A Tidbit from the US -- The August recess for U.S. Congress is over, which means it's once again time to ponder whether I-gaming will make it onto the legislative agenda. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virg., had his run at it early in the year; since spring, the spotlight has been on Rep. James Leach's, R-Iowa, I-gaming funding prohibition bill. There's not a lot of time left on the legislative calendar, so the coming weeks will be crucial. If there's movement, it will have to be soon.
New Stuff -- In the gambling arena, it has been a year of progress and change for the British island of Alderney. In that spirit the Alderney Gambling Control Commission has given its Web site a makeover. The revamped site, located at www.gamblingcontrol.org, is rich with information on the island's gambling regulations, its licensees, its facilities and more.
Makin' Deals -- Quova Inc., a leading provider and developer of Web geography services and technologies, announced today that I-gaming software supplier Online Gaming Systems Ltd. (OGS) will use Quova's GeoPoint service to provide geolocation and IP mapping capabilities to its FIRE (Fully Integrated, Regulated Environment) and ICE (Interactive Casino Extension) gambling software products. GeoPoint will give OGS the ability to add jurisdictional control to its gambling software. OGS President Lawrence Tombari said GeoPoint will be "a vital component in our ability to mitigate the risks our customers face in leveraging this enormous market opportunity."
A Tidbit from Oz -- Making a big splash Down Under, Kerry Packer 's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. has reported a huge drop in profits, largely due to a rough year for the group's Nine Networks arm. The company reported an annual net profit of $265.2 million, down 14.1 percent from last year, and at least $5 million below expectations. Its shares have consequently fallen 3.8 percent to $8.77. Naturally, those in the I-gaming biz wonder about the implications, if anything, for ecorp, the operator of Vanuatu-based crowngames.com. PBL invested $2.1 million in the online casino venture, of which it owns 80 percent. The Age reported that rumors have PBL considering privatizing the business as part of an effort to jettison "non-core businesses" from its asset portfolio.
What You've All Been Waiting For... --
Indeed the bookmakers put odds on anything and everything under the sun. In case it's eating away at you, singer Kelly Clarkson is heavily favored to earn the distinction of being America's next pop mega-star tonight during tonight's "American Idol" grand finale. Clarkson and fellow finalist Justin Guarini will do battle in a sing-off for a $1 million recording contract. The TV viewing audience will choose the winner. Online sports book World Wide Tele-Sports has Clarkson at 2-7 odds to win and Guarini at 5-2. For those who live to wager on reality TV, fear not, the 473rd version of Survivor, "Survivor Thailand," is just getting under way.