Girlfriend's Account -- The British Jockey Club has released some of the details of their case against Miles Rodgers, the former managing director of Platinum Racing who was last week banned from racing for two years because he was found to have laid his own horses on Betfair. Rodgers had been using an account in the name of Joannie Richardson, his former girlfriend, to match bets four days a week, matching over £4 million a year taking turnover in the top 1 percent of Betfair's 300,000 accounts. Richardson's account actually listed an address, phone number, and pin number that belonged to Rodgers. Tuesday was the deadline for Rodgers to appeal the Jockey Club's decision.
Racing Deal -- Racecourse Holdings Trust (RHT), > which owns seven large tracks and six small ones and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Jockey Club, has reached an agreement with Channel 4 that will allow the channel to broadcast racing at its tracks for another 18 months. Cheltenham, Newmarket, Kempton, Sandown, and the six small tracks are included in the deal. Channel 4, which has covered racing for over 20 years, had earlier said that it would completely walk away from televising racing if it did not receive rights to the Cheltenham Festival.
Pop-ups -- Some online casinos have placed pop-up advertisements on the message board section of the Australian Gambler's Anonymous Web site, prompting administrators to post the warning: "Please be aware that there are pop-up advertisements in the top panel of the message board. Some of them are for online gambling, and it is recommended that you do not click any of the links." Gambler's Anonymous has so far been unable to block the pop-ups, but is currently attempting to update the site to prevent them. The group has condemned the pop-ups as an immoral attempt to lure those who are seeking help.
Quoteworthy -- "We are very pleased that the Committee, which has done an extremely thorough piece of work, has said that professional layers on exchanges should be registered, regulated, and taxed. It is a practical and sensible proposal and removes the anonymity of those layers who are quite clearly acting in way of business. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Betfair, should put this proposal into immediate effect via a Code of Practice. They should do that forthwith; they shouldn't wait for the passage of the Bill or the establishment of the Gambling Commission. We did the same with Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. We moved from our ideal position and reached an agreement with the government. It is entirely reasonable to expect immediate action on a Code of Practice."
-- Chris Bell, chief executive of Ladbrokes.
Odds on Fox -- BoDog.com is now the exclusive provider of sports lines on FoxSports.com, providing betting odds on NFL, NCAA football and basketball, NBA, NHL, and MLB. The specifics of the deal have not been disclosed, but Sports911.com, a site that frequently features articles by BoDog's CEO Cole Turner, states that BoDog paid $1 million for the exclusive privilege. Look for a story on IGN next week.
Disagreement -- CasinoWebcam, a provider of live online gaming software and services announced today that its exclusive agreement with HGN and its president Mel Molnick is still in effect and has been so since November 2003. The company also said it will vigorously enforce its rights under the agreement. The announcement comes three days after HGN announced that it had terminated its agreement with CasinoWebcam. HGN claims that CasinoWebcam may no longer use or sub-license its patent.
New Diamonds -- Software provider Diamond Games has released six new concept games that are available in all of its licensed casinos. The new offering includes two slot machines, Hidden Loot and Dash For Cash, which feature game-within-a-game bonus rounds. The company has also updated its On The Ball game and added dice to On A Roll, its instant play lotto soft games platform. Pontoon and Pirate 21, two blackjack variants, round out the new additions.