UK Advertising Crackdown -- Offshore Internet gambling companies that advertise in taxis and on the London Underground may be in violation of British law. The companies can advertise in England because they are outside the jurisdiction of British law, but they are not allowed to advertise inducements or incentives, such as free entry to poker tournaments. Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport Tessa Jowell told the British Casino Association today that companies that violate the law will face prosecution.
Consolidation Party -- In what most observers consider a series of events leading to the inevitable acquisition of Empire Online, online gaming super company PartyGaming announced that it is purchasing two of its four skinned sites. Party will acquire Scandanavia-based MultiPoker.com--along with its assets, customers, brand and Web site--for $14.5 million. It will additionally acquire Intertops Poker for $4 million. A third skin, operated by Coral Eurobet, will move to the Ongame Network within the next few weeks. That leaves Empire, the largest of the four operations, as the only loose end in Party's transformation into a single system with no skinned sites. Party on Nov. 3 announced that it has submitted an acquisition bid to Empire as well, but the value of the offer was not disclosed.
From Hardwood to Felt -- Thirty National Basketball Association legends, including Julius Irving and Moses Malone, recently played poker in a tournament sponsored by online sports book and casino Sportsbook.com at the annual National Basketball Retired Players Association's (NBRPA) Legends of Basketball meeting in Trelawney, Jamaica. Former Houston Rocket Cliff Meely won the tournament.
Raising Money -- The American Gaming Association (AGA) says it will donate more than $288,000 raised this year at various events to the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). The largest portion--nearly $150,000--was raised at the 17th annual Gaming Hall of Fame Charity Dinner and Induction Ceremony held Sept. 15 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. The event, held in conjunction with the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), opened with a $90,000 donation by Reed Exhibitions, the AGA's partner in G2E. NCRG Chairman Dennis Eckart said the more than $285,000 raised for the NCRG this fall has been earmarked to fund new responsible gaming programs.