Lobbying in 2000 -- U.S. authorities investigating the lobbying activities of Jack Abramoff have discovered that Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, fought on behalf of eLottery Inc. against the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 2000. Just three years after he left the Christian Coalition, Reed worked as a subcontractor to Abramoff's law firm in 2000 when he was ordered to produce "a small run of direct mail and other small media efforts" to garner opposition to the bill among religious conservatives. Federal records show that Connecticut-based eLottery Inc.--a company that wants to facilitate the sale of state lottery tickets over the Internet--spent $1.15 million to fight the prohibition bill that year, $720,000 of which went to Abramoff's law firm, Preston Gates Ellis & Rovelas Meeds. The firm represented no other client besides eLottery in lobbying against the legislation. A spokesperson for Reed says he never knew which specific company had hired Abramoff's firm and that Reed opposed the legislation because it exempted certain forms of online gambling and would therefore actually have led to an increase in gambling. Reed is currently a Republican candidate for Georgia's lieutenant governor. It was also recently revealed that eLottery paid $25,000 toward helping Abramoff arrange a golfing trip to Scotland in 2000 for Rep. Tom DeLay, who was then the House majority whip. DeLay stepped down last week from his position as House majority leader because he is under indictment for criminal conspiracy.
First Licensee -- Canada-based I-gaming software company Pegasus Gaming Corp has completed its first license agreement with GoldenGooseBet.com, a U.K.-based company that will deploy Pegasus' sports betting, casino gaming, horse betting, mobile casino and poker solutions.
Floater -- German online lottery company Tipp24 AG kicked off its investor road show on Friday in Frankfurt and indicated that it could go public as early as Oct. 12. The company expects its book building for the IPO to begin on or after Oct. 7 and to last for three days. Tipp 24 has an annual turnover of 154 million euros and its listing is backed by Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.
Deals -- Mobile I-gaming solutions provider Phantom Fiber has signed a five-year exclusive license to develop and implement a wireless poker solution for Tribeca Tables. . . . Littlewoods Betdirect has signed an agreement to launch Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc.'s SportXction play-by-play sports wagering system on its betdirect.net Web site this month. The two companies are also evaluating the possibility of deploying SportXction across Littlewoods Betdirect's existing mobile phone and interactive television platforms.
Company to Watch -- The Skill games provider FUN Technologies plc announced Friday that it was a winner in the "Companies-to-Watch" category of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 program, which recognizes excellence in Canadian companies through factors such as strong business performance, intellectual property, strength of management and growth rate.
Brits Love I-Gaming -- The Daily Mirror reports that a survey by Virgin Group's Virgin Money unit revealed that Britons spend £5 billion a year on Internet gambling; 93 percent of those surveyed admitted to placing at least one Internet bet. According to the survey, the average gambler spends between £10 and £20 a week on gaming sites. Half of the 2,000 people polled say they only started gambling online in the past six months. Football sites are most popular among men, with 40 percent visiting them daily and the same number placing a bet once a week. Lottery and casino games are their other favorites. Women's main gambling interests are lottery and casino sites, followed by horseracing. Nearly 80 percent of online gamblers spend a minimum of one hour a week betting, amounting to one work week each year spent gambling on the Web. Six percent even admit to using computers at work to place bets.
Poker Tips in the Sky -- The World Poker Exchange announced Friday that it is partnering with US Airways to include 15 poker tutorial spots on Overture, the airline's award-winning in-flight entertainment program. The 90-second instructional spots are taken directly from the World Poker Exchange's new tutorial DVD series, "In the Minds of the Poker Pros," featuring analysis of real-life poker hands from the likes of David Sklansky, Todd Brunson, Mike Matusow and Kathleen Watterson. The videos will be shown to passengers traveling from 25 domestic and international markets served by US Airways. The World Poker Exchange has category exclusivity with the airline.