Trading Status -- While a World Trade Organization dispute panel has been finalizing its ruling on the I-gaming dispute between the United States and the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, the United States declared on Monday that Antigua and Barbuda, along with Barbados, will no longer be classified as developing nations and will therefore lose their preferential trade status on exports. The nations will be reclassified as high-income states and will lose their preferential status on January 1, 2006.
Boss and Bowman -- After announcing on October 15, 2003 that it had sold an online casino platform to a reputable betting company that wished to remain anonymous for competitive reasons, Boss Media has finally revealed that Bowman International was the purchaser. The Boss Media casino, which is available as a downloadable or browser-based application, has replaced Bowman's previous casino software on www.bowmans.com.
Pokerworld.com -- Jamaica-based online gaming company Olympic Sports Data Services has launched a new poker room at Pokerworld.com, a project on which the company spent more than two years creating. The site features chat functions and single and multi-table tournaments for fun and real money games of Texas Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, and Omaha Hi-Lo.
Bingo Cruise -- Online bingo site PartyBingo.com is one of the official co-sponsors of the 16th World Championship Bingo Tournament and Gaming Cruise in 2004. Players can log on to PartyBingo.com for the chance to win one of 15 all expenses paid packages on the Gaming Cruise's ship, the Carnival Conquest, as well as a ticket to the tournament.
Chimera -- Las Vegas based Chimera Technology is adding a comprehensive pari-mutuel thoroughbred horse race wagering platform to its suite of offerings. The platform is scheduled to launch within the next 60 days, and will at first allow players to wager on almost every race on major U.S. tracks. Chimera plans to later incorporate racing from Hong Kong's Jockey Club and other Asian racing events into the system. Earlier this week the company announced that it would also soon launch an online casino product within the next two months.