Quoteworthy -- "We'll look at what's good for Tasmania, and we don't need to be threatened by private companies interstate. They're wasting their time. Talk about Tasmania being removed from the SuperTab pool is. . . not going to influence me or my cabinet one iota."
- Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon, who has confirmed that his cabinet will decide on whether betting exchange Betfair should be granted a license to operate in Tasmania. One of the main reasons the Tasmanian government is considering issuing a license to Betfair is that Australian betting company Tabcorp insists that TOTE Tasmania pay 17 percent of its operating costs for access to the SuperTAB. Betfair says it would invest more than AU$50 million in a Tasmanian headquarters and hi-tech infrastructure in addition to paying a multi-million dollar annual licensing fee and creating hundreds of new jobs. The threat to racing's integrity remains the predominant argument against licensing Betfair.
Aus Racing on UK TV -- William Hill's television channel on April 21 will begin broadcasting up to 11 hours of live Australian horse racing every day. William Hill has picked up Australian racing on a three-month trial basis and may choose to continue coverage longer or drop it depending on its popularity. If the popularity of American racing in Britain is any indicator of how successful Australian racing will be, then the channel will almost surely extend its coverage. Now that British punters can watch American, Australian and British racing, they can practically watch and bet 24 hours a day.
Broadcast Sponsorship -- Betfair has announced its first ever broadcasting sponsorship will be for test cricket on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom this summer. Beginning May 22, the Betfair and Betfair Poker sponsorship will cover the npower test cricket series: England vs. Bangladesh and England vs. Australia. The six-figure deal also includes The Cricket Show, a weekly half-hour show transmitting from May 22 to September 10.
More Payment Options -- GoldenPalace.com is now offering the myCitadel service to its customers as an instant payment option. Citadel Commerce Corp's myCitadel service enables users to store real cash online, transfer funds into a myCitadel wallet directly from a bank, transfer funds to a bank account and purchase from participating online merchants without incurring any fees or sharing any personal banking information. Last week Bodog.com announced that it had begun offering myCitadel services to its customers. . . . The Golden Palace marketing machine continues to utilize eBay auctions. The company's latest purchase (for $16,000) is the naming rights to triplets that are due to be born in August. CEO Richard Rowe says one of the children will definitely be named GoldenPalace.com, but the other two names will not be revealed until the children are born.
Poker Beat -- Bravo Resources Ltd. has signed a letter of intent to acquire SPI Productions, whose core service is the production and marketing of "the Strip Poker Invitational," a video production series that will be hosted by Carmen Electra and produced by Michael Berk, co-creator and executive producer of "Baywatch." The companies say the Strip Poker Invitational Series will integrate the thrills of strip poker with the "anything-can-happen" dynamics of reality TV. The series will feature tournament-style shows with six female contestants each. . . SportDirect Inc., the media company that owns Covers.com and WagerLine.com, has announced the launch of its new online magazine PokerFan.com. The new site offers poker tips and strategies, news and exclusive content from poker professionals and writers, including Dave Scharf and Devin Armstrong.
Sportsbook.com -- Sportsbook.com, the flagship brand for Sportingbet in America, has signed an agreement with Mazda to sponsor the Mazda/Courage/B-K Motorsports team entry in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) for the 2005 season. The ALMS is the U.S. version of the internationally famous 24-hour LeMans in France. The series will feature 10 North American events in 2005. Sportsbook.com will also present the ALMS event in Atlanta April 15-17.