Mexi-Go -- Through special authorization approved Dec. 22, 2005 by the General Direction of Games and Draws of SG in Mexico, multinational sports betting company BWIN has been permitted to operate an Internet sports betting business in Mexico. But the company, associated with Promojuegos of Mexico, is sparking some questions of conflict of interest, according to Daniel Olivares Villagómez, member of the social organization Di No a los Casinos (Say No to Casinos). Villagomez said Promojuegos' major shareholder, Raúl Quintana Fernández, is connected to Emilio Azcárraga Jean of Mexico TV station Televisa, which represents the private investment firm Groupo Pegaso, headed by Alejandro Burillo Azcárraga, cousin of Azcárraga Jean, president of the National Team Commission of the Mexican Football Federation (Femexfut) and organizer of different stadiums and teams in the different states. Villagomez added that Femexfut is a players' organization that supports the candidate to the presidency of the PAN political party, Felipe Calderón, as a way to thank the licenses granted by PAN civil servants.
Scrutiny -- Online betting exchange Betfair signed an agreement with the Tasmanian government last week allowing greater scrutiny of gamblers on Betfair's Web site. Betfair has acknowledged there have been several inquiries from Australian racing stewards about potentially suspicious gambling on its Web site. Tasmanian Racing Club chairman Geoff Harper says the agreement will give racing stewards easier access to the personal details of Betfair clients. Tasmania's racing industry believes the agreement will ensure the national industry is not caught up in a scandal like the one involving leading British jockey Kieran Fallon and 10 other industry figures, who were charged Monday with fraud relating to allegations of fixing the outcomes of races between Dec. 1, 2002 and Sept. 2, 2004. Betfair alerted the police after it noticed a string of suspicious betting patterns.
Limits Please -- Mike Weir, the Scottish National Party MP for Angus, has called on credit card firms to place a cap on the amount of spending for Internet gambling sites. Weir said a spending limit of £1,000 per week, with sites limiting players to one credit card each, should be set to curb gambling addiction. Online gambling giant PartyGaming and APACS, which represents the credit card industry in the United Kingdom, have taken the idea to task. Both parties have said the way to address the problem is to deal with an individual's addiction and not limit access to online gambling. Last week, North West Leicestershire MP David Taylor announced his support for a similar measure in England, signing a parliamentary petition asking the government to intervene and look at regulating gambling sites.
Online Gambling Research -- eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), an online gambling player protection and standards authority, has announced plans for an all-encompassing, worldwide online gambling research initiative. The research, led by gambling research teams from the University of Las Vegas and Nottingham Trent University, aims to capture the opinions of 20,000 players through a quantitative Internet-based survey, supplemented by qualitative focus groups in six of the industry's major markets. Over 200 players in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Germany and Sweden will be asked for their opinions in the qualitative exercise. The research will focus on what constitutes fair gaming; perceptions of operator conduct, including customer service standards; opinions on what further player protection measures can be put in place; and who gambles, how frequently, why and with what consequences, including its impact on finances and wellbeing. Research is set to start immediately, and the results will be published in the "eCOGRA Global Gambler Report" in January 2007.
Five Play and Win -- Online skill gaming provider GameAccount and U.K. terrestrial television and media channel Five have joined forces to launch a skill gaming portal called "Five Play and Win," found online at playandwin.five.tv. GameAccount is powering the skill gaming area on the Five portal, offering a full suite of non-download classic multiplayer and heads-up games such as gin rummy, plus P2P variants of games like mahjong, 8-ball pool and solitaire. The network also supports customized tournaments on demand. The company plans to acquire more customers through branded portals associated with other leading international media companies.
Korea -- Korea's casino industry is booming. New figures from the Korea Institute of Public Finance show that the industry, introduced in 2000, paid 279 billion KRW (US$292,798,917) in taxes for 2005, up from the 246 billion KRW (US $258,148,574) paid in 2004. The institute attributes the upward trend to the development and operation of the Kangwon Land resort, Korea's version of Las Vegas.