Delayed Re-launch -- Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut had planned to bring its PlayAway Web site back online on Aug. 2, but the re-launch date has been moved to Aug. 15 so that the casino can provide more information about the site to the state's regulatory authorities. Foxwoods soft-launched the site last month and took it offline less than a week later due to concerns of the state's attorney general and Department of Revenue Services. Customers on the gaming floor at Foxwoods can purchase tickets for PlayAway and then log onto the Web site when they get home to find out whether they won. Although the site offers games like video poker and slots, whether the player wins is in no way determined by his or her performance in the games, which are actually an extension of the casino's keno game. Results are instead predetermined at the time of the ticket's sale. Winning tickets can only be redeemed at Foxwoods. The casino remains confident that it will be able to bring PlayAway back online. In the meantime, it is adding to its software a feature informing players that the games have no impact on their chances of winning as well as a feature enabling players to bypass the games and immediately find out whether they've won.
Spam -- InfoPowa News reports that domain registrar GoDaddy last weekend delivered an offline suspension to the Fortune Lounge group of online casinos due to alleged complaints from spam monitor SpamHaus. Although Fortune Lounge out-sources its e-mail marketing, the contract was reportedly awarded on terms that no spamming would take place. Fortune Lounge is also said to discourage affiliates from spamming. The situation is still unfolding, and IGN will have more details next week.
Slotland Aid -- Online casino Slotland will donate 10 percent of all new player deposits through the end of August to charities that aim to prevent starvation in Africa. The aid organizations will be chosen by Slotland.com players via a poll at the casino's new independent information site, Slotland.info.
Sponsorship Ceased -- National Public Radio 's Las Vegas affiliate, KNPR, has ceased running a traffic report sponsored by PartyPoker.com after the Las Vegas Sun questioned the radio station about the legality of the ads. The traffic reports were produced by a company called Metro Networks, which provides traffic reports nationwide for free in exchange for the stations mentioning the sponsors of the reports. Lamar Marchese, general manager of KNPR, said the Las Vegas office of Metro Networks decided to pull the ad after its conversation with KNPR. "It was just one of those areas that was murky as to whether it was legal or not," Marchese said. "They decided to err on the side of conservatism."
Z4P for Betfair -- Multi-platform remote gaming solutions provider Zone4Play has entered into an agreement to become an affiliate partner to British betting exchange Betfair. Zone4Play will create and provide mobile betting exchange solutions that will become available to Betfair customers in the fourth quarter of 2005. Zone4Play will charge a monthly subscription fee to existing Betfair customers who opt to use the mobile service, but will share revenue generated from new users.
Purple Cows -- GoldenPalace.com 's latest eBay auction purchase allowed the company to paint its logo and URL on 100 cows that graze in a field next to an interstate outside Tampa Bay, Florida. The company also painted some of the cows purple, as a literal interpretation of author Seth Godin 's "purple cow" marketing analogy. Godin equates the advertising world to a sea of grazing cows, and that it takes a purple cow to see your brand amid today's marketing clutter. Golden Palace also welcomed PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to have a presence in the stunt, and some of the cows display the message "Go Veg" in support of PETA's plight for vegetarianism.
Virtual Gambling -- Player One Limited, a publisher of mobile games and content, has launched a new Java-based mobile play-for-free game that is endorsed by champion jockey and sports personality Frankie Dettori. Called "Virtual Gambling …with Frankie Dettori" and developed by Typhoon Mobile, the game enables players to use their betting knowledge to predict winning horses based on in-depth statistics, odds and previous race history.