UK Jockey Club News -- The Guardian reports that the U.K. Jockey Club is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with Britain's major bookmakers that would allow the Jockey Club's security department to view certain betting records in cases of suspicious betting. The agreement, which would be similar to the already existing memorandum of understanding between the club and betting exchange Betfair, could be in place within a few weeks. . . . At the recent annual dinner for the Thoroughbred Breeders Association in London, the Jockey Club's senior steward, Julian Richmond-Watson, admonished the British Horseracing Board's plans to transfer commercial rights and power to British Horseracing Enterprises, a new body that is nearly entirely owned and operated by the Racecourse Association and the Racehorse Owners Association. He said, "Any arrangement which allows BHE, dominated by the racecourses and owners, to dictate fixture or prize money policy, will be a disaster for the sport." Among other claims, he added that "The two major shareholders in BHE will be inevitably willing participants along with the betting industry in increasing gross profits at the expense of quality racing."
Tote Gets SportXction -- Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc.'s subsidiary, Global Interactive Gaming (GIG) Ltd., has signed a non-exclusive agreement to provide its SportXction play-by-play wagering system to Tote Credit Ltd., which is a subsidiary of the Horserace Totalisator Board that holds the Internet bookmaking license for www.tote.co.uk. GIG will supply its technology and operate it, and in exchange Tote Credit will share a portion of its wagering revenue with GIG. Tote Credit takes responsibility for customer support and financial transaction processing, and it will market the product through its Web site and publications and through direct marketing and promotions.
New Stuff -- On Jan. 19, LegalPlay Entertainment will launch the Poker.cc card room, which is the first licensee to use LegalPlay's patent pending SkillPoker system. Poker.cc has agreed to deliver a monthly royalty from its revenues to LegalPlay. . . . CapitalCasino.com has launched a new site with 77 unique games including 69 download games and 51 Flash games using Microgaming software. The site boasts tailor-made rewards and promotions that offer players cash-back points every time they wager.
NDS' New Director -- NDS Group, a provider of digital pay-TV technology solutions, has announced that Nathan Gantcher will serve as an independent director for the company and will sit on its Audit and Remuneration Committees. Gantcher is CEO and co-chairman of Alpha Investment Management in New York City and is a former vice chairman of CIBC World Markets Corp.
Sports Market Trading -- AllSportsMarket.com, a new site that allows users to buy and trade stock on sports teams and events, has launched and is offering free memberships for public beta tests. The site uses trading methods and tools modeled off of Wall Street. All trades are conducted in real time with real money, and users' demand controls the market's dynamics. The site offers trading on basketball, baseball, NASCAR, hockey, golf and boxing, with more games coming soon.