DOIN' DEALS GameAccount, a skill games specialist, has signed a software licensing agreement with Betfred, a privately held United Kingdom bookmaker.
Under the terms of the multi-year deal, Betfred's online customers will have access to GameAccount's person-to-person skill games network.
GameAccount, which specializes in niche areas like backgammon, poker dice and gin rummy, has also lured Gala Coral and Blue Square of the United Kingdom, as well as Stan James of Gibraltar, into licensing deals this year.
Dermot Smurfit, chief operating officer of GameAccount, told IGamingNews last week that the Blue Square deal will be among the company's largest by revenue and liquidity for the 2008 calendar year.
Nick Mounteer, head of operations for Betfred, said in a prepared statement that head-to-head games "compliment our sportsbook."
Financial details were not disclosed.
BRAZILIAN J.V. TrackBets International Inc., a media and distribution company targeting the Brazilian turf industry, has begun negotiations on a joint venture that would allow it to launch a advance deposit wagering Web portal to residents of the United States and Brazil.
TrackBets, which traded formerly as Carnegie Cooke and Company Inc., did not make any specification as to the identity of its joint venture partner.
The joint venture, the company said in a prepared statement, would "enable residents in Brazil to wager on horse races in the U.S. Residents in the U.S. could also wager on horse races in Brazil, and TrackBets would retain a percentage of the profits generated from both countries."
According to a December 2007 press release from Carnegie Cooke, its Brazilian entity is authorized via an arrangement with the Jockey Club of Campos. The entity is also authorized to distribute "international simulcast racing throughout Brazil" via an endorsement by the Brazilian Department of Agriculture.
Chris Krafcik is the editor of IGamingNews. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.