Purchased -- I-gaming provider CryptoLogic today announced its purchase of Scandinavia-focused online poker room Parbet.com. CryptoLogic companies will license the Parbet assets, poker software, payment processing services, multi-lingual customer support and services to a private Maltese online gaming company that will operate Parbet.com.
Paradise, Eh? -- Online poker room operator Paradise Poker this week launched an exclusively Canadian poker tournament on its dot-com site. The main event will be held on April 15, 2007, with weekly winners to compete for a CA$50,000 (US$42,408) first prize purse and "King of Canada" honors.
Partnering -- U.K.-based charity lottery The Weather Lottery in December announced a partnership agreement with Jackpotjoy.com operator Profitable Play. According to the agreement, Profitable Play will add a suite of games to its Web site and will receive 50 percent of net gaming revenue generated through the site. Weather spokesmen said the site is scheduled to launch in the first week of February 2007.
Record Revenues for PAGCOR -- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), a state-run gaming firm, in its latest financial report announced a record 25.4 billion pesos (US$521.6 million) in revenues last year, The Philippine Star reported last weekend. PAGCOR posted a total income of 12.22 billion pesos ($250.5 million) for the first half of 2006. PAGCOR's 2005 total annual income of 23.4 billion pesos ($480.5 million) was 6.8 percent higher than the 21.9 billion pesos ($449.6 million) it posted the year before. In 2006, an 11.95 billion peso sum ($245.3 million) was remitted to the national government, making PAGCOR the second-largest contributor to the country's coffer, next only to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
New Turkish I-Gaming Regs -- Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reports that a controversial law targeting indecent broadcasting and online gambling has been approved and will be applied forcefully by Turkish authorities against Internet crimes, including online gambling. According to Turkish Penal Code Article 301, the Information Technology Security Agency will have the authority to block broadcasts and offending sites as defined by the code. After extensively monitoring a suspected site, the agency need only acquire a court order which will be served upon the offending Internet service provider. The agency will also be authorized to take legal action against the site owner. Owners of sites found in violation of the code are subject to sentences of between six months and three years in prison.