Bit from the Philippines -- The Manila Times reported yesterday that a Quezon City administrator is asking the city council to bar Internet gambling in the city. Pacifico Maghacot Jr., an assistant city administrator and the chief of the business and license office, said that although Internet gambling would be difficult to control completely, the ease with which citizens can access it bothers him. "We are not taking [online gambling] lightly, because it is available to anybody who has an access to the Internet," he said. "Even in homes and schools, Internet gambling can be played."
Quote Worthy -- "I view it as drinking. If you can't handle it, don't do it." - William Bennett, conservative lecturer and author of "The Book of Virtues," quoted yesterday on MSNBC.com in an article about his prolific gambling
New Stuff -- Access Gaming Systems last week rolled out Xenia, the successor to the company's ACES 4.4 interactive gaming system. Paul Barnes, vice president of sales and marketing, said Xenia was designed with an eye toward input from Access' clients; regulators in Australia, Europe and the Americas; and in-house product management and expertise. The program was developed in Java and offers the latest open technical standards including XML. It supports multi-player games, multi-lingual sites and multi-currency payment systems.
US Tidbit -- Youbet.com, the online race wagering company based in Woodland Hills, Calif., said today that its handle for the Kentucky Derby totaled $2,433,780, a 141 percent increase over its 2002 handle for the event. The group said it processed 5,000 funding transactions on Derby Day and signed up 1,000 new customers.
News from the UK -- Littlewoods Game On is launching a new interactive digital TV game on the Sky Active platform called "Hot Spots." The game is based on the Spanish Daily Lotto and will give players the chance to win between £30 and £6,000 daily. "With U.K. iTV games and gambling business models expected to generate $1.1 billion by 2007, we are committed to developing fun, usable, interactive games to allow consumers to play from the comfort of their own homes," said Peter Cuffe, the interactive media director for Littlewoods Gaming. "The Hot Spots Spanish Daily Lotto game is a valuable addition to our iDTV games portfolio, and strengthens our growing reputation as interactive gaming leaders."
Names and Faces -- WorldWinner has appointed Peter Blacklow as its chief marketing officer. Blacklow is the former head of marketing at Monster, the job search Web company. WorldWinner also recently hired Joe Bai as the head of its technology department and Melanie Walsh to lead the finance department. ... Bengt Ake Berg has left his position as chairman of the board of Svenska Spel, the Swedish National Lottery. He was replaced by Anders Gustafzon, a banker with Foreningsbanken who has served on the Swedish Lottery Gaming Board.