888 IPO -- Much speculation was confirmed today when it was revealed that Gibraltar-based Cassava Enterprises, owner of 888.com, Pacific Poker and Casino-On-Net, has contracted Credit Suisse First Boston as advisors to a potential public offering. At the moment analysts are predicting that the company will seek an initial valuation of $1.6 billion sometime in the second half of 2005. The London Stock Exchange is the likely market for such an offering.
Commingling -- Scientific Games Worldwide Limited (SGW) and The Racing Network International (TRN) have signed an agreement whereby SGW will use its worldwide tote hub in Ireland to commingle wagers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and mainland Europe back to U.S. host racetrack wagering pools that are TRN customers. TRN provides software and information systems that interface between fixed-odds bookmaking systems and tote interfaces so that all bets may be commingled. The deal with SGW will allow TRN, which is also involved in a joint venture with At The Races, to commingle its American racetrack customers' pools with At the Races' international pools.
Skill Games -- Skill gaming systems provider CYOP Systems International has signed a deal with Prime Multimedia International, whereby CYOP will make its pay-for-play CrediPlay software available on Prime Multimedia's Host.sk network of sites. The skill games will be promoted through rich media advertising that will be integrated into approximately 110,000 individual Web sites based in Europe and North America. CYOP also has an online poker product that is in the final stages of testing and integration into the CrediPlay platform. The company expects to launch poker later this month. . . . Costa Rica-based BetCRIS has launched skill gaming on its Web site using software from British skill games provider Gameaccount. The company is reportedly also planning to launch bingo, lottery and virtual horseracing games on its site in the future.
Quoteworthy -- "The Wireless gambling market is huge, and research has shown that serious gamblers are more likely to carry a mobile device. However, most tracks don't understand the capabilities this gives them in providing information to their customers."
--Bob Rapp, director of strategic enterprise planning for Microsoft Corp, speaking last week to the joint meeting of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations and Harness Tracks of America. Rapp estimated that mobile gambling could be a $15 billion industry by 2009.
VC in Spain -- Victor Chandler has initiated a plan to develop its brand in Spain by signing a partnership with Spanish-licensed betting operator Equiniela that will allow VC Bet to offer on-course betting at two Spanish racetracks. VC Bet is also in the process of installing 100 sports betting kiosks in bars and restaurants through the southern part of the country.
Quickies -- David Power, chairman of the Irish Bookmakers Association, stated this month at his organization's annual dinner that he believes betting exchanges should pay the same tax--2 percent of turnover--as off-course bookmakers. . . . Casinofeed.info, an affiliate service that enables participants to display the most recent bonus offers and promotions the moment they are published, has attracted 53 online gaming operations since its full launch in January. Ladbrokes is the latest company to join the program.
Keno.com Ads -- Publicly listed Gaming Transactions Inc. has signed an agreement whereby Red Ruth Ventures will purchase $1 million in advertising to promote Keno.com. The advertising will consists of e-mail newsletter, static ad space and interactive rich media.
Board Changes -- World Bingo League Co. has appointed Gregory Wilson to its board of directors. Wilson is a practicing lawyer and the owner of investment firms Clarendon Corp and Elan Custom Homes. Before starting the investment companies, Wilson was CEO and founder of American Bingo and Gaming Corporation. The company started with a single charitable bingo center in 1987, and by 1994 it had assembled seven centers and completed an initial public offering that raised $5 million. By 1997 the company had 21 centers and gross revenue exceeding $10 million. . . . I-gaming software provider World Gaming has appointed Michael Cumming and Jonathan Moss to its board of directors. Cumming has 35 years of experience in private equity, including 14 years at Barclays Private Equity, which he expanded from a London base into a company with nine offices worldwide. Moss has served as World Gaming's director of sales and marketing since January, and before joining the company he served as business development director for CryptoLogic Inc. . . . BetandWin.com Interactive Entertainment announced that as a logical consequence of changes in the ownership structure of the company, both Carsten Koerl, founder and former executive board member, and Michael Tojner, venture capitalist and executive board member of Global Equity Partners, have resigned from their positions on the company's supervisory board. Tojner's legal advisor, Karl Liebenwein, has also stepped down, and so has Hartmann Weirather, founder of the WWP Group, which recently agreed to collaborate with BetandWin on consulting and rights acquisition. Weirather has resigned to avoid any conflicts of interest.