World Cup Bits -- Bookmaker William Hill will launch a daily podcast service on Friday, just in time for the start of the World Cup. The free program features commentary from former England footballer Rodney Marsh, who now works for Talksport. The service is available on the William Hill radio Web site and will feature daily news and betting previews, live from Germany, throughout the tournament as well as racing-related previews and interviews. . . . Residents of Thailand are expected to wager nearly $1 billion on the World Cup this year, up 23 percent from the last World Cup four years ago, according to the Kasikorn Research Center in Bangkok. Some 56 percent of the 3,093 adults questioned nationwide in a poll by the Center said they gambled for the excitement, but 34 percent said they wanted to make some extra money. Data also indicates that Thais would wager around 37 billion baht (US$968.5 million) on World Cup matches, but women are expected to place bigger bets this year, compared to last year, rivaling what men are willing to wager. The average woman is willing to bet 7,700 baht (US$200) this year, compared to 7,900 baht (about US $205) for the average man.
Texbet -- Totesport this week launched "Texbet," a new mobile betting system that enables account holders to place bets on horse racing and football with a single SMS message. "Research suggest that 99 million text messages are sent every day in Britain, and although bookmakers have put a lot of finance into mobile phones so far it has mostly been in WAP," spokesman Paul Petrie said. "Now you will be able to have a bet with every phone on every network wherever you are in the country. If you are in the pub and you want £2 or £200 on a football match or a horse you can get the bet on without whoever is set next to you knowing how much you have bet."
Quoteworthy -- "The approval by the Judiciary Committee of the so-called Goodlatte and Leach Internet Gaming Bills represents a troubling about-turn by an important arm of the US Government in response to the crystal-clear recommendations and rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It would appear from the voting pattern within the Committee, which adopted the Goodlatte Bill by a vote of 25 to 11, that a number of the Committee members had concerns with the bill in its current form."
- From a written statement by Antigua and Barbuda's minister of finance and the economy, Errol Cort, addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner. The government of Antigua and Barbuda was given an opportunity to make written submissions to the Committee in respect to the proposed anti-gambling bills.
Affiliate Tool -- CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com (CAP) is backing a new program for poker affiliates. PokerAffiliatePrograms.com (PAP), which debuted Wednesday, gives affiliate marketers who promote online poker access to expert articles, tools, community forums, specialized content for players and program alerts. Similar in nature to CAP, PAP will certify poker affiliate programs so that poker affiliates have one trusted source online.