Friday, Oct. 31
Today Show NBC's Today Show will air a segment Tuesday on Internet gambling. The piece will include a pre-taped interview with a couple from Arizona who were also featured in a recent People magazine article about online gambling. Keith Whyte, director for the National Council on Problem Gambling, will also appear live from the studio in New York. As of now, the segment is scheduled to run anytime between 7 and 10 a.m. EST.
Quoteworthy -- "Sporting regulators have more information now than they ever had before. They should use this information to maintain the purity and integrity of their sport."
- Rob Hartnett, UK managing director of betting exchange BETDAQ. Yesterday BETDAQ hosted a debate in Westminster that addressed several aspects of betting exchanges, especially its effects on the integrity of sports. When asked if sporting authorities should be allowed access to betting records of exchange customers and whether such an allowance would be a realistic step toward eliminating corruption, Hartnett replied, "It should not be a private club or association that has access to private data, but a government-appointed authority charged with maintaining and taking care of those personal details."
Antigua WTO Win -- The World Trade Organization panel handling the online gambling dispute between the United States and the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda rejected a U.S. attempt to have the issue dismissed. The United States argued that Antigua's first submission to the panel failed to establish that the islands had a case against the United States for breaching any WTO codes. The United States must now make a submission in response to Antigua's submission; then both parties will have a chance to rebut the other's arguments. The panel will publish its final ruling early in 2004.
Thursday, Oct. 30
U.S. Betting Forum -- The Cato Institute's U.S. online gambling policy forum on Oct. 23, titled Lessons From the Internet and Bookmaking, has been archived on the institute's Web site at www.cato.org/events/031023pf.html and is available in both Real Audio and Real Video formats. The forum addressed the regulation of Internet gambling, specifically sports betting, in the U.S. and several issues surrounding it. The speakers were: Koleman Strumpf, Raymond Sauer, Robin Hanson, and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.
Deals -- Gaming and lottery software solutions company VirtGame Corp. has licensed its PrimeLine Sports Book software to Casino Fandango in Carson City, Nevada. The PrimeLine Sports Book is a Nevada-style fixed-odds sports wagering management system that tracks customer wagers and uses back-office components that provide risk management. The licensing agreement was made through Las Vegas Dissemination Company, VirtGame's distribution partner, which also helped Virtgame sell licenses to Kerzner International's Atlantis, Paradise Island, Casino MonteLago of Las Vegas and three casinos owned and operated by Herbst Gaming in Nevada. . . . LegalPlay Entertainment Inc. has purchased a race betting platform from Richmedia Technology Inc. for $20,000 and plans to market the betting system on a subscription basis through its racing portal online at www.DailyHorse.com. As part of the deal, LegalPlay has become the sole owner of the proprietary technology and will therefore never have to pay royalties to any other parties. LegalPlay, which owns and operates SkillPoker.com Inc., says that its horse racing portal will provide synergistic benefits to its other online gaming operations.
Wireless Book -- Wagering software company IQ-Ludorum plc and Phantom Fiber, a provider of real time wireless technology to handheld devices, have partnered with Anitgua-based sports book WWTS to launch a WWTS wireless wagering system that enables users to bet from anywhere at anytime with a single account. WWTS plans to aggressively market the new service.
Wembley Bribe -- The Independent reports that Claes Hultman, the man who was appointed to replace Nigel Potter as CEO of Wembley after he quit to battle bribery allegations last month, has been subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney's office to produce all documents referring to the company's attempts to install 1,300 extra video lottery terminals or slot machines as well as any approved budgets for Lincoln Park and transcripts of any Wembley board meetings that addressed its American operation. Hultman's lawyers will argue tomorrow that the American court does not have the authority to subpoena a foreign national.
Quoteworthy -- "We're coming from having the experience of designing applications for mobile users, rather than trying to make the betting model fit mobile, as the gambling companies have tried to do."-- Opera Telecom's CEO Gary Corbett. Now that mobile services company Opera Telecom has been awarded a bookmaker's license, its broadcast, media and portal clients can begin launching fixed-odds gambling services.
Wednesday, Oct. 29
Skill Affiliates -- CYOP Systems International Inc., a developer of online games of skill, has reached a licensing agreement with Peak Entertainment, which currently possesses multiple gaming licenses in Curacao and owns and operates five online casinos and a player-to-player poker room. CYOP's online transaction platform CrediPlay, which charges a network maintenance fee on each skill game played over the net, will now appear on two of Peak's Web sites, www.4gambling.com and www.casinonews.org, as part of an affiliate program. CYOP, whose software is not affected by North American restrictions on credit cards since it provides services on games of skill rather than chance, says that it is following a strategy of targeting North American Internet consumers who have difficulty using their credit cards for online gambling activities. CYOP's president, Patrick Smyth, said, "Because we are not coded as online gambling, we have the opportunity to fill the void being left by online casinos in North America."
Horse Investigation -- Another horse and its trainer came under scrutiny yesterday at Redcar in the United Kingdom after Uhoomagoo, which was easy to back but drifted out on the betting exchanges, made a poor finish. Jockey Club spokesman Owen Byrne said, "Betfair and the security department of the Jockey Club were aware of the betting patterns on this race, and the stewards of the course were duly told." Track officials investigated the matter but concluded that the race was not thrown. According to Byrne, "They found no breach of the running and riding rules, however the matter could be reopened if any further information becomes available."
Breeders Cup Betting Record -- Youbet.com Inc., the largest provider of horse racing betting and content in the United States, announced record handle for last Saturday's Breeders Cup. Youbet's handle was 56 percent greater than last year's value and 46 percent greater than its handle for this year's Kentucky Derby.
Quoteworthy -- "I suppose anything is possible, but I believe that our guys, the athletes in tennis, are amongst the cleanest in sport anywhere. But we are doing everything we can to collect all the information possible."
- Association of Tennis Professionals chief Mark Miles, responding to allegations that appeared in newspapers two weeks ago claiming that certain players were involved in betting and match-fixing schemes.
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Kyl Bill -- U.S. Sen.Jon Kyl's (R-Ariz.) Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act (S-627) was placed on the Senate's Calendar on Monday, meaning that it's now eligible for discussion before the entire Senate. The bill, introduced March 17, seeks to prohibit financial institutions and credit card companies from processing illegal online gambling transactions and also defines what sort of gaming would be made legal or illegal.
Latin Soccer Book -- San Diego Soccer Development Corp. has made its final payment toward acquiring a 51 percent controlling interest in GoloLotto, a recently completed sports wagering Web site that focuses on soccer in Latin America and parts of Asia and Europe. GoloLotto is in final discussions with a Latin American media conglomerate to market its gololotto.com Web site throughout the larger soccer markets. Costa Rica International Sportsbook partnered with GoloLotto to co-develop and operate the site, which is scheduled to launch Jan. 15, 2004.
Chimera -- Nevada-based Chimera Technology Corp., an I-gaming software and e-commerce services company, has signed a letter of intent with M & M Sports, a private company in Costa Rica that operates the Internet sports book www.BETMMSports.com. Chimera will acquire a 10 percent interest in M & M Sports, which reported $500,000 in business volume in its first year in 2000, but increased that figure to just under $80 million last year.
Retirements and Appointments -- U.K. betting company William Hill has appointed Charles Scott as non-executive chairman in replacement of retiring John Brown. Scott, who will take the position on Jan. 1, is currently William Hill's non-executive director and has been on the board since 1999… Betinternet.com announced today that Sean Graham would resign as trading director and as board member to pursue other interests. Gary Knowles, who has worked in senior positions for William Hill in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man for 16 years, will replace Graham. Betinternet revealed at its annual general meeting that its financial figures for the first half of the year would not meet its earlier expectations as a result of few summer soccer events.
Monday, Oct. 27
Boss -- Boss Media has sold the rights to the brand and domain name of its gaming portal www.Casino.com to an unnamed company for $5.5 million. Boss says that it has done so to focus on its core business, which is developing a superior gambling platform.
Gambling TV The Casino and Gaming Television network is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in 2004 as a digital cable and satellite channel. The Associated Press reports that the network will be completely dedicated to gambling, featuring shows like "Winning Hand," where experts will offer poker advice, and "Dusk 'Til Dawn," which will tour gambling destinations around the world. The channel, which will target males in the 21-36 age range, is currently negotiating deals with carriers. The creators hope to reach 1 million homes at launch and to obtain $75 million in operating capital by the end of its first quarter.
Centrebet -- Jupiters Ltd has officially completed the sale of its subsidiary Centrebet to the SportOdds Group for $32.80 million. Jupiters' shareholders will receive the proceeds of the deal via a fully franked dividend in the range of 10 to 12 cents per share. The deal became possible after 99 percent of Jupiters' shareholders voted in favor of merging with Tabcorp Holding Ltd on Friday. Jupiters' shareholders will also receive a special dividend of 53 cents per share as part of the merger with Tabcorp. Centrebet's Gerard Daffy says that as part of the agreement with SportOdds, everyone in the company will retain their employment. He also says that the company will probably place more emphasis on horse racing and on obtaining access to the American market.
Anti-Spam Protocol -- One of the main obstacles in the fight against spam is developing a method to verify that e-mail senders are who they claim to be. Silicon.com reports that a subcommittee of the Anti-Spam Research Group (ASRG) is trying to revise the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol that currently controls most e-mail systems but is able to verify a sender's identity. The ASRG hopes to blend a number of schemes that would achieve verification. The proposed solution would alter the Domain Name system Database so that e-mail servers would be able to publish whatever IP addresses are associated with them. ISPs would then be able to verify whether an e-mail truly originates from where it claims it does, thereby protecting individuals from being falsely accused of spamming.