Makin' Deals -- Access Gaming Systems announced today that it has received an order from the French State Lottery for an interface to connect the Access interactive system with a satellite-based interactive television platform for French players. Access already has a deal with the lottery to help it serve Internet lottery players. "This project is very special for us, as it will establish our products as true interactive gaming solutions for the regulated market serving multiple distribution channels on one back-end system," said Paul Barnes, vice president of sales and marketing for Access. "We are very proud that La Française des Jeux has (the French State Lottery) asked us to work with them and their iTV partners in France on this ground-breaking venture, and we look forward to the launch early in the new year." .... Virtual Gaming Enterprises Inc. said today that it has entered an agreement to purchase Insatcom-Earthlink, a data transmission company. Virtual Gaming Enterprises offers "on demand" Internet
gambling for people to play against each other and then use their winnings in the Virtual Entertainment store.
Bit from Mexico -- The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today that Mexico, despite numerous media reports to the contrary, is nowhere near legalizing gambling. Jorge Urdapilleta Nunez, an official with the ruling national political party
Partido Accion Nacional (PAN), told the paper that the government is, in fact, planning to get stricter with forms of illegal gambling.
Asian Tidbit -- China recently established a new set of rules for Internet cafes. The rules, which will go into effect on Nov. 15, include a ban on smoking and a rule that no cafe can be operated within 124 feet of a school. The cafes must close by midnight, and no customers can visit sites that offer gambling or pornography.