Microgaming -- Online gaming software provider Microgaming announced today that it is bringing its Jackpot Madness and Prima Network products together under the single "Microgaming" brand. Prima will now be called the "Microgaming Poker Network" and Jackpot Madness will now be known as the "Microgaming Progressive Network," and a new "Powered by Microgaming" seal will appear on all sites that use the company's software. The old brands will be phased out by the end of summer, and the new brand names will be integrated into a new Microgaming.com site.
Tuesday -- The inaugural draw for "Monday," England's new online lottery, was postponed for four hours today because of extremely high demand. Chariot, the company behind Monday, said its Web site, PlayMonday.com, had been receiving 2,000 hits a second--four times the expected number--and some players were having trouble logging on to enter. The draw was scheduled for 8 p.m. (GMT), but has been pushed back to midnight. The winning numbers will be posted on the Web site as they are selected.
NETELLER News -- Online money transfer service provider NETELLER Plc made three major announcements today, beginning with the launch of German, French, Spanish and Italian versions of its service, released April 25. Each is supported by a native-speaking call center with 24/7 service, and customers in these four major European countries can transfer money from their local banking systems in euros and in their own language. Online merchants that do business in these countries also benefit from the service by being able to offer a seamless, single-language and currency service as their customers transfer between their Web site and NETELLER's service. NETELLER also officially announced the availability of its new 1-PayTM payments platform for the Asian market. The system has been integrated with a number of key merchants in the area. Finally, the company has completed a technology overhaul, replacing its existing member application technology with a more scalable Java platform.
State of the States -- Released today, the American Gaming Association's (AGA) 2006 "State of the States Survey of Casino Entertainment" includes some interesting findings pertaining to Internet gamblers. The association has identified the typical Internet gambler as being under 40, college-educated, male and more affluent than his peers. The survey, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, found that 70 percent of those polled only started gambling online in the last two years, indicating a surge in popularity of the activity. The poll also revealed a slight lack of trust by consumers, with more than half of respondents saying they believe online gaming companies find ways to cheat customers and 46 percent believing that their fellow players cheat. The legality of online gambling is evidently still a mystery to some gamblers, with 19 percent of respondents believing that it is illegal in the United States.
Challenging Kyl -- Former Republican state Sen. John Verkamp plans to enter the race to unseat Internet gambling foe Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., as a Democrat, according to the Arizona Republic. Verkamp, who will make a formal announcement on Tuesday, said he switched parties in December because of President Bush's handling of the war and scandals involving Republicans. He needs to collect the required 4,455 nominating signatures by June 14 to get on the ballot and face Democrat Jim Pederson in an August primary.
Poker Beat -- Keno.com Ltd., provider of online gaming portal management, will offer poker to its customers through an agreement with RedFelt Software Inc., a subsidiary of CYOP Systems International Inc. The software includes Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hold'em and 7 Card Stud, as well favorites such as Omaha Hi, plus daily tournaments with entries to the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker and all the major events.
Golden Green Tube -- Online skill games developer Green Tube announced today that it has received this year's Golden Award of Montreux in the "Web" category for outstanding creativity and cross-media promotion for its 3D E-Sport Interactive Game development, "Ski Challenge 06." Each year an international jury consisting of delegates from 14 countries chooses outstanding creative projects from 34 countries to receive the award. Green Tube has run promotions for the game for 80 days in cooperation with the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF) and the Swiss Broadcasting Company (SF DRS). The company is looking to integrate two additional sports series within the next few months.