Broken Vow? -- Virgin Enterprises has registered the domain name VirginNationalLottery.com despite founder Sir Richard Branson's vow (after the contract was awarded to Camelot in 2001) to never again bid for the U.K. National Lottery license. According to a company spokesperson, "He has no intention of bidding. It was purely a defensive measure. We register Virgin Web sites the whole time to stop third parties taking advantage." Bidding for the next National Lottery license will begin in 2006, and bookmaking giant Ladbrokes is also expected to vie for the prize.
Closer Analysis -- Officers of Racing Victoria met today to outline measures designed to combat illegal drugs and betting in racing. The organization says it will expend its real-time analysis of betting trends across all local and out of state wagering operators, and the technology to provide the relevant information to the Stewards' Room before each race is expected to be in place before the Spring Racing Carnival.
Macs Welcome -- Gibraltar-based Cassava Enterprises, operator of 888.com (Casino on Net) and Pacific Poker, this month launched versions of its casino and poker software that have been designed exclusively for Macintosh users. Players at both new sites can play for free or for real money and have access to all the same bonuses, promotions and features available via standard Windows-operated computers. Mac Pacific Poker users can also participate in the same player network as the other PC users.
Anti-Betfair -- The Australian Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Council and the Queensland Racehorse Owners Association have both issued statements in opposition to Betfair's potentially receiving a license to operate a betting exchange out of Tasmania. Wayne Milner, chairman of the Australian Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Council, stated, "Despite many efforts, racing does not face the same intense public scrutiny as publicly listed companies and there seems to be an assumption that unethical, unfair and dangerous practices only occur on race days. What Betfair does is to open a can of worms where the well being of the horse can be put at risk by unscrupulous trainers who can choose to over feed or over train or race a horse with an injury because now there is a the chance of making money from the horse losing." He added, "The Tasmanian government may be getting some short term financial gain but they are buying themselves a wide range of problems that can only hurt the health of Tasmanian Racing and Australian Racing."
Quoteworthy -- "With Internet betting, we've seen the money doesn't come from track betting, it comes from OTBs. We've got to figure out a way to bring in new fans, but we’ve got to realize our fan base always is going to be older people. You’ve got to get young people aware of the sport so that in ten to 15 years when they have a little more free time and a little more disposable income, they'll turn to horse racing. Any way you can get the sport in front of people, you have a chance of building a fan base. You’ve got to keep up with changes in society. I think if people could bet in the comfort of their own homes, that would be a key."
- Jim Edgar, the former two-term governor of Illinois who is now a director of horse race wagering and content provider Youbet.com.