More Sports/I-Gaming Convergence --Yogonet.com reports that British football club West Ham United plans to launch an online casino at Hammerscasino.com. The site will be the world's first online casino carrying the brand of a football club and will feature a graphic interface that places gamblers in a stadium, where they can walk into areas with slots and table games.
Deal Making -- Israel-based Namtiori Ltd. has been granted exclusive rights for business and technical development of the BetOnBourse Stock Exchange, a game that gives players the opportunity to profit from simulated stock and commodities trading. Namtiori said it plans to revolutionize the online gaming industry with the introduction of a unique stock exchange platform that delivers fast action, moment-by-moment excitement, and up-front profits for operators. The company's CEO, Ilya Roitman, said operators will be able to advertise in conventional online and offline "no gambling" zones. A full launch is planned for later this year.
Russian Patent -- Kenilworth reports that its patent application in Russia for a system that facilitates the broadcasting of live, in-progress casino table games from casinos to terminals in remote locations such as hotels, resorts, homes and public gathering places was approved. The application corresponds to Kenilworth's U.S. patent, which was granted in 2003 by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The company has also filed corresponding applications in countries throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America.
William Hill Adds New Game -- William Hill this week introduced a new game called "Quick bet Hi/Lo" to the William Hill Arcade. The game is a unique take on the Hi-Lo concept; the layout of the cards enables the player to place bets at fixed prices on whether the next card will be higher or lower. In addition, gamblers can make bets at a level of odds, which they can dictate. It also offers the option of shuffling for a different set of cards at least three times each game.
CYOP Cash Game -- One month removed from rolling out its TenSeatPoker.com platform, CYOP Systems International will open the game for cash play today at www.SkillArcade.com. The company reports that it has built a user base of 250,000 play-for-fun members on the CrediPlay Network, through its affiliates and at SkillArcade.com, where an average of 300 players are signing up each day.
Poker Charity -- Full Tilt Poker and Bluff Magazine raised more than $100,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas at the Wynn Las Vegas Charity Gala and Celebrity Poker Tournament on July 5. In addition to featuring celebrities playing against some of the world's top poker pros, the tournament included an auction in which players bid on rare poker memorabilia. Team Full Tilt, the world-renown poker pros behind fulltiltpoker.com, led the way at the charity poker tournament and were joined by poker luminaries Daniel Negreanu, Marcel Luske, Annie Duke and others. Rounding out the table were notable Hollywood celebrities, including Ron Livingston (Sex and the City,) Nicholas Gonzales (The OC,) Jennifer Tilly (Liar Liar,) Joe Reitman (The Perfect Storm,) Erik Palladino (ER,) Omaroso Manigault Stallworth (The Apprentice), comedian David Brenner and others.
Sponsorship Deal -- Austria-based online betting firm betandwin announced this week that it will be the title sponsor of the Portuguese Soccer League, which will be known as "Liga betandwin.com." The four-year deal (with an option for a one-year extension) covers both the first (Superliga) and second (Liga de Honra) divisions of the league; each division is comprised of 18 clubs. Portuguese teams play a central role in European soccer championships. FC Porto won the UEFA Champions League in 2004 for the second time in the history of the club, and this year Sporting Lissabon was defeated by CSKA Moscow in the final of the UEFA Cup.
The World's Top Bingo Portal -- Which Bingo announced today that it has been found to be the world's No. 1 online bingo portal in terms of traffic. (The site had the highest traffic rating out of a field 40 bingo portals). The research was carried out in July 2005 by i-ludus Consulting. Based on traffic rankings generated by Alexa.com, the site was found to be one of the world's top 70,000 Web sites.