US News -- An article put out today by the Associated Press questions Rep. Chris Cannon's motives for opposing HR 2143, which would make it illegal for Americans to use bank instruments to pay for illegal online gambling. The article quotes supporters of the bill, who state that Cannon is only opposing it because he has received lobbying money from the gambling industry, a charge the Utah Republican denies. "The fact is my position about gambling has been very, very clear since I entered politics," Cannon said. "I oppose gambling, I think it's a pernicious vice. I'd like to eliminate. We can't eliminate it in today's legal environment, so I want to do the next best thing which is to regulate it."
UK Bit -- Representatives from Betdaq this week denied that they are the company that has offered a bid for Sportingbet. Sportingbet announced early in the week that it has received a buyout offer for 30 pence per share. Betdaq confirmed only that it has had talks with Sportingbet in the past.
Data Hub -- The study released this week by the American Gaming Association that indicates that gambling is more widely accepted as a form of entertainment than ever before in the United States is predictably coming under attack from anti-gambling groups. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, points out that none of the 27 states who have considered legalizing some form of gambling this year have sealed the deal. "If (gambling) is entertainment like shopping or the movies and it's in 48 states -- with states having dire budget problems and 85 percent acceptance of gambling -- why isn't the product flying off the shelves," Grey asked in today's Las Vegas Sun.
Thursday, June 26
Making Deals -- MGM Mirage is selling the Gold Nugget Las Vegas and the Gold Nugget Laughlin to Poster Financial Group Inc. for $215 million. Poster Financial Group is a private investment firm in Las Vegas. Terry Lanni, chairman and chief executive of MGM Mirage, said the sale would enable his company to participate in new growth opportunities.
New Stuff -- Gala Group and Harrah's Entertainment announced plans today to develop eight casinos in the United Kingdom once the gambling reform is passed. A representative for Gala, which a large segment of the land-based bingo market in the United Kingdom, said the string of hotels would "set a higher standard for gaming than anything we have seen in this country."
Wednesday, June 25
New Stuff -- WagerWorks is announcing the launch of skybetvegas.com, the online gambling site operated by Bonne Terre Ltd. , which is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting. The site is powered by WagerWorks's gambling software, WagerWare. Andrew Pascal, president and CEO of WagerWorks, said the site has already has a warm reception among gamblers. It "supports our claim that consumers are discriminating and would much prefer a quick, engaging and refined experience to the slow and confusing games that are typical of yesterday's products," he said.
Data Hub -- A recent study from the Australian Institute of Criminology and PricewaterhouseCoopers recently finished a study that found that problem gamblers who stole from their employer to support their habit on average pilfered AU $218,000 from their company. The study looked at 183 people convicted of fraud between 1998 and 1999 where the primary motivation for fraud was greed or gambling.
Quoteworthy -- "We obviously don't like it. It's an interesting concept that we're really going to have to research and see whether we're going to allow it to happen in the future." -- Keith Copher, chief of enforcement for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as quoted by the Associated Press in an article about Chris Moneymaker, who won the World Series of Poker after qualifying through an Internet gambling Web site.
Tuesday, June 24
Data Hub-- Results from a survey recently completed by the American Gaming Association show that 85 percent of Americans see gambling as an acceptable activity. The group states that figure represents a 6 percent rise from the 79 percent of Americans who considered gambling acceptable last year. The AGA reports that the increase was seen across all demographic groups. Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the AGA, said the survey results are consistent with his group's opinion of the industry it serves. "This public opinion data serve to quantify our long-held assumption that the more familiar people are with the casino industry, the more likely they are to embrace and support it," he said.
UK News -- The Financial Times reported that U.K. bookmaker Sportingbet is in discussions with an un-named company regarding a takeover of Sportingbet. The U.K.-based bookmaker told the newspaper that it has received no formal offer and that it is meeting with numerous parties to get additional funding to meet its earn-out obligations. The preliminary takeover offer reported today would give Sportingbet a value of 30 pence per share.
Making Deals-- IASbet Ltd. Chairman Mark Read said Monday that his company is going to buy 50 percent of Internet Betting Company plc, an online gambling company. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that IASbet said the move was intended to broaden the company's scope overseas and diversify its markets. "We are focusing on the global opportunities, not so much national opportunities," Reed said.
Monday, June 23
Names and Faces -- Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. announced today that Ian Johnson, currently the executive chairman of GTV-9 and a director of the boards of PBL and Crown, will retire on June 30. Paul Waldron will replace him at GTV-9. Johnson had also served as the CEO of Crown for two years. ... Penn National Gaming today named Leonard M. DeAngelo as its vice president of operations, a new position at the company. Before working for Penn National, DeAngelo was president of The Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort.
New Stuff -- Betting Web sites ukbetting and totalbet are this year going to offer in-running betting during Wimbledon on individual points. The sites will also allow punters to claim a £5 free bet.
Making Deals -- U.K. company Sports Information Ltd. is acquiring VegasInsider.com Inc. from SportsLine.com Inc. VegasInsider.com is a publisher of original sports and gaming information and an e-commerce Web site that offers sports handicapping tools with almost 60,000 unique daily visitors.