Pre Paid ATM -- According to InfoPowa News, Pre Paid ATM, an online payment solution provider that deals with many I-gaming operations, has for three weeks had difficulty finding credit card processors. Users who attempt to deposit money into their accounts with a credit card receive the message "We are currently experiencing difficulties with our credit card processor. Please choose another method or try back later." InfoPowa also reports that Betcris, Pacific Poker, and Absolute Poker have dropped Pre Paid ATM as a payment solutions provider.
Go Vegas Go -- Mobile Streams, a UK-based provider of mobile content, has designed a new mobile casino suite called Go Vegas Go for Java-enabled phones. Go Vegas Go, which features slots, blackjack, roulette and poker, will be marketed to clients as a white-label offering. Players will be able to download the casino suite by sending a short message service (SMS) code to the network where the software is located.
Poker Volume 2 -- Canadian online gaming software company Fireswirl Technologies Inc., has launched Fireswirl Online Poker V2, the latest version of its poker system that includes Texas Hold-Em, 5-card stud, 7-card stud, Omaha, and Hi/Lo. Players can play in multi-table tournaments or sit & go games.
Levy Yield -- Earlier this month Britain's Horse Racing Levy Board, the body that returns money to racing from off-course wagering, revealed in its annual report that the Levy yield for the year 2003-2004 was over £100 million for the first time ever. The Levy yield is £25.5 million, or 34 percent, greater than last year's amount. Betting exchanges contributed £4 million to the total sum, an increase of 75 percent over the previous year. Rob Hughes, the chairman of the Levy Board, said, "This is the second year in which the Levy has been based on bookmakers' gross profits on horseracing, and the materially increased yield demonstrates how volatile the new system is. Last year, Levy collections fell some £6m short of our planning forecast. In 2003-04 they have exceeded the planning forecast by an even greater amount."