Names and Faces -- Richard Caborn, a minister with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, will no longer handle gambling, ATEOnline reported last week. The site credits Steve Donoughue of the Gambling Consultancy with saying that gambling responsibilities within the department will now be handled by Lord McIntosh of Haringey, although Caborn will continue to handle matters related to the Tote and horse racing.
Congratulations -- Betfair will be given the Queen's Award for Enterprise on June 23, the company said last week. The award is given on recommendation of the prime minister after an assessment by the Department of Trade and Industry. Mark Davies, Betfair's director of communications, said the award means a lot considering the recent questions about the person-to-person betting's site's integrity and legality. "Betfair was founded with a view to making betting fairer and safer for everyone," he said. "We use cutting-edge technology to ensure at source that crime is kept out, the punter is always paid and the vulnerable are protected. To be recognized in this way for the quality and success of our innovation is a measure of how well we have achieved precisely that." The award will be given by a representative of the Queen, Col. John Holland, to Betfair co-founder Andrew Black.
Making Deals -- Parlay Entertainment Ltd. on Tuesday announced that it has signed a letter of understanding to form an alliance with IGW Software, which designs online sports books and horse books. As per the agreement, IGW will offer Parlay's Flash-based casino games. David Outhwaite, CEO of Parlay, said the agreement to "white label" his group's software was one of Parlay's key objectives for this year. "IGW's dedication to the quality and to the success of their customers is well established, and the combination of our two companies' software with a common back-end creates an extremely powerful product offering. We're very pleased to be associated with an industry leader such as IGW to help broaden the reach of Parlay products."
Streaking the Queen -- GoldenPalace.com on Thursday sent a streaker through the Royal Ascot, a horseracing event to which men and women must dress formally. The streaker, Mark Roberts, started his performance in drag, wearing a full-length black dress, from which he stripped and then ran along the track showing off his GoldenPalace fake tattoos. It was Roberts' third Golden Palace-sponsored streaking of a major sporting event.
US News -- The Associated Press reported last week that the consulting firm hired to review the electronic wagering application that was abused in the Breeders' Cup Pick Six has declared racing fair. The firm, Giuliani Partners, said the horse racing industry is taking the appropriate measures to make sure betting is fair. "I am encouraged by the proactive approach the industry and the NTRA is taking," said Rudy Giuliani, chairman of the firm and the former mayor of New York.
Bit from Asia -- The Hong Kong Standard reported this week that the Hong Kong Jockey Club is in the process of wrapping up its worst season in six years. At the close of the season, betting is likely to be down 8 percent from last year, the newspaper said.
New Stuff -- Bingo Entertainment Ltd. said Friday that the four new games on the Bingo Entertainment Network are customized beyond having different "skins." The four games are Imperial Bingo, Paramount Bingo, Starlight Bingo and Emerald Bingo. The games were launched on Friday. ... Online gambling software provider Playtech on Thursday announced the launch of a progressive jackpot network called WinAJackpot. The site offers perennial favorites like FruitMania and also progressive games with three-dimensional animation. Dana A. Ziv, marketing director for Playtech, said the site will "set a new benchmark in player involvement and entertainment." "The recent migration of some major-league operators to our gaming platform has created a wave of new players," she said. "This has resulted in a sudden swelling of jackpot prize money, which in turn attracts more players -- and operators -- in a self-feeding cycle of success breeding success." ... GoldenPalace.com last week announced the release of a new version of its flagship online casino with Playtech technology. The company also re-launched three other casinos with Playtech casino games: Grand Online Casino, Flamingo Club Casino, Aspinalls Online Casino and Gold Nugget Casino. All of the sites operate under the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Richard Rowe, CEO of GoldenPalace.com, said the time was right to offer a second version of the GoldenPalace gaming product so that players would have more choices.