Bodog TM -- Costa Rica-based Bodog.com announced that it has obtained an officially licensed trademark on the name "Bodog.com Sports Casino Poker" in the United States. The company says it is the first online gaming operation to be trademarked in America. The date for Bodog.com's second annual conference event, the Bodog.com Poker and Sports Marketing Conference, has been set for July 6-7 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
ATR International -- At the Races has signed a deal with the British Tote that will allow wagers placed by punters using the new betting-shop focused At The Races International channel to be funneled into the U.K. pools. At The Races International, which covers racing for At The Races' 28 partnership courses, has already been running in Holland and Germany for the last three months, and agreements in Russia, Eastern Europe and North America have also been signed. The Tote's chief executive, Trevor Beaumont, noted that the deal is not exclusive, and said he hopes to strike a similar deal with Racing UK and its 31 courses.
Quoteworthy -- "In the U.K., there are 25 major brands. In America there are literally 1,000. Why are there 1,000 in America? It's quite simply because America is not regulated. If America were regulated, those who are not running their business to the standard would be squeezed out. There would be fewer operators, more taxes generated, and you'd have a regulated industry. The basic premise is one of scale. If I'm running my business for one dollar, or 1 million, the cost of operating my business is the same. Scale is important. Organic growth of 30 percent compounded per annum. Most of the gross profit of the business you acquire falls straight to the bottom line. It's extremely earnings enhancing."
-Nigel Payne, CEO of online betting company Sportingbet, providing an answer to the question asked by MarketWatch, "If online poker became legal in the U.S., how would this change your business?" Payne has been widely quoted in American newspapers since providing testimony on Tuesday to North Dakota's Senate Judicial committee during its hearing on the state's Internet poker bill.
Money Laundering -- The U.S. State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs concluded in its 2005 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report that Antigua and Barbuda is very susceptible to money laundering activity. The report states: "Antigua and Barbuda has comprehensive legislation in place to regulate its financial sector, but it remains susceptible to money laundering because of its loosely regulated offshore financial sectors and its Internet gaming industry. Money laundering in the region is related to both narcotics and fraud schemes, as well as to other crimes, but money laundering appears to occur more often in the offshore sector than in the domestic financial sector." Antigua and Barbuda is currently engaged in an I-gaming dispute with the United States in the World Trade Organization.
Skill Gaming -- Gaming Corporation, the owner of online gaming portal Casino.co.uk, has launched skillgaming.co.uk, a new Web site that targets the online skill games market. The site offers several games of skill for fun and cash prizes, including gin rummy, pool, pyramid solitaire, word noodle, num runner and more. Two weeks ago Gaming Corp launched Internet site Findpoker.com, a portal that replicates the business model of the casino.co.uk site by providing news, editorial content and links to poker sites.
IGC Resignation -- Following the revelation that I-gaming software provider and affiliate network Gambling Federation had inserted software that would prevent consumer computers that had been uploaded with Gambling Federation software from accessing three specific online casinos, the Interactive Gaming Council has terminated the membership of Gambling Federation and accepted the resignation of the company's CEO Flaviano Fogli from its board of directors. Fogli has acknowledged that his company inserted codes into its software to block the three casinos because they were related to a former Gambling Federation employee who had allegedly stolen lists containing the e-mail addresses of Gambling Federation players, but according to an IGC statement, "It was the determination of the IGC that the actions of Gambling Federation were contrary to the letter and spirit of the IGC's code of conduct and contrary to the best interests of the interactive gaming public and industry." IGC chairman Mark Stone added, "The act hasn't just prevented a competitor from getting a few visitors; rather it has shown the general public one more example of how vulnerable each individual's computer and personal data are to attack and interception."
Quickies -- Swedish radio station Ekot reported that the editors-in-chief of three different newspapers have been charged by Sweden's National Gaming Board with breaking gaming legislation because it published advertisements for Expekt, Unibet and Ladbrokes in 2003 and 2004. . . Paul Struthers has been appointed director of public relations for the U.K. Jockey Club, replacing John Maxse, who has served as public relations director since 2002 but is now leaving the position to become director of communications and special projects on behalf of the Jockey Club’s non-regulatory activities. . . Gibraltar-based bookmaker Stan James has signed on as sponsor for new reality series "The Contender" on ITV2 in the United Kingdom. The American show is produced by actor Sylvester Stallone and follows several competitors who aspire to be professional boxers. . . . BetEuro has become the official betting partner of the London Wasps rugby club. . . . Sportsbook.com, a Sportingbet brand that focuses on the American market, suspended wagering on reality TV series "The Amazing Race" after experiencing a suspicious number of bets placed on two contestants for the maximum amount allowed. The wagers may indicate a leak of the show's outcome.
Poker Beat -- Chris Moneymaker, who helped catapult Internet poker into mainstream American culture by winning the 2003 World Series of Poker no-limit Texas Hold'em event after qualifying through a satellite tournament at PokerStars.com, has founded Moneymaker Gaming, a company that manufactures poker supplies, accessories and apparel. . . . Steve Lipscomb, founder and president of the World Poker Tour, distributed a letter today asking reporters to honor the same rules that players must adhere to when wearing sponsorship logos. Many media members may be visible on camera because they are present at preliminary rounds of tournaments that air filmed for broadcast. Players have complained that members of the media seem to be exempt from the rules.