Tidbit from Asia -- Lawrence Wong Chi-kwong, chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, warned that the Macau Jockey Club's move to take bets on Hong Kong races could have adverse effects on the government's tax revenue and donations to charity. The Macau Jockey Club's plan is viewed as a move to boost its revenue after takings dropped 46 percent the week after the new Hong Kong Internet gambling ban came into effect in May.
New Stuff -- The former managing director of Ladbrokes International, Ed Ware, has set up an online betting and gaming company with plans to roll out a range of interactive products. Ware established Trafalgar Betting and Gaming with the help of a number of private backers, and its first gaming product will be an online casino called 32Red. According to the company, 32Red will set itself apart by offering a "British-focused experience."
Makin' Deals -- World Gaming plc is announcing the signing of an agreement with Nova Internet N.V. to bring two casinos to the Internet. The initial Web site, www.hotgoldcasino.com, is now live and available in English, French, German, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. The next phase of the launch will be the introduction of a sports book in September.
Say What? -- "Ms. (Julie) Anderson, PayPal's spokeswoman, said yesterday that until the deal closed, the company would continue to take online gambling business from people placing wagers in states other than New York." -- Paragraph from an article in The New York Times, Aug. 22, about PayPal's settlement with the New York attorney general.
What Others Are Saying -- Forbes magazine reported this week that Sheldon Adelson doesn't appear to be taking as big a gamble in building a casino and hotel in Macau as it might have seemed. Adelson, owner of the Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas, has obligated his company to spend $1.1 billion in Macau in the next decade; his only obligation is an option for a 30 percent stake in the venture. Another business of his, the Las Vegas Sands, the magazine reports, has no commitment to pay anything for the project. "The privilege of gambling real money on Macau is apparently reserved for Adelson's less visible partners--prominent local families," the magazine states.