Mobile in China -- Solvix Technology, a South Korean mobile Internet service provider, and mobile operator China Unicom have formed a joint venture that plans to launch a mobile lottery service in China early next year. Solvix said it also hopes to embark on a mobile wagering service as soon as Chinese legal and social conditions permit it. At the moment, however, the Chinese government is pursuing a strict policy of eradicating both land-based and interactive gambling. Solvix already provides services that enable subscribers of SK Telecom's mobile network in South Korea to participate in lottery games, Toto and race betting via mobile phones.
Online in Japan -- Japan Net Bank, an online banking affiliate of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, in May will begin offering a new service that will enable its customers to wager online on horse racing. The company has obtained permission to run the service from four associations, each of which operates a racetrack. It is already possible to place horse racing wagers via telephone in Japan, but obtaining eligibility to bet by phone is a process that takes months to complete. Japan Net Bank's online customers, however, will be able to begin betting the day they apply.
Poker Network -- Caribsports.com has launched a poker site using software from Poker Network, making it the 10th Poker Network licensee to go live with Poker Network's Java-based no-download poker software. All of Poker Network licensees, including PokerRoom.com (which, like Poker Network, is a subsidiary of Swedish company Ongame E-Solutions) funnel their players into the same massive network.
Quoteworthy -- "A lot of these things are veiled threats . . . to try to stop something that they know if it goes through will ultimately not be what they want. It probably is bluffing, and I believe the stakes are high enough that the state of North Dakota, and the people of our state, need to call their bluff."
- Rep. Jim Kasper (R) of North Dakota, who has sponsored a bill that could make North Dakota a licensing jurisdiction for Internet-based poker. The Department of Justice has sent letters to Nevada, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the National Association of Broadcasters stating its belief that online gambling violates federal law (the Wire Act), but Kasper has obtained a legal opinion that only online sports betting is illegal.
Survey Says -- According to a survey conducted by Canadian research firm Decima, 56 percent of Canadians are opposed to playing poker online for real money. Decima arrived at the statistic by polling 3,538 Canadian adults and says it is accurate within 1.7 percent. Twenty-five percent of the survey's respondents said they have no problem with online poker, while the remaining 19 percent fall somewhere in the middle.