Mobile Citadel -- e-commerce payment solutions provider Citadel Commerce Corp. has signed a five-year license agreement with Phantom Fiber so that it may use Phantom Fiber's wireless platform to extend its myCitadel payment solution to mobile customers. Now Citadel customers can download the company's mobile wallet application to their mobile devices, which they can then use to fund their myCitadel account and make gaming credit purchases… Citadel has also become sponsor of the Online Series of Poker Leader Board. The Online Series of Poker is a tournament that will be held across Party Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerRoom, Absolute Poker and Golden Palace Poker. Each site will host two tournaments, and the winner of each will not only receive the prize money from that tournament but also qualify for the final table event on Oct. 8 at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.
Norwegian Ban -- Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reports that a majority of Norwegian Parliament members now support banning the country's citizens from gambling with foreign-based websites. Politicians have until recently believed that banning foreign gambling sites would violate EU trade rules, but a recent ruling from the Supreme Court of the Netherlands may indicate that the country can proceed with a prohibition of foreign sites. Culture Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland said of the ruling, "This is good news for us. All signals from the EU show that this should be a national matter. And if so, the Storting (Norway's parliament) has already passed the necessary measures so it is just a question of execution."
Moving -- Online poker site PokerStars.com is rumored have obtained a license to operate from the Isle of Man. Currently licensed out of Costa Rica, PokerStars possesses the second largest share of the online poker market and is responsible for hosting the satellite tournaments that qualified the champions of both the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker champions.
Final Deadline? -- British television station Channel 4 has pushed its negotiating deadline with the horse racing and betting industries back once again following "the productive nature of today's talks with the Tote and the racecourses." After broadcasting horse racing for 21 years, Channel 4 has stated that it is losing money through its coverage of the sport. It had originally requested an £8 million subsidy to continue broadcasting races, but that request was unanimously rejected by the racing and betting industries only days before the expiration of the first deadline on May 31st. Yet, due to meaningful talks between some of the parties involved, Channel 4 pushed the deadline to the end of last week, then to the end of this week, before today stating that next Wednesday will be the final deadline. There now seems to be much hope and expectation that some sort of sponsorship package will be reached.
Cross Border Pools -- Woodbine Entertainment, the operator of Canadian horse race wagering site HorsePlayer Interactive (675bets.com), has been attempting to gain access to U.S. pari-mutuel pools ever since U.S. President George Bush signed a law that repealed a 30 percent alien withholding tax on bets foreign to the U.S. Woodbine says Canadian racetracks and more than 2,000 customers have petitioned the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency to permit common pool wagering within Canada using the rules of the U.S. tracks. Two U.S. states-Illinois and Ohio-- have already provided written approval to start common pool wagering with Canada by early July, but other states have progressed more slowly. In most cases, state regulators are reviewing whether or not their policies could permit the same minimum bet values in Canada and the U.S.
Ding Ding -- Charles Champion, CEO of Youbet.com Inc-- the largest provider of horseracing content and wagering in the U.S.-- had the honor of ringing the opening bell for the NASDAQ Stock Market this morning-- one day before the third leg of American horseracing's Triple Crown takes place at Belmont Park in New York.
Welcome -- iGGBA (interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association), an industry body for the European online gaming industry that aims to work with government and regulators in formulating fair interactive gambling regulation, has welcomed legal firm Manches LLP and gaming machine manufacturer Bell-Fruit Games to its ranks. iGGBA has more than 50 members and believes that by supporting a broad and diverse membership base, every necessary issue can be addressed.
VC White Labels -- Gibraltar-based gambling company Victor Chandler has signed an agreement to launch a white-label betting site for British high street bookmaker Jennings, which is one of the largest UK high-street bookmakers yet to develop an online presence. Managing director Ed Andrewes says that white-labeling remains an important part of Victor Chandler's business and that his company is already in late negotiation states with several other large brands.
Mobile Marketing Tools -- Finnish digital gaming solutions provider EGET (European Game & Entertainment Technology Ltd) has partnered with Finnish mobile marketing technology provider Add2Phone to offer player profiling, mobile CRM capabilities and advanced mobile marketing tools through its WinOne Mobile Gaming Platform.
Partners -- Internet services and solutions company Philweb Corp-- which is the primary technology service provider and marketing consultant to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) in matters involving Internet-based gambling operations-has signed an agreement with FB Systems Inc, which is a subsidiary of Canada-based Futurebet Gaming Systems. Under the terms of the agreement, FB Systems will be Philweb's partner in providing technology, marketing, and distribution services to Pagcor. The agreement covers all North American sports and all Philippine-based sports except for soccer.
Exceeding Expectations -- Arena Leisure, operator of British horseracing television network At The Races announced today, exactly one year after the relaunch of At the Races, that the network has exceeded audience level expectations and has been able to deliver £2 million back to its racecourse shareholders and partners."