Australian Stats -- The Australian Associated Press recently published several statistics related to gambling in Australia. The report says that on average each Australian lost about AU$1,000 (US$679) gambling last year and AU$15 billion (US $10.18 million) was gambled away nationwide in 2001-02. Compared to the year before, gambling turnover rose 6.6 percent to $125 billion (US$84.44 billion)…. Asia Pulse reports that Commonwealth Securities senior consumer discretionary analyst Derek Francis says that Australia could lose AU$240 million (US $163) in taxes each year if betting exchanges were legalized. He adds that competition from betting exchanges could lower the value of Australian TAB agencies by 30 percent.
Irish Turf Club -- Ireland Online reported yesterday that the Irish Turf Club has decided that it will not restrict jockeys from using cell phones during race meetings like the UK Jockey Club has. Turf Club senior steward Ray Rooney said, "We are not aware of any instances where the phones have been used to compromise the integrity of racing." Rooney did say, however, that the Turf Club was considering signing a Memorandum of Understanding with betting exchanges, which the UK Jockey Club has already done.
Anti-Spam -- California Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday signed the toughest anti-spam law in the United States. Spam recipients can sue for damages of $1,000 per e-mail and $1 million per marketing campaign. Also, the state's attorney general and e-mail providers like Microsoft and AOL have been given powers to pursue spammers.
Latin Soccer -- Soccer Development of America and Latin American Futbol Corporation have redesigned GoloLotto.com, a site that accepts wagers on all the top soccer league matches in Latin America. Available in both English and Spanish, the site donates a percentage of its profits back to soccer, supporting a range of projects like stadium development and grass root support. Costa Rica International Sportsbook operates the site.
Charity Casino -- Launched today, Casinoforcharities will donate 10 percent of its profit to charities in the UK. The site is operated by publicly-quoted Gaming Corporation, which says that funds will go toward charities' running expenses such as postage, rent, and utility bills.
Asian Poker -- Creator Capital Limited, through its subsidiary Action Poker, has entered into a licensing agreement with Las Vegas From Home.com to provide mulit-player Asian themed poker games at www.worldwidegaming-asia.com , which should launch within the next two months. Creator Capital also expects that its Chinese soccer betting site, www.worldwidelotteries-china.com will be taking live transactions very soon.