No Senate Bill -- Senator Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who has been trying to ban online wagering for about 10 years, had planned to introduce an online gambling prohibition amendment today by attaching it to S2349 (the Lobbying Reform Act). However, the debate over the Lobbying Reform bill was sidelined by a proposed amendment aimed at preventing a United Arab Emirate company from managing several key US ports. It would appear that now Congress will take up the lobbying reform bill next week but the bipartisan managers of that bill have pledged to disallow any non-germane amendments to that bill as drafted. This would eliminate the opportunity for Senator Kyl to move his prohibition bill in the Senate by attaching it to this particular vehicle. IGN will continue monitoring this situation and keep you apprised.
Merger? -- Auckland-based gaming firm SkyCity Entertainment Group is rumored to be considering a merger with wagering operator UNiTAB. SkyCity Managing Director Evan Davies reportedly said a takeover would enable the two companies to complement each other, with both holding expertise in respective gambling segments.
Cheltenham In-Running -- Each of Ladbrokes' 2,278 betting shops in the UK and Ireland will offer in-running bets on all four championship races at the Cheltenham Festival next week. Ladbrokes offered a similar service two years ago to their Internet clients, but this is the first time shop punters will be able to bet after the start of a race and right up to just before the end.
Partners -- Online bingo software provider BingoTek has partnered with online gaming solutions provider Microgaming to deliver online bingo games to their network of licensees. BinkoTek offers a range of pay-to-play and free-play online bingo games, including 75-ball US bingo and 90-ball UK bingo products.
Survey Says -- A Wall Street Journal poll this week has shown that a great number of people oppose the U.S. Government's attempts to ban online gambling. A simple question: "Should online gambling be banned?" was posed to readers of an article titled "Web-Gambling Opponents Restore Old Fight." Voting results as of this morning showed that 1034 (19 percent) respondents agree with the ban and 4458 (81 percent) feel there should be no ban. The poll can be found at discussions.wsj.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=wsjvoices&nav=messages&msg=3828
Speculation -- Analysts are weighing in on the prospect of expanded gaming in the U.S. Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett has declared chances for an explosion of expanded gambling in the U.S. in the near future "nominal to nonexistent." Brian Gordon, a partner in Las Vegas-based financial consultants Applied Analysis, said political pressure outweighs the fiscal benefits a state might get. And Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said no statewide referendums to expand gambling are likely in 2006 or in the next two years, although a bill was introduced in Kentucky last month calling for a referendum and state constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling at racetracks. Analysts also said that operators are focusing instead on established jurisdictions that favor their operations, like Nevada, New Jersey and the Gulf Coast area, and on the spread of gambling overseas.