Skills with the Ladies -- New skill gaming site MoneyGaming.com next month will initiate a £1 million advertising campaign targeting women. The company, which is backed by £10 million in private and corporate investments, says it's negotiating revenue share deals to provide white-label games for a number of consumer magazines and newspapers. Internet service provider Wanadoo is already a commercial partner.
Pending Legal Action? -- French bookmaking company Paris Mutuel Urbain (PMU) is reportedly preparing to take action against ZEturf, a new online wagering site, for a horseracing service launched June 20. PMU, which is composed of 63 French bookmakers, believes that its monopoly on horserace wagering in France should prevent ZEturf from offering services to French citizens, but ZEturf says its services are legal because its betting sites are located in the United Kingdom, Austria, Finland and Malta. PMU also believes that French residents who use unauthorized online betting sites could be liable for fines of up to 45,000 euro and prison terms of up to three years.
Pitch Crashers -- Franz Beckenbauer, chairman of the football World Cup's organizing committee, says World Cup officials are pondering ways to stop spectators from running onto the field during matches. Recently spectators ran onto the field in four matches of the 16-game Confederations Cup tournament in Germany, which will be the host country of next year's World Cup. Agence France-Presse reports that the latest spectator to run onto the field--a Spaniard carrying a flag during a Brazil v. Germany semi-final match in Nuremberg--confessed to being paid by a "U.S.-based" Internet gambling site.
WSOP Stars -- Hollywood actress Jennifer Tilly defeated around 600 competitors this week to win the $157,625 first prize in the ladies no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament event at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. . . . Shannon Sharpe, the CBS Sports football commentator and former NFL star, has signed up with AbsolutePoker.com to play as part of Team AbsolutePoker in the World Series of Poker's main event, which begins July 7.
Welcome Aboard -- Youbet.com, Inc., the largest provider of horseracing content and wagering in the United States, has named Jeff True CEO of the company. True will continue in his role as Western Region General Manager and will also lead promotions and promotion partner development programs for the company.
Hot Application -- The Fortune Lounge Group of online casinos says that 90 percent of its customers use the Fortune Lounge Personal Messenger application, which enables players to receive personalized messages, account information, gaming news, promotional updates, bonus offers and prizes related to Fortune Lounge's gaming operations. Released in January 2005, the application functions like a chat or instant messaging program in that it resides unobtrusively in the task bar and is activated only when a new message is received. One of the primary purposes of the application is to help players avoid the rigorous spam filtering systems that can prevent legitimate offers and invitations from reaching recipients. The application also provides chat functionality and enables users to access the casino gaming software.