Tidbits from Asia -- The Regional Development Council in the Philippines is asking the country's presidential administration to ban SMS-based numbers games. The council says the practice amounts to illegal gambling. The RDC is siding with the Department of Trade and Industry, which believes text-based "games or promos are basically gambling ploys in the guise of marketing or entertainment to raise the volume of text messages or awareness of a product." The agency also states that the SMS gaming resembles an online lottery because winners are chosen in a way that is similar to the way the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office chooses winners. ... Tuesday night's Mark Six lottery drawing could hit HK$46 million (nearly US$5.9 million), making it the largest Mark Six prize in 10 years. The lottery is operated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The probability of winning first prize is one in 14 million.
New Stuff -- GoldenPalace.com announced today the launch of its new live casino, Golden Palace Live. Visitors to the new site gamble against live dealers. The casino is powered by live betting software developed by Casino Reality.
Breakin' Deals -- Italian electronics group Olivetti has withdrawn from the board of Cirsa, a Spanish gaming company. Olivetti occupied 5 percent of Cirsa's board. Olivetti also recently parted ways with its lottery subsidiary, Lottomatica.
Legal Stuff -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is likely to reintroduce his bill that would ban sports betting on college sports, the Associated Press is reporting. In the next session of Congress, McCain will head the Senate Commerce Committee. Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, is quoted by the Associated Press as saying that McCain's bill has made a lot of progress in the last few years and enjoys support from both liberals and conservatives.
US Tidbit -- The commission created in Massachusetts to study the expansion of gambling in the state has held its last meeting and is expected to file a report by the end of the year. The 19-member commission was created by Gov. Jane Swift on Oct. 21. on Dec. 2 commission member Bradley H. Jones was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying that Massachusetts is already paying the social costs of both land-based and Internet gambling and might as well legalize both activities to "maximize the benefit."