Ongame News -- Internet gaming software developer Ongame announced today the addition of Malta-based sports betting, casino and poker site Bet24.com to its poker network, the Ongame Network. Bet24.com, owned by Nordic Betting Ltd., focuses on the Nordic market. "We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network," said Patrik Selin, CEO of Ongame. "Our aim is to create Europe's largest online poker community."… Meanwhile PokerRoom.com, the largest site in the Ongame Network, has joined forces with select universities across Britain to launch on Feb. 20 in Liverpool a nationwide Student Poker Tour. The tour will travel to the country's biggest university towns to find the best student Texas Hold 'Em player, and the winner from each university will proceed to the final tournament held online at PokerRoom.com March 11 with a brand new £15,000 sports car as the grand prize. "With the launch of the Student Poker Tour, we are taking the exciting world of poker directly to a growing audience and developing a relationship with a previously untapped market," Selin said. "We aim to show students that anybody can be a great Texas Hold 'Em player given the tools and the know-how from PokerRoom.com."
Mansion and Man U -- After the early termination of a sponsorship contract with mobile phone company Vodafone, UK football club Manchester United is making a sponsorship deal with Gibraltar-based online gambling firm Mansion. According to the organization, nothing has been finalized, but they are confident they will close the deal by the end of the season.
View Backs Only -- Betting exchange Betfair launched Monday a version of its betting site designed to appeal to the recreational punter and compete directly with the traditional bookmakers by displaying current back prices only on all Betfair's markets. Betfair's Express View doesn't show the prices available on the lay side of the market, but they are available by a single click through to the main site.
World Cup Content -- London-based gaming company ukbetting's content division, TEAMtalk Media, has extended a contract with UK commercial television network ITV to provide the news, results and comment to ITV's World Cup 2006 website itv.com/worldcup from its online sports content network which includes Sportinglife.com and Football365.com. ITV recently confirmed deals with Budweiser and EDF Energy as exclusive joint broadcast, online and interactive sponsors for all of its coverage of the World Cup.
Survive with Live Hive -- Software development company LiveHive Systems and Survivor.com, a fan site for the CBS reality TV show Survivor, today announced a real-time interactive reality TV competition called Bet-On-Survivor. Fans of show Survivor: Panama--Exile Island can "bet" on the outcome of events as they watch the show using 100 Survivor Dollars they are given for the remainder of the season. Players can wager up to 20 Survivor Dollars on each prediction. Prizes including an Xbox 360 gaming system, a portable DVD player, and a first season Survivor DVD set will be awarded to fans with the largest account balances at the end of the season.