Friday, Dec. 13
US Bit -- A joint resolution has been proposed in the New Jersey Legislature to create a commission to study Internet Gambling. The bill, AJR51, was introduced Dec. 9 by Assemblymen Gary L. Guear Sr. and Anthony Impreveduto. The bill would establish a 21-person panel that would study the growth and impact of online gambling in New Jersey and submit a report to the Legislature within a year of its creation. IGN will follow-up with this story on Monday.
New Stuff -- Betfair announced today that it is offering accounts in five new currencies, bringing the total number of currencies it accepts to nine. The new currencies are the Swedish kroner, the Norwegian kroner, the Danish kroner, the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar. Betfair had already offered service in pounds sterling, the Euro, the U.S. dollar and the Hong Kong dollar. Betfair was one of the first person-to-person betting exchanges on the Internet and occupies about 90 percent of the market. ... Bingo.com has opened an online store selling t-shirts, mugs, baseball caps and the like sporting its name. Tarrnie Williams, the CEO of Bingo.com, said the aim is to make the brand more visable beyond its online community.
Names and Faces -- Poker.com Inc. said today that its interim acting president, Michael Jackson, has left his position and will be replaced by Mark Glusing, who will hold the title of president. The change comes just four days after the company discoverd that its domain name, poker.com, had been resold to another company without its knowledge. The company is in the process of beginning legal action to reclaim the URL.
Thursday, Dec. 12
Makin' Deals -- Skill games provider CYOP Systems International Inc. announced Wednesday the signing of an agreement with SMS@ctive Technologies Inc. through which CYOP's "Pay for Play" gaming software will be licensed to SMS@ctive on a revenue-share basis. CYOP will additionally provide a backend financial processing system, Easy-Brand(tm) site integration and customer support. ... Israeli content provider Zone4Play today announced the development of virtual casino games for mm02 through software developer Pinpoint's "Fuel" platform.
Bit from India -- Bangalore, India-based Arena Multimedia is launching a training course for games developers. The course will cover development of games for CD-ROMs, the Internet and wireless devices. The leader of Arena Multimendia, Sudhir Mathur, said the games design course will be called the Arena Gaming Specialist Program. "This program will enable students to develop the most ingenious, advanced games of international standards," he said. "We aim to produce games development professionals on par with the best in the world."
New Stuff -- Omni Casino, a subsidiary of Peak Entertainment NV of Curarao, said Wednesday that it will offer the "21 Days of Christmas Multi-Player Blackjack Tournament" again this year. The tournament's grand prize will be a luxury vacation for two.
Conference -- The Harvard Medical School's Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, the National Center for Responsible Gaming and the Nevada Council on Problem Gaming recently held a three-day conferece to address the problem of gambling addiction. Howard J. Schaffer, the director of Harvard Medical School's Division on Addicitions, told attendees he is concerned about gambling as a potential public health hazard.
Wednesday, Dec. 11
New Stuff -- King Solomon's Casino recently polled 1,000 players from its database about their gaming habits and biographical information. The company, which is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, states the survey found that a growing number of young "career women" are online gamblers. Of those polled, 51 percent were women, and of those women, 59 percent had full-time jobs.
News From Mexico -- The Mexican legislature is expected to approve a law on Sunday that would allow casinos to operate in the country, CBS MarketWatch.com is reporting. Mexico is expected to pass legislation that would allow for Las Vegas-style gambling.
Legal Stuff -- Another defendant in the Pick 6 scandal pleaded guilty today of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. Glen DaSilva of New York City is the second of the three defendants to plead guilty.
Bit from Italy -- Lottomatica, the Italian lottery and betting company, is merging with its parent company, Tyche. Tyche will be changing its name to Lottomatica and moving its office to Rome.
Tuesday, Dec. 10
Names and Faces -- David Banks has been elected the new president of the Australian Casino Association for the upcoming year. Rowen Craigie will serve as vice president. Banks is the CEO of Star
City; he replaces Grant Bowie, the former association president. "I look forward to further promoting the industry's many initiatives in areas such as responsible gambling, training and compliance, as well as building the profile of the association with members, regulators, parliamentarians and other key stakeholders," Banks said.
New Stuff -- Netgame Factory is launching a suite of mobile gaming products called the Game Gateway System, which includes traditional lotteries, charities and other pre-developed games and specialized services. The Stockholm-based company said the system is a virtual "lottery in a box" and will offer everything an organization needs to start a mobile lottery.
US Tidbit -- Mutuals.com's Vice Fund, which invests only in industries it deems "socially irresponsible," said today that it will market itself at
gambling and alcohol trade shows and events. The fund invests in stock of alcohol, gambling, tobacco and defense companies. "People who work in these industries seem to love the concept of our fund," said Eric McDonald, the co-portfolio manger. "These trade shows give us great exposure to the leading gaming and alcohol industry experts and employees, as well as consumers who are spending money in these areas."
Bit from Asia -- Dow Jones reported today that Tanjong plc, a Malaysian gaming and power company, has signed up several thousand customers to its mobile betting service, which launched earlier this year. The company's gaming unit is called Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn. Bhd., and it holds number drawings three times a week that can be bet on by mobile phone. Only adult, non-Muslim subscribers of Maxis Communications Bhd. who have accounts may use the service.
Monday, Dec. 9
US Tidbit -- In response to the Pick 6 betting scandal, Scientific Games Corp., which owns Autotote, will begin electronically monitoring all of its U.S.-based customer sites. The company announced today that it signed an agreement with e-Success Inc. for its Integrity Independent Monitoring System. The system will be installed this month and will enable racing associations and regulators to independently keep track of what's happening at the Autotote sites. The Integrity system will check the validity of each transaction, compile pool totals and confirm winnings tickets, as well as detect potentially fraudulent activity.
Making Deals -- In its bid to compete with Rank, Gala Interactive has engaged ItsNotRocketScience to develop a new series of games for www.galagames.co.uk. The games will target low bidders who want to play for fun or bet small sums of money. Nigel Willis, Gala's director of interactive gaming, said the £5 million investment in new games will appeal to new and present customers. "It's important that we constantly give our existing customers a fresh range of games and activities whilst offering new users a fun activity which doesn't require them to spend money," he said. ... Ritz Club London, the online casino site, is joining sides with Formula One racing team Jordan for marketing purposes. The site will promote the Jordan team, while the team markets Ritz Club in its fan newsletter, which has 20,000 subscribers.
Legal Stuff -- Graz, Austria-based gamebookers.com said today that it has acquired a betting license from Styria, Austria. The company said it is choosing to work onshore instead of offshore to increase its reliability. The company has turnover of more than EUR 10 million per month.