Quoteworthy --
"I think my country (United States) is wrong in trying to change the rules of the World Trade Organization. Your great nation (Antigua and Barbuda) and ours will have to negotiate those differences in terms of equity and fairness."
- From Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who oversees tax legislation as chair of the Ways and Means Committee. According to the AP, Rangel said he worries Washington may have overstepped its authority in the long-running dispute. Antigua's Prime Minister, Baldwin Spencer, met with Rangel and three other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the sidelines of a regional business conference last weekend.
Settled -- bwin said Friday that it has agreed to defer the 83 million euros owed to the majority vendors of Ongame under the terms of the December 2005 acquisition. The settlement will waive 79.9 million euros -- of the 473 million euro acquisition cost -- in return for a 29 percent share of bwin's U.S. revenue over the next five years, should bwin choose to re-commence its U.S. operations.
Launched -- Jaxx UK Ltd., a subsidiary of Germany-based Fluxx AG, has launched its sports betting service in the United Kingdom with marketing partner AOL UK. Jaxx said it has secured the requisite licensure with British authorities and will offer casino and poker products in early 2008.
Browser-Based -- Net Entertainment has agreed to supply Gaming VC with its browser-based CasinoModule platform.
OnCash Debuts -- Spin3 announced the launch of its OnCash solution, "a system that empowers land-based casinos and other organizations that work in a cash-environment to branch their business into the online and mobile casino mediums quickly and easily." The system has been created for establishments in countries that, economically, are predominantly cash-based. "We are really excited about the prospects for OnCash in developing markets such as Southeast Asia," said Spin3 Chief Executive Matti Zinder.
Mobile Predictions -- Mobile research firm Juniper expects total annual wager on mobile casino services to exceed $5 billion by 2012. According to its latest report, global gross win from mobile casino services will rise from less than $5 million to $133 million by 2012. The forecast was not as rosy for the United Kingdom, however, with the firm predicting the country's share in total wager on mobile casino services -- which currently sits at 60 percent -- is likely to fall to less than 20 percent by 2012 as "adoption accelerates elsewhere."
Quoteworthy -- "The most salient aspect of the letter, from iMEGA's perspective, is to be found on pages eight through 10, especially the discussion on page nine, under the heading of 'Legal Research,' which echoes in large measure the concerns we expressed when the proposed regs [for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)] were first issued about placing the burden of interpreting in ad hoc fashion 'various Federal and State gambling laws' on institutions and entities wholly unprepared -- and, likely, unwilling -- to do so."
- From iMEGA President Ed Leyden, in an e-mailed response to IGN regarding last week's report issued by the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness, which took a critical position against the UIGEA.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, Rank was down 0.25p to 89.75, Neteller was down 1p to 76.00 and Playtech -- on the back of a record third quarter -- was up 4p to 385.00.