Bit from Down Under -- Jupiters Ltd. believes it can sell its online gambling subsidiary, Centrebet, for between AU$118 million and AU$147 million, Alan Woinski wrote in The Gaming Industry Daily Report yesterday. The Australian company is selling Centrebet as part of its takeover by Tabcorp.
Quote Worthy -- "Whether or not William Bennett was a hypocrite is a minor point. The issue should be that if Bennett truly believes that gambling isn't sinful, he ought to stand up for it. If he did nothing wrong he should be saying so. He shouldn't issue neo-Clintonian apologies about his behavior. If he did nothing wrong, he shouldn't have folded. He should have persevered." -- Bennett Liebman, professor of racing and wagering law at Albany Law School, in an editorial today published by the Scripps Howard News Service.
UK Tidbit -- Online gambling legalization and regulation in the United Kingdom, which is planned to take place by 2004, could mean that the mainland could be a competitor for offshore licensing of Internet gambling in places like Malta, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man. Paul Doona, managing director of betinternet.com, which is based in Isle of Man, told taxnews.com that the U.K. could become a rival. "The island's biggest competition is undoubtedly staring at it from across the Irish Sea," he said. "There will be an impact -- the extent of it I don't know. (Isle of Man) was first in so it is ahead of the game."
Legal Stuff -- MasterCard International is being sued by Paycom Billing Services, a company that processes credit card and checks for online merchants, The New York Times reported today. Paycom says MasterCard is violating antitrust laws and charging larger fees than necessary to process online transactions. Paycom, whose clients are mainly online pornography merchants, is seeking $23 million in damages. MasterCard has said that its higher charge for online transactions corresponds to the higher rate of chargebacks -- disputed charges -- for Internet purchases.
New Stuff -- Net Entertainment today introduced what it is calling the first skill-based slot machine available to players on the Internet. The Stockholm-based company, which is a division of the Cherry Casino Group, is now offering the game at www.casinodomain.com and www.cherrycasino.com. Pontus Lindwall, the CEO of Net Entertainment, called the concept a big change for online gambling. "The online gaming industry is in constant change and this product may well turn out to be one of the bigger changes for game development," he said.