UK Regulators Unveil New Licensure Conditions -- The U.K. Gambling Commission announced today that it has launched its new licensure conditions for gambling operators and staff, as well as new codes of practice--mandates that must be followed by operators wishing to run gambling businesses in Britain next year. The Commission said it will have significant new legal powers to monitor the industry and to prosecute illegal gambling. It will also advise central and local government on gambling-related issues. Organized in 2005, the Commission is designed to regulate the gambling industry in accordance with public interest. "Britain's gambling laws are undergoing wholesale reform, and from September next year all operators must be licensed by the Gambling Commission," said Peter Dean, the Commission's chairman.
PamelaPoker Goes Bust -- PamelaPoker.com, the online poker Web site founded by Pamela Anderson and operated as an adjunct to the Doyle Brunson Poker Network, has shut down in compliance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Anderson indicated in her online diary that the site "should have been shut down a month ago," and that online poker in the United States brought with it "too many shady areas." PamelaPoker.com launched on July 21, 2006.
Appointed -- Cyberview Technologies, a provider of downloadable server-based systems to the land-based gaming industry, has named David Purvis as Managing Director of U.K. sales and operations effective today.
The Rumor Mill: A Five-Part Series
I -- A spokesperson with U.K.-based payment processor Moneybookers has acknowledged sale rumors, but was unable to comment further. Sale hints surfaced Nov. 21, with Neteller named among a group of suitors allegedly willing to fork over the $191 million asking price. Egaming Review reports that a spokesperson for financial advisory firm Longacre Partners (LP) did confirm that LP was conducting a "strategic review" for Moneybookers, but said there was "nothing definite" about what they would recommend.
II -- Greek gaming company Intralot has bid for 500 gambling points of sale under the country's privatization tender, reports Euro2day Newswire. Sources close to the sale said that, last Friday, financial terms of the bids were unsealed by Italian authorities, with the winners expected to be announced soon. The Rumor Mill also speculated that Eurobet bid for 200 betting shops and 650 corner stores, Cogetech asked for 175 stores and 175 corner stores, while Ladbrokes bid for 85 shops and 880 corner stores.
III -- Online gambling, poker room and casino operator 888 is close to inking deals with some of Europe's weightier mobile phone operators to offer mobile gambling services, a source close to the company said last Thursday. Cell Phone Digest reported that several European mobile operators are reportedly in the hunt to incorporate 888 mobile into their offering as negotiations enter their final stage.
IV -- U.K.-based betting exchange Betfair is expected to wrap up a deal to buy international ratings firm Timeform by week's end, The Guardian reports.
V -- Speculation is brimming over Irish financier Dermot Desmond and a possible stake in online money transfer firm Neteller. Desmond, who has investments in I-gaming companies Paddy Power and Betdaq, has reportedly purchased a 10 percent stake in Neteller in the form of contracts for difference, which prevents him from having to publicly announce the investment. No price has been disclosed, and no one has been reached for comment on Desmond's behalf.