Sadly Missed -- I-gaming software and services provider CWC Gaming Inc has sadly announced the passing of its CEO Adam Anhang early Friday morning. The company says that director Steve Reddy, who has worked closely with Anhang, will take over the CEO responsibilities as the company transitions from its tragic loss.
32Red Lists -- Online casino company 32Red floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange Friday but sold only .5 percent of its equity through the public offering. Only two weeks ago the company was about to complete its road show with plans to raise £10 million through its initial public offering, but investors quickly grew apprehensive following the release of PartyGaming's declining growth figures. Rather than completely pull the float, 32Red opted to postpone the raising of funds by selling only .5 percent of the company at 127p to make just over £300,000. The company's CEO Ed Ware stated that dropping the float "obviously went through all our minds but we had done 50-odd presentations with institutions and spent a lot of time and money on the float." He explained that the listing will improve his company's credibility and give it the ability to issue shares for acquisitions. 32Red still plans to raise funds through a share offering in the near future.
Acquisition -- Netb2b2, a holding company whose self-stated goal is to "become a leading provider of Internet-based business-to-business services through the acquisition of business service providers," has acquired interactive TV and Web design firm Fernhart New Media for an initial cash consideration of £125,000 and £375,000 in shares. Although Fernhart is most recognized for its work in developing interactive TV applications for the Sky digital platform, the company also holds licenses for a number of betting games for interactive TV and Internet. Since the acquisition last week, Fernhart has already announced its plan to launch a new free horse race betting information portal at www.OneStopRacing.com.
Rich Americans -- Husband and wife Ruth Parasol and Russel DeLeon, two of the founders of PartyPoker.com, have broken into Forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Both 40-year old DeLeon and 38-year-old Parasol share the 164 slot with several other individuals who have a net worth of $1.8 billion. The two currently reside in Gibraltar.
Deals -- Online betting company BETonSports has signed a deal with Tribeca Tables Europe to become part of the Tribeca Tables Poker Network. BoSPoker.com and Millpoker.com are the first of BETonSPORTS' Brands to launch on the network… Multi-channel I-gaming software provider Orbis has signed a contract to license its OpenBet interactive gambling platform to bookmaker Victor Chandler. OpenBet allow customers to bet on all channels and all products from a single account that is controlled via a single back-office.
In the Press -- New online poker site PokerShare.com has offered the town of Sharer, Kentucky $100,000 to change its name to PokerShare.com. The company apparently chose Sharer, Kentucky-- which reportedly has no city council, no grocery store and no post office— because of its similarity in name to PokerShare.com. An Associated Press article explaining the offer was widely circulated in U.S. newspapers.
Quickies -- The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track has ranked Betfair as Britain's seventh fastest-growing technology company. The list ranks the country's 100 fastest-growing technology companies by sales over a two-year period between 2002 and 2004… For the second time this year, Sportsbook.com has halted wagering on upcoming reality television series The Amazing Race because the winners have apparently been leaked. The show has already been filmed, but the season will not begin airing on TV until tomorrow night. Sportsbook.com says it has received a large number of wagers for the maximum value being placed from Ohio on the Linz family to win. The Linz family happens to be from Ohio… Online betting company Gamebookers has launched a Greek version of its website. The company, which now offers its gaming services in Greek, Romanian, English, Spanish, French, Turkish and German, says that is has experienced double-digit growth in the respective market each time it has introduced a new language. A Russian version is expected before the end of 2005… Online financial transaction processor NETeller has announced that it registered its 2,000,000th customer on September 22nd.