Tidbit from Las Vegas -- Harrah's Entertainment is the gaming industry's leader when it comes to the marriage of technological innovation and customer relationship management, and the recent appointment of Gary Loveman, the mastermind behind the company's enormously successful Total Rewards loyalty program, to the position of CEO shows they want to keep it that way. While speaking to investors this week at the G2E show in Las Vegas, Loveman shared an abbreviated game plan for the company. In addition to commenting on plans to improve Total Rewards, he talked about interactive gaming. Loveman said Harrah's will watch developments in the Internet gaming arena, but that he doesn't see it as a growth opportunity in the near future. He also said that the company is "prepared to be active in Internet gaming ... but we will not be an advocate." His focus on the interactive front will instead be interactive TV, where he believes there is more room for short-term growth. Loveman will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, 2003.
New Stuff -- Dutch lottery company De Lotto said hello today to Internet sports betting. Registered players can wager on Dutch and international sporting events using technology developed by Veikkaus, the Finnish National Lottery. De Lotto said it plans to introduce the rest of its I-gaming offering early next year. De Lotto and Veikkaus have also agreed to co-develop an Internet gaming business and technology based on Veikkaus' OnNet gaming platform, a creation of Finland-based HiQ Softplan. Other regulated national lotteries are invited to join the partnership. Veikkaus launched the OnNet system Feb. 5, 2002. De Lotto takes bets only from Dutch residents. ...
InterCasino, a granddaddy among online casinos, today unveiled new casino sites targeting the French and Italian markets. The two sites, InterCasino Italia and InterCasino France, only accept and pay out in euros.