Sportingbet Points the Finger -- Sportingbet Australia has stopped accepting bets on races in Brisbane because of worries that races in Queensland are commonly fixed. The company's chief executive officer, Michael Sullivan, told one television news program, "It is our belief that we can't trust the integrity of the prices coming out of southeast Queensland." Sportingbet Australia reportedly lost $1.47 million on Queensland racing wagers this year, and has closed the betting accounts of 12 individuals in Melbourne who have been quite successful in gambling on Brisbane races. Bob Bentley, chairman of Queensland Racing, and Robert Schwarten, minister of Queensland Racing, have both stated that Queensland Racing has never received any complaints about alleged race-fixing. Coincidentally, Des Gleeson, chief steward of Victorian Racing, arrived in Brisbane today to evaluate stewards' procedures and advise industry officials. . . . Meanwhile, London-based Sportingbet Plc has postponed the announcement of its financial results for the 16 months ended July 31 and a substantial fund-raising exercise because it is in advanced talks to acquire a new online poker business that already has a broad user base. The company says its financial results will be in line with expectations.
Rebranded -- Victor Chandler has completed a redesign of its Web sites to give its online products a single, clear identity. The new sites feature clean, polished graphics, and each online division--betting, casino, poker, games and mobile--is given a color-coded tab with the "VC" logo.
Game On -- BettingCorp UK Ltd. and Game On, a subsidiary of Littlewoods Gaming, have announced an agreement that will permit BettingCorp to offer its iTV games through the Littlewoods Game On portal. Visitors to Game On can press the red button to access the games, which will be re-skinned and deployed on BettingCorp's UltimateOne system, while Littlewoods' OLGA platform will handle accounts and payments.
iTV SportXction -- Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc. (ISWI) has completed the development of the interactive television version of its SportXction play-by-play betting system. The final product provides a seamless interface between SportXction and satellite television broadcasts.
Opposition -- Peter Hain, the British government's leader in the House of Commons, announced that the Gambling Bill will be introduced to Parliament sometime before Nov. 23. Statements printed in the Guardian, however, cast doubt on how smoothly the adoption of the new laws will go. Frank Field, the former welfare minister, stated, "I think the government is off its rocker thinking, even if it was the first year of a parliament, that it would actually get this through. And once they actually let this tide of big money from America come in this way, there will be no turning it back." Julie Kirkbride, the Tory former shadow culture minister also dissented, claiming, "The sheer access to it will create a lot of unhappiness and a lot of family distress, and whilst we might want to make it available in one or two places in the country, do we want it on our doorstep in every town and city across our country?". . . . With the passing of the Gambling Bill, the British Gaming Board is to evolve into the Gambling Commission, however, many officials and employees with the Gaming Board have threatened to quit if the organization is forced to move from its current location in London to Newcastle. The board argues that a move from its home in London would render the body ineffective, and the board members and 76 civil servants would prefer to leave their jobs rather than move.
SecurePlay -- IT GlobalSecure Inc has released a new version of its SecurePlay software package for Java the adds J2ME to support gaming via wireless devices. The SecurePlay system implements a suite of cryptographic protocols to combat cheating.