Sports Betting Venues in Spain -- Following the approval of a new regulation, the regional government of Madrid has decided to authorize Internet sports betting venues. The new regulation dictates that betting will only be allowed in certain designated venues, such as bingo halls, casinos, football stadiums and sports pavilions. And Internet betting will only be allowed on web pages authorized by the government. Under-aged gambling will be prohibited and employees of betting companies will be banned from placing bets as well. The regulation is expected to go into effect between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, according to the Economic Department.
A First for Singapore -- British online betting exchange Betfair is sponsoring the first-ever Asian Poker Tour taking place in Singapore in November. The tour will feature international players vying for a $2 million prize and qualification, taking place online at Betfair Poker as well as at live tournaments all over the world, began June 29. The event will be open to everyone, including local players. The Tour will be televised and distributed to international broadcasters and other media. The tour will take place November 12 to 18 at the Marina Mandarin Ballroom in Singapore.
A New Appointee -- Ladbrokes' Board of Directors has appointed a new non-executive director. John Jarvis CVO, CBE, currently chairman of Jarvis Hotels, is also non-executive Chairman of England's Sandown Park Racecourse and a member of The Jockey Club. From 1979 to 1990, he was an executive director of Ladbrokes Group, and Chairman of Hilton International from 1987 to 1990. Jarvis joins the Board July 1.
Poker at your Fingertips -- Pokerzone Television (Sky Channel 226) has launched a brand new dedicated broadband TV Channel, Pokerzone On Demand (POD), broadcasting live poker programming on the Internet 24 hours-a-day, 365 days a year. POD content includes live games, documentaries, news and entertainment shows. All content is available without download and viewers can watch a week's worth of programming in one sitting, on-demand.
Scientific Games in Norway -- New York-based lottery solutions provider Scientific Games has won a contract, worth approximately $8.4 million over five years, to supply the new sports betting system of Norway's state-owned gaming operator, Norsk Tipping. The new sports betting engine will work in parallel with Norsk Tipping's legacy MasterLink System, conform to World Lottery Association standards and add the ability to handle bets from agent terminals. Scientific Games will manage the installation, testing and final delivery of the solution from its offices in Stockholm and Vienna.