Policy Change? -- According to Isle of Man Today, the Isle of Man's Council of Ministers is considering a report compiled by the Department of Trade and Industry that examines the potential risks and benefits of changing the isle's remote gaming policies to allow operators to accept bets from U.S. players. The paper also reports that two large companies are preparing to settle on the isle, assuming that it makes the necessary changes to permit bets from the States.
BetonSports Alert -- Costa Rica-based BetonSports.com, which in July floated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market at a share price of 140p, issued a profit warning today. The company blames recent poor performance on the cancellation of over $10 million in radio advertising during the NFL football season, the company's busiest time of the year. The lack of NHL hockey in North America is also taking a toll on the company, which last Sunday lost $3 million when 10 out of 13 NFL games went against it. The company's stock value fell 81.5p (over 50 percent) on the day to close at 79p.
Million-2-1 -- Mobile gaming company Million-2-1, which operates a non-profit lottery for charities in Greater Manchester, is expanding its offering by adding a suite of Java-based fixed-odds games. A dice game and a Hi-Lo card game will be the first new games to launch, with horse racing and "Lucky Balls" to follow soon after. All of the games can be downloaded and then played for fun or for real money.
Mobile Z4P -- I-gaming software developer Zone4Play has launched its play-for-real fixed-odds casino applications on the Hutchinson 3G mobile network in the United Kingdom. Digtial Interactive Television Group (DITG), the parent company of popular numbers game Avago, is also collaborating on the service and will allow Zone4Play to offer Avago-branded play-for-fun games as well as fixed-odds real gaming products.
Lottery Bill -- A bill that seeks to update England's 10-year-old National Lottery system would formalize the merger of separate funds into one, thereby saving between £6 million and £12 million. The bill would also create a more competitive licensing process and provide greater public involvement in deciding where funds are distributed. The National Lottery Bill is expected to be introduced early in the next legislative session, but may not be a top priority.