Tab War -- The Australian Financial Review reports that Tony Hartnell, chairman of NSW Racing, is loosening up on the organization's demand that TAB Ltd. sell Sky Racing, its monopoly racing broadcaster, before its merges with either Tabcorp or UNiTAB. Hartnell now says NSW Racing is willing to compromise in order to obtain "competitive neutrality" in the industry.
Intralot y Polla Chilena -- Greek gaming systems operator Intralot and Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Chile's state gambling operator, have signed a six-year deal whereby Intralot will operate and provide risk management of fixed-odds betting games in Chile. Polla Chilena, which plans to roll out fixed-odds betting games in the first half of 2004, has given Intralot an option to extend the agreement for two more years. In September the two companies signed a different six-year contract whereby Intralot would install and manage an integrated gambling platform to offer betting games via mobile phones, call centers, and the Internet.
Virtual Theft -- In Taipei, Taiwan a district court ruled that stealing virtual money is not theft. The court ruled on a case that involved a Japanese online game called Lineage that lets players earn virtual money that can be redeemed for more play-time at Internet cafes. A Taipei resident was charged with using a friend's Lineage password to access and steal all of his virtual money, about $4,000 worth. The judge ruled, however, that virtual money is not the same as real money, and therefore the resident's act is not theft. According to the judge, "It was the virtual money, not cash, that he was accused of stealing. And those records, that can be reproduced, constitute no evidence." The judge ruled that the crime was only common larceny, which is a felony to the public, but since the afflicted person had not filed charges the case was dismissed.
Mobile Numbers -- Alexander Resources, a research and consulting company that specializes in wireless communications, has released a report estimating that worldwide revenues for all types of mobile phone gambling could reach $16 billion by 2008. Titled Mobile Gambling: Casinos, Lotteries & Betting, the report divides mobile gaming into three divisions and predicts that by 2008 mobile casino style betting will reap $6 billion, mobile lotteries will reap $5 billion, and mobile sports and other betting will reap $5 billion. Just last week Juniper Research announced its own study for mobile betting, claiming that the industry should earn $5.7 billion by 2006.