New Stuff -- Gaming group ukbetting plc said today that its joining forces with BT Openworld, Sportev Ltd. and InTheBox Media to offer Sportal OnDemand. The product, which ukbetting is calling the first broadband sports network in the United Kingdom, will be available to broadband users on any Internet service provider through the BT Openworld site at www.sportal.com. The channel will give subscribers the opportunity to watch a variety of live events, highlights, previews and interviews.
Making Deals -- Done's Bookmakers, the largest independently owned chain of betting shops in the United Kingdom, said this week that it will retain its relationship with Livebet Online, an interactive software provider. Done's is expanding its telephone betting business and is considering launching an Internet betting service.
Bit from Canada -- Gambler Constantin Digalakis is suing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for CA$7 million for allegedly giving him free casino perks after he put himself on a self-exclusion list. Digalakis said he went bankrupt after gambling more than $250,000, the National Post is reporting. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the largest gaming company in Canada, said Digalakis is responsible for any losses he suffered because the self-exclusion forms don't make the casino liable if the gambler manages to get in the casino.
US News -- The Gannett News Service is reporting the American Gaming Association may support the bill proposed by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., which would create a commission to study the possibility of regulating online gambling in the United States. Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the AGA, told the news service that his group hasn't made a final decision yet.
Names and Faces -- Penn National Gaming is appointing John V. Finamore as its new senior vice president of regional operations. He will be in charge of the company's Charles Town West Virginia operations. Finamore was most recently the president of the Missouri operations section of Ameristar Casinos.