No Deduction -- Punt2Punt.com, the first online betting exchange from The Gaming Bourse, went live Monday with betting on soccer and tennis. The company hopes to implement wagering on horse races as early as June 28. Unlike most betting exchanges, Punt2Punt will not take deductions off of non-running horses, meaning someone could lay a horse to lose and then collect winnings if that horse does not run in the race.
Rob Harnett, managing director of rival exchange Betdaq, told the Racing Post that Punt2Punt's policy is "nothing short of crazy," and argued that "creating a level of deduction that is fair to both backer and layer is one of the hardest tasks for any betting exchange. But to remove it altogether is not the right way to go about it. The only punters it will tempt are those who can lay non-runners through inside information. It's like a builder deciding that he can construct cheaper houses by leaving the walls off." Punt2Punt Managing Director Hamish Raw said his company will work with the Jockey Club to police insider betting. He also stated, "The majority of racing trade is done in the final few minutes before a race anyway, by which time the non-runners are already known. There is a higher element of risk in betting without deductions, but that is the sort of punter we are looking to attract."
Back on Track -- According to Stanley Leisure's managing director, John Whitaker, the launch of two live horse racing networks has restored the level of telephone wagering the company had experienced before the original attheraces went off the air. Stanley Leisure's turnover from telephone betting plummeted 20 percent during the blackout period, while turnover in betting shops remained unchanged. Most of the business has come back.
Paddy's Mobile Power -- Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has launched "Paddy Power Mobile," a downloadable Java-based betting program for mobile phones. Developed by British software provider mFuse, the service works on any phone that is Java-compatible. Whereas many companies have relied upon WAP services, which are a bit slower, Paddy Power's service utilizes faster connections through GPRS. The service also features real-time pricing information and handset recognition, which simplifies the login process by requiring users to enter only a four-digit PIN code.
Scrutiny -- The British Parliamentary joint scrutiny committee has reassembled and asked interested individuals and organizations to again submit written evidence, this time in response to some of its recommendations for the Gambling Bill, specifically numbers 79-81 and 83-85, which deal with the size, definition and location of land-based casinos. The deadline for submissions is July 5.
In-Room Gaming -- Montreal-based Superclick, Inc., which develops the Superclick Internet Management System (SIMS) for use in hotels and universities, has released a beta version of "Hotel Casino Network" (HCN), an online gaming platform for the hospitality industry. Built with software from Playtech, HCN would offer customers the chance to play casino games in their hotel room and would enable hotels to provide their own user account management and database reporting.