Sportingbet on iTV -- London-based betting company Sportingbet plc and interactive digital TV and games provider Yoomedia plc have signed a three-year deal to bring fixed-odds games to British digital interactive TV platforms. Sportingbet will provide the odds setting, customer services and transaction capabilities, while YooMedia will develop and launch the gaming products. Each company will accept its own costs, but the revenues will be shared between them. YooMedia is now in negotiations with digital platform providers and expects the first launch to be on cable in first half of 2004 with satellite and DTT games following soon after.
Legal Issue -- William Hill has applied for a judicial review of the Glasgow licensing board's decision to let Easibet open a betting exchange shop that would be part bookmaker and part Internet cafe. Easibet offers punters higher prices if they agree to pay 5 percent of their winnings to the shop. William Hill's legal action also questions the Edinburgh City Council's right to grant a license to another betting shop in the Tollcross area. Easibet owner Henry Spurway says he plans to open around 100 betting exchange shops across the United Kingdom.
Quoteworthy -- "Lost revenues from Internet gambling could be a budget-buster issue in many states. As state legislators continue to face severe revenue shortfalls going into 2004, the dollars illegally siphoned by offshore gaming platforms demand that public policy makers seriously address Internet wagering issues in their own states, and that they begin to interface and work in concert with Congress on the issue. And, it is not simply a question of lost revenue. It is a question of social costs because important state programs can go unfunded. It is also, in balance, a question related to the social and individual costs of Internet as well as other types of gaming."-- Steven Geller, Florida State Senator and president of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS). The NCLGS's 2004 winter meeting will take place in Las Vegas on January 9-11, with I-gaming being one of the highest priorities.
TradingSports -- Betting exchange software provider TradingSports has signed a five-year deal to supply SBG Global with a person-to-person betting platform. SBG already has an online sports book and casino, which it claims have over 125,000 active users. TradingSports now has partnerships with nine sports books to provide exchange its exchange platform.
Patent Licensing -- I-gaming software company CasinoWebcam has reached a licensing agreement with Home Gambling Network to use its U.S. patent for a method of remote wagering on live events using electronic transactions. The same patent is also pending in Europe, Australia, and Canada. CasinoWebcam may now sub-license the patents to gaming operators. Home Gambling Network and CasinoWebcam will work together to enforce the patent.
724sportsbook -- Market System Inc., Chimera Technology Corp.'s first licensee, is preparing to launch after delivering Chimera's first ever revenue. Market System hopes to launch Chimera's sports book platform on its site www.724sportsbook.com within the next month, while other platforms, such as poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots will soon follow.
Neptune's Megaspin -- The new Megaspin slots at King Neptune's Casino let users play up to nine slots games at the same time. Powered by Microgaming, Megaspin offers users the chance to play Double Magic, Fantastic 7's, and High 5 slots in a combination of four, six, or nine games.