Bid Rejection -- A Virginia couple who tried to raise money for a difficult operation required by their nine-year old son by selling a bumper sticker that says "Frank Must Die" on eBay have rejected the winning $10,700 bid placed by GoldenPalace.com. The parents say they are not comfortable accepting money from an Internet gambling company.
Comprehensive Study -- South Australia's Independent Gambling Authority has ordered a comprehensive study of the effects of all forms of gambling on the state's economy to begin in March. Slated to last at least six months, the study will profile all reaches of the industry, including casinos, pokie venues, lotteries, TABs and more. It will also examine the gambling industry's effect on unemployment and on related industries.
SkillJam on GSN -- CES Software announced that its subsidiary SkillJam Technologies Corporation, has entered into an agreement to provide a pay-for-play skill games system to GSN, The Network for Games. Jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation, GSN is a U.S. television network dedicated to game-related programming and interactive game playing. SkillJam will host and manage a private-label skill gaming platform on GSN.com.
Minor Gambling -- Underage gambling on the Internet was a focal topic at a Westminster Media Forum conference on Internet gambling in London Thursday. Children's charities groups and government officials once again argued that online gambling operators are not doing enough to stop children from betting on their Web sites. John Carr of the children's organization NCH said, "The way to stop under-18s gambling online is to force all payments to be made from credit cards, which are not issued to under-18s. It is clear that the majority of online gambling outfits have not made stopping children betting a priority." Banks were also brought into the criticism for not working hard enough with the gambling industry to share information to better validate the age of online customers. iGGBA's Andrew Tottenham asked the government to lobby the banking industry to install the necessary age verification systems. "The current systems for age verification are ineffective," Tottenham said. "We need the assistance of the banks to set up a foolproof system, and we also need more pressure from government."
Auditor's Report -- England's National Audit Office reports that its gross profits tax reform on betting in 2001 was successful in encouraging bookmakers to keep their core operations in the United Kingdom. Before 2001, bettors paid a 9 percent tax on each stake, creating an environment that made relocation to offshore jurisdictions a tempting option for betting businesses. (Moving offshore would allow them to offer punters tax-free betting.) The 2001 reforms replaced the 9 percent levy with a 15 percent gross tax on bookmakers. According to a report published today by the Comptroller and Auditor General, gambling duties collected in the year to April 1999 fell from £1.53 billion to £1.35 billion in the year to April 2004. Yet the report points out that if no tax reform had been made the loss could have been much greater. The report also reveals that "Customs underestimated the popularity of new gambling products with low profit margins such as betting exchanges. Consequently, the duty revenue rate has been much lower than expected (down 6.7 percent in 1999-00 to 1.2 percent in 2003-04 as percentage of bets placed), even though spending on betting has been higher than expected in terms of value placed on bets." As a result, the report suggests that Customs receive more IT expertise to carry out compliance work on new products such as gambling via interactive TV, mobile phone, the Internet, spread betting and betting exchanges.
Offer Retracted -- California-based horse race wagering and content provider Youbet.com, Inc. has withdrawn its proposal to acquire American Wagering, Inc. for $12 million. American Wagering, which owns two gambling-related businesses in Nevada, is currently operating under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and fought unsuccessfully for a court order denying anyone from filing plans to acquire it. Youbet Chairman and CEO Charles Champion said that it had become clear that none of his company's proposals would be favorably received by American Wagering's controlling shareholders.