Sky News -- Hoping to raise public awareness of its interactive wagering options with more advertising, Sky Bet is running a pitch through AAR for its £5m creative advertising account. At first four agencies will present for the account, but then two will be eliminated before a final pitch by the remaining two…. BettingCorp's Play Monte Carlo has been added to Sky Digital's Sky Active interactive television offering. Play Monte Carlo will provide Sky's subscribers with dice games and slots that can be plaid for fun or real money. Arcade horseracing being added later this month. Designed in-house by BettingCorp's development team, Play Monte Carlo allows players to access the same account via TV, Internet, and mobile platforms.
Problem Gambling Conference -- New Zealand's Gambling Problem Hotline and the Auckland University of Technology's Gambling Research Center will host an international conference with representatives from 40 countries in order to discuss problem gambling. The conference agenda includes critical reflections on the problem gambling policies, services, and research developments of the various countries, in addition to trends, future challenges, and more.
Illegal Gaming in Asia -- Police in Taiwan have arrested several individuals in connection to illegal gambling dens in addition to a husband and wife team and a computer expert who offered online wagering from a site in Macau. Besides lotteries, gambling is illegal in Taiwan. News reports from the area indicate that authorities were especially alarmed that betting on the upcoming Presidential election on March 20th had become wide-spread throughout the island…. A court in Shanghai, China has fined a 51 year-old Taiwanese man, Feng Zaizheng, $36,000 and sentenced him to 30 months in prison for offering illegal online wagering on European soccer matches. Feng's operation allegedly earned over $1 million per day at its peak last summer. Cases involving gambling occasionally reach the courts in Shanghai, but this is the first time anyone has been prosecuted for running an online operation.
Tribeca Deals -- Poker software company Tribeca Tables, says it has " completed several new poker room deals including that of Gaming Floor.com and Casinos of Mayfair.com." The company also plans to introduce new pacts with other partners that will be revealed soon.
Tab War -- Sky Digital's interactive games channel Fancy a Flutter, a joint venture between Rank and NDS, has teamed up with European television production company FreeMantleMedia to launch the classic gameshow Blockbusters as a fixed odds keno game. Players choose between one and fifteen numbers and then receive money for those that match after a numbered draw. Players can bet as little as 20p, and payouts can be as high as £500,000.