Acquired -- 888 has acquired the online bingo business of privately held, Belize-based Globalcom Limited for a cash sum of $32.4 million. The London-listed operator said that a further earn-out cash payment of up to $11 million may be payable 12 months from completion on the basis of actual performance during FY 2007. Globalcom operates 45 online bingo sites, including Bingoballroom.com, UK-bingo.net, Bingofabulous.com and Twofatladies.com. "Bingo will be a valuable addition to our entertainment services, which we expect to provide excellent cross-selling opportunities for our expanding base of customers worldwide," said 888 CEO Gigi Levy.
Inked -- Scientific Games has inked a five-year agreement with Sportech to provide football pari-mutuel tote services, technology development and IT consultancy services. Sportech also announced a deal with Orbis for the provision of back-end management and marketing solutions as well as casino and fixed-odds games content. The games will be launched later this year on Orbis' OpenBet platform.
Bought Out -- U.K.-based payment processor Moneybookers has been bought out by private equity group Investcorp Technology Partners for an estimated $140 million. Moneybookers' existing shareholders will maintain a "significant" ownership stake in the company, it said in a prepared statement released Wednesday. "Our objective is to do what is necessary to create Europe's largest e-wallet facility within the next two to three years," said Investcorp managing director Hazem Ben-Gacem.
Relocating -- Sportingbet announced Wednesday that it was transferring its licensable activities to the Channel Island of Alderney before September 2007. The company has already received licensure from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and said the relocation was prompted by uncertainty "surrounding the precise operational requirements of the 2005 U.K. Gambling Act." It added that the move would result in an exceptional cost of £13.5 million ($18 million).
Prelims -- Betsson released results for the first two months of 2007 this morning, which show revenues of $14.3 million and preliminary operating profits of $4.4 million, up from $3.6 million in Q4 2006. Revenue for the company's software arm, Net Entertainment, totaled $3.08 million. Its interim report will be released on May 22.
Coming Soon -- Poker professional Johnny Chan has signed with the Ongame Network to launch his online poker site, Chanpoker.com, set go live on March 30.
In the Clear -- World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials on Wednesday said that former $12 million-champ Jamie Gold will not be punished retroactively for rules violations during the 2006 WSOP. Gold told the New York Times in February that he had broken tournament rules by showing a hole card during one hand and informing an opponent during a different hand that he had "top-pair, top-kicker" after his opponent had bet. Gold said his "exuberance and excitement" at participating in his first WSOP Main Event prompted his mistakes. "Not only were we impressed with Jamie's candor and contrition, but we also recognized that tournament officials didn't witness the incidents or take appropriate action at the time of the rules infractions," said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack in a prepared statement. "We share culpability in this case and are satisfied that the actions in question were inadvertent mistakes."
In Trouble -- The Times reports that the U.K. government's five-year plan to liberalize gambling is "in tatters" after plans to approve a supercasino in Manchester were voted down in the House of Lords this week. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell had said before the vote that there was "no plan B" if the plans were voided. While the supercasino plans cannot be reintroduced in their current form, the paper says that the Lords vote "does not necessarily mean the end of Manchester's chances of hosting a supercasino."
Stock Watch -- On the LSE today, CryptoLogic was down 15p to 1,285, Playtech was down 3.50p to 351.00 and William Hill was up 8.50p to 636.