State Affairs Down Under -- Though proposed legislation outlawing unauthorized betting agencies profiting from Victorian racing has already passed through both houses of Parliament, it was delayed Wednesday by Governor John Landy at the request of Racing Minister John Pandazopoulos, who said he sought a six-week delay at the behest of a number of stakeholders, including Racing Victoria and corporate bookmakers. Sources suggested last night that the government under the influence of the Tasmanian Labor government is negotiating a local license with Betfair. The delayed enactment of the law would cut up to 80 percent of the potential revenue from Betfair and would ban bookmakers and betting exchanges not licensed in Victoria from publishing Victorian racing fields without the approval of Racing Victoria. Opposition Leader Robert Doyle said the delay means unlicensed bookies and betting exchanges would be free to take bets on the Melbourne Cup from punters outside Victoria. Pandazopoulos dismissed Doyle's suggestion that Betfair's negotiations had influenced his decision. . . . Meanwhile, Racing Victoria said it intends to offer a new partnership agreement to Tasmania's racing industry regardless of whether Tasmania issues a license to Betfair. Robert Nason, chief executive of Racing Victoria, said the deal could bring in $6 million annually to Tasmanian racing by helping increase race dates, horse numbers and prize money.
Patented Security -- Gaming technologies provider Szrek2Solutions says it has received a U.S. patent for the only random number generation technology available on the market with built in-fraud detection. The method offers verification of random results, utilizing public and private key encryption to digitally sign game data and produce a unique random number set. The digital signature used in the process can be "decoded" at any subsequent point in time to recreate and verify both the number set and the associated game data. Szrek2Solutions has applied the patented technology to its two products: Trusted Draw (TM), an animated electronic drawing machine, and Trusted Play (TM), a high- performance random number server that's being used by the Dansk Tipstjeneste (The Danish Lottery) for the generation of play outcomes for its Internet-based instant games.
Haymarket Fever -- Haymarket, the U.K.-based publisher of the magazines AutoCar, What Car, F1 Racing and Stuff has begun offering Internet betting and gaming services to its readers through a partnership with online bookmaker Totesport. Each Haymarket magazine's site will display a customized site from the bookmaker, including a range of betting markets and access to pool betting from the 59 U.K. racecourses operated by Totesport, as well as access to over 60 popular games and slots and 40 casino and arcade games.
Brave Little Soldier -- While plugging his new book titled "Driven from Within," Michael Jordan talked about his gambling habit in an interview Sunday on CBS's 60 Minutes, saying he's occasionally been "stupid" in his gambling, but that he never jeopardized his livelihood or his family. The former basketball star admitted, however, that there were times he found himself unable to walk away from certain situations and that he's embarrassed and regrets them.
Board Games? -- Horse racing channel At the Races accused the British Horseracing Board Thursday of abusing its power by overcharging for necessary pre-race data, which At the Races needs for its broadcasts of British horseracing to overseas bookmakers. At the Races argues that the board's proposal to charge £1,800 per fixture will strip the company of more than half its overseas revenue, but the board contends that it has every right to use its position in the market place and that it is fully entitled to exercise its contractual right to charge for its pre-race data.