WA Law Now in Effect -- A Washington State law criminalizing online gambling goes into effect today, which means that the state's residents who gamble online could be charged with a Class C felony punishable by a possible five-year sentence and/or a $10,000 fine. One resident told a local radio station that he has an untraceable Internet poker cash card linked to a Swiss bank account, which he can use to withdraw his winnings $1,000 at a time from any ATM. The state's Gambling Commission says that the State most likely won't prosecute players, but will instead focus on operators.
Directorate Change -- British charity lottery provider Chariot, which has suffered a near-death experience in the last four weeks, has reportedly received CPR in the form of a £2.5 million cash boost. Deputy chairman Peter Jones and non-executive director John Finan have subscribed to a placing of new shares issued at 5p and will together take the executive reins of Chariot, while chairman Tim Holley and managing director Craig Freeman are said to be resigning, along with at least one other executive director whose identity will only be announced with the details of the fundraising.
World Cup Preparations -- Online gambling company PinnacleSports.com launched today a portal providing up-to-the-second World Cup information, odds and statistics for gamblers worldwide. World Cup Live 2006 includes updated odds, match results, group standings, upcoming schedules and statistics on every game played during the month-long tournament. The site includes a link to the PinnacleSports betting site for player to place bets after reviewing the information. World Cup Live 2006 includes betting options with limits of up to $50,000, plus a 6-cent line on Asian handicaps, which accounts for substantial savings of $12 on each $100 bet.
Bingo Broadway -- Online gambling software developer Playtech has launched a new online bingo site, Bingo Broadway, bringing the total number of new casino, poker and bingo site openings operating under Playtech software this year to 16. Playtech has provided its entire software suite to Bingo Broadway's operator, Paranos NV.
Face Up Hold 'Em -- In a deal with PokerZone Television (Sky channel 226), The Winner Channel is launching an interactive TV poker show called Face Up Hold 'Em, during which a live Texas Hold ‘Em poker game is played with every hand revealed to viewers at home, who can play along by predicting which player will win at the start of every round. At every step of the game viewers are shown the mathematical strength of each player's hand to help make their predictions. The two hour program will be broadcast daily on PokerZone TV.