In the House -- The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime today marked up H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which seeks to update the federal Wire Act to specifically outlaw all forms of gambling via interactive technologies. The bill will be referred to the full House Judiciary Committee for further consideration. Full committee markup is expected to take place March 10.
Pam and Doyle -- Bountiful Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson is slated to be this week's celebrity guest in poker legend Doyle Brunson's online tournament, the DoylesRoom.com Bounty Tournament. Bounty is a weekly multi-table tournament in which players from around the globe compete against a lineup of poker pros to be the last one at the table. Players will try to knock out Anderson, Brunson and pro Mike Caro on Thursday to win a bonus $25,000, plus a share of the regular tournament prize money.
Ladies -- Ladbrokespoker.com is holding what it is calling the first women's European poker tournament: the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championships. The top 48 female poker pros from around Europe will gather May 6-7 at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London to compete for a piece of the $48,000 prize pool. The first place winner receives $15,000 and qualifies for a $22,500 seat in Ladbrokes Poker Million V tournament in June. Sky Sports, which is recording the event, will air it over a six-week period leading up to the Poker Million V finals, which will also air on Sky Sports.
Fantasies -- Online gaming provider FUN Technologies Inc. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fanball UK Limited, has signed agreements with three European Web-based companies: Internet service provider Tiscali UK Limited, Goal.com SA and Underground Digital Media Ltd. Fanball UK will provide fantasy skill games content, including new World Cup fantasy game software. Under the terms of the agreements, Fanball will build, host, operate and maintain online fantasy sports Web sites for each of the partners. The new sites will be launched this spring.
What Britons Think -- A recent survey by consumer research consultancy XTN Data found that U.K. Internet gamblers favor the Gambling Commission playing a stronger role in the regulation of U.K.-based online casinos, the first of which are set to launch in late 2007. The survey, commissioned by casino games inventor Prime Table Games, questioned 1,015 British online gamblers in March 2006 and found that 67 percent of them would prefer a U.K.-approved casino to an offshore one. Seventy-three percent of gamblers thought that online gambling sites should state clearly whether they are run by third-party service providers, while 30 percent are categorically opposed to gambling brands outsourcing their online operations. Eighty-one percent of respondents said casinos should state when money is going to an affiliate, while 44 percent said they are less likely to partake of a site that shares money with affiliates.
Marketing Deal -- Digital marketing agency TBG London announced today that it is working on a six-figure online advertising campaign for slots and casino Web site Cyberslotz.co.uk. TBG will help launch Cyberslotz's new bingo games and run ongoing online ad campaigns that will enable users to play bingo directly through the ads. The ads will be strategically placed on female-focused Web sites (femail.co.uk and iVillage.com) and male-focused Web sites (Pigsback.com, FHM, Yahoo!, Gay.co.uk and Tombola).
Poker Pupils -- Some university instructors want to ban laptop computers from their classrooms in an effort to cut down on online distractions. Students have reportedly been caught using their universities' wifi systems to play poker during and surf the Net during class. University of Oregon chemistry professor Paul Engelking said he was disturbed to find students gambling online while they were supposed to be working on an in-class assignment. Enkeling suggests instructors establish penalties for Web surfing, codify them in a course syllabus and then enforce them.