The U.K. government today confirmed it has rejected a bid by the racing industry to buy the state-owned bookmaker Tote and said it will now prepare for an open market sale. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the bid did not meet the independent assessment of the Tote's market value, which is understood to have been assessed at £400 million. The DCMS said it would have to get the full price to comply with EU state aid rules.
Ladbrokes, the first company to take advantage of relaxed gambling advertising standards, will release two new TV ad campaigns. The first campaign, a plug for LadbrokesBingo.com funded by £2 million, is set to air beginning this week. A second £2 million campaign for LadbrokesCasino.com will air beginning airing in April. The casino commercials feature documentary-style stories that involves individuals with bizarre behavior going to extremes to satisfy their need for excitement. The results are comical, yet fatal.
888 has enlisted Asian marketing group Macom to help them penetrate the Asia region including China, Japan, and Korea etc. Macom will provide the full range of marketing services to 888, from licensing to marketing campaign, and Macom's subsidiary Entertasia will be the exclusive supplier of a live dealer casino solution for the 888shenren casino game site.
CryptoLogic today announced the return of Stephen Freedhoff to its board of directors. Freedhoff, a chartered accountant and certified financial planner, previously as a director and chairman of CryptoLogic's audit committee. He has been brought back to replace Brian Hadfield, who stepped in as company CEO last week when former CEO Javaid Aziz announced his retirement.
Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., on Tuesday re-introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Taxation Act -- the companion bill to Rep. Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. It is the same bill that was introduced on June 7, 2007. It would still create a 2 percent tax on Internet gambling deposits, with half earmarked to federal government and half earmarked to the state government.
Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a nonbinding, symbolic measure to have President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney arrested for "crimes against our Constitution," Reuters reports. The measure instructs police in Brattleboro and Marlboro to "extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them."
The London Stock Exchange saw lots of movement from gaming companies today. On the up side, BSkyB put on 12.50p to 562.50. Playtech was also up 12.50 to 397, while 888 added 3.25p to 143, Rank Group gained 3.0p to 98 and William Hill closed at 371, up 4.75p. On the other hand, PartyGaming fell 2.50p to 25.0 and Sportingbet closed down 3.50p at 45.25.