Keep Out -- OPAP, the Greek gaming monopolist, said Sunday that European law indeed corroborates its effort to keep leading British bookmakers out of the country. In a piece published by daily Eleftheros Typos, OPAP chairman Sotiris Kostakos wrote: "Each EU member state has the sovereign right to award exclusivity to a company, or to accept more than one company." On April 14, William Hill applied for licensure to operate sports-betting shops in the country--days later, Kathimerini, the Greek English-language daily, reported OPAP had nine arrested for placing illegal Internet bets through foreign operators. "We have no real reason to fear competition, but society does," Kostakos said.
One Down -- The eight-month dispute between the German state of Bavaria and bwin e.K. (not bwin AG) ended today as a Munich court ruled it was "technically not possible" to ban Internet sports betting in the state alone. The disagreement dates to September, when Bavaria alleged that bwin illegally took bets from its residents. The court ruled that, for bwin, preventing Bavarian customers--and only Bavarian customers--from using its online services was technically impossible. In a prepared statement, the court added that Bavaria "did not show a single comprehensible and convincing way that sports-betting companies can technically implement the ban."
Catching Up -- Gaming Intelligence Group carries a report on St. Minver, the European I-gaming network operator. The news source spoke with chief executive Jim Ryan, who said the company, since before the UIGEA was introduced, has considered going public but has no immediate plans to do so. "Right now, we … continue to watch the market and will take full advantage of any opportunity that arises when the time is right," he said. Ryan also dispelled M&A rumors reported earlier this month by Dagens Industri, the Swedish financial daily, which listed Boss Media as an attractive takeover target for St. Minver. Last month, St. Minver, in conjunction with Boss, partnered with Yahoo to launch its U.K.-facing online poker site.
Here to Stay? -- Monopoly proponents had reason to celebrate today as Sweden's Finance Minister, Anders Borg, reportedly reneged on his promise to assist in the abolition of Svenska Spel's monopoly on the country's gaming market. Veckans Affarer, the Swedish economic journal, reportedly received information that indicated Svenska's strong performance--$350 million in revenues in Q1 2007 alone--would allow it to retain its hold on the market.
Stay Tuned -- The Independent reports that Sportingbet will release its third quarter results on Thursday. Meanwhile, PacificNet, which, May 6, announced the $6 million-sale of its majority share in Guangzhou 3G Information Technology Company, will announce its first quarter earnings report on May 24.
I-Bingo Growing in UK -- Gill Larner, a 20-year offline bingo patron and centerpiece of a feature carried by the Sunday Times, embodies the spirit of the increasing number of players leaving the halls for their homes, as the U.K. smoking ban is set to be effected this July. In the meantime, the paper said, the online game--sans high taxes, slot-machine restrictions and, importantly, a moratorium on smoking--is booming. While the smoking ban has undoubtedly helped boost the popularity of the online game, major operators like Gala, Mecca and others have "thrown their weight behind" launching interactive, Net-based versions of their bingo products. According to figures compiled by Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, online bingo games in the United Kingdom generated gross wins of $143 million in 2006, up from $98 million the previous year, and $61 million in 2004.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, PartyGaming was down 0.50p to 39.75, 888 was down 3p to 119 and CrytpoLogic was up 5p 1,238. On the Vienna Stock Exchange, bwin was down 0.48 euros to 31.42.