Racing Coverage -- Britain's Channel 4 is expected to announce at the end of May whether it will continue to broadcast racing in the United Kingdom. The network has covered racing since it first aired 1982, and last year it covered 88 racing days, including 500 races from 30 different courses. It claims, however, that it can't continue coverage unless it gets £8 million to cover broadcasting costs. The racing industry seems reluctant to pay the sum, as do bookmakers, who experience about a 300 percent increase in turnover when races are broadcast on terrestrial television. "My feeling is that it would set a dangerous precedent to start giving money away like that, and in any case the amount they are asking for is exorbitant," William Hill CEO David Harding told the Guardian. "The BBC would be sure to pick up the coverage of a number of the prestige races, and there is already a lot of coverage on At The Races and Racing UK. It would be a shame if they left racing, but I don't think it would be disastrous."
Skill Gaming -- SkillJam Technologies, the skill gaming software provider and subsidiary of FUN Technologies, has entered into a Web development and marketing agreement with SINA.com Online, the U.S. subsidiary of SINA Corporation, whereby SINA.com Online will localize and translate certain SkillJam Web pages into Chinese and also promote selected games to global Chinese online users. SINA, whose network of localized Web sites targets China and overseas Chinese communities and has over 100 million registered users, will first promote SkillJam to the North American Chinese speaking market and then possibly expand to include the mainland Chinese market.
Charity Tourney -- The VIPpoker.com brand of Curacao-based online gambling company VIP Management Services is teaming up with the Normandie Casino in Los Angeles to create a $25,000 cash poker event called the "Big Show Tournament." The event will take place Sunday and will be hosted by ESPN radio personalities Mason & Ireland. It will also feature several celebrity players. Proceeds will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
See Life in a New Light -- A new £250,000 advertising campaign for Victor Chandler's online casino (VC Casino.com) features signage on over 800 red buses across central London and its suburbs. The campaign also includes posters, stickers and bar mats across more than 400 London bars, and later this month advertisements for VC Casino.com will be posted on all main London tube lines. Celebrity Rowland Rivron also plays a role in the "See Life in a New Light" campaign.
Site Closing -- AnyBets.com, a site that allowed users to participate in pari-mutuel pools betting on any event, including sports, politics, finance and entertainment, has shut down service, reportedly due to heavy losses. Launched in November 2004 by Graeme Levin, founder of Gambling.com, the site is believed to have attracted only about 500 real-money users.
Poker Software -- U.S.-based PokerBook Gaming Corporation, which organizes land-based and Internet poker tournaments for charity in addition to developing and licensing Internet poker software, has released a beta version of its no-download poker tournament software, which it has dubbed "PB25." During the final phase of development, the company will conduct weekly free roll tournaments to introduce the product to players and potential clients. The company plans to introduce another product in early June called "PB Turbo," which it describes as a faster, more robust gaming platform designed for the serious Internet poker player.
Casinofeed Sold -- Casinofeed.info is being re-branded as Affiliatefeed.com and has already transferred to the URL www.Affiliatefeed.com following the purchase of the service by U.S.-based Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP). Launched on a full basis in January 2005, the affiliate service provides a way for affiliate sites to display the most recent bonus offers and promotions the moment they are released by operators. Since its launch, Casinofeed has obtained a user base of over 60 casinos and poker rooms while registering more than 100 affiliate sites. CAP will move the service to a faster server and assist its over 2,000 registered affiliates is integrating the real-time information into their Web sites.
Snooker Fix? -- The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is investigating claims from The Sun that Australian player Quinten Hann accepted £50,000 to fix a China Open match last month for an undercover reporter posing as an agent for an illegal betting syndicate. If found guilty, Hann would likely be banned from the sport for life. Earlier this week Hann was found not guilty of groping and attacking a singer and actress at his home, and last year he was found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault. He's currently ranked 18th in the world.