A Tidbit from the U.S. -- At the Global Gaming
Expo in Las Vegas,
Thomas Gallagher, the CEO of
Park
Place Entertainment Corp. , told an audience of gaming industry
executives to be cautious about accepting Internet gambling. "With the
social consensus that has allowed the growth and development of our industry
over the last 15 years we have to be very careful about the perception that
our industry is putting a vacuum cleaner in their pockets," he said.
Terry Lanni, the chairman and CEO of
MGM Mirage,
disagreed, saying he would like to drive the offshore, vaguely-regulated
online casinos out of business. MGM Mirage was granted an Internet casino
license from the Isle of Man in September.
Tidbits from the U.K. -- Off-course
bookmakers in Ireland are objecting to claims by the British
Horseracing Board that they pay the BHB 2.5 percent of their
turnover on British racing. Claims from BHB chairman Peter
Savill that Irish betting offices will be bracketed with British
ones when a payment formula is devised in contract negotiations in May have
the Irish bookmakers seeking legal advice, reported The Times of London on
Sunday. Brian O'Farrell of the Irish Independent Betting
Offices Association told the newspaper that the 2.5 percent tax is
the British levy in disguise. British bookmakers aren't happy with the levy
either and this week reported the country's racing industry to the Office of
Fair Trading for alleged monopoly abuses. The industry had requested £180
per year from the bookmakers to beam live races and racing data into high
street betting shops. The tax represents triple the current rate.
Chris Bell, chief executive of Ladbrokes, told
the Telegraph of London that the rate is prohibitively high. "Racing is
acting as a dominant monopoly and have told us their demands are
non-negotiable," he said. "We are facing the prospect of blacked out screens
in betting shops from April."
The abolishment of the U.K. betting tax is creating 100 new jobs at
bookmakers in Northern Ireland. Bookmaker Sean Graham already
employs 250 people in the province and will be adding another 100 during the
next year. The company's betting site, www.seangraham.com, is expected to
launch soon.
Ladbrokes, Britain's largest betting company, is predicting
a boom in betting when the U.K. betting tax comes to an end on Saturday, the
day of a World Cup qualifying match between England and Greece. Ladbrokes is
expecting an increase in betting to the tune of £800 million.
Makin' Deals -- Online Gaming Systems
Ltd. , maker of online gaming transaction-based products, and
UnoDosTres.com, a Miami-based Internet television network,
have agreed to develop up to three online casinos. The deal calls for Online
Gaming Systems to provide the network with a play-for-fun casino and two
real-money casinos. UnoDosTres.com serves the Latin American market.
Names and Faces Trading Places --
Interactive Solutions Corp. last week appointed Ed
Fishman to its board of directors. Fishman is the founder and former
chairman of Players Club International, which was sold to
Harrah's last year. Interactive Solutions provides gaming
software to hotels and casinos. On Wednesday Virtgame.com Corp.
appointed Robert McMonigle to its board of directors.
McMonigle is executive vice president of customer relations for
International Game Technology, a manufacturer of computerized
casino gaming products. Edinburghnews.com reported Wednesday that
Michael Grade will be the new chairman of
Camelot, England's national lottery. Grade, a former boss at
Channel 4 and current board member of Camelot, will succeed
Sir George Russell in January. He said his priority is to
increase lottery sales and returns to charity. Grade has also said he will
fight plans to deregulate gambling.
Two directors of World Gaming plc resigned on Thursday.
Brownell Combs II and Matthew Stasior were the
company's U.S. directors; their resignation means that World Gaming will no
longer have U.S. representatives on its board of directors. The chairman of
the board, Fred Hazell, said the company is focusing on its
presence in Europe, Asia and South America and will be looking for board
candidates who are European citizens, as well as people with legal or
corporate finance experience.
Tidbits from the Pacific Islands -- Vanuatu's
Minister of Finance, Joe Carlo, is asking authorities of other
Pacific Island nations to create a Pacific Forum Island Nations Association
of Regulators of Offshore Financial Services. Carlo made the request at a
recent meeting of the Registrars of Financial and Banking
Services in Port Vila. Most Pacific Island nations, he said, are
struggling with pressure from the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development that threatens Vanuatu's major source of
income-its status as a tax haven.
Grenada's Houses of Parliament recently gave the Eastern Caribbean
Central Bank the OK to create a securities exchange for the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Grenada Today
reported that Grenada is the last member of the OECS to pass the securities
bill necessary for the exchange, although it won't come into effect until at
least five of the eight other member states ratify their bills. That is
expected to happen before the end of the year.
New Stuff -- Players Network Inc.
recently launched a multimedia Web site to provide Web casts of
Internet gaming industry events. PlayersNetwork.com will offer highlights
from industry events including GameTech on Oct. 16 and the World Gaming
Congress and Expo from Oct. 17 to 19.
Digital greyhound racing service 24dogs.com is starting an
online advertising campaign for its recorded race gambling option. The site
is operated by Irish company 24dogs Racing Ltd. , a subsidiary
of Wembley plc, and its new Treasure Traps service is to be
advertised on sites including MSN, Yahoo! and
Lycos. The service allows bettors to wager on archived
greyhound races 24 hours a day. Users are given no details about the
location of the race or the dogs' names, so they can't find out what the
previous winners of each race were.
Quote Worthy - "There is no difference
between gaming and what we consider as traditional entertainment. It's all
about entertainment that engages the customer in a profound way. The most
valuable commodity in the gaming and entertainment industry will always be
the human imagination."
-- Alex Yemenidjian, chairman and chief executive of
filmmakers Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. , in a keynote address at
the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, as quoted by the Las Vegas Sun.