Make It 16 for NetEnt -- Net Entertainment has agreed to supply Internet bookmaker Goldvictory Ltd. with its CasinoModule platform. NetEnt also said it had signed a licensing agreement with an unnamed, Eastern Europe-facing operator with an on- and offline offering. Johan Öhman's group, listed on the Nordic Growth Market, has inked 16 licensing agreements in 2007 alone, which, Öhman said, "underlines our competitiveness." By way of background, Goldvictory holds a Class 2 (betting) license from the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority and runs on software from Arland Technologies GmbH.
Details, Details -- Unibet has released specifics regarding the 100 million euro bond secured via its advisor, Öhman Fondkommission AB. From Dec. 21, the bond will mature after three years at an annual fixed rate of 9.7 percent. Unibet said the bond will allow it to secure a financial position that will give it sufficient flexibility for M&A. "Our ability to strengthen our organic performance with add-on acquisitions has improved with this bond issue," said Unibet Chief Executive Petter Nylander. Earlier this month, Unibet acquired Maria Holdings for 75 million euros.
777 Sports CEO Slain in Vancouver -- The Vancouver Sun reports James Po Ho Cheung, chief executive of 777 Sports Entertainment Group, was found shot to death Saturday in his car behind his Vancouver home. Vancouver Police have yet to name suspects and have said that Cheung was "unknown to them." According to the Sun, the latest news released issued by 777 was in May 2006 when Cheung announced the expansion of his 777betz.com Web site using Chimera 2, an online wireless gaming platform.
Snapshots from the EU-US Settlement -- The Financial Times says European online gambling companies were "disappointed but not surprised" by the European Union's decision Monday to accept a U.S. offer to open some other services markets as compensation for shutting foreign companies out of its lucrative gambling industry. "Industry experts" told the paper that the EU-U.S. bilateral deal "effectively leaves online gambling companies no closer to reentering the U.S. market." Of the agreement, the New York Post says that the odds of a liberalized I-gaming market in the Untied States are "a lot less . . . now that the European Union has decided to drop the issue in exchange for favorable trading opportunities in other industries." An unnamed EU official, as quoted by the London Times, called the deal a "meaningful compensation package from the United States" but said that it was difficult to calculate losses from the gambling sector since the UIGEA was enacted in October 2006.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, Playtech was down 10.25p to 370.00, PartyGaming was up 0.25p to 28.75 and Rank was down 2.25p to 94.50.