iTV Deals -- Global Interactive Gaming (GIG) and its parent company, Interactive Systems Worldwide (ISWI), announced a new partnership with Mindhouse that will see Mindhouse assist GIG in the development of a play-by-play betting system for digital television. The system will be an enhancement to GIG's SportXction platform that is in use throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. ISWI is a U.S.-based firm with its GIG operations in the United Kingdom. Mindhouse brings with it a banner list of clients, having worked in the past with the likes of the BBC, ITV, CNN, Channel 4 and Tandberg TV.
Competition for Ho -- Trying to fend of a growing number of competitors after his monopoly in Macau was lifted, tycoon Stanley Ho said he plans to invest $128 million in three Macau hotel and casino properties in the next several months. . .Ho's company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) operated as a monopoly in the territory for 42 years until the American-owned Sands Macau casino opened in mid-May. In addition to the Sands, Galaxy and Wynn Resorts of Las Vegas have increased the number of players on the Macau stage. The three new casinos come on top of the company's biggest expansion project, a $384 million extension of the Casino Lisboa called the "Grand Lisboa." SJM is constructing a 40-story building to house the Grand Lisboa, which will feature 323,000 square feet of gaming space as well as 800 hotel rooms.
The Wireless Front -- Rapid Mobile Media Ltd. has announced the signing of the first licensee for mobet, its Java-based interactive mobile betting solution. Iain Maddox, Rapid Mobiles' managing director, made the announcement through a press release on Friday and said the mobile-only betting service will be formally launched this year, at which time the identity of the new licensee will be made public. Maddox said the licensee is a new company "created specifically to be an early player in the evolving mobile betting market."
Interactive Roulette Coming to UK TV --BettingCorp UK launched a fully interactive roulette game in the United Kingdom after receiving approval from British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB) , England's leading digital television service provider. The interactive roulette game can be accessed through BettingCorp's PlayMonteCarlo betting and fixed-odds games portal service on Sky Digital's Interactive Main Menu.
Betting on Lance -- Online sports book WagerWeb.com has posted odds on six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong getting busted for blood doping. Dave Johnson, CEO of Costa Rica-based site, told Cycle World magazine the odds were posted mainly to generate interest and bring traffic to the site. The opening lines, posted this week, were +2,000 that he'll get busted and -2,500 that he won't.