Chariotlottery -- Chariotlottery, an Internet-based lottery, plans to launch in the UK in October. Like its juggernaut rival, the National Lottery, Chariotlottery's main game costs £1 and involves trying to correctly choose six correct numbers out of a possible 49. But Chariotlottery differs in that it will operate as a society lottery that can allow only a maximum of £2 million ticket sales for each of five lotteries per week, which translates into a jackpot of £1 million per week for each of the five games. Rollovers are not permitted, so if no player correctly guesses all numbers a computer will declare the player who came closest the winner. A key area in which Chariotlottery is hoping to separate itself from the National Lottery is in its donations to charity. Chariotlottery claims that its customers will be able to choose which charity receives the proceeds from each of their purchases. Each charity will receive 30 pence for each £1 ticket purchase, meaning each of the five charities per week will receive £600,000. Chariotlottery will keep 11 pence per each £1 sale as profit, while Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery, only takes .5 pence of each £1 as profit. Upon being asked for Camelot's thoughts regarding a new competitor, a spokesperson for the company said, "We are not afraid of competition. The UK lottery has raised over £15.8 billion for good causes since 1994. Indeed, we would be happy to compare sales figures and returns to charity after one full operating period.”
Quoteworthy -- "…like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon."
--How Professor Joseph Kelly, an Internet gambling law expert at the State University of New York in Buffalo, describes U.S. efforts to prohibit online gambling.
NZ TAB -- BikeNZ, the governing body for all cycling sports in New Zealand, has formed a partnership with New Zealand TAB allowing the company to offer wagers on cycling sports during the Athens Olympics. The governing bodies for New Zealand soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, and triathlon have already formed similar agreements with the TAB and more are expected to follow, despite the New Zealand Olympic Committee's disapproval…. The New Zealand Racing Board announced today that this year's racing season set new records for racing and sports betting. The Racing Board said that $1.232 billion was bet on sports, horse and greyhound racing, a total that is $25 million greater than last year's record breaking year. Turnover on horse and greyhound racing for TAB also set a record, rising $34 million to $1.045 billion.
Virgin Exchange -- New Media Age reports that Virgin Games, which has held meetings with several potential partners to discuss entering the sports betting market, seems most likely to integrate a betting exchange rather than a traditional sports book into its new online gaming site. The company is expected to make a decision about sports betting within one month.