuel wagering alone, which was up 27 percent compared to last year. Sports betting turnover rose by 11.8 million Australian dollars.
In a prepared statement, the company attributed the majority of its growth to customers outside of Australia betting through online and telephone accounts. It also mentions an arrangement with Betfair, which gave the company access to Betfair’s global customer base of more than one million punters and contributed to its growth in parimutuel wagering.
Michael Kent, Tote Tasmania chairman, said in the statement the company has seen movement in the mix of wagering on Tasmanian product compared to national and international product fall in recent years. Wagering on Tasmanian product accounted for 8.7 percent of total turnover in the 2006 fiscal year, he noted, but said this figure fell to 6.8 percent in 2008.
DEAL MAKERS Ukash has partnered with Telefónica S.A., a Spanish telecommunications firm, to distribute digital cash at phone kiosks across Spain.
“Kiosks are hugely widespread, present in the great majority of communities, including rural areas,” Juan Utande Ramiro, marketing director of Telefónica, was quoted by Finextra, a financial news service, as saying. “They allow services such as Ukash to conveniently reach audiences which would be almost impossible to reach otherwise.”
MOBILE MAH-JONGG Mahjong Time, an online gaming provider part-owned by CryptoLogic Ltd, announced it has signed a multi-year contract with Phantom Fiber Corporation, a developer of wireless platform software.
Under the agreement, Phantom Fiber will receive an integration fee and will then share in the ongoing revenue generated from mobile subscribers.
In addition, the mobile extension will offer features such as multiple game types, multiple languages, practice play and tournament play. The mobile product will operate throughout the world on hundreds of device types including Java phones, Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, Microsoft Pocket/PC and Smartphone-based.
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