Body Ads -- PartyPoker.ph, an affiliate to PartyPoker.com, has announced that its upcoming marketing campaign will utilize "body part" advertising in order to focus on target local markets. Noting the success of "online casinos whose work was originally seen on boxers in the late 90s and other online poker rooms deploying ads on a pregnant woman's belly," the company is now openly seeking volunteers with the most outrageous body parts for advertising space. The company has stated that it "feels very strongly that the combination of this effective advertising medium, combined this the additional publicity it will garner, will create a terrific bang for the advertising dollar."
UK Bill -- The British Gambling Bill continued its progress through Parliament yesterday with its second reading before the House of Lords. Gambling Minister Lord McIntosh announced new changes to the Bill in his opening speech, including a ban on using credit cards to buy chips or credits in gaming machines, a ban on gambling at physical premises on Christmas day, a change to the reserve power allowing the government to impose a minimum age requirement on Category D gaming machines if there is evidence they are causing significant harm, a requirement on the Secretary of State to consult widely before using the reserve on Category D machines, and retaining the maximum value of non-monetary prizes for Category D machines at £8. Penny Cobham, chairman of the British Casino Association, which last week launched a campaign to oppose the Bill, issued a statement to address yesterday's hearing. She stated, "To claim that a return to the Government's pre-December gambling policy, which we are asking for, would lead to an increase of 10,000 Category B machines is absurd. We know our estates extremely well and believe that the number would be under 5,000 due to several practical reasons, not least a lack of physical space in existing casinos. Nor are we now demanding any Category A machines, even if the Government would have been wise to experiment with them in the controlled environment of our casinos. The real 10,000 figure people should focus on is the total number of unlimited prize machines being proposed by the Government for the eight experimental super- casinos."
NJ Agenda -- On Monday New Jersey's Senate Committee on Wagering Tourism and Historic Preservation will hold a hearing to examine online gambling. The subject of online gambling has been mentioned frequently enough during discussions about video lottery terminals at New Jersey racetracks that it has warranted its own exploratory hearing.
Welcome Aboard -- GB Group, a company that provides identity authentication and fraud prevention solutions, has appointed Michael Smeaton, GamCare's former remote gambling specialist, as business development consultant for URU, its web-based identity and age verification service. Smeaton, who spent five years with Gamcare, will continue to work closely with Gamcare in developing social and corporate responsibility certification programs and will also provide his expertise to insure that GB Group's age and identity verification solutions continue to develop in line with the online gaming industry's needs. Launched in conjunction with British Telecom, the URU service can in a matter of seconds verify single or multiple customer records, confirm name and address, link to payment card details, produce an age verified certification and retain a full audit history.
Zone4Play, a company that develops multi-platform interactive game applications and solutions, has welcomed Sean Ryan to its board of directors. Before joining Zone4Play Ryan served as vice president of music services at global Internet media delivery company RealNetworks, where he was responsible for managing the company's digital music business unit and integrating Listen.com into RealNetworks. He also served as CEO of Listen.com, which developed Rhapsody, an on-demand subscription-based digital music service. As a member of Zone4Play's board of directors Ryan will help the company foster relationships with the content, distribution and financial communities.
BOS in Mexico -- BetonSports.com recently signed a management supply contract to provide sportsbook facilities for Comercial de Juegos de la Frontera SA de CV in up to 18 locations throughout Mexico, where they offer bingo under the name Big Bola. The first location will open on March 5th in Mexico City and will feature a 562-seat bingo hall with bar and restaurant facilities and a sportsbook area of 1,800 square feet and 24 TV screens showing live sports and full sportsbook service lounge areas managed by BetonSports.
Strategy Aid -- The Poker Power Network, a company that is developing a network of web properties that offer Texas Hold 'em strategy information, has launched FoldorRaise.com, an interactive Texas Hold 'em strategy web site that presents users with a starting-hand scenario and then asks them to decide whether they would fold, call, raise, or make a large raise. The site also reveals the probability that a hand would defeat other hands and offers advice on how experts would play each hand. It also monitors a user's decisions and advises him in which positions and with which hands he may play too aggressively or too passively.