Delayed Again -- A Dutch court has for the third time postponed a verdict in the case of DeLotto vs. Ladbrokes. The court now says it will render a decision on May 12. The three judges presiding over the case have not given any indication as to why they require another delay.
DDoS Attacks -- Sporting Index is the latest company to see its online betting service brought down by extortionists. The Web site came under a DDoS attack on Monday, and by Tuesday the company sent a letter to its clients explaining that its Internet service has been temporarily suspended. According to Sporting Index spokesperson Wally Pyrah, "We have had to suspend the Web site as it has been attacked by an extortion ring. They are completely flooding the site with mass traffic and we have had to suspend until it passes over."
Survey Says -- The Gallup Organization has published the results to its annual Gallup Lifestyle Poll, for which 1,011 American adults were surveyed via telephone between Dec. 11 and Dec. 14, 2003 and asked whether or not they participated in each of 11 forms of gambling within the last year. State lotteries are the most common form of gambling, with 49 percent of respondents reported to have played the lottery. Casino gambling is the second most popular gambling activity, with 30 percent reporting to have gambled at a casino. Only one percent of the respondents say the have gambled on the Internet within the last year. Casino gambling has seen the most positive growth change since 1989 when the Lifestyle Poll was first conducted. In 1989 only 20 percent reported to have gambled at a casino. Professional sports betting has seen the most decline since 1989 when 22 percent responded that they had been participated in gambling on pro sports. In December 2003, only 10 percent of polled Americans said they had done so.
Mobile Games -- Mobile content supplier MonsterMob Group will provide mLotto with pay-to-play interactive mobile phone betting games. MonsterMob will market the games to existing and new customers, including its 3.6 million customer base. MLotto, which has a U.K. bookmaking permit, will operate the service under a new brand, Spin 2 Win. MonsterMob made an initial investment and took options over five percent of the ordinary share capital of mLotto. The companies will share the revenue generated by the alliance.
Quoteworthy -- "If the tax review is deemed to be uncompetitive then the industry will shift offshore."
--Joe Tighe, CEO of betting exchange software developer Trading Sports. Tighe is quoted in a New Media Age article that discusses the reaction of betting exchange companies in response to UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's proposal to review implementing a new tax structure on betting exchanges.
Welcome Aboard -- U.K.-based betting exchange Betfair has appointed Sir Robert Horton as its non-executive Chairman. 64-year old Horton is a former Chairman and Chief Executive of BP, Chairman of Railtrack Plc, and President of the Chemical Industries Association. . . . Chartwell Technology Inc, an online and mobile gaming software provider, has appointed Peter Kinash as an independent member of its board of directors. Kinash will fill the vacancy left by resigning Steven Latham, who served on the company's board since 1998. Kinash, a chartered accountant, is a former CFO of Wi-Lan Inc and partner with KPMG. He has been granted an option to purchase 50,000 common shares of Chartwell Technology…. VirtGame Corp, a provider of server-based software solutions to the gaming and lottery industries, has appointed Conway Downing, Jr. as Director of Public Lottery. Downing will lead the company's deployment of software products and technology. He founded Ascendx Holdings Inc in 1987, and now leads a Washington, DC government relations and public affairs firm called Mattox Woolfolk. Downing is a member of the Virginia State Bar and a member of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys.
Laser Scam -- Three people were arrested at the Ritz Hotel casino in London on suspicion of having won a huge sum of money by cheating. Metropolitan police are investigating whether the suspects used a laser scanner inside a mobile phone to gauge the spin and velocity of a ball in order to predict its final resting place on a roulette wheel.
Nat'l Lotto Licensing -- In an effort to make it easier for companies to bid against Camelot, members of England's Parliamentary Culture Select Committee have drafted a report that recommends new ways in which the National Lottery license can be awarded. The committee is concerned that Camelot could establish a perpetual monopoly unless the current licensing and bidding scheme is changed. The committee has suggested a second license so that another operator could compete with Camelot, who describes the proposals as "a serious threat to the money raised for good causes."