BHB Database Case -- The European Court of Justice on Tuesday began hearing the British Horeseracing Board's (BHB) arguments that bookmaker William Hill illegally offered its customers the BHB's database containing many years of information on horses, owners and trainers. The BHB maintains that William Hill violated EU data protection laws from 1996 that were implemented into U.K. law in 1998. A British court ruled against William Hill in February 2001, but the company had the case referred to the European Court of Justice in August 2001.
Casino Europa Webcam -- Casinos Europa, a land-based Costa Rican casino group, and Casino Webcam, a provider of live online gaming software and services, have teamed up to launch a live webcam casino at www.casinoeuropawebcam.com, where players can see and hear in real-time the games they bet on via webcam. The casino features blackjack, roulette, Caribbean poker, baccarat and sic bo.
Betfair -- Betfair placed full-page advertisements in British newspapers Wednesday in an attempt to defend itself against allegations that it is corrupting horseracing and other sports. The Guardian estimated that the company spent over £20,000 on the ads, which attempt to demonstrate that bettors have always been able to back horses to lose. The ads conclude: "Both result in a . . . win. But on Betfair you'd have left an indelible audit trail which could be shared with the Jockey Club. Whereas in betting shops you'd leave no name, no trace, no suspicion whatsoever. Betfair has always sought to eradicate corruption in racing." Today the company delivered letters presenting its case to all members of Parliament.
ukbetting Purchase -- British gaming company ukbetting, which has acquired several online betting companies and content providers in the last two years, has bought Austrian GoldBet for 4.5 million euros. The purchase will occur in two phases, with ukbetting acquiring 51 percent of GoldBet immediately and then gaining the remainder in March 2006.
LegalPlay -- LegalPlay Entertainment announced it is pleased with the data from its continuing beta testing of its DailyHorse.com horse racing analysis and prediction software. The company says it assessed the proprietary algorithm for its predictive performance based on a sampling of this year's races and found that it could "predict at least one winning, placing or showing horse 90 percent of the time with respect to the top three horses as selected by the DailyHorse.com system." LegalPlay, which is trying to secure additional financing through debt or equity, has decided against acquiring GamblingVision Group after a due diligence period because the company's technology may not fit LegalPlay's core business.
Google Suit -- Digital Envoy, a company that provides geographical information about Web surfers based only on their IP addresses, has filed a patent infringement law suit against Google. The company claims that Google's use of Digital Envoy's technology to place advertisements on third-party sites is a breach of the licensing agreement between the two.