That Was Fast I -- betandwin.com is giving up on its use of betting terminals and will now focus on the Internet as its primary distribution channel, the company said today. The betting terminals were a yearlong trial project during which the Austrian company observed that growth rates for online sports betting were substantially higher than those from the self-service terminals. betandwin's Vienna-based BAW Terminal Distribution
GmbH will stop its operations at the end of 2002.
That Was Fast II -- The Greek Finance Ministry yesterday decided that electronic computer games are OK after all--so long as they don't allow players to win money. The decision comes after the country recently banned all computer games in an effort to rid itself of Internet gambling. The owners of Greek Internet cafes and other organizations roundly criticized the move. The ministry said it is now permissible for Greeks to play games such as
computerized chess and Playstation. "The installation and use of games in homes and residential areas is allowed if there is no financial benefit involved," the agency said to the Reuters. "The same applies to public and private areas...if again there is no financial gain for the player or any third party."
Congrats -- Norman A. "Gus" Thomas will receive The Caribbean Information Technology Award at the 2nd Annual Caribbean Information Technology Forum and E-Commerce and Offshore Business Summit in November in St. Kitts. Thomas created and coordinates Caribbean GIS online, and online news network.
New Stuff -- Sports Betting International is launching a new online wagering site, www.BetSBI.com, which will feature betting on football, basketball, hockey, horse racing, tennis and a variety of other sports. The site plans to add a casino within the year.
Bit from Down Under -- Ralph Gerdelan resigned his post as executive director of the Problem Gambling Foundation. Gerdelan allegedly made more than AU$30,000 in unauthorized withdrawals using the foundation's credit cards and used some of the money for gambling.