Currthers in Court -- Ex-BetonSports CEO David Carruthers remained in custody today while attorneys worked out the details of his release. Carruthers' attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said on Friday that a $1 million bond had been posted and that Carruthers would likely go free today, but a spokesperson for U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler said that not all of the conditions of bail had been met. Rosenblum said Carruthers may be released as early as tomorrow morning. In a separate courtroom, despite another no-show by BoS's lawyers, District Judge Carol E. Jackson extended the temporary restraining order barring BoS from taking bets from U.S. customers to give prosecutors more time to properly serve the papers.
Measures in Costa Rica -- The Costa Rican Electronic Gambling Association plans to lobby the Costa Rican government to allow more than 200 online gambling firms to remain open in the country despite the closure of BetonSports. "The case of BoS is between them and the U.S. government,'' said the group's president, Eduardo Agami, who added that his association's members plan to analyze the situation and work on a plan to "calm the firms' employees, the clients and the government." Agami said he believes the industry is in need of strong regulation. ''We believe that the industry could be productive for Costa Rica and should be allowed," he said. "In the United Kingdom, for instance . . . they regulate it with operating licenses. Here they need to establish the limits."
Fantastically Global -- Mark Campbell, chairman of I-gaming content provider Gextech, today confirmed the company's intent to go global with its "Fantastic League" virtual football concept, having put licensing agreements in place for the Middle East and Scandinavia. He also said that while Fantastic League has been Gextech's lead product, the company has big plans for expansion. "We are building on our extensive experience in developing and porting high-quality gaming solutions to multi-platform environments, as well as guaranteeing good opportunities in other high-growth markets, such as mobile games for lotteries, promotional games for marketing purposes or interactive TV content," he said.
PPA's Numbers -- The Poker Players Alliance, which launched a letter-writing campaign in June urging online poker players to ask their senators to reconsider passing the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, says it has far exceeded its original goal of 100,000 members. The organization continues to push for more members, particularly while the Senate is in recess. The bill, which has already passed in the House, received no attention in the Senate before the Aug. 4 break.
888 Sponsorships -- Online gambling company 888, which recently announced a two-year jersey sponsorship agreement with Toulouse Football Club in France, today announced an agreement through which it will be the official club sponsor of Spanish La Liga side Sevilla, for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 football seasons. The company also has partnerships with Middlesbrough Football Club and the World Snooker Championships.
Stock Watch -- I-gaming stocks on the LSE today were relatively motionless, with the exception of a few companies. Stanley Leisure climbed 19p to close at 619.50, and William Hill gained 4p to close at 604p. Sportingbet, however, lost 10p closing at 233.75, while World Gaming dropped 4.50p to 60p.