TABs Increase Pressure Against Exchanges
Australian TABs received new ammunition this month in their attack on betting exchanges.
According to a recent report commissioned by Tabcorp and the NSW TAB, TABs contribute $1.25 billion to the Australian economy each year.
TABs and other traditional bookmakers in Australia are pushing hard to ban offshore betting exchanges like U.K.-based Betfair, which has gained a solid foothold in the Australian market. The TABs, which argue that exchanges threaten the viability and integrity of the wagering industry, are lobbying the federal government to take this into account when it considers recommendations from a review of the Interactive Gaming Act, due in November.
The report is lauded as independent despite the affiliation with NSW TAB and Tabcorp, two of the leading opponents of betting exchanges.
Mark Davies, communications director of Betfair, which is vying for a license in Australia, said his company will soon release economic analysis to "blow this report out of the water."
Betfair officials say that if they were licensed in Australia, they would gladly pay back portions of their revenue to the racing industry and society. Davies said Betfair has even agreed to backdate payments of taxes and other levies from the time they started taking bets from Australian punters if they are granted a license.
BetOnSports.com Expands Options for Fall
Officials with BetOnSports.com are hoping to use the busiest time the year for the industry, the NFL season, to expand its entertainment betting options. Last week, the Costa Rica-based site announced a slew of betting options for the TV Emmy Awards, which were handed out Sunday, as well as betting options for the popular reality TV shows "Survivor" and "American Idol."
Earlier this month BetWWTS.com had to pull its Survivor odds after numerous accounts were opened on the first day from the Vancouver area, with all punters putting large sums of money on the same contestant to win. Company officials said they were looking into the matter to determine whether someone with inside information was wagering on the event. BetWWTS had a similar problem involving bets on "The Bachelor" last year. Another popular online sports book, BoDog Sportsbook & Casino, was a victim of "Survivor" insider betting in April 2003.
Rank Sees Windfall from Blue Square Purchase
It didn't take long for Rank Group to reap the rewards of its purchase of British bookmaker Blue Square, a £65 million acquisition made in January 2003.
Mike Smith, chief executive of Rank, unveiled the company's half-year financial results earlier this month. Blue Square, which went into the black for the first time at the end of last year, added £149.4 million to the group's turnover, which at £422.6 million, was up by 28 percent over the same period the previous year.
Smith said the integration of Blue Square had achieved the promised annual cost savings of £5 million, though there was a one-off cost of £6 million in making the maneuver. He also said the business had "performed in line" with expectations, generating operating profit of £900,000 compared with a reported loss of £3.3 million in 2002. He expects even better results for the second half of the year.
VirtGame Rolls out New Software
San Diego-based VirtGame Corp. has launched a new suite of sports book software aimed at improving operations for Nevada-based books. PrimeLineSportsBook is a Windows-based operating system that runs on any computer as a server and offers bookies ease of use and full functionality. VirtGame is providing the system through its temporary gaming license granted by the Nevada Gaming Commission last year.
Terrible Herbst Casinos, Casino MonteLago and the Las Vegas Club are all now using the new software, which costs anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 per casino to get up and running.
Betfair Cracks List of Popular Web Sites
Although the BBC took some lumps in terms of TV ratings in August, its Web site soared in popularity throughout the United Kingdom. Popular betting exchange Betfair.com also had a good month.
BBC Sport was England's most popular sport Web site, with almost four times the market share of its next competitor, Rivals.net, according to market intelligence firm Hitwise.
BBC Sport accounted for 11.59 percent and Rivals.net, part of Rivals Digital Media network that also includes Football365, grabbed 3 percent of U.K. Web traffic to sports sites.
Football 365's Football 365 Live Scores also featured and accounted for 1.87 percent of the top 10.
Betfair led the charge among betting sites by taking 2.68 percent of the visits, while William Hill Sportsbook received 2.21 percent of visits.
GP Streaker Strikes Again
With all eyes on David Beckham for his debut with Real Madrid earlier this month, infamous streaker Mark Roberts once again stole the show.
Seconds before the second half kicked off, Roberts made his appearance in typical dramatic flair. The well known streaker was wearing nothing but a GoldenPalace.com tattoo on his torso, the phrase "I'm The Real Goldenballs" on his chest in reference to Madrid's recently signed Golden Boy David Beckham, and, of course, strategically placed golden balls.
Roberts' appearance was greeted with enthusiasm by the fans and amusement by the players and referees. Madrid's Brazilian ace Ronaldo even passed the ball to Roberts in mid-streak before Roberts was escorted away by security. Roberts has streaked major sports events on the casino's behalf several times and is always a hit with the crowd.
Virgin.net Inks Deal with Coral
Virgin.net, the England's fifth largest ISP, this month announced a deal through which Coral Bookmakers will distribute Virgin's registration disks at its 900 high street betting shops.
As part of the deal, customers who sign up to Virgin.net's Internet access service will benefit from a free £10 online bet at www.coral.co.uk
Betfair Sponsors Songbook for Cricket Supporters
Betfair recently announced its sponsorship deal for the Barmy Army songbook for the fifth test between England and South Africa.
The Barmy Army is made up of England's number one cricket supporters, who follow the highs and lows of English cricket wherever it takes them.
The songbook is the Army's bible from which they endlessly sing songs about the players to the tunes of groups such as Madness and Oasis.