IASbet Searched by Police -- The Sydney Morning Herald reports that on Friday morning Australian police officers raided IASbet headquarters in Melbourne as well as the company's online betting agency in Darwin, seeking records of the $19 million dollars stolen by former Commonwealth Bank manager Kim Faithful, IASbet's largest customer. Police seized documents and interviewed several staff members. The home of IASbet owner Mark Read was also visited by five officers bearing a search warrant. On Nov. 17, 2003, three months after Faithful's arrest, the Northern Territory Racing Commission stated that IASbet was not at fault for accepting Faithful's bets and had breached no regulations. Faithful claims that IASbet knew that he was a bank manager.
SKY One Bids for Euro Millions -- U.K.-based Broadcast magazine reports that SKY One has placed a bid to obtain television broadcasting rights for Euro Millions, a weekly lottery spanning several European jurisdictions that will air every Friday night. The lottery is set to launch this spring in Britain, France and Spain, and five more countries will join in 2005. Sky One would like to feature the lottery in a live entertainment show at the heart of its prime time schedule. Some estimate that the jackpot will initially be around £35 million each week and will grow as more countries join.
Camelot's Massive Marketing Plan -- British portals MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL have signed deals with Camelot, operator of the National Lottery, to develop dedicated lottery channels that will allow web surfers to buy tickets online through their sites. The deals are part of Camelot's massive marketing plan to promote the new Lotto Online service that launched in December, allowing players to choose their own numbers and buy tickets weeks in advance. Banners and buttons for the new service will also appear on some of the busiest sites in the United Kingdom, like NTL, Freeserve, and Tiscali.
Memorandum Rejected -- New Media Age reports that the UK's traditional bookmakers have rejected the idea of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Jockey Club similar to the one signed last summer by Betfair and the Jockey Club. This comes after the Guardian reported on Tuesday that the Jockey Club was close to signing a memorandum with the major bookmakers, who have for a long time expressed their opinion that there is no need for them to give the Jockey Club or other sports organizations access to their customers' betting records.
Korean News -- South Korean online gambling and software developer Hoonnet has been stripped of its status as a inter-Korean business company after officials discovered it had been working with its North Korean business partner Jupae to offer online gambling services to South Korean residents through the web site at www.jupae.com. The South Korean government forbids its citizens to register with North Korean Internet sites unless they approve prior approval from the South Korean Unification Ministry. One government official said "Hoonnet's business is also not pursuant to the spirit of inter-Korean business." He added, "Those who gambled on the site and sent money to the North will be punished."