I-mode -- British cellular network operator O2 this week begun operating the I-mode Web-accessing service that it licensed from NTT DoCoMo of Japan. The service is faster and easier to use than the proprietary O2 Active service the company had been using until now. Bookmaker Ladbrokes has already launched one of the first O2 I-mode applications. The group enlisted the help of interactive design agency NotOnlyButAlso to code a suite of I-mode templates that it delivered to Ladbrokes' technology partner, Orbis, for integration into the Orbis' OpenBet platform. Irish betting firm Paddy Power has also launched an application for the I-mode network.
Betfair in Malta -- British betting exchange Betfair on Thursday will begin conducting some of its operations from Malta. The company obtained a Maltese license in May 2005, at which time company spokesperson Antonia Sharpe stated, "The license we have obtained in Malta is linked to an exciting new product that Betfair hopes to introduce to the betting market later this year. There is no reason to think that we intend to move the exchange business offshore."
CYOP in China -- Los Angeles-based CYOP Systems International Inc., a provider of online gaming software and operator of games portals, says it has developed Chinese versions of its online poker games and will begin marketing them to large portals and online companies in Asia.
Activity in Israel -- Israeli newspaper Globes reports that State Prosecutor Eran Shendar and Israel Police Investigations Branch Chief Major General Dudi Cohen are launching a campaign against illegal online gambling. They have also reportedly agreed to take action against credit companies that provide transaction services for the illegal gambling Web sites. The Globes article sites a recent study that estimates online gambling in Israel to be $125 million industry. . . . Meanwhile, Mifal Hapayis, the operator of Israel's national lottery, has signed a contract with lotteries solutions provider Intralot that will result in the launch of Internet-based lottery services around the beginning of 2006. Built on Intralot's B-On gaming platform, Mifal Hapayis' new interactive system, "E-Pais," will offer five games--Chance, 777, Keno, 123 and Lotto--and will be available in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic. Mifal Hapayis' chairman, Shimon Katznelson, estimates that the online games should boost sales growth by 2 percent and has stated on several occasions that foreign online gambling sites have threatened the Israeli lottery's income. He estimates that Israelis spend about 1 billion shekels (US$223 million) on foreign online gambling and 13 billion shekels ($2.9 billion) on other forms of illegal gambling.
Slotland Charity -- Online gaming site Slotland.com has begun donating a portion of its profits to its "New Chance for a New Generation" fund, which will set up a pre-school and train local teachers in Malawi. The southeast African nation is one of the eight poorest countries in the world. The project will also work to prevent HIV and AIDS.
Indiana Study -- A report completed by the Indiana Gaming Commission concludes that it would be difficult for the state to license and regulate the operation of Kenilworth's Roulabette system, which proposes to broadcast casino games from Indiana casinos to homes and other locations across the United States via the use of satellites and set-top boxes. Senate Appropriations Chairman Bob Meeks was curious about the potential financial benefits that wagering on the broadcasts could provide, so he supplemented a bill with language that required a study of the idea. The commission reported that such a system would be difficult to regulate and that Kenilworth faced too many financial difficulties and failed to provide much of the requested information. The report also warned that the U.S. Department of Justice would probably determine that the system violated the federal Wire Act and stated that Indiana casinos unanimously responded that they would not be interested in hosting such broadcasts.