Play It Safe -- I-gaming trade group eCOGRA has launched a marketing campaign to promote the benefits of honest, hassle-free online gambling through its member sites.
The "Play It Safe" campaign includes banners and other advertising on quality portals, opt-in HTML e-mailing, coordinated casino newsletter content, ongoing PR and briefings to leading affiliate marketers. The effort will also put eCOGRA member sites at the forefront with players encouraged to play at the 51 sites that have been granted the eCOGRA seal.
Going Offline -- A few hours after the first draw of the British "Lucky 7 Lotto" game last week, supplierHH Gaming received more than 50 calls from independent retailers throughout the United Kingdom wanting to carry the game in their stores. The company will oblige, and a new retail feature should be available by summer. HH Gaming Chief Executive Simon Stimpson says the new game is very popular because each week a specific charity is given 20 percent of every ticket sold.
VIPCasino Wins Charity Auction -- Bryan Bailey of CasinoMeister and Ted Loh of Got2Bet.com teamed up last week to auction off a prime advertising banner spot on each of their sites with proceeds going to relief efforts in tsunami-stricken areas. The auction closed this week, with VIPCasino and its sister site, InterCasino.com, making the winning bid of $110,000 and earning a 12-month placement at both sites. The money will be donated to
UNICEF. Loh said he was "humbled and thrilled" by the results of the auction.
Official Beer of the WPT -- The world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch, has announced a continued relationship with the World Poker Tour; A-B's Michelob AmberBock will be the official beer of the WPT for the 2005 season. The brewer's "World Select" brand was the official beer for the first two seasons. The Michelob AmberBock brand made its sponsorship debut last month on the WPT "Ladies' Night II" special on the Travel Channel.
US Race Betting at Skybet -- Online sports book operator and BSkyB subsidiary Skybet became the first U.K. operator to offer bets on U.S. racing via interactive TV last week with the introduction of pari-mutuel wagering from U.S. tracks. Skybet joins Isle of Man-based BetInternet in offering U.S. pari-mutuel wagering. Unlike BetInternet, however, Skybet has the advantage of allowing customers to bet while watching the races on TV.
Tote Transfer Plan under EC Scrutiny -- The European Commission has announced that it plans to launch an official query into the process that would turn the U .K. pool-betting organization, the Tote, over to a racing trust. Although government legislation authorizing the sale has already passed, referral of the deal to Brussels (to ensure it does not contravene E.C. rules) has prompted a request for further information from the competition directorate. The request is understood to chiefly concern the price the racing trust should pay the government for the Tote and whether the deal, under which racing pays half of what is considered a "fair price," breaches state aid rules.