Nambling Notes - April 25, 2008

25 April 2008

David Carruthers, former C.E.O. of BetonSports now living on house arrest in St. Louis, Mo., ran the St. Louis Marathon in early April. After training for 19 weeks, Mr. Carruthers clocked in, by his own stopwatch, at 4:05:00. According to the St. Louis Marathon Web site, Mr. Carruthers’ time was 4:05:27. Not bad for 50.

Michael Lipton, a Toronto-based gaming attorney, discussed with Interactive Gaming News the possibility of an online gaming ban -- a la the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act -- in Canada as proposed by Roy Cullen, MP.

”Over the last 60 to 70 years, every change to the Criminal Code but one -- and that was only for a short period -- was in the direction of regulation, not prohibition,” Mr. Lipton said.

Bwin Interactive Entertainment, the Austria-based online gambling operator, was granted in March a license from the U.K. Financial Services Authority to operate an e-money provider, enabling the company to offer payment options -- including prepaid cards -- and cooperate directly with other issuers such as MasterCard or Visa.

Youbet, the California-based advance deposit wagering company with a revolving executive door, announced a new chief executive Friday after interim C.E.O. Gary Sproule resigned Thursday. The reason behind Mr. Sproule's resignation is unclear, but he is replaced by Michael Brodsky, the company's board chairman. Mr. Sproule served as the company's C.O.O. until December when he stepped in to replace outgoing C.E.O. Charles Champion.

Betsson, the Sweden-based online gambling operator, will on its May 12 annual shareholders meeting present investors with a dividend 5 Swedish kronor, or 83 cents, per share.

On the London Stock Exchange Friday William Hill closed up 7.75p to 403.50, Ladbrokes closed up 2p to 330.25, while Neteller closed down 2.75p to 60 and Playtech closed down 5p to 430.




Emily Swoboda is the senior staff writer at IGamingNews. She lives in St. Louis, Mo.