Fred -- England's Manchester United Football Club announced today a new partner to its family of sponsors. Independent bookmaker Betfred has become the team's official bookmaking and online gaming partner in a multi-million-pound deal that will see all the betting kiosks in the stadium and corporate areas re-branded. Additionally, a co-branded Betfred/Manchester United Web site will be offering exclusive Betfred gaming including poker, casino and traditional betting.
Tourney Time -- The fifth annual PokerStars.com World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) begins on Sept. 16 with a guaranteed prize pool of $10 million. Hosted by Team PokerStars' own Barry Greenstein (a.k.a. "The Robin Hood of Poker"), the event will run over the course of 16 days and feature 18 poker tournaments. And for the first time, PokerStars is including H.O.R.S.E. the first time in a major online tournament.
Behind Carruthers -- Despite firing David Carruthers following his well publicized arrest in Dallas and arraignment in St. Louis, BetonSports doesn't appear to be abandoning its former CEO. As stipulated under the terms of Carruthers' release on Wednesday, BoS could not pay his bond money, but IGN has learned from an unnamed source very close to BoS that key persons within the company played an active role in raising the money. How the money was raised and who took part in the process was not disclosed.
Duck out of Luck -- Four men were indicted Wednesday on charges of running an illegal gambling operation out of Costa Rica called bettheduck.com. A 12-count indictment unsealed Tuesday charges two Americans and two Costa Rica residents with conspiracy and conducting an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to launder funds from the business and other federal charges. The men were arrested on July 26. Bettheduck.com has since been removed from the Internet.
Seen This, Not Scared -- Excapsa Software CEO Jim Ryan yesterday dismissed the regulatory crisis facing the industry in the United States following the arrest of David Carruthers and the legislative push for Internet gambling prohibition in the country. "We have seen this before," he said. "We do not see ourselves being subjected to the same level of scrutiny (as BetonSports)." Ryan has visited the United States three times since Carruthers was arrested in Texas in July.
Bodog Bahamas Bound -- Online gambling and entertainment company Bodog has settled on the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas as the new setting for the Bodog Marketing Conference, which was originally scheduled for July in Las Vegas but postponed after the BetOnSports bust came to light. The dates for the new conference have yet to be confirmed, but the content of the conference will remain the same. The company did not state whether CEO Calvin Ayre's commitment to the study of bear bile will permit him to make an appearance at the conference.
Stock Watch -- The London Stock Exchange today saw activity from I-gaming stocks that have been relatively immobile lately. Fireone rose 15p to 235; William Hill rose 11.50p to 630; Ladbrokes rose 6.25p to 394; and World Gaming ended the day up 6p at 70. Playtech dropped 8p to 227.