Tidbit from Malta -- The Malta Business Weekly is reporting that while the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority has not received any formal inquiries from American companies about setting up online gambling businesses there, requests could be coming soon. Alfred Muscat, chairman of the gaming authority, said the recent sale of Oddsalive, a Malta-based company, to betinternet.com, will improve the country's reputation as a base for online gambling. "The takeover of Oddsalive received widespread publicity in Nordic countries, in particular in Norway, Sweden and Denmark," he said. "That the case was concluded to everyone's satisfaction has put Malta in a very favorable position, even more so after the authority made sure that all liabilities were honored by the buying company."
News from Norway -- Aftenposten, a Norwegian publication, recently reported that a new compulsive gambling hotline in the country has been getting calls for help from children under 13 years old. The hotline, operated by a hospital and the Lottery Commission, has taken calls from children as young as 11, said Thore Paulsen, the manager of the hotline. "(The children) talk about personal problems, depression and always being penniless," he said. "Their gambling addiction isolates them, and when they call us they do it secretly, so that their parents shouldn't know."
Data Hub -- A recent survey undertaken by World IT Lawyers, an international law association found that many European Union Web sites do not always follow the EU's rules on e-commerce. The group found that only 12.8 percent of the sites it looked at provided information on their place of business and only 24.7 percent had information on their trade registrations.
Making Deals -- AngelCiti Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary, Worldwide Management, today announced an agreement with Be the Dealer. AngelCiti said it expects to be able to provide Be the Dealer's software to www.TheHouseWins.com by the end of May.