Names and Faces -- Betfair said today that Stephen Hill will take over as chief executive, effective immediately. Hill is the former CEO of the Financial Times Group, which he left last year to work in the private equity field. During his with the Financial Times, he served as managing director of the Financial Times newspaper, CEO of Westminster Press Ltd. and director of strategy for the company. "Of all the companies I have looked at as investment opportunities, this is by far the most exciting. Like eBay, Betfair is using the internet to truly revolutionize the way customers can interact with each other," Hill said.
UK News -- Today the secretary of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport called for changes in the National Lottery. Specifically, Tessa Jowell said the public should be allowed to vote how the proceeds from the Camelot-run lottery be spent. "It is now time to give the National lottery back to the people," she said.
Legal Stuff -- Alex Salmond, a member of Parliament, has introduced legislation in the House of Commons that would protect gamblers should the company they gamble with dissolve without refunding their account balance. Slamond's plan is a reaction to the closure of Burns Bookmakers. The company's owners have disappeared and left debts of £100,000, including money that is owed to players. "Bookmakers can go out of business for two reasons," said Salmond, who is a supporter of racing. "They might just have a bad Cheltenham, or they might go bust, as appears to have happened in this case, because the abscond with the dosh. The financial test obviously provides some protection against the first, but it provides no protection against the second, and there should be some sort of lifeboat there."