Vindication -- A British High Court judge today ruled in favor of At the Races (ATR) in its ongoing legal battle against the British Horseracing Board. ATR accused the board of overcharging for pre-race data, which is needed to broadcast British horse races to overseas bookmakers, and the court found the board to be in breach of competition law by adopting a policy of excessive and discriminatory pricing. ATR has been awarded costs with £700,000 to be paid on an accelerated basis within the next 21 days. "We have been totally vindicated by this resounding judgment," At the Races CEO Matthew Imi said. "The BHB has been found to have abused its position and pursued a discriminatory and excessive pricing policy. Its actions have resulted in an unnecessary and considerable waste of its resources both financial and in management time." The decision marks the fist time a U.K. court has found that a business practice is in abuse of a dominant market position. Cases of this nature are typically handled by the European Commission or national competition authorities.
Rock Solid Policy -- Lawmakers in Gibraltar have passed new legislation creating more stringent statutory licensing and a regulatory framework for online gambling. A ministerial-controlled licensing authority will be introduced, while the current Gibraltar Regulatory Authority will act as Gambling Commissioner. According to the new law, any computer equipment used for online casino gambling must be kept in secure areas and be protected from unauthorized access. Further, each gambling Web site licensed in Gibraltar is required to display a link to a problem gambling organization, as well as designate a specific person responsible for formulating responsible gambling policies. The new law also includes regulations against false advertising and money laundering.
Poker Beat -- Could Tuesday's New York City transit strike have boosted the traffic at virtual poker rooms? DoylesRoom.com says it has. The online poker room reported a record number of players by midday Tuesday, suggesting that many of the stranded commuters stayed home and took advantage of their free time to play a little poker. "At first we didn't know what was going on with the flood of players we were getting from New York City," said Marty Wallace, COO for DoylesRoom.com. "Then we realized that the transit strike they've been threatening since this past Friday finally took place." . . . Online poker giant PokerRoom.com has branched out into the casino world with today's launching of CasinoRoom.com. Players can easily move from CasinoRoom.com to PokerRoom.com using the same account; they also get free access to a range of play-for-money mobile games.
Spiderman Returns -- Alain Robert, the French free climber also known as "Spiderman," scaled a 28-story, 308-foot tower in Paris on Tuesday to protest what he believes was mistreatment on the part of Houston police when he was arrested there for illegal possession of the drug Xanax. And once again, he carried out his trademark stunt while baring a GoldenPalace.com tattoo on his chest. Roberts, who famously joined the GP publicity machine when scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2003, is well known for climbing famous structures without ropes or any other equipment. His accomplishments include Taipei 101, the Petronas Towers, the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building.