Wire Act -- Todd R. Meady and Christopher Paraldi have pleaded guilty in a federal court to charges of conducting an illegal gambling operation and violating the Wire Act. The men, who worked for sports touting agencies Player's Edge and National Sports Consultants, will forfeit their illegal profits and have agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in exchange for more lenient sentences that will probably amount to two years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert P. Barclift said five other members of the operation have also agreed to plead guilty and testify against the remaining seven defendants in exchange for lighter sentences.
Quoteworthy -- "I want to help make poker more fun and more accessible. The days of smoke-filled gambling dens are numbered if ParadisePoker.com is anything to go by!"
- Supermodel Caprice, who has just been signed as ambassador for Paradise Poker. Total Media, who will handle the poker site's media planning and buying, will work on a newspaper, magazine, outdoor and ambient campaign that features Caprice on 96-sheet posters.
Rumor Mill -- Northern Racing, a group that controls nine of Britain's 59 race courses, including Newcastle, Brighton and Chepstow, may opt to renege on its partnership with the new attheraces now that the The Horse Racing Channel has announced that it will launch as a free station within the next two weeks. Although attheraces claimed to have secured broadcasting rights from 25 tracks last week, it turns out that it had only signed exclusive, time-limited contracts to negotiate for picture rights.
Czech News -- The Finance Ministry of the Czech Republic stated that last year Czech consumers spent a record amount of $2.9 billion on betting and won $2.2 billion in prizes, meaning they lost $70.6 per capita. The previous year, $2.6 billion was spent on betting and $1.9 was earned in prizes. About 360 companies have obtained a license from the Finance Ministry to operate betting games in the country. . . . After last week's revelation of an alleged match fixing and bribery scandal involving two referees and a prominent official of one football team, Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka is pondering whether or not to implement a change in the lottery by preventing betting firms from owning sports teams. Current Czech law allows a company such as Synot to own a sports organization (FC Synot) and a betting company (SynotTip). It appears that SynotTip may have profited in the scandal by taking bets from someone linked to the FC Synot official who allegedly bribed football referees to influence matches.
Mental Incompetence -- The Supreme Court of South Australia yesterday heard arguments about whether Dennis Craig Telford had a gambling addiction so strong that he could not be responsible for stealing $22 million over two years from his boss, Mt Gambier trucking mogul Alan Scott, for whom Telford worked as a company secretary. Telford pleaded not guilty, due to mental incompetence, to 63 offendses--32 charges of fraudulently appropriating property, 11 of forgery and 20 of falsification of accounts. Defense attorney Kevin Borick cited reports from three psychiatrists that state Telford was unable to control his conduct. Prosecutor Jim Pearce, however, rebuts, stating that Telford's defense would mean that illegal drug users could use the same argument to defend stealing to feed their own addictions.
Mobile Draws -- Camelot, the operator of the U.K. National Lottery, is reportedly in discussions with British mobile operators Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2 and 3 UK to implement systems that would allow customers to buy tickets for draw-based gamed through their handsets by autumn 2004.
Issuance Flood -- Spanish gaming company Cirsa was forced to decrease its bond issuance deal by 50 million euros and to price 25 basis points above guidance as a result of the recent flood of new issuance and a fear of interest rate increases that is now taking a massive toll on the high-yield market in Europe.