Nambling Notes - Sept 1, 2000

Lottery News -- eLOt, Inc. announced the delivery of Internet ticket sales capabilities to both the Jamaican Lottery and the U.K. Charity Lottery. The Jamaica Lottery will initially offer a Pick 3 game for Internet sales to Jamaican residents and other nations, except to U.S. citizens. Eventually, instant scratch-off games and a twice-weekly lotto game will be added. The Jamaican lottery (www.jamaicalottery.com) is waiting for final clearnce from the Gaming and Lotteries commission Jamaica before tickets go on sale. The U.K. Charity Lottery, meanwhile, has not scheduled a launch date for Internet lottery sales. The site will offer a Pick 3 game and The Daily Number over the Internet.

MDI Entertainment Inc. and The Lottery Channel have decided not to merge after all. "We regret that market, legislative and other conditions have made it impossible to consumate the originally contemplated merger with The Lottery Channel," said Steve Saferin, MDI president and CEO. "It is our intention to continue to work with lotteries and suppliers to the industry, including our strategic partner Scientific Games International, to develop extended play Internet accessible games from our brands and to assist lotteries and others in compiling data to initiate one-to-one communications with their players through the Internet."

Makin' Deals -- fluxx.com AG signed a letter of intent for a joint venture with YBM Seoul to develop interactive wagering services in South Korea. Under terms of the joint venture, the two companies will set up, run and market lotteries and betting through South Korean online media. fluxx officials estimate the South Korean lottery and horse-betting market to be worth US$2 billion annually.

Magna Entertainment Corp. spent $24 million cash to acquire the San Mateo, CA racetrack Bay Meadows. The deal, which has already been approved by the California Horse Racing Board, should be completed sometime in November.

After the lapse of exclusive negotiation rights between Hilton Group plc and Youbet.com for the acquisition of Hilton's Argentinean off-track betting and bingo operations, Hilton officials have announced a new exclusive deal for the operations with an unnamed company. Youbet CEO Robert Fell expressed disappointment that the deal fell through and admitted to a continued interest in the Hilton properties. Nonetheless, Fell said, "we will continue to seek other partners to facilitate our international expansion efforts both in Latin America and elsewhere."

New Stuff -- Starnet Communications International has launched the first phase of its Beyond2000 software. The first phase includes a new Java casino, lotteries and multi-player bingo games. Eventually, a pari-mutuel wagering will be added, along with a new downloadable casino, lottery and bingo products. The new software can be tested at www.worldgaming.com.

People On the Move-- The resignation of Jane McKellar from her position as non-executive director of eBet Ltd. was announced yesterday. McKellar will be replaced by Edward Foy, who has been nominated to the board subject to the New South Wales Liquor Administration Board's approval. Most recently, Foy has served as chief finance officer/chief operations officer for eBet. Additionally, Herb May will be replacing Craig Karpin, CPA as company secretary. Karpin is eBet's financial controller.

Donald J. Lisa was elected as a new director on the Global Entertainment Holdings/Equities Inc. board, sharing his experience in both patent and corporate law.

Eight members were elected to the Interactive Gaming Council Board of Directors, which was recently expanded to 13 members, announced IGC Executive Director Rick Smith. The newly elected board members are Bryan Abboud, Rocco DeLuca, Anthony Moshal, Murray Marshall, Sue Schneider, Mark Stone, Paul Sudolski and Martin Thorvaldsson.

On the Legal Front -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld two previous court rulings that found Multimedia Games Inc.'s MegaMania ^R to be legal Class II gaming. "This is the third court to have ruled on MegaMania and all have held in our favor," said MGAM Chairman Gordon Graves. "Importantly, all three courts have agreed with our definition of 'bingo' and have confirmed that our electronic player stations used to aid in the play of MegaMania are legal Class II aids. These decisions should help guide us in the future as we continue to develop new interactive games for our tribal customers."

Meanwhile, the arguments over Net betting in the Philippines have gotten a little louder. Just a few weeks ago, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR ) awarded Sports and Games Entertainment Corp. (SAGE) a license to launch an online casino. In the latest round of debate, two Philippines legislators are threatening a criminal suit against both SAGE and PAGCOR for violating the Anti-Gambling Act. The Metropolitan Times quotes Congressman Sergio Apostol, who said, "Only the Congress of the Philippines has the sole authority to grant a gambling franchise. In giving SAGE a permit to operate, PAGCOR has overstepped its charter." The legal action, originally threatened by Apostol and fellow congressman Prospero Pichay, is garnering support. Additionally, Representative Juan Miguel Zubiri, along with his fellow representatives Federico Sandoval Jr., Robert Ace Barber and Michael Defensor, threatened to take the matter before the Supreme Court. PAGCOR officials, however, maintain that regulating Internet gambling also falls under the group's mandate to regulate all games of chance within the Philippines.

Success Stories -- Which Net betting sites are attracting the most eyeballs? According to Niesen//NetRatings the top five gambling sites by traffic count during July were VirtualVegas, Lucky 7, Casino-on-Net, Place My Bet.net and Golden Palace.