News from Sweden -- The Swedish Gaming Board is saying that Swedes spent 7 percent more during the past year on numbers games, sports betting, horse races, VLTs, bingo and casinos than they did the previous year. The Swedish people spent EUR 3.9 billion on those forms of gambling in 2001. Svenska Spel, the state-operated lottery, increased its sales in 2002 by 15.4 percent to EUR 1.6 billion.
Legal Stuff -- The Bloomberg news service reports today that representatives from the nation of Antigua and Barbuda and the United States will meet in Geneva on April 7 at the World Trade Organization. In the meeting they will attempt to resolve Antigua and Barbuda's objection to American efforts to curtail the Internet gambling industry through two bills that are currently being considered in the U.S. Congress. Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua's ambassador to the WTO, said the islands want "survival, not blood." The online gambling industry employs 3,000 people in Antigua, which has a total population of 68,000. If dispute resolution fails, a ruling from a WTO judge could take up to two years to happen.
Data Hub -- The March 21 issue of Science magazine covers a study recently conducted by Christopher D. Fiorillo and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. The study found that brain chemical patterns in people who are gambling are similar to those who are addicted to drugs. The findings may help explain how people become addicted to gambling, Fiorillo said. ... The Society for Human Resource Management has conducted a study concluding that 30 percent of workplaces in America have an NCAA betting pool. Reuters reported today that politicians and officials with the college basketball tournament are increasingly using the series of games as a setting to ask Congress to ban betting on college sports.
Names and Faces -- Paul Micucci is being appointed as executive vice president of Magna Entertainment Corp. 's Gaming Division. Micucci was most recently the vice president of slots at racetracks and development and operations at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. He will join MEC on April 7. Jim McAlpine, president and CEO of MEC, said Micucci will be a welcome addition to the staff. "Legislators in several states in which we operate are studying the merits of introducing slot machines or video lottery terminals at racetracks as a means of maintaining the competitiveness of the horse racing industry in their state and generating revenues for various state-initiated programs," he said. "The addition to our management team of someone of Paul's stature in the gaming industry will better equip us to pursue these opportunities and to develop and effectively execute our business plan should gaming licenses be obtained."