Loan Approval -- The board of directors for World Gaming plc announced today that the company has secured the proper financing for its acquisition of the Sportsbetting.com Group, thereby enabling the finalization of the purchase. Capping a two-month period of seeking financing, the company has received a $40 million term loan from Barclays PLC plus a revolving facility of up to $5 million from the bank. The group is also placing shares to raise £6 million before expenses.
Avanothergo -- Interactive media company Yoomedia PLC will begin operating its interactive gaming and betting channel, Avago, on British cable television and broadband communications provider ntl's platform early next year. Sky Channel 181 already carries the service.
Ten Seals -- Online gaming watchdog organization eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (ECOGRA) has awarded Play It Safe seals to 10 more online casinos: Colosseumcasino.com, vegasjoker.com, floriditaclubcasino.com, grandcasinovenice.com, grandhotelcasino.com, oldsamuraicasino.com, royalplazacasino.com, vegas7casino.com, vegascountrycasino.com and vegasslotcasino.com. Each of them received the seal for passing stringent probity, fairness and efficiency inspections by teams of professionals from a top international business services and auditing group. The addition brings the number of casinos carrying the seal to 66. "We expect to make further announcements early in 2006," eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge said. "Interest in the eCOGRA standards is growing from players, casinos, leading poker rooms and software providers alike, and membership continues to be open to any software provider that is prepared to commit to our goals and principles."
Quoteworthy - "Betfair provides choice, value, integrity and transparency for customers, and the big bookmakers and state monopolies don't like it. As a result, there's been a concerted campaign from vested interests first to outlaw, and then to punitively tax betting exchanges in Britain. With that looking to have failed, the bookmakers now argue we're bad for sport and encourage corruption when in fact the opposite is true."
- Betfair cofounder Edward Wray, as quoted today in a point/counterpoint Guardian article presenting the pros and cons of betting exchanges. The publication posed the question: "Are betting exchanges good for sport?" Wray's point was that exchanges are good because they add excitement for fans, potential revenue streams for sporting bodies and a comprehensive audit trail to help with the battle against corruption.
Quoteworthy - Part II - "In contrast to the mainstream industry, the layer of a bet on an exchange remains anonymous, so the punter does not know who he or she is betting with. It might be the local vicar. And it could be a local Mafioso, a member of a race-fixing gang or someone operating outside the reach of the British legal system."
- Tom Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Bookmakers, providing the opposing view for the same article.
Poker Expansion -- Online poker software developer Tribeca Tables Europe, Ltd. announced today that online sports betting company Bowmans International Sports Ltd. has gone live with the latest virtual poker room to join the Tribeca network. The network already hosts poker sites operated by Paddy Power, Blue Square, Victor Chandler, Golden Palace, Doyles Room, BETonSPORTS and G-Fed Games.
Kiwi's Latest -- New Zealand gaming company, Kiwi Gaming, has launched a new site that offers over 80 online casino games. FastWin Online Casino features multi-line and progressive online slots, blackjack and video poker and boasts the look and feel of a land-based casino at which users can sit and play in a virtual room with other players. "FastWin is all about fun," a spokesman for Kiwi Gaming explained. "We had a lot of fun bringing FastWin Casino to life, and this has carried over into the site."
Lehman on Party -- U.S. brokerage firm Lehman Brothers on Tuesday warned clients not to put too much stock into PartyGaming's reports boasting a 17 percent boost in the market due to the recent introduction of blackjack on its Web site. "October/November trends were strong but mainly as the consequence of IT improvements made to the platform," analyst Craig Fraser told the Guardian. "We recognize the introduction of blackjack has been a success. However, it is early days, and PartyGaming management is already talking about a novelty factor and a substitution effect on poker."