Friday, Jan. 9
IASbet Searched by Police -- The Sydney Morning Herald reports that on Friday morning Australian police officers raided IASbet headquarters in Melbourne as well as the company's online betting agency in Darwin, seeking records of the $19 million dollars stolen by former Commonwealth Bank manager Kim Faithful, IASbet's largest customer. Police seized documents and interviewed several staff members. The home of IASbet owner Mark Read was also visited by five officers bearing a search warrant. On Nov. 17, 2003, three months after Faithful's arrest, the Northern Territory Racing Commission stated that IASbet was not at fault for accepting Faithful's bets and had breached no regulations. Faithful claims that IASbet knew that he was a bank manager.
SKY One Bids for Euro Millions -- U.K.-based Broadcast magazine reports that SKY One has placed a bid to obtain television broadcasting rights for Euro Millions, a weekly lottery spanning several European jurisdictions that will air every Friday night. The lottery is set to launch this spring in Britain, France and Spain, and five more countries will join in 2005. Sky One would like to feature the lottery in a live entertainment show at the heart of its prime time schedule. Some estimate that the jackpot will initially be around £35 million each week and will grow as more countries join.
Camelot's Massive Marketing Plan -- British portals MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL have signed deals with Camelot, operator of the National Lottery, to develop dedicated lottery channels that will allow web surfers to buy tickets online through their sites. The deals are part of Camelot's massive marketing plan to promote the new Lotto Online service that launched in December, allowing players to choose their own numbers and buy tickets weeks in advance. Banners and buttons for the new service will also appear on some of the busiest sites in the United Kingdom, like NTL, Freeserve, and Tiscali.
Memorandum Rejected -- New Media Age reports that the UK's traditional bookmakers have rejected the idea of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Jockey Club similar to the one signed last summer by Betfair and the Jockey Club. This comes after the Guardian reported on Tuesday that the Jockey Club was close to signing a memorandum with the major bookmakers, who have for a long time expressed their opinion that there is no need for them to give the Jockey Club or other sports organizations access to their customers' betting records.
Korean News -- South Korean online gambling and software developer Hoonnet has been stripped of its status as a inter-Korean business company after officials discovered it had been working with its North Korean business partner Jupae to offer online gambling services to South Korean residents through the web site at www.jupae.com. The South Korean government forbids its citizens to register with North Korean Internet sites unless they approve prior approval from the South Korean Unification Ministry. One government official said "Hoonnet's business is also not pursuant to the spirit of inter-Korean business." He added, "Those who gambled on the site and sent money to the North will be punished."
Thursday, Jan. 8
p align="justify">EssNet Goes Platinum -- Stockholm-based lottery systems supplier EssNet has become a platinum contributor to the World Lottery Association (WLA). Hans Vigmostad, president and CEO of EssNet, which had until now been a gold-level contributor, explained that the "WLA is playing an important role in the lottery industry and we wanted to increase our support of their efforts to look after the members' interests and to provide new services like security certification and RFP standardization. Also, the focus on responsible gaming and high business and ethical standards will be crucial to the high reputation of the lottery business in the future. We are very pleased to be part of these processes." EssNet joins GTECH, Scientific Games, and Intralot as platinum contributors.
iTV in the USA? -- The results of a survey conducted by Ipsos-Insight show that consumer awareness of interactive television in the United States is very low, with only 50 percent of the survey's respondents replying that they had ever heard of iTV. Eleven percent said they were familiar with iTV and 39 percent said they had heard of it but didn't know anything about it. Most of those who reported to be familiar with iTV came from households that earned over $100,000 per year. Ipsos-Insight also polled respondents who reported to be interested in iTV and found that 26 percent are interested in controlling different camera angles on sporting events, 19 percent are interested in requesting product information, 18 percent are interested in receiving sports statistics, 15 percent are interested in playing games against other viewers, 13 percent are interested in making purchases through the remote control and 5 percent are interested in betting on sporting events and horse races. The recent purchase of satellite provider DIRECTV by Rupert Murdoch could lead to a bigger future for iTV in the United States.
Ritz Relocates -- Ritz Club London Online this week re-launched its online casino, originally based in Curacao, under a gambling license issued by Alderney. The transition became possible last year when the Alderney Gambling Control Commission certified CryptoLogic's WagerLogic software, which powers the Ritz Club's online casino.
UK Gambling Bill Scrutiny -- The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Salvation Army, the Evangelical Alliance and other opponents of the England's draft Gambling Bill, which would permit more forms of gambling (including Internet and mobile gaming), today argued their case before a joint committee of the Houses of Commons and Lords. The committee, which visited GamCare's headquarters yesterday, will likely continue holding semi-weekly public evidence sessions until early February. It will report its recommendations to both houses of Parliament by April 8.
BHB Responds to Jockey Club -- British Horseracing Board (BHB) chief executive Greg Nichols has responded to Jockey Club senior steward Julian Richmond-Watson's fears that all commercial power will be transferred to British Horseracing Enterprises by issuing the following statement: "BHB continues to be supportive of the principle of a separation of governance and commercial functions. But, as the democratic governing authority, it has absolutely no intention of giving up any of its current responsibilities unless and until it is satisfied that a proper balance of interests for all sectors of racing will be maintained. A number of options remain under consideration. Julian Richmond-Watson has set out a hypothetical scenario which would result from the absence of those vital safeguards. Racing must seek to avoid such an outcome."
TAB Talk -- The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports that Tab Ltd. has held secret negotiations with the NSW and Victorian racing industries. To continue broadcasting racing from the two industries, TAB has reportedly offered the industries partial ownership in its $250 million monopoly broadcaster, Sky Channel. The AFR says discussions with NSW racing are still progressing, although talks with Victorian racing have failed since TAB could not provide a majority stake in Sky. Tab Ltd. and Sky have neither confirmed nor denied the claims.
Wednesday, Jan. 7
UK Jockey Club News -- The Guardian reports that the U.K. Jockey Club is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with Britain's major bookmakers that would allow the Jockey Club's security department to view certain betting records in cases of suspicious betting. The agreement, which would be similar to the already existing memorandum of understanding between the club and betting exchange Betfair, could be in place within a few weeks. . . . At the recent annual dinner for the Thoroughbred Breeders Association in London, the Jockey Club's senior steward, Julian Richmond-Watson, admonished the British Horseracing Board's plans to transfer commercial rights and power to British Horseracing Enterprises, a new body that is nearly entirely owned and operated by the Racecourse Association and the Racehorse Owners Association. He said, "Any arrangement which allows BHE, dominated by the racecourses and owners, to dictate fixture or prize money policy, will be a disaster for the sport." Among other claims, he added that "The two major shareholders in BHE will be inevitably willing participants along with the betting industry in increasing gross profits at the expense of quality racing."
Tote Gets SportXction -- Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc.'s subsidiary, Global Interactive Gaming (GIG) Ltd., has signed a non-exclusive agreement to provide its SportXction play-by-play wagering system to Tote Credit Ltd., which is a subsidiary of the Horserace Totalisator Board that holds the Internet bookmaking license for www.tote.co.uk. GIG will supply its technology and operate it, and in exchange Tote Credit will share a portion of its wagering revenue with GIG. Tote Credit takes responsibility for customer support and financial transaction processing, and it will market the product through its Web site and publications and through direct marketing and promotions.
New Stuff -- On Jan. 19, LegalPlay Entertainment will launch the Poker.cc card room, which is the first licensee to use LegalPlay's patent pending SkillPoker system. Poker.cc has agreed to deliver a monthly royalty from its revenues to LegalPlay. . . . CapitalCasino.com has launched a new site with 77 unique games including 69 download games and 51 Flash games using Microgaming software. The site boasts tailor-made rewards and promotions that offer players cash-back points every time they wager.
NDS' New Director -- NDS Group, a provider of digital pay-TV technology solutions, has announced that Nathan Gantcher will serve as an independent director for the company and will sit on its Audit and Remuneration Committees. Gantcher is CEO and co-chairman of Alpha Investment Management in New York City and is a former vice chairman of CIBC World Markets Corp.
Sports Market Trading -- AllSportsMarket.com, a new site that allows users to buy and trade stock on sports teams and events, has launched and is offering free memberships for public beta tests. The site uses trading methods and tools modeled off of Wall Street. All trades are conducted in real time with real money, and users' demand controls the market's dynamics. The site offers trading on basketball, baseball, NASCAR, hockey, golf and boxing, with more games coming soon.
Tuesday, Jan. 6
M-Commerce -- Norwegian-based virtual bank Contopronto, is reporting to have received the first-ever European e-money license, facilitation payments and money transfers to any bank, credit card, business or individual through mobile phones from Europe. In addition to handling payments for the like of McDonald's and Peppe's Pizza, the system has been adopted for online gambling. It will soon be made available in taxis in 25 cities in Norway, and the company is in discussions with Norwegian and U.K. airlines about using the system for the sale and delivery of flight tickets. The license was issued by the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Finance. Contopronto reports to have 10,000 active users in its home territory.
Racing Down Under -- The Australian reports that former Billabong chief executive Matthew Perrin is heading a group that's bidding to purchase the television rights for horse racing in New South Wales and Victoria. The current rights holder, Sky Channel, is in the midst of a battle in which Unitab and Tabcorp, are competing to acquire its parent company, Tab Ltd. Sky Channel holds the rights to broadcast racing in Victoria and New South Wales and helps generate two thirds of Tab Ltd.'s annual wagering business. Future TV rights, however, will be negotiate by Thorough Vision, and Sky Channel is not expected to retain them. The existing agreement expires in March. The Australian reports that U.K.-based Ten/Ten Digital, the owner of the attheraces.com Web site, is believed to be mounting a separate bid for the TV rights.
Racing Up Over -- Thoroughbred Times reports Saturday that a U.S. District Court judge on Dec. 30 "dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by ODS Technologies, the subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. that does business as Television Games Network, in its legal battle with the Maryland Jockey Club and its majority owner, Magna Entertainment Corp." Several counts in ODS's counter suit that allege the Maryland Jockey Club and Magna unfairly interfered with ODS's business have been dismissed. Baltimore Business Journal reports that ODS was left with one count of breach of contract against the Maryland Jockey Club and a similar count against the Laurel Racing Association. ODS's counter claim is in response to a joint suit filed by Maryland Jockey Club and Laurel Racing Association, who claim that TVG failed to fulfill a contract obligation requiring the network to generate a quarterly rolling average gross handle of $230 million.
The Scruples of Charlie Hustle -- Numerous U.S. publications are reporting that the highly anticipated book in which all-time Major League Baseball hits leader Pete Rose admits he bet on baseball also includes an admission that Rose was offered $2 million to promote an Internet gambling site. Rose was said to have turned down the offer only because he knew it would hurt his chances of being reinstated to baseball.
Makin' Deals -- Will the second time be a charm for Gambling.com? The popular gambling portal was to be acquired last year by Interactive Gaming Holdings, but the deal fell through in December. IGN learned today that a new deal been struck. A group of unnamed independent investors will take over ownership of the company, and the management and staff will remain intact. . . . Leading P2P betting provider Betfair announced today the signing of a sponsorship deal with North American Sports Network through its agency, Brand-Links. Betfair customers will be offered free trial subscriptions to the network as well as additional Web site promotions during its exclusive road to the Super Bowl coverage.
Monday, Jan. 5
Poker Explodes -- In a study published Jan. 1, leading bookmaker Ladbrokes reports that online poker has grown to a 53.9 million euro-per-day business, an increase from 8.5 million euro-per-day in January 2003. The group also reports that there were around 150 poker rooms in 2003, up from 30 in 2002. Ladbrokespoker.com claims to have 50,000 registered users.
Jackpot Madnewss -- Jackpot Madness, a portal to Internet sites with progressive jackpots reported says it had another record-breaking year in 2003. Two winners hit jackpots in excess of $1.6 million, while numerous others won jackpots ranging from $200,000 to $500,000.
Asian News -- North and South Korea appear to be engaging in the latest border war in the Internet gambling arena. JoongAng Daily reports that Pyeongyang-based DPR Korea Lotto lodged a public complaint today in reaction to a South Korean legislator's complaint about the group taking bets from South Koreans. The complaint was posted on the official homepage of Rep. Park Won-hong of the Grand National Party. It is believed to be the first time North Korea has posted any message on Internet sites of South Korea's public officials or institutions. Park said during a National Assembly inspection of the Ministry of Unification in October 2003 that South Koreans were illegally sending money (around $5 million per year) to North Korea via credit card and bank transfers to DPR Korea Lotto. In its written response to Park's complaint, the site argues that their monthly income is "no more than $40,000 and profit is less than $10,000." JoongAng Daily reports: "According to the Unification Ministry, a South Korean who wishes to use the North Korean Internet gambling service must obtain a permit under the Inter-Korean exchange laws. A ministry spokesman said this has never happened.