Sharp Minds -- Betfair and British cellular operator O2 have signed an agreement that will make the Betfair betting exchange available on O2 Xda ll mobile phones. A simplified version of the Betfair exchange network has been available to certain mobile users via a WAP interface, but the new O2 version is designed to provide an exact replication of the Internet exchange. Powered by mobile software provider Rapid Mobile, the service will also offer streaming odds updates. . . . Representatives from Betfair met today with five of Tasmania's 10 Legislative Council members in an effort to gain support of the company's attempt to gain a license to operate a betting exchange in the state. The support of at least three independent members of Parliament would be necessary for Premiere Paul Lennon's government to pass the appropriate legislation to license Betfair's exchange. Independent Ivan Dean told ABC News Online, "There probably are a lot of gains in it for Tasmania on the briefing we've had, but like other members, I still want to hear from the [racing] industry." Meanwhile, Betfair spokesperson Andrew Twaits said the company can't accurately predict how much money would come from its contribution of 35 percent of its gross revenue to the racing industry and state taxes. "On today's figures alone, the percentages that we're talking about would run into the millions of dollars, rather than the hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said.
Italian Job -- Another match-fixing scandal has emerged in Italian football, but this time no gambling was involved. The recently promoted team from Genoa was demoted from Serie A to the third division after an Italian Football League disciplinary commission investigation discovered that the team paid 250,000 euro to its opponent, Venezia, to guarantee the results of the final game of the season. Apparently the main aim of the fix was to obtain a promotion for Genoa to the higher league. Last year six players from Italy's top two divisions were banned from the sport because of their involvement in gambling-related match fixing.
Sponsorship -- Sportech's LittlewoodsPoker.com subsidiary has become the exclusive sponsor of a new celebrity poker show called "All Star Poker Challenge" on British television channel ITV. The sponsorship extends to the show's Web site at ITV.com/poker and also features betting and gaming content from Littlewoods Game On behind the red interactive button before, during and after the broadcast of the show.
Teen Gambling -- A new study on teenage gambling in New Zealand conducted by Auckland University estimates that two out of every three teenagers in New Zealand have participated in some form of gambling in the past year and that 3.4 percent have gambling problems--a rate that is twice as high as that of adults. Instant Kiwi "scratchies" tickets were the most popular form of gambling. Meanwhile, SkyCity Casino has reported that more than 23,000 underage teens have attempted to gamble on the casino floor in the last year.
Tabcorp in China -- Victoria-based Tabcorp announced that its joint-venture with Hong Kong-listed World Metal Holdings has won a 10-year technology and services agreement to operate and run lottery products across China for Beijing Lottery Online Technology. Tabcorp and its partner will install at least 60,000 Keno terminals in 30 provinces within the first five years. The deal, which is expected to generate about $50 million a year for Tabcorp in the next five years, marks the first time a foreign company has been invited to participate at a nationwide level in China's lottery market.
Corporate Web Site -- Multi-platform remote gaming solutions provider Zone4Play has launched a new corporate Web site that showcases its products and solutions through Flash demos and game show reels.