WTO Dispute -- Officials in Antigua and Barbuda announced that they have been unable to come to a resolution with the United States regarding the countries' World Trade Organization dispute over online gambling. Antigua and Barbuda has, therefore, initiated the process of releasing the WTO dispute panel's final report. The dispute panel ruled in March that the United States violates its General Agreement on Trade and Services by enforcing policies that prohibit its citizens from accessing services offered by Antigua and Barbuda-based online gambling operators, but the publishing of the panel's final report was delayed because the parties agreed to attempt to negotiate a solution. "We held five face-to-face meetings with various branches of the U.S. government, but ultimately, we concluded that the elements necessary for an amicable resolution would not be forthcoming at this time from the United States," Dr. Errol Cort, minister of finance and the economy for Antigua and Barbuda, explained. "At the conclusion of our last meeting, it was fairly obvious to me and my delegation that the time had now come for us to take the next logical step and call for the release of the panel's final report."
Dutch Monopoly -- Betfair is likely to file legal proceedings this week challenging the Dutch government's decision to sustain a gambling monopoly by granting De Lotto an exclusive license to continue operating betting and gaming. Betfair's general counsel, Justin Hubble, told the Racing Post, "Betfair believes that E.U. law requires the Dutch government to properly consider Betfair's request for a license. Simply renewing De Lotto's exclusive license after over a year of delay tactics and without due consideration is not only improper legally but also of detriment to the Dutch public who are a captive market for a highly uncompetitive monopoly offering. Censorship of this nature designed to protect monopolists from competition should be challenged."
Betcorp -- Online wagering company Betcorp has sold Sportsbet, its Australian bookmaking business, to Sportsbet's general manager Colin Walker for an undisclosed amount. In September the Northern Territory Licensing Commission ordered Betcorp to sell the Sportsbet operation when it learned that Betcorp had come under the control of convicted racketeer Bill Scott after three of its board directors left the company. Betcorp announced to the Australian Stock Exchange last week that its third-quarter results will show a material net loss related to restructuring costs, writing off aborted acquisitions, the termination of agreements by previous management and costs associated with the sale of Sportsbet. Betcorp will now focus on its Antigua-based operation, WWTS.
Denial of Service -- Netcraft, an Internet services company that monitors the online availability of 20 of the England's top gambling sites, reported Thursday that the Tote had gone offline for over eight hours and Sportingbet had gone offline for over three hours. Though it has not yet been verified, DDoS attacks are the suspected cause of the downtime. The Register, a British technology publication, was knocked offline by a DDoS attack for nine hours on Wednesday.
Name Change -- Tradingsports Ltd. has changed its name to The Trading Exchange Ltd. to reflect the fact that its system handles trading on more than sports bets. AIM-listed parent company TradingSports Exchange Systems recently moved its headquarters from London to Glasgow in part of a recovery plan that also includes raising £4.5 million through a private placement.
Michigan Proposal 1 -- The presidential race is not the only issue drawing a lot of attention on ballots for the Nov. 2 election in Michigan. The state's voters will vote on Proposal 1, a measure that would require most types of gambling to be approved by voters statewide and in the city or township where the gambling would take place. A large anti-gambling group opposing the bill and calling itself "NO CasiNO MoNOpoly" argues that Proposal 1 is designed to give Detroit and Indian casinos a monopoly on gambling because it exempts them from voter approval. Today the group put out a press release, sub-titled "The Height of Hypocrisy," which states that MGM-Mirage, one of the largest financial backers of Proposition 1, profited from online gambling until June 2003 (when it ceased operating its online gambling site from the Isle of Man). The press release quotes Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a spokesperson for NO CasiNO MoNOpoly as saying, "This is the same company that has spent millions of dollars on advertisements accusing the governor and other leaders of wanting to bring Internet gambling to Michigan. The truth is that MGM-Mirage profited off of Internet gambling in the past, and a company spokesperson says it plans to do so in the future." Proposal 1 is apparently a strange one that has many people confused. While No CasiNO MoNOpoly opposes the bill because it fears groups like MGM would obtain a monopoly in the state, another anti-gambling group, Pastors Against the Spread of Gaming, is actually urging voters to support the proposal because it "will make it far more difficult to continue the spread of gaming throughout the state."
Lara Croft Is a Slot -- I-gaming software provider Microgaming has licensed the "Tomb Raider" brand from entertainment software company Eidos to launch a new online video slot themed around the game and its star Lara Croft. The new game has been developed as a five-reel, 15- payline, multiple coin video slot with a wild and scatter symbol, bonus feature and free spins. It is also the first Microgaming video slot in which players can win entry to a bonus feature from the free spins.