Quoteworthy -- "The ABB has got some pretty strong views on certain aspects of the betting exchanges' operations, but the reality is that there are things happening which could well change the climate. The Gambling Bill, published yesterday, will lead to the establishment of a Gambling Commission and it may be in that process that some of the differences we have will be resolved. Equally, the review by Customs and Excise of the taxation issue could mean that issues we have over the way betting exchanges pay tax and levy could be resolved, or at the very least reduced."
- Tom Kelly, Chief Executive of the Association of British Bookmakers, speaking at the Betting Show in Birmingham on Wednesday.
In Malaysia -- The New Strait Times reports that The Malayan Racing Association has issued a formal reminder to jockeys and apprentices that they are not allowed to place wagers or give inside stable information to anyone in the Malaysia-Singapore circuit. . . . On Tuesday, the Malaysian government rejected Vincent Tan's Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd's request for a license to accept wagers on English premier league football. The proposal was supported by arguments claiming the license would help reduce illegal betting, which was estimated at a $1 billion market. But as expected, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi refused to issue a license on the grounds that there is already too much gambling in the country. Malaysia has a casino, horse racing and lotteries, but no legal bookmakers.
Problem Gambling Survey -- A team of researchers at the University of Tasmania is performing a survey of 200 Tasmanians and their families to assess the effects of problem gambling on families. There is currently little information about the effects of gambling on children and even less on how adults deal with aging parents who are addicted to gambling. The researchers hope to obtain insight into these areas and more.
Stats -- Nielsen/NetRatings reports that 4.2 million Britons, or 16 percent of the online population in England, visited at least one gambling Web site in the month of September. The most popular site was the National Lottery, which logged 1.4 million visitors during the month. The other top 10 gambling sites in the United Kingdom for September were Casino Tropez, ChooseaPrize, Ladbrokes, Casino-and-games.com, Casino.co.uk, The Daily Draw, Vernons, Loopy Lotto and William Hill. Nielsen/NetRating's research also claims that companies that increased their advertising for September were consistently among the top traffic-generators, suggesting that ads help attract new audiences. The three top advertisers for the month were Jack Pot Joy (with 23 campaigns), William Hill Online (with 13 campaigns) and Get Minted (with 10 campaigns). The research also found that time spent on gambling sites varied depending on what type of gambling the site provided. Ladbrokes visitors, for example, remained logged on for an average of 35 minutes per session, while National Lottery visitors stayed for 17 minutes and Casino Tropez visitors stayed for one minute. Also, 70 percent of online gamblers are men, according to the report.
Apprentice Betting -- Betcom.com has decided to go against the grain by accepting wagers on the second series of reality TV show "The Apprentice." Most books suspended betting on the series after a large number of people from New Hampshire opened accounts and placed bets on either of two contestants winning the competition. Even though the series was filmed over the summer, the winner has not yet been decided because the season finale will be a live showdown between the final two competitors.