Unlimited Skills -- The Guardian Unlimited, the online version of the British newspaper the Guardian, has added a skill gaming site to its online portfolio. "Gameszone" features 10 classic real-money multiplayer games and tournaments powered by the GameAccount network. GameAccount delivers games such as gin rummy and backgammon, and P2P variants of other games such as blackjack and mahjong.
Sky Fantasy -- Online gaming providers Fun Technologies Inc. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fanball UK Limited, has signed an agreement with British Sky Broadcasting Limited to build, host, operate and maintain an online fantasy sports Web site for Sky's sports portal, skysports.com. The site is scheduled to launch this spring prior to the World Cup.
Canada -- Federal and provincial Ontario government officials met last week with representatives from local casinos and racetracks to discuss what to do about the rise in illegal Internet gambling and the effects it is having on casino and racing industries. Ontarians are reportedly spending an estimated $300 million a year on Internet gambling. "It's one of those issues that kind of creeps up on you a bit," said Minister of Government Gerry Phillips, who is responsible for the oversight of gambling in the province. According to the Toronto Star, three solutions were discussed at the meeting: stopping the advertising of gambling sites, going after the operators with criminal charges and setting up a government-licensed Web site to keep the revenues in Ontario. The group will meet again in May and will be joined by representatives of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Russia -- The lower house of the Russian Parliament last month approved a bill on the government regulation of gambling, which designates casinos, slot machines and bookmaking as authorized gambling activities but places a quota on the number of gambling houses in Russia. The quota would lower the number of gambling facilities in Russia from 60 casinos and 3,000 slot machine halls to just 50 all-encompassing gambling houses. But Alexey Savatyugin, who heads the Russian Finance Ministry's department for financial policy, is now suggesting striking the quotas from the gambling bill, which may cause the bill to stall indefinitely in Parliament.
Billionaires -- Husband and wife team Russell De Leon and Ruth Parasol, who own 31.4 percent of online gaming company PartyGaming, have placed 17th on the 2006 Sunday Times "Rich List" with a combined fortune of £2.016 billion. The couple's partner, PartyGaming's Anurag Dikshit, who appeared on the Asian rich list two weeks ago, came in at No. 26 with a net worth of £1.7 billion. Victor Chandler came in at 129, with £500 million, and Betfair co-founders Andrew Black and Ed Wray tied for 266th place with £230 million each. Number 442, new entries Peter Coates and his daughter, Denise, who launched their online firm Bet365 in 2000, are now worth £126 million. "It's the betting boom for Britain's new billionaires," Philip Beresford, the compiler of the list, said. "This year's list reflects the way Internet gambling has taken off."
TV Gaming -- British Television production company Tinopolis is making a foray into the world of gaming by producing five new gaming-themed programs through its subsidiary, Sunset and Vine, that will air on broadband television channel Challenge TV. PokerStars.com is sponsoring the European Poker Tour, which just finished filming in seven European cities, and the World Cup of Poker 2006, which will be shot this summer in Barcelona. The Interpoker.com-sponsored University Poker Clash will crown the best college poker players. Finally, Showbiz Poker and Showbiz Blackjack will pit celebrities against each other. The total worth of the deal is believed to be worth over £4 million.
Appointment -- Gaming technology provider GTECH Holdings Corporation announced today the appointment of Cornelia "Connie" Laverty as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Laverty has served for the last year as CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Prior to that, she spent over 30 years with the New York Lottery.
Mahjong for Finsoft -- Online casino and sports betting software provider Dynasty Gaming Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, Mahjong Systems Limited, has signed a partnership agreement with Finsoft Limited, covering the distribution of Dynasty's Mahjong Mania software to Finsoft's clients, which include Stan James, Betfred and Sportingbet. Finsoft specializes in real-time transaction and information management systems. Under the terms of the partnership, Dynasty will earn licensing fees and revenue from each gaming network on which Finsoft installs Mahjong Mania software.
Branded Partner Services -- Finland-based gaming company PAF Group and Finnish lottery technology group European Game and Entertainment Technology Ltd. Ab (EGET) are offering European non-gaming consumer brands the opportunity to extend their business into the gaming market. The "Branded Partner Services" concept is a fully managed e-gaming service comprising a complete games portfolio, technical and operational services as well as a gaming license that will enable consumer brands to establish gaming businesses with minimal investments in time and resources.