Upgrade on the Isle -- The Isle of Man government is making changes to its regulatory framework in the region, with the hopes of attracting more operators to the jurisdiction. The changes include lighter requirements for software testing and removing licensing requirements for off-shore operators seeking disaster recovery facilities and advertising opportunities on the Isle of Man. The changes were announced Tuesday and took immediate effect.
Integrity Concerns -- Concerns surrounding the licensing of UK betting exchange Betfair in Tasmania continue to swarm after a trainer from Randwick received an e-mail today from an overseas bookmaker that said, "I am a bookmaker in Scotland looking for contacts in Australia. I am interested in providing services with the use of Betfair now that it is legal in your country. I have been involved for five years with Betfair. There are massive profits to be made--tax-free. If you are interested please contact me. Discretion is assured." The trainer immediately brought the e-mail to Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy, who said, "We'll be monitoring any further occurrences and would hope other trainers would alert us if they received one. These aren't the sorts of emails we want to see floating around."
Live3DPoker -- Barbados-based software licensing company Royal Games International has released its second version of Live3DPoker, now a real money play version, available for download at live3dpoker.com for both Mac and PC platforms. Live3DPoker was launched as a play-for-fun site for Mac and PC in April 2005. "It was a lot of work," said Fred Luchetti, Live 3D Poker's Director of Operations. "But our developers have built their own backend and transaction processing from the ground up and we are more than pleased to be able to showcase this technology, while allowing our loyal gamers to begin to win real money."
BHB and VCI Settle -- The British Horseracing Board (BHB) and Gibraltar-based bookmaker Victor Chandler International (VCI) have reached an out-of-court settlement concerning payment for pre-race data, for which they were contractually bound. VCI lost a British High Court case last May, when they sought an injunction against the BHB charging for the data. Details of the settlement remain confidential. "VCI has been a model client all along, and at the end of the day this is a good solution, said BHB CEO Greg Nichols. "They want the data, and we want to be the source, supplying information through our authorized suppliers."
UK Tax -- Peter Dean, chairman of the UK Gambling Commission, told the Financial Times that the future success of online casinos in the UK depends hugely on setting a favorable taxation rate to attract offshore operators back to the UK. "The tax rate must support the new Gambling Act," he said. "If foreign online casinos are deterred from entering the UK, many casino fans will be forced to play at sites outside the government’s regulation. The responsibility to ensure safe and secure gambling at online casinos for British casino players lies with the Treasury and the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport."