Punt2Punt -- The Gaming Bourse, a global betting exchange for financial, commodities, media, political and sports betting markets, has delayed the initial launch date of its service at Punt2Punt.com because of system configuration problems encountered while migrating the software from the test to the live environment. The site is now scheduled to go live June 21. In addition to operating Punt2Punt, the company plans to offer white-label services internationally. The Gaming Bourse's exchange platform boasts streaming prices that don't have to be refreshed and offers punters the option of choosing traditional, digital or indexed price odds. Additionally, customers can choose whether commissions will be drawn from their net winnings or their stakes. The Gaming Bourse plans to raise £5 million by floating on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in the very near future.
DDoS Attack -- A DDoS attack launched against Akamai Technologies, a company that handles traffic for many popular Internet sites, knocked several high-profile Web sites--including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft--offline for about an hour yesterday. The attack occurred on a day when Yahoo had chosen to upgrade all of its e-mail clients to 100 MBs of storage space, so many users assumed the upgrade was to blame for the slowness they experienced with their e-mail. Akamai is assisting U.S. federal law enforcement agencies in their investigation of the attack.
Ad Code of Practice -- The Interactive Gaming Council has drafted an updated "Advertising Code of Practice" for casino operators and software developers. The new code, which warns against unsolicited advertising, including spam and pop-up ads, was unanimously approved by the IGC's board of directors at its meeting in Toronto last month. Executive director of the IGC, Rick Smith, said, "It's a sad fact that Internet casinos and sports books are, knowingly or unknowingly, responsible for contributing to the spam problem. Spam often originates from a third-party marketing company or affiliate rather than the gaming operator, but regardless of the source, spam needlessly alienates many consumers who would otherwise bear no ill will to online gaming." The new code also advises that advertising not be false or misleading (especially with regard to the odds of winning), should be in good taste and should not focus on minors or be displayed at sites frequented by minors. The Web site should contain the name and address of the operator, contact information for complaints, and accurate information about the jurisdiction and gaming license under which the site operates. The entire code can be viewed at: www.igcouncil.org/read_news.php?id=15.
Memorandum Likely -- The Racing Post reports that Rob Hartnett, managing director of betting exchange Betdaq, has confirmed that his company is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the British Jockey Club. The agreement entails Betdaq sharing some of its clients' information with the club in situations where there was reasonable suspicion about illegal betting. Betdaq expressed adamant opposition when the Jockey Club entered into a similar agreement with Betdaq's chief competitor, Betfair, last summer.
Spammed If You Do -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opted not to create a national do-not-spam registry because of concerns that the list could actually be used by spammers as a source of verified e-mail addresses that could be easily targeted. The FTC was obligated to consider drafting the list when the CAN-SPAM Act became law in January.
Spotlight on Skill Games Networks -- According to comScore Media Metrix, skill games site Miniclip.com is the seventh largest computer gaming site in the world, with 15.6 million unique visitors in March. The site features games like "Break the Wall" (sponsored by Totesport), where soccer players attempt to push penalty kicks through a wall of defensemen, and "Bush Shootout," where U.S. President George Bush must single-handedly defend the White House against hordes of attacking terrorists. Another Miniclip property, Miniclip-Tournaments.com, is ranked the 41st largest gaming site and is growing. The tournament site uses unique community features and allows players to pay real money to play in skill games tournaments for prizes. Miniclip's chief executive, Robert Small, said that the tournament site attracted 2 million registered users in its first few months, helping the company more than double its overall profit this year. The technology and tournament infrastructure behind Miniclip-Tournaments.com is provided by Game Trust, Inc.