Friday, July 30
Pre Paid ATM -- According to InfoPowa News, Pre Paid ATM, an online payment solution provider that deals with many I-gaming operations, has for three weeks had difficulty finding credit card processors. Users who attempt to deposit money into their accounts with a credit card receive the message "We are currently experiencing difficulties with our credit card processor. Please choose another method or try back later." InfoPowa also reports that Betcris, Pacific Poker, and Absolute Poker have dropped Pre Paid ATM as a payment solutions provider.
Go Vegas Go -- Mobile Streams, a UK-based provider of mobile content, has designed a new mobile casino suite called Go Vegas Go for Java-enabled phones. Go Vegas Go, which features slots, blackjack, roulette and poker, will be marketed to clients as a white-label offering. Players will be able to download the casino suite by sending a short message service (SMS) code to the network where the software is located.
Poker Volume 2 -- Canadian online gaming software company Fireswirl Technologies Inc., has launched Fireswirl Online Poker V2, the latest version of its poker system that includes Texas Hold-Em, 5-card stud, 7-card stud, Omaha, and Hi/Lo. Players can play in multi-table tournaments or sit & go games.
Levy yield -- Earlier this month Britain's Horse Racing Levy Board, the body that returns money to racing from off-course wagering, revealed in its annual report that the Levy yield for the year 2003-2004 was over £100 million for the first time ever. The Levy yield is £25.5 million, or 34 percent, greater than last year's amount. Betting exchanges contributed £4 million to the total sum, an increase of 75 percent over the previous year. Rob Hughes, the chairman of the Levy Board, said, "This is the second year in which the Levy has been based on bookmakers' gross profits on horseracing, and the materially increased yield demonstrates how volatile the new system is. Last year, Levy collections fell some £6m short of our planning forecast. In 2003-04 they have exceeded the planning forecast by an even greater amount."
Thursday, July 29
Quoteworthy -- "There are no more attacks against these specific companies (online gambling operators), but no one is safe from such attacks. All firms with money are under threat; no one is safe. Any organization with access to the Internet is open."
-- Yevgeny Yakimovich, head of the Russian Interior Ministry's Section 'K', which investigates hi-tech crimes, such as the recent rash of DDoS attacks. One of the difficulties Russian and British investigators face when tracking hackers is that members of a digital crime organization can operate many miles away. In fact the three young men recently arrested for launching DDoS attacks on Internet sportsbooks resided in three different regions of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov) and may have never even physically met. They have not yet been charged, but could face 15 years imprisonment if convicted of extortion.
Proposition -- In Australia, Opposition Leader Mark Latham has proposed a national policy to reduce problem gambling. His plan involves restricting cash withdrawals from ATMs in gaming venues to $200 per day and outlawing cash advances on credit cards. Under Latham's plan, government commonwealth services agency Centrelink would take a lead role in helping problem gamblers by preparing family income protection plans and allowing funds to be put under control of family members. The Australian Bankers Association, however, disputes Latham's propositions, saying it is "technically unfeasible to set total daily cash withdrawal limits within a venue," and that it would have a "disastrous effect" on community clubs. Other critics, such as Federal Community Services Minister Kay Patterson, claim Latham has proposed no new ideas and many his of suggestions are already in place. Patterson thinks states should take more responsibility for gambling since they clear $4 billion per year in gambling revenue.
Youbet Expansion -- California-based horse racing wagering and content provider Youbet.com, Inc. has appointed Victor Gallo to lead the company's response to new legislation in Nevada that permits advanced deposit wagering. Gallo, who until now served as general counsel for Youbet, will become Youbet's general manager in Nevada and will be responsible for developing new business opportunities in Las Vegas. Youbet's general counsel position is being filled by Scott Solomen, who is joining the company from Los Angeles-based investment firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, where he served as senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of international investment banking.
Sponsorship Heat -- Ladbrokes and Boyle Bookmakers are angry that RTE, the Irish Public Service Broadcasting Organization, has allowed Paddy Power to sponsor television coverage for all 25 days of live Irish racing. Paddy Power's sponsorship deal includes recognition slots on each side of commercial breaks. Ladbrokes spokesperson Jack Mooney told the Racing Post, "We are annoyed and disappointed that RTE did not put this out to tender. We consider this unfair. It’s the equivalent of a political party sponsoring a political program. What would the other parties think in such circumstances? In addition we feel that Paddy Power is sponsoring racing through the back door. Their money goes to RTE whereas ours goes into Irish racing." Boyles is upset because when it signed on to sponsor next year's Irish 2,000 and Irish 1,000 Guineas it believed it would be the exclusive sponsor.
Fatwa Says No -- The National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's highest Islamic authority, declared this week that short message service (SMS) texting contests contain elements of gambling and should therefore be avoided by Muslims. The Council's chairman Ismail Ibrahim, said, "I advise everyone to follow the ruling because anyone caught flouting it can be charged in the Syariah (Islamic law) court." This announcement follows an order issued last week by Malaysia's Information Minister that all radio and television networks must immediately stop airing all SMS contests that are not skill-based.
CES Still Working on Exchange -- CES Software has released an AGM Statement saying that in 2004 its management has focused on moving the group from a development phase towards the commercialization of its technology by expanding considerable effort in establishing a betting exchange for European bookmaker BETandWIN. The company stated that its progress in setting up the exchange has been slower than expected, but it now plans to launch the platform near the end of 2004. CES, which recently acquired the pay-to-play skill games network at SkillJam.com, says its board "believes that person-to-person skill gaming and exchange betting businesses are complementary to one another, and closely aligned, and that by expanding its range of person-to-person product offerings, the group is better positioned to capitalize on the significant potential of the person-to-person gaming market."
Wednesday, July 28
Quoteworthy -- "I was disappointed and surprised when I saw this report. There is no evidence at all that there are any 11-year-olds gambling online. We have been aware of this situation and have been working quietly behind the scenes to tackle these problems for some time."
- David Hood, William Hill's public relations manager, in an interview with NetImperative discussing his company's reaction to an NCH report that claims 11-year-olds can bypass most gambling sites' age verification systems to establish betting accounts. Hood added, "Banks continue to distribute these cards (debit, Visa Electron, Solo cards, etc.) to children, in a bid to get more customers and beat the competition. We need support from banks, and we will happily support them to get new restrictions in place. Banks need to provide a code on these cards to block access to restricted sites. This technology already exists in the U.S."
Pari-mutuel Team -- Scientific Games Corporation and Cantor Index have formed a global joint venture to implement and market a system for new forms of pari-mutuel betting. Scientific Games Racing will create a software platform for the new forms of pari-mutuel wagering that Cantor Index has developed, and the companies would like to run the platform on tote systems across the world. The first of the new bets will likely be a variation of the traditional Pick Six where bettors predict the winners of a set of six races.
Close the Book -- Last weekend Irish bookmaker Paddy Power opened a book on how long of a prison sentence James Hewitt, a former lover of Princess Diana, might receive if he's convicted of possessing cocaine, but it withdrew the book on Monday after discovering that the attorney general would investigate whether accepting such a bet constituted contempt of court.
Promoted -- Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc. (ISWI) has promoted Stephen Salmon to chief operating officer of its subsidiary, Global Interactive Gaming Ltd. (GIG), which licenses and operates the SportXction play-by-play sports wagering system. Salmon, who was director of operations responsible for new project management and gaming operations, will now be responsible for all activities at GIG except for accounting functions. He was once the head of consulting and a founder for Smashed Atom Ltd., a joint venture between Telewest Communications and the Stanford Research Institute.
Wagering Hub -- The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association board of directors has signed a memorandum of understanding with Simultech, a shell company headed by Stevenson and Associates consulting firm. The companies have agreed that Simultech will operate an offshore wagering hub that would offer bets on American racing to users in the Caribbean and Central and South America and will return a portion of the revenue to jockeys in the United States. The operation, which will not accept wagers from U.S. residents, should be functioning in two to three months.
Tuesday, July 27
Intra-Nevada -- The Nevada Gambling Commission will discuss intrastate remote gambling at its meeting Thursday in Carson City. The State Gaming Control Board's senior research specialist, Marc Warren, will deliver a summary of presentations heard by the Commission in two previous meetings. He will then discuss Nevada's current statutes and regulations that may apply to intrastate remote wagering and what amendments and adoptions would be required to implement regulated intrastate gaming.
The Greek On Trial -- Sports Data Services Limited-- the parent company of Olympic Data Services, which operates the Olympic Sports betting site at www.thegreek.com-- and its managing director Spiros Athanas will stand trial before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court in Jamiaca on Oct. 26 for allegedly conducting an illegal Internet betting service without a license or other authorization. When the company established itself at the Montego Bay Free Zone in 1996 it obtained a license to operate a telemarketing agency. According to Olympic's lawyer, "We are saying that telemarketing is broad enough to include betting and gaming so you need no further permission from the Betting, Gaming, and Lotteries Commission to do it. The Memorandum of Association of Olympic Sports Limited gives them permission to do betting and gaming offshore." The case was postponed on May 19 so that the court could consider whether Athanas, as a mere employee of the company, should be charged. Meanwhile, Sports Data Services is seeking a new jurisdiction in which to reside. Rumors speculate that Antigua is the top destination.
Israel -- Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that Israelis spent over $354 million gambling on the National Lottery and soccer, accounting for 5.8 percent of the country's spending on entertainment, sports and culture. Ministers in Israel's social economic cabinet this week approved a plan to legalize horse racing and gambling at the tracks, although the legislation has not yet been drafted.
iPoker -- Israel-based Playtech, a turnkey solutions provider for online casinos, has soft-launched its new iPoker product on Clubdicepoker.com, FairPoker.com, Noblepoker.com, and SIACasino.com. iPoker, which is currently running on a play-for-fun basis only, enables users to choose between a two or three dimensional play mode. Players can participate in one-on-one games, private games and single or multi-table tournament games.
Compulsory Acquisition -- Victoria-based Tabcorp Holdings' takeover of New South Wales-based TAB Ltd. has gained over 90 percent acceptance from the TAB shareholders, prompting compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares in TAB and guaranteeing TAB shareholders the extra $0.10 per share offered by Tabcorp to win support for its bid. The offer period will close Aug. 4.
Monday, July 26
Online Lottery in Canada -- The Atlantic Lottery Corporation is about to become Canada's first government-operated betting company to sell lottery tickets over the Internet. Beginning early next month, Atlantic Lottery's Web site will sell tickets for six games, including Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7. Lara Wood, the company's managing director, said that the lottery is trying to reach a new market, and not drive retailers out of business.
Gambling Search Engine -- In an effort to take over the void left from Google's and Yahoo's decisions to exit the online gambling advertising market, Gambling.com has re-launched as a search engine for gambling-related terms and sites only, using an initial sole proposition of pay-per-click search in an easy-to-use, Google-like interface. Gambling.com, which boasts that its domain name gives it thousands of unique visitors per day through type-in traffic, says that the pay-per-click model will enable advertisers to bid on keywords at a price that suits their budgets while receiving pre-qualified traffic. The search engine's strict editorial policy ensures that a keyword search will yield only what the user asks for instead of marginally related sites. The company began developing its proprietary search technology after purchasing the site from the Web site's founder in December 2003.
Quoteworthy -- "Betting on cricket is not decreasing. The recent Pakistan-India series involved enormous betting. That means the potential for players to receive corrupt approaches is ever present."
- Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, commenting in the ICC's annual report. The sport of Cricket gained much media attention in February as rumors speculated that the ICC suspected several cases of illegal betting and match fixing. Condon's added, "Intelligence gathering is an essential part of our investigative program and the Unit continues to forge ever-stronger links with police forces in the major cricket nations. We have developed relationships in the legal and illegal betting worlds and our network of contracts and informants enables us to monitor the activities of the known and potential corruptors."
British Racing -- The British Horse Racing Board (BHB) is creating a position to be filled by a representative of the punting population: an independent non-executive director to ensure that the board's policies remain fair to punters. . . The Jockey Club's disciplinary panel today began hearing testimony in the case surrounding the running of Hillside Girl, which pulled up halfway at Carlisle in June of 2003 after having drifted on Betfair. Trainer Alan Berry, jockey Paul Bradley, amateur rider Dale Jewett, and blacksmith Steve O'Sullivan all face charges of illegal betting and race fixing that could result in the loss of their licenses. The hearing will span two to three days.
Ten Years of Pokies -- Last weekend marked the 10-year anniversary of a vote in South Australia's State Parliament allowing licensed gambling machines. In 1994-95 there were 7,372 machines operating in 307 venues, while now both figures have nearly doubled, with 14,799 machines operating in 593 venues. In 10 years the machines have taken over $5 billion in profit (over $9 million a week) and turnover of $40.5 billion. The Australian Hotels Association claims that gaming has created 4,400 jobs and allocated $90 million to community organizations. "No Pokies" MP Nick Xenopohon, however, said that 23,000 problem gamblers have been created in the last 10 years as a direct result of the machines.