Betfair Bits -- Despite a recent media report to the contrary, online betting exchange Betfair says it has offered major Australian sporting bodies product fees and access to betting information on events it covers. "Claims reported in one media outlet today that Betfair offers no returns to the sports whose events it covers, are completely false," Betfair Director of Corporate and Business Affairs Andrew Twaits said. "Betfair has led the way on this initiative, and it is quite wrong to suggest otherwise." Phase 1 of the agreement has Betfair sharing all information (including customer details) relating to betting on sporting events held under the sponsorship of a COMPS member. In Phase 2, Betfair will pay the relevant COMPS member a percentage of its gross revenue on any Australian sporting event that is sponsored by the relevant COMPS member. . . . In other Betfair news, the company will submit its application to publish Victorian race fields to Racing Victoria (RVL) this week. It was denied in November after Section 2.5.16A of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, which prohibits unauthorized use of racing data, became operational. "We are putting together our final touches to our application to Racing Victoria," Twaits said. "We are optimistic, now that we are licensed, that we will be given approval. There is a strong argument that the racing fields legislation is not effective but we are looking at having a positive relationship with the racing bodies now that we are licensed in Australia."
Phantom Deals -- Wireless platform software provider Phantom Fiber Corporation announced two deals last week. The first is a five-year exclusive license agreement with online sports and race wagering solutions provider BEToptions Pty Ltd. that will allow BEToptions to deliver a mobile betting option to its customers. The terms of the agreement are based on revenue generated from user fees and service maintenance fees. The second deal is with shill-based interactive games developer Kiron Interactive (Pty) Ltd. to create a mobile extension for Phantom's gaming offerings. The terms are based on sharing the revenue generated from mobile users.
Hiring -- Online betting exchange Betdaq has appointed Mark McGuinness as Marketing Director. McGuinness has over 20 years experience in the leisure and retail betting industries and held previous positions as marketing director with Premierbet and Betshop.
Social Initiative -- The state of Oregon is launching a problem gambling initiative aimed at college campuses. The lottery-financed program offers technical assistance and resources to help colleges set up programs for students who may have a gambling problem. Past studies have shown that nationally about 2 percent of the population has a gambling problem, but the number jumps to 4 percent among teenagers. Jeff Marotta, problem gambling services manager for the state human resources agency, attributes part of the problem to easier access to credit cards among the college-age population. Julie Hynes, the problem gambling prevention coordinator for Lane County, Oregon said, "I think that college campuses haven't quite yet realized the seriousness of this problem and that's our responsibility, to increase the awareness of that."