Denied -- This morning's New York Post reports that BetonSports Founder Gary Kaplan lost an appeals court bid for bail. Kaplan awaits trial on racketeering and conspiracy charges.
Splitting the Empire -- This week, shares in Crown Ltd., the gambling business of PBL's James Packer, made their debut on the Australian Stock Exchange. According to the AP, PBL shareholders last month endorsed Packer's plan to split his company's gambling and media businesses into two separately listed companies -- Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. and Crown -- and return about A$2 billion to shareholders. Shareholders, the report said, will receive up to A$3.00 per PBL share, which last traded at A$20.80, plus a share in CMH and Crown. CMH shares will begin normal trading on Dec. 17. Packer will be Crown's executive chairman and CMH's deputy chairman.
Thanks, Volatile Equity -- London-listed spread betting specialist IG Group said this morning that first-half revenue rose by more than half as volatile equity markets prompted record levels of transactions and new accounts. Sales were up to an estimated £85 million in the six months to Nov. 30 from £57 million during the previous year period. "Growth has been driven by both continued and underlying growth as well as by favorable market conditions [and] high market volatility," Simone Glass, an analyst at UBS AG, told Bloomberg. In mid-afternoon trading, shares in the company were up 1p, or 0.26 percent, to 386.00.
Interims from Probability -- Mobile gambling group Probability has released interim results highlighting an 83 percent jump in net gaming revenue to £1.17 million, offset, however, by an £624,000 operating loss. Probability Chief Executive Charles Cohen said the results "demonstrate the core strengths" of the company's business model. "Even before factoring in deals such as Blue Square, the Sun and Orange, we are confident of delivering growth in line with expectations for the full year and beyond," Cohen added. In mid-afternoon trading, Probability shares were down 0.50p, or 1.23 percent, to 40.00.
Nuts Online -- The Nuts Poker League, Europe's largest pub poker league, has partnered with Inside Gaming to launch an online poker room. "Inside Gaming has grasped a true understanding of our business and has the flexibility to create bespoke tournaments to suit our players and allow us to continue creating the community environment that we've worked hard to establish," said TNPL Managing Director Steve Bellis.
Partnering Up -- U.K.-based online bingo comparison site BingoBase.com has partnered with the Daily Star Online to offer a co-branded Web site featuring objective reviews of the United Kingdom's bingo destinations and the latest bingo offers. "The Daily Star is a brand that our existing users identify with and we hope this partnership brings in a new audience to the ever popular joys of online bingo," said BingoBase Managing Director Raj Ramanandi.
No Joy for Unibet's Boys -- The International Cycling Union has given licenses to 18 teams for next year's ProTour, though Unibet was not among them after having missed the application deadline. In August, Unibet announced it would dissolve its cycling sponsorship at the end of the year.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, William Hill is up 15.50p to 508.00, Neteller is up 1.25p to 59.50 and Ladbrokes is up 8.25p to 309.00.