Delayed Again -- A decision in the DeLotto vs. Ladbrokes case was scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed yet again. It is the fourth time the Dutch court has delayed its decision, and there is still no indication why the three judges need more time. The verdict is now scheduled for June 2.
Cyber-Squatting -- Station Casinos Inc., a company that operates six land-based casinos in Las Vegas, filed trademark infringement lawsuits last week in a federal district court in Las Vegas against the owners of two Internet casinos-- silverstationcasino.com and stationcasino.com. Roberts Marshall, chief executive of ECM Group in Texas, and Mahmoud Nadim of Bangladesh are accused of using domain names that use Station Casinos' trademarks or are confusingly similar to them. Station Casinos' also claims the sites profit in bad faith from the company's trademarks. A federal judge has already granted a temporary restraining order forcing silverstationcasino.com's domain registrar Primus Telecom to block the site and transfer its ownership to Station Casinos, but the court has requested no action against stationcasino.com so far.
Welcome Aboard -- Youbet.com, a California-based provider of horse race wagering and content, has appointed Gary W. Sproule as the company's chief operating officer. He will assume responsibility for managing Youbet's worldwide operations. Youbet said Sproule, who joined the company as chief financial officer two years ago, has been instrumental in coordinating the financial strategies that have turned the business around. He has also served as CFO for Disney Interactive and COO of Unocal product marketing. Youbet's CFO position will be filled by Charles R. Bearchell, a former Lockheed Martin veteran who joined the company less than a year ago, serving as controller and vice president of finance. . . . Betfair has appointed Jacob Weinreich as a Nordic markets consultant who will lead the company's expansion into the Nordic region. Weinreich has previously served as business director for Bet24.com and marketing manager for Danish wagering company Expekt. He will spend the next 12 months in London giving business and product development advice to Betfair and coordinating the company's media and public relations presence in the Nordic region. Said Weinreich: "The Nordic area represents a huge opportunity for the business. Betfair has recently experienced a significant increase in activity from punters in the Nordic betting markets, who are attracted by the greater choice and control which Betfair offers the betting consumer in a market dominated by existing state monopolies."
Legalize It -- New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation has delivered an organized crime report that urges state legislators to create a task force to consider legalizing sports betting as a way to combat organized crime. Such a task force should evaluate the cost of the state's problems with widespread illegal sports betting and its accompanying tax evasion, loan-sharking, extortion and exhaustion of law enforcement resources and then determine how much the state could benefit from a taxed and regulated legal sports betting industry. The SCI report comes just as one of the state assembly's committees in discussing drafting legislation to legalize sports betting at casinos.
Chimera Poker -- Nevada-based software provider Chimera Technology Corp last week added a poker platform to its Internet gaming suite. The company is making its multiplayer/multi-table poker platform available to all of its licensees at no extra cost.