Friday, March 14
Tidbit from Down Under -- Part of the merger agreement between Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. and Jupiters is that Jupiters sells its sports bookmaking operation, Centrebet. Jupiters said today that it has a list of buyers interested in purchasing the online bookmaker that includes buyers from Europe, the United States and Australia. "We have quite a long list now and we'll go through the process of providing information to all those who have registered and then we'll form a short list and negotiate with the short list and select someone," Rob Hines, the managing director of Jupiters, told the AAP. Credit Suisse Boston is valuing Jupiters at between AU $75 million and AU $120 million. (US $44.57 million to US $71.32 million.)
Making Deals -- The Ritz Club London is entering a cross-promotion agreement with the U.K. Tote in which the Tote will offer access to The Ritz's gaming site from its own Web site, betXpress.
New Stuff -- Trident Entertainment Group announced yesterday that it is now offering problem gambling counseling from its online casino Web sites, which include King Neptune's, Trident Lounge and Vegas USA. The person who will be answering the counseling inquiries is a qualified social worker and recovering gambling addict. Trident's spokesman, Scott Gaines, said the company is committed to offering ethical entertainment. "Should a player become a danger to himself or herself, we are here to assist them in taking the first step towards recovery," Gaines said.
News from Asia -- The South China Morning Post reported today that Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping has proposed that he be able to allow betting on soccer matches on a case-by-case basis, including if the Hong Kong soccer team makes to the finals rounds of international contests. "The rationale is that we need to preserve the possibility of allowing betting on international football tournaments on a case-by-case basis, where a Hong Kong team is able to enter the final stage, and if a strong demand for betting on such matches has been established," the Home Affairs Bureau said in a statement. Hong Kong's Legislative Council is to consider the matter of legalized soccer betting in April.
Thursday, March 13
Asian Tidbit -- The Standard, a Chinese newspaper, reported that the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing will now allow gaming companies to list on the exchange, provided they do not offer gambling services to residents of Hong Kong. Officials with the exchange said that so long as a company complies with Hong Kong's Gambling Ordinance, it would not be "contrary to public interest if a listing applicant or listed issuer is involved in a gambling activity."
Data Hub -- Nevada's gaming revenues increased 10.3 percent in January compared to January of 2002, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today. However, the revenues are still 6.1 percent below the revenues of January 2001.
Wednesday, March 12
Asian Tidbit -- The Standard, a Chinese newspaper, reported that the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing will now allow gaming companies to list on the exchange, provided they do not offer gambling services to residents of Hong Kong. Officials with the exchange said that so long as a company complies with Hong Kong's Gambling Ordinance, it would not be "contrary to public interest if a listing applicant or listed issuer is involved in a gambling activity."
Data Hub -- Nevada's gaming revenues increased 10.3 percent in January compared to January of 2002, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. However, the revenues are still 6.1 percent below the revenues of January 2001.
Tuesday, March 11
New Stuff -- The citizens of Malta voted last weekend for the country to join the European Union. Ninety-one percent of the island's residents turned out to vote on the issue, and 53 percent of them voted in favor of EU membership. Malta is a jurisdiction that allows Internet gambling.
UK Tidbit -- The government of Edinburgh has given a first-ever license to bookmaker Henry Spurway to open a betting exchange shop. Spurway plans to open a chain of more than 100 such shops, which take the form of Internet cafes combined with betting shops. The shops will be opened under Spurway's company name, easibet.net, and will allow customers to purchase food and drink, which are not always available in traditional betting shops. Edinburgh is the first jurisdiction to offer such a license.
News from Japan -- The leader of an academic commission in Japan to study gambling is saying that a gambling culture should be established in the country. Ichiro Tanioka said that experiencing wins and losses not only helps teach people about life, it ensures that when people are exposed to gambling, they do not go overboard. "Because there's no gambling culture ingrained in our society, many people went too far during the bubble period and ended up gambling their way to failure." According to the Daily Yomiuri, Tanioka is calling for more accurate information to be gathered on the state of gambling culture in the United States.
Monday, March 10
Tidbit from Korea -- The Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism is banning PC rooms, and Internet cafes in the country may be banned from allowing their customers to use computers for gambling or betting. The Korea Times reported today that the ministry's proposals will be discussed in June by the National Assembly
Names and Faces -- The Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association recently elected its 2003 leadership council. The members are Nick Harding, RAL Interactive Ltd. ; Roger Withers, Arena Leisure plc; Steve Toneguzzo, Global Gaming Services; John Cargnello, TST Technical Systems Testing; Andrew Tottenham, ROK; John Gilmour, Rank.com; Malcolm Fraser, Ritz Interactive; Lloyd Nathan, MGM Mirage Online.
New Stuff -- Gamble Goddess announced last week that it is re-launching its gaming portal to mark the celebration of International Women's Day on March 8. The portal is located at www.thegamblegoddess.com. Brittany Baerg was hired as the site's sales and affiliate manager.
Making Deals -- Boss Media recently sold an online gambling license to Quadri Holding N.V. , which operates BugsysClub.com. Peter Bertilsson, CEO of Boss Media, said the site will "become an interesting partner because of their extensive experience in online poker and in marketing this product." Quadri is owned by private investors. ... CYOP Systems International Inc. is teaming up with Waistech International Inc. to launch CYOP's online skill-based games in China. Waistech is a provider of Internet services in China, and its premier service is China E Online, which operates in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. According to companies, players will be able to use prepaid phone cards to make payments for online gaming. Patrick Smyth, the president and CEO of CYOP, said China is an undervalued region that is experiencing growth in online access. "Out of the key world trading blocks, China is the largest one with the fastest growing number of Internet users," he said. "China's strong economy, entrance into the WTO and a large population, inclined to spend its disposable income on leisure goods and services, makes it a natural objective for our growth. In terms of sheer e-commerce market volume, China is the cornerstone of the Asian market." ... VirtGame Corp. said today that it has inked another deal to provide its sports betting software to a land-based operator. The San Diego-based company will be licensing sports wagering software and maintenance service to CIRI Lakeside Gaming Investors LLC, which is also known as Casino MonteLago. VirtGame recently announced a similar agreement with Herbst Gaming.