Paddy Pays Out on Obama -- Paddy Power said today that it believes the race for the U.S. Democratic Nomination is "well and truly over," and has already begun paying out on Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to be the successful Democratic nominee. "From a betting point of view, we reckon that it's game over for [Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.]," said the bookmaker. "With each passing day Obama is looking more like a certainty to get the Democratic vote and as far as we're concerned he's already past the post." So far, Paddy has paid out roughly $75,000 to bettors who backed Obama over the recent weeks.
Turf War Nearing Conclusion? -- The Guardian reports that at some stage this week William Hill is expected to join Coral and Ladbrokes by signing with Turf TV. "Their PR department," the paper quips, "will positively spin out, through gritted teeth, a release about how pleased it is for its 'customers' -- by which we should read 'shareholders' -- that their betting shops will once again be able to show every race live."
'Read My Lips' -- The U.K. government is reportedly under pressure from major bingo industry players to ease the tax burden, amid fears that the country's economic slowdown will cause widespread closures of clubs. The Financial Times reports that the lobbying campaign, spearheaded by Coral and Rank, is understood to have won the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is expected to press for reform of the industry's tax regime in its Budget submission. Unlike other sectors of the gambling industry, Bingo operators in the United Kingdom are currently the only subject to a double tax under the Gambling Act -- a gaming duty of 12.5 percent and value added tax of 17.5 percent. "The message we are giving the chancellor and the prime minister is 'if you give us the same tax treatment as other gambling industries, it will be an investment on future admissions,'" Gala Chief Executive Neil Goulden told the paper.
Coming Soon? -- GamblingCompliance reports that the central European Principality of Liechtenstein is rumored to be considering whether to begin offering remote gambling licenses. As a full member of the European Economic Area, the smallest German-speaking country in the world would be able to offer its operators similar rights of cross-border advertising to the United Kingdom as those enjoyed by licensees in Gibraltar and Malta.
Financial News -- Betbrokers said today that all resolutions put to shareholders at its AGM were duly passed. In other news from the financial wires, Neteller said that Franklin Templeton International LLC -- a San Francisco, Calif.-based investment group -- as of Jan. 4 holds approximately 5.07 percent of the company's issued share capital.
On the Rise -- Those with investments in China will be pleased to learn that the yuan has risen to its highest value since 2005 on speculation that the country's central bank will allow faster gains to cool the economy. Bloomberg reports that the yuan is the best-performing currency in the past month of the 10 most traded currencies in Asia outside of Japan and the Philippines. According to a poll of 29 analysts, the report says, the yuan will rise to 6.86 per dollar by the end of 2008.
Rain or Shine -- Demonstrating that online gambling is still alive and well in the United States, Tracy Press reports that the California Lottery "used emergency, backup electricity generators to run online gambling and other games statewide over the weekend due to a power outage."
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, 888 was up 2.75p to 145.00, Ladbrokes fell 11.50p to 288.00 while Rank was up 1.25p to 87.00.