IL Lottery -- The Illinois State Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allows residents to purchase Illinois lottery tickets over the Internet. Sponsored by Sen. John Cullerton, the bill would establish a pilot program through which the lottery could test an Internet-based sales system rather than jumping into a full launch. It passed by a vote of 32-24 and will now move to the House of Representatives.
Virtual Casting -- Reality InterActive Media, Inc (RIAM) says it has developed technology that could be integrated into online poker rooms to enable players to see and hear each other by using a virtual casting system. A demonstration on the company's Web site (www.realityinteractivemedia.com) shows a typical 10-seated online poker room with streaming pictures of each player's headshot replacing the standard computerized avatars. A player wishing to play on such a table would probably require a webcam.
Hill in Greece -- British bookmaker William Hill has formed an agreement with Demco Group, a company that has established several successful Greek businesses in various sectors, to explore betting opportunities in Southeastern Europe. The two companies will work together in monitoring the regulatory position of Greece, Romania and Bulgaria and pursuing any opportunities that arise if deregulation takes place in any of those jurisdictions. The agreement also lays the foundation for the two companies to form joint venture should any deregulation take place.
Movile Gaming -- Telefonica Moviles, the mobile subsidiary of Spanish telecommunication operator Telefonica, has signed an agreement with Spanish Internet gambling company Lotojuegos to launch a new service that will allow users to gamble on lotteries through their mobile phones.
Mobile PokerRoom.com -- Swedish online gaming software provider Ongame has launched its mobile multi-player poker platform. The system is available in free-play mode, with a real-money version to be made available in coming weeks. Mobile players can log onto the company's PokerRoom.com site and play against other mobile users in addition to players who have logged on via an Internet connection.