Cricket Corruption? -- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that the chairman of its discipline committee, Gerard Elias, is leading an investigation into allegations that a player bet on a county match. The ECB, which has not yet revealed the name of the player, implemented a code several years ago that prohibits all betting on any cricket matches and punishes offenders with a five-year ban and an unlimited fine.
iGaming Ruling Appealed -- The Sports and Games Entertainment Corp. (SAGE) is challenging a Jan. 14 decision by the Supreme Court of the Philippines that nullified SAGE's authority to offer online gaming and to establish sports betting stations. The court ruled last month that Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the government body that regulates and manages gaming in the Philippines, did not have the authority to permit SAGE to operate Internet gaming. According to the court, "While Pagcor is allowed under its charter to enter into operator's and/or management contracts, it is not allowed under the same charter to relinquish or share its franchise, much less grant a veritable franchise to another entity such as SAGE." Led by Enfrenilo Cayanga, SAGE's legal team has filed a 28-page motion for reconsideration, arguing that the agreement between SAGE and Pagcor "is in accord with the conferred powers to Pagcor by virtue of Presidential Decree 1869." SAGE has already spent $8.9 million on equipment and employs 350 workers.
P2P Shop Under Fire -- On Tuesday, William Hill will argue its case before the U.K. Court of Sessions against Henry Spurway, the man who dreams of establishing a chain of terrestrial betting exchange shops named easibet.net. William Hill is arguing that exchange shops cannot legally operate because they enable to customers to lay bets. Each customer, they argue, should be required to obtain a license. William Hill is also challenging the Edinburgh and Glasgow city councils, which granted licenses to easibet.net. The hearing is expected to last five days.
Virus -- MessageLabs, an e-mail filtering company, warned today that a new mass-mailing worm is about to spread throughout the Internet. According to ZDNet Australia, MessageLabs' scanning engine has filtered several hundred e-mails carrying a suspicious 12 kilobyte payload. The company has not yet performed a detailed analysis of the attachment's code, but believes it is being distributed to launch a denial-of-service attack.
First Euro Lottery Winner -- A lucky punter from the town of Bourges in central France became the winner of a 15 million euro jackpot prize Friday in the first ever Euro Millions lottery draw. Players from France, Britain and Spain took part in the inaugural lottery, and more countries are expected to join soon. The drawing of the winning numbers was held in a Paris suburb Friday night; the results were later televised in the three countries. The name of the winner from Bourges has not been revealed.
William Hell -- The League Against Cruel Sports recently organized a few street protests in London and other British cities, asking greyhound racing fans to boycott William Hill until it contributes at least 1p for every £1 bet on the dogs. The group says that "William Hell" raised £606 million on greyhound bets, yet refuses to increase its inadequate donation to the care of the dogs.