World Travels with Unibet -- The Travel section in today's edition of the London Times carries a light-hearted Q&A with Unibet CEO Petter Nylander about the perks and pitfalls of business travel. Click here to read "Prison break: the occupational hazards of business travel."
Entraction Adds Bingo -- Entraction, formerly 24hPoker, announced that it will launch bingo through an agreement with NYX Interactive. The new bingo product will be integrated with Entraction's network during the spring and will be offered to Entraction partners before summer. Swedish online bingo and gaming software supplier NYX Interactive was recently granted an agreement in principle for a license in the Isle of Man.
Big Year, Nice Dividend -- Betsson has revealed a 121 percent increase in net revenue for 2007 to SEK 649 million. As a result, the company has announced that a dividend of SEK 5.00 per share will be distributed to shareholders, of which SEK 3.50 relates to the 2007 results, with a further SEK 1.50 bonus payment. Moreover, performance so far for 2008 is reported as strong, with January and February already proving to be more profitable than December 2007. Despite the positive results, Stockholm-listed Betsson closed down 8.11 percent to SEK 68.00.
Billions . . . State-Owned -- Svenska Spel today reported full-year revenue of SEK 5.25 billion, a 9.15 percent increase over 2006. The operator's Internet and telephone gaming division recorded a 38.3 percent increase in gaming revenue to SEK 1.18 billion for the period. Online poker revenue rose to SEK 385 million in 2007, an 87 percent increase over the last three quarters in 2006 following the launch of the site. Svenska Spel CEO Jesper Kärrbrink said the company wants to focus on promoting responsible gaming strategies in 2008.
No Sands in Britain -- U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp. may be on a path for growth, but one of its executives has publicly stated that the company is not interested in running any casinos in Britain after the country's government scaled back its plan to open a supercasino in Manchester. William Weidner, chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, said at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday that the company spent a lot of time in Britain trying to work out how to make it happen, but Prime Minister Gordon Brown pretty well shut it down.
Another Flying Casino? -- European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said it has been approached by Asian firms interested in turning its A380 Superjumbo aircraft into a flying casino. According to François Chazelle, head of Airbus's executive and private aviation division, the A380 is the first aircraft large enough to accommodate a project of this scale. If negotiations lead to any orders for the A380, the first casino flights might be expected as early as 2012, reports the Financial Times.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE today, AsianLogic was up 6p to 108.00, London Capital Group was up 14.25p to 350.00 while Playtech was down 4.75p to 376.25.