Tas Speculation -- Tasmanian newspaper The Mercury reports that Geoff Harper, chairman of the Tasmanian Thoroughbred Racing Council, is certain that the Tasmanian government will not award a betting exchange license to Betfair despite reports of negotiations between Betfair and the government. According to Harper, the negotiations were held so that Tasmanian Racing could get a better deal from Victorian betting firm TABcorp, to whom TOTE Tasmania pays 17 percent of its own operating costs as a fee to participate in the SuperTAB wagering pool. The fee significantly lowers the TOTE's contribution to the Tasmanian racing industry. "This is all about the state government reducing the payment," Harper said. "We would be hoping the Victorians drop the unjust fee they are charging us and the matter will go away." Harper also said that if Tasmania licensed a betting exchange it would be expelled from the SupterTAB pool and from coverage on Sky Channel, and that Tasmanians would not be able to race horses in other states because they would not be recognized by the Australian Rules of Racing.
Quoteworthy -- "This is the election of a significant head of state, and quite frankly, the Catholic Church is getting on with electing a head of state. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to give our clients and the people of Australia an opportunity to be part of that."
- Michael Sullivan, CEO of Sportingbet Australia, responding to criticism from representatives of the Catholic Church over the company's taking bets on who will be the next pope. Sportingbet Australia and many other sports books have been taking bets on the pope's successor for several weeks (and for over a year in Paddy Power's case), but most suspended betting during the days preceding and following his death.
Cash Out -- Mark Blandford, founder and executive vice chairman of Sportingbet, raised £6.5 million yesterday by selling just 17 percent of his stake in the company. According to Blandford, "I have had more than 90 per cent of my wealth tied up in one company for more than eight years. This is just a tiny readjustment of my assets. I am still absolutely committed to Sportingbet and its continued success." Blandford still owns 4 percent of Sportingbet, which is now valued at about £34 million.
Welcome Aboard -- Gaming Corporation, owner of casino.co.uk, has appointed William Grimes, a former senior executive of London Clubs International, to its board of directors. Grimes has over 35 years of experience in the gaming industry, having served as a director for London Clubs and Head of International Development for London Clubs Limited as well as director of London Clubs' Mayfair casino and manager of several casinos in the United Kingdom and abroad. Meanwhile, David Rogers and Charles Black are resigning as directors of Gaming Corp. The company has made several moves and announcements in the last few weeks, including the acquisition of Got2Bet.com, the launch of a mobile casino for cellular operator Orange, the launch of gaming portals skillgaming.co.uk and Findpoker.com, and a raising of £10 million through a share placement.