Swedish I-Gaming -- Sperospel.se, the first company to obtain a gaming license to operate over the Internet from the Swedish National Gaming Board, has purchased a WinOne Gaming System from Finnish supplier EGET. Initially, Sperospel.se will operate two scratch card games called Femman and Sperolotten and an instant game called Casinolotto which is a variation of Keno. www.sperospel.se opened to the public at the beginning of November.
PartyPoker -- Online multi-player poker site PartyPoker.com has announced it will present the PartyPoker.com Million III on March 14-18. About 500 players will depart on a cruise and participate in a no limit Texas hold 'em tournament for a $3.5 million prize pool and the chance to play in the World Poker Tour Championship. Players can enter for the Million III by qualifying in tournaments on the PartyPoker.com web site. PartyPoker.com has also named Shana Hiatt, the host of the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, as its new spokesperson.
Court of Justice Ruling -- The European Court of Justice ruled today that Finnish citizens do not have to pay Finnish income tax on lottery winnings from other EU countries. The Court decided that Finnish law that imposed tax on money from other countries was a violation of free movement of services in the EU. A Finnish woman who had won $118,000 in a Swedish lottery in 1998 brought the case before the court. The ruling also applies to foreign lotteries on the Internet.
Stanley Targets Greece -- "If you are thinking of launching or improving any kind of public or private betting business, the safest bet is to join forces with the winner of the Gambelli case,"-- an advertisement in Greek newspapers on Friday, ran by British betting company Stanley Leisure. The Dow Jones reports that last week Stanley Leisure's managing director, John Whittaker, said that the company was going to launch a media campaign in an effort to expand its business across the EU. Greek company Opap currently has the country's only license to operate gambling operations.
Talks -- According to the Australian Financial Review, Tabcorp might soon begin negotiating with Racing NSW, the organization that represents New South Wales' three racing codes. Tabcorp would need to establish a working relationship with the NSW's racing industry if it were to acquire TAB ltd.
Spam Laws -- Ireland has passed new spam laws in accordance with the EU's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive. The new legislation regulates spyware, cookies, unsolicited direct marketing by phone, fax, e-mail, and SMS.