Friday, March 5
Trading Status -- While a World Trade Organization dispute panel has been finalizing its ruling on the I-gaming dispute between the United States and the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, the United States declared on Monday that Antigua and Barbuda, along with Barbados, will no longer be classified as developing nations and will therefore lose their preferential trade status on exports. The nations will be reclassified as high-income states and will lose their preferential status on January 1, 2006.
Boss and Bowman -- After announcing on October 15, 2003 that it had sold an online casino platform to a reputable betting company that wished to remain anonymous for competitive reasons, Boss Media has finally revealed that Bowman International was the purchaser. The Boss Media casino, which is available as a downloadable or browser-based application, has replaced Bowman's previous casino software on www.bowmans.com.
Pokerworld.com -- Jamaica-based online gaming company Olympic Sports Data Services has launched a new poker room at Pokerworld.com, a project on which the company spent more than two years creating. The site features chat functions and single and multi-table tournaments for fun and real money games of Texas Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, and Omaha Hi-Lo.
Bingo Cruise -- Online bingo site PartyBingo.com is one of the official co-sponsors of the 16th World Championship Bingo Tournament and Gaming Cruise in 2004. Players can log on to PartyBingo.com for the chance to win one of 15 all expenses paid packages on the Gaming Cruise's ship, the Carnival Conquest, as well as a ticket to the tournament.
Thursday, March 4
Georgia Online Lottery -- Yesterday Georgia's House of Representatives approved with a 131-32 vote a bill that would allow customer's to play the state lottery online for a maximum of $5 per day. Advocates of the bill hail it as a way to boost lottery sales, a large portion of which are allocated toward a college scholarship fund that might otherwise have to be cut. If passed, the bill would make Georgia the first state to offer a lottery online. There is still much doubt as to whether the bill is consistent with U.S. Federal legislation, however, and problem gambling associations and convenience stores have voiced their opposition to an online lottery. The bill has been sent to the Senate for a vote.
Publicity -- Expect MSNBC and other mainstream media sources to cover the online casino conflict involving Hampton's Casino, its software supplier Real Time Gaming, and one player who was able to win $1.3 million playing Caribbean 21. In January Hampton's operator Ron Lewin called the player, claiming that he had evidence that the player cheated by using a "bot." During the recorded conversation, the player at first denied the charges, then admitted to them, though he later said that he was only trying to bait the operator in order to discover more information. After a thorough investigation of its software, Real Time Gaming announced three weeks ago that its game is flawless and there is no method for a player to cheat it. They also stated that Hampton's was not equipped with the systems it claimed to have used to detect the player's bot. The player has been denied all requests for play logs and has received no money.
Stats -- Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC), which tracks the 50 largest specialist gambling companies in its GBGC 50 index, estimate that the market capitalization of those top 50 stocks rose 75 percent in the last year. Combined, the capitalization of those companies totals $76.4 billion. 17 of the companies have a capitalization over $1 billion. During the same period the FTSE has risen only 21 percent while the Dow has risen 34 percent.
Betting Channel -- BskyB's new live interactive TV betting channel, Sky Vegas Live, went live at 6pm tonight. The channel will air live every night between 6pm and 2am from a "virtual" TV studio in London.
DeLotto Decision Delayed -- The court in the Netherlands presiding over the case of DeLotto vs. Ladbrokes has for the second time declared that it needs more time before it can render a verdict. After being postponed for six weeks on January 21st, the decision date was scheduled for yesterday, March 3rd. The court now says it will deliver a verdict in three weeks, on March 24th.
Wednesday, March 3
Chimera Casino -- Las Vegas-based software company Chimera Technology Corp has developed an online casino platform to complement its sports wagering product. Chimera expects to launch the casino suite-- which includes blackjack, roulette, craps, pai gow, slots, and more-- within the next 60 days.
Tab War -- On Friday the New South Wales government issued a letter to Qeensland's UNiTAB, stating that it would let the shareholders of NSW's betting company, TAB Ltd, decide which bid to accept without having to fear government intervention. The letter seems to be a blow to Victoria's Tabcorp, which a little over a week ago raised its bid for TAB to $2.03 billion. Though the amount is less than UNiTAB's proposed $2.1 billion offer, Tabcorp's offer at first seemed sweeter because it carried the approval of NSW's horseracing industry, which the government had earlier indicated was necessary for either proposal. The government's letter has prompted financial services organization Goldman Sachs JB Were to downgrade its rating of Tabcorp from "outperform" to "marketperform." According to analyst Matthew Reynolds, the government's letter, "represents a material change to our previous expectations. The government does not intend to intervene in a decision that it considers is ultimately one for Tab shareholders."
Chartwell -- Canadian I-gaming software company Chartwell Technology Inc has appointed Lee Richardson as the Chief Executive of the company's subsidiary Chartwell Games Corp. Richardson will supervise all of Chartwell Games' European operations, such as sales, marketing, and business development. A Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing and a member of the UK Academy of Marketing, Richardson has over 20 years of experience in the gaming and leisure industries. He has previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Coral Eurobet, Managing Director of Totalbet.com, Managing Director of Tote Direct, and Marketing Director of the British Horseracing Board.
Fallon Folly -- British racing officials will investigate jockey Kieren Fallon, who on Tuesday failed to ride out a victory after obtaining a huge lead midway through a race. Betfair contacted the Jockey Club shortly before the race to report suspicious betting patterns. Apparently the race was quite spectacle, inciting an angry crowd of bettors to heckle and jeer Fallon outside the weighing room later on.
Martians Close Ladbrokes Book -- Ladbrokes will no longer take bets on whether or not there was ever life on Mars now that NASA's rover, Opportunity, has discovered strong evidence suggesting that the planet once had enough water to sustain life. In the 1970s when the book first opened, Ladbrokes offered 1,000 to 1 odds on life ever having existed on Mars. Before closing, the odds had been 16 to 1.
New EBA Members -- The European Betting Association-- a recently formed organization of sports betting companies that seeks to ensure a cross border, competitive market with the same regulations for all betting companies, state or privately run-- has gained four new members: bet365, Blue Square, intertops, and MrBookmaker. The new additions will join founding members BETandWIN, Expekt, Globet, and Unibet in lobbying the European Parliament and Commission, national governments, and other relevant parties. Other companies are also in discussion to join the EBA soon.
Tabfair -- NSW's TAB Ltd has registered trademarks for the names "Tabfair" and "Tabexchange." British betting exchange Betfair, who is attempting to establish operations in Australia, says this is evidence that TAB plans to set up its own betting exchange. TAB, however, denies that claim, maintaining that the trademarks are a safeguard in case Betfair were ever able to obtain a license to offer betting in Australia. Betfair, which has offered to back-date product and tax fees to Australian racing if were to obtain a license, will be sending three senior executives to Australia as soon as their work visas are granted.
Not This Year -- Senator John McCain, R-Ariz, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that this year he will not try to pass his bill that would prohibit Nevada sports books from accepting wagers on college sports. "I don't want to bring up something that we can't win," said McCain.
Chimera Casino -- Alliance Gaming, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based company involved in the design, manufacture, and operation of gaming devices, has completed its acquisition of Sierra Design Group, another gaming device manufacturer based in Reno, Nevada. The acquisition deal was threatened last month when the Missouri Gaming Commission attempted to revoke Sierra Design's supplier's license in the state because the company owned a subsidiary that offered skill games for pay to residents of Missouri. The conflict was resolved when Sierra Design shut the site down.
Tuesday, March 2
DDoS -- Computer Weekly reports that Britain's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit has indicated that businesses that surrender ransoms to criminals who launch DDoS attacks on their web sites could be breaking the law. According to Miranda Moore, a barrister specializing in organized crime, "You may be breaking the Proceeds of Crime Act. You may also be committing offences under the Theft Act if you mis-describe how money is used in your accounts."
Gambling Bill Scrutiny -- The British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) recently commissioned the Henley Center to study and report on the "Economic and Social Impacts of the proposed new Gambling Bill." BACTA's president, Tim Batstone, said, "What the Henley Center Report indicates is that the Bill as currently being proposed fails to achieve the balance of necessary safeguards both socially and economically. It benefits two new market sectors (Vegas style casinos and new media) but hugely disadvantages much of the existing traditional UK market, will damage communities, limit customer choice and do nothing to regenerate areas most in need." The report warns that the Bill would lead to an increase in racketeering and would damage social clubs, bingo halls, amusement arcades and pubs. Peter Perrins, managing director of bingo operator Carlton Clubs has also voiced fear that by allowing large casinos the Bill will damage his business. Perrins said, "Bingo is rightly seen as one of the softest forms of gambling and blurring the lines between bingo and casinos would set an alarming precedent. If the proposals become law, then it is likely to have a negative impact on the numbers of people playing bingo."….. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Lord McIntosh delivered evidence yesterday to the Gambling Bill's Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee. According to the Guardian, Jowell may agree with MPs that bill must provide more social responsibility protection. It now seems likely that casino operators hoping to obtain a license will first have to make commitments to limit problem gambling and money laundering. Jowell doesn’t plan to alter the draft proposals until after the committee has given its response in April. She will then consider the response and attempt to draft a non-controversial Bill. Jowell also indicated that more rules might be inserted to address betting exchanges, one of the committee's primary concerns.
Ireland's Betfair -- Betfair, which has already sponsored 13 races in Ireland, says it expects to have sponsored around 30 by the end of 2004. The Irish Independent reports that the Irish Turf Club is rumored to have met with the British Jockey Club yesterday to discuss betting exchanges and their relation to racing. Betfair maintains that it will fully cooperate with any investigations into racing’s integrity.
Monday, March 1
Carib's Accounts -- After Belize's Financial Inteligence Unit froze the bank accounts of Carib Sports on Thursday because of a U.S. money laundering investigation, the company was able to have its funds temporarily restored on Friday so that it could pay its 80 employees, most of whom showed up outside the Supreme Court in Belize to protest the seizure of Carib's cash supply. Carib's lawyer, Dean Barrow, who presented the company's case for nearly an hour and a half in Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh's chamber, said "The funds are unblocked to the extent of meeting salaries, emoluments of employees, utilities bills, and legal expenses. So the eighty people who are worried about their jobs still have to worry in the longer turn because the matter is not finally resolved." The hearing will resume on Wednesday in the Chief Justice's chambers to determine whether the account should remain permanently frozen.
EGET's Event Betting System -- Finnish I-gaming solution company European Game and Entertainment Technology (EGET) has developed a new event betting system that enables 15 different game variations, making it possible to bet on a wider variety of happenings, from song contests to stock market changes and more. The system lets players set their own preferences and allows operators to support as many online betting sites as they would like.
Taxing Queries -- Belinda Stronach, the former CEO of Magna International who is now a candidate for the leadership of Canada's Conservative party, is trying to distance herself from the operations of her former company and the Caribbean tax advantages from which one of its divisions benefited. On Thursday the Canadian Press discovered that Futuristic Holdings, an I-gaming company registered in Barbados, was at one time owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. The Conservatives have recently tried to exploit the fact that their rival, Prime Minister Paul Martin, took advantage of Barbados' low two percent corporate tax rate when he controlled Canada Steamship Lines, but this new revelation could damage what the party believes to be one of its strongest arguments against the current leadership. On Friday Stronach replied to questions about Futuristic Holdings by saying, "First of all I resigned. I'm no longer authorized to speak on behalf of Magna. I resigned Jan. 20. I was never an officer of Magna Entertainment, so you'll have to ask Magna and Magna Entertainment."
Instant Wins -- This week Gamesys will begin operating the instant win games area that it developed for thisislondon.co.uk. The sites' Games Channel now features slot machines, lotto, bingo, number and card games, and also topical games like Rugby Hero and Beat the Keeper. In order to keep player interest, new games will be refreshed regularly. Later this month Gamesys will launch another instant win site on thisislondon.co.uk's sister site, femail.co.uk.
New UK Laws -- In accordance with Europe’s Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the UK has enacted new anti-money laundering and tax evasion rules that take effect today, March 1st. Under the regulations, anyone who handles large amounts of other people's money must report any suspicious activity to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and all high cash businesses must register with Customs and Excise.
Soccer Lottery -- Creator Capital, the Bermuda exempted company that owns Sky Games and Sky Play, announced that its www.worldwidelotteries-china.com web site has gone live. Users from all over the world can now guess the outcomes of 13 soccer matches from the British, Italian, and German premiere leagues for a chance to win up to $600,000. Until now the tickets were available only in China.