Sharp Minds -- Betfair has given partnerships in the Sharp Minds Betfair racehorse-ownership syndicate to six winners of competitions on its betting exchange. The syndicate has already acquired its first horse, dubbed "Say What You See," and has delivered it to the stable of champion jumps trainer Martin Pipe. Betfair will award the final two partnerships in the syndicate to the winner of an auction at the Champions Ball in October and to the winner of a Betfair/Racing Post competition during the St. Leger meeting.
Roulette Machine Stats -- The Guardian published an article Friday estimating how popular virtual roulette machines have become in the United Kingdom since their introduction less than three years ago. The publication reports that more than £290 million is gambled per week on the roughly 15,500 virtual roulette machines at Britain's top five betting shops-- Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Stanley Racing and the Tote. (The Guardian did not consider the 2,500 smaller independent operators.) With the National Lottery drawing £88 million in ticket sales per week, it is safe to say that Britons spend over three times as much on roulette machines than on the lottery. If the Guardian figures correctly, roulette machines would deliver an annual turnover of over £15 billion to the big five betting shops. Tom Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Bookmakers notes, however, that such high turnover doesn't necessarily translate into incredibly high profit because a large amount of the money staked by punters is recycled through the machines and paid out to punters. With that in mind, the Guardian estimates that the big five reap over £8 million in profits per week from betting on the machines.
Quoteworthy -- "I don't believe that the burden lies with my client. I think the burden lies with the government. Any time the government takes action which has a chilling effect upon free speech, commercial or otherwise, the burden is on the government to meet certain clear criteria that have been set forth by the United States Supreme Court and lower courts, and that's their burden. And all we have to do is bring to the attention to the courts the fact that the government has made a threat that has a chilling effect on free speech and then the burden is theirs."
- Barry Richard, attorney for Casino City, the company that has challenged the legality of the U.S. Department of Justice's attempts to suppress advertisements for online gambling services.
He continued, "Now the reason that we believe they cannot meet the burden is because the advertising that our client is carrying is legal advertising. It does not seek to cause people to engage in any illegal activity anywhere. The government has no substantial interest in stopping us from doing it. They cannot stop people from engaging in illegal transactions by interfering with our right to run legal and constitutionally protected free speech. We don't think that the methodology that they've threatened is narrowly tailored to accomplish whatever purpose they think they have. That's the criteria that they have to meet under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to curtail our free speech."
Minister's Praise -- The British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) is seeking professional advice to clarify the legality of Internet roulette terminals that emerged across the United Kingdom this summer. Gambling minister Andrew McIntosh has written a letter to the organization praising its actions, stating, "I wanted to let you know how encouraged I was to learn of BACTA's determination to tackle this issue. It is an excellent example of the industry working with its members to promote social responsibility in the industry." He added, "social responsibility is an integral part of the Gambling Bill and I am grateful that BACTA is setting a good example to the rest of the gambling industry."
Guineas Sponsorship -- Kahnawake-licensed online poker room UltimateBet.com has signed a one-year deal to sponsor the Guineas Festival at Newmarket for the second year in a row. The deal includes the title sponsorship for the UltimateBet.com Guineas Festival on April 30 and May 1, 2005 and the three main races: the 2,000 Guineas, the 1,000 Guineas and the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes.