New Stuff -- BetWWTS.com today announced the opening of its land-based betting and wagering facility, the Grand Princess Casino, in Jolly Harbour in Antigua. The facility offers betting on horse racing, football, basketball, soccer and a variety of other sports as well as a full casino. Simon Noble, the CEO of BetWWTS.com, said having a bricks-and-mortar gaming site will be a marketing asset. "Opening a traditional sports book in a casino resort adds to the portfolio of gaming properties managed by BetWWTS.com while providing a distinct market advantage over other Internet gaming companies," he said. ... Zone4Play is offering a new game, called "Reals," in conjunction with the fixed odds slot machines on Sky's Avago portal in the United Kingdom. The game, a real-money slot machine, has a "cool and youthful design," according to Zone4Play. Avago has 80,000 registered viewers and has awarded £500,000 in prizes since March of this year. ... Victoria's Poker put out a press release saying that it's a site where "everyone plays," i.e., even novices and people interested in "female-friendly" games. The San Jose company states: "Women who play poker are delighted that the site is kept 'female friendly' through player protection monitoring that results in chat expulsion for lewd, offensive or threatening language or conduct. No one at Victoria's is allowed to bully anyone else, and the results make for a gentlemen and ladies [sic] game."
From Down Under -- The news site theage.com.au reported today that the New South Wales government is not supportive of a proposal from Kerry Packer in favor of interactive television betting. Grant McBride, the minister for racing and gaming, has told state and federal lawmakers that the plan should be blocked because restrictions on gambling should be left in place. "It will lead to an expansion of gambling and that, because of the specific nature of it, will lead to for those people who have a gambling problem a greater risk for those people," he said. "I'm saying you don't need to have this in people's homes."
Legal Stuff -- The attorney general of New Mexico is warning consumers in her state to beware of "mail, e-mail, or other promotional information circulating about international lotteries," Attorney General Patricia Madrid specifically stated that consumers should not pay attention to promotions from the El Gordo Lottery in Spain. Madrid told her constituents "most promotions for foreign lotteries are likely to be phony." According to Madrid's office, many complaints have been received by the Consumer Protection Division about foreign lotteries requesting people's personal banking information.
Data Hub -- A study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology concludes that people who narrowly miss incurring a big gambling loss will continue to risk more than gamblers who lose a jackpot. In the study, students were given tokens that could be exchanged for money at the end of the experiment. They could bet tokens on the outcome of a spinning wheel, which was manipulated, to often land on "bankrupt" or else just miss awarding a jackpot. Students who came close to hitting bankrupt ended up gambling more than those who just missed the jackpot. The study reports that the students felt it was their personal luck or skill that made them feel like they could change the chance outcome.
Names and Faces -- Mark McGuinness is leaving his position as marketing controller at betinternet.com as of April 30 after three years with the company. McGuinness said he is leaving to take a new position in London.