Friday, Sep. 3
Quoteworthy -- "I encourage you to listen to the American public and draft responsible legislation and regulation that will allow me to exercise my freedom of choice. I believe that if you listen to your constituency, you'll hear, 'Don't Tread on Me . . . and my Right to Wager Online. Wagering is Entertainment."
- The final paragraph of a letter that Americans can sign at BetonSports.com and send to their congressmen. BetonSports kicked off a televised ad campaign last night that encourages viewers to visit the BetonSports Web site and sign their petition.
Turf Club Stance -- The Irish Turf Club, which for several months has been considering signing a memorandum of understanding with Betfair and other betting exchange operators, is in the final stages of preparing its policy on betting exchanges. Following Wednesday's race-fixing arrests by London Police, the club's CEO, Denis Egan, said, "We have no doubt that all this has been brought on by the advent of betting exchanges and the opportunities they provide for people to profit by laying horses to lose, and we are very concerned about what has happened. We have no evidence of any races being fixed in Ireland but we are aware of the potential threat. Racing is a sport that can be easily manipulated." The club's stewards will meet again Monday to discuss their betting exchange policy, which will likely include appointing a full-time betting analyst to monitor exchange movements. Egan is likely to announce the Turf Club's new policy within two weeks. The club has received regular assistance from the British Jockey Club in drafting its policy on exchanges.
Personnel Changes -- Antonia Sharpe has left her job as corporate PR manager for Ladbrokes to join Betfair as its senior communications executive. With Ladbrokes, Sharpe was responsible for corporate communications and was the company's spokesperson for deregulation, responsible gambling and all other issues not related to betting prices. With Betfair, she will work beside Mark Davies and take over management responsibility for the communications team while he is in Australia.
Tradingsports Exchange Systems, the AIM-listed provider of betting exchange systems that recently relocated its headquarters from London to Glasgow, has appointed Paul Burgess as chief financial officer and accepted the resignation of Andrew Tottenham as chairman. Tottenham said his other commitments no longer allow him to donate enough time to his position as Chairman.
Betbull -- Austria-based sports book BetandWin has soft-launched a betting exchange called Betbull in a joint partnership with CES Software, a Canadian firm whose chairman, Andrew Rivkin, co-founded CyrptoLogic. Betbull is planning an IPO in Vienna in October. Meanwhile, CES just signed a deal with America Online to exclusively provide online games in various areas of the AOL service. Just over a month ago, CES stated that its financial results for the first half of the year had been lower than expected because of technology investments and the delayed launch of BetBull, which it now plans to hard launch in late 2004.
Canadian Online Lottery -- In August Canada's Atlantic Lottery Corporation officially launched PlaySphere, an Internet-based service that allows Atlantic Canadians of legal age to purchase tickets for lottery games. So far everything seems to be going as planned.
Mobile Stanley -- Stanleybet, the sports betting arm of U.K.-based Stanley Leisure, will launch Stanleybet Mobile in time for the Stanleybet Sprint Cup on Saturday. Developed by mobile software firm m-connected, the new service uses Java technology and delivers real-time betting information via dynamic GPRS connections.
Thursday, Sep. 2
No Commission -- In an effort to attract enough punters to create a stable betting community, Back2bet.com, a new U.K.-based betting exchange, is currently offering individuals permanent commission-free betting on wagers they post on the exchange. The commission-free offer will only be available until the company is satisfied that is has enough members to maintain balanced markets.
I-gaming in Cyprus -- The Cypriot government has been working for the last six months to create a new legislative framework for online gambling. Poppleston Allen, a British law firm that has been assisting the government, says a draft bill is nearly complete. A government subcommittee will scrutinize the draft bill within the next two months.
Aftermath -- Kieren Fallon and the other two jockeys arrested in yesterday's London Police raid returned to competition today after posting bail last night. British news sources are now reporting that among those arrested yesterday was Miles Rodgers, the former director of Platinum Racing who was banned by the Jockey Club for betting two of his own horses to lose on Betfair. Besides Rodgers, the three jockeys, and trainer Karl Burke (who was supposed to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife the day he was arrested), the majority of the other arrested individuals are believed to be members of a betting syndicate. It is rumored that six other British jockeys are under suspicion by the Jockey Club and London Police. In Australia, newspapers were today rife with reports that Betfair does not believe the British scandal with affect its chances of obtaining a license to operate in Australia. Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that NSW racing police arrested a professional punter a few hours before the British raids in an unrelated case of suspicious betting on the exchanges.
Betcorp Struggles -- Betcorp Ltd., the Australian betting company that owns World Wide Tele-Sports (WWTS), today accepted the resignation of its CEO, Richards Barker, after last week accepting the resignation of its chairman and non-executive director, John Priest. Various sources are now reporting that BetCorp has halted trading on the Australian Stock Exchange. Rumors speculate that BetCorp may have decided to cease its control over WWTS. Performance at Betcorp has been week in the last half-year, due primarily to first quarter difficulties whereby professional U.S. gamblers were able to obtain higher betting limits and consequently larger wins from Asian agents. Betcorp's stock, which peaked at $0.78 per share in mid January, has since steadily plummeted to a value of $0.16 per share. Jessica Davis, vice president of WWTS, and Simon Noble, CEO of WWTS, resigned from their positions early last month.
Finnish Help Line -- Finland's Slot Machine Association, Veikkaus, the Finnish government-run lottery and gaming operator, and horse racing bookie Fintoto have begun funding a new gambling telephone hotline called Peluuri that will offer counseling to gambling addicts and their families. Run by A-Clinic Foundation, a substance abuse treatment and prevention organization, and Finnish Blue Ribbon, the nationwide service will charge all callers a flat rate and will keep caller identity anonymous. Estimates indicate that there are anywhere between 25,000 to 65,000 compulsive gamblers in Finland who spend an average of 15 percent of their income on gambling. 5,000 to 6,000 Finns are admitted to rehabilitation programs for gambling addictions each year.
Wednesday, Sep. 1
Ladbrokes Balls! -- Video mobile network Hutchinson 3G UK, most commonly referred to simply as 3, has teamed up with Ladbrokes to bring the "Ladbrokes Balls!" numbers drawing game to video mobile phones in the UK. Already the most popular game on Ladbrokes.com, Ladbrokes Balls! entails a drawing of six numbered balls from a total of 48, with a new game starting every minute.
IGW in Europe -- Online gaming software provider IGW Software has appointed the Cameron Thomson Group as its European business development partner. Cameron Thomson Group, which specializes in corporate development and investment banking services to the media, gaming and entertainment industries, will orchestrate IGW's expansion into the United Kingdom and Continental European I-gaming markets and assist in building IGWs sales and distribution channel.
Avago Poker -- Multi-platform I-gaming solutions provider Zone4Play has signed an agreement with British operator The Gaming Channel to launch a new multi-player Texas Hold'em iTV game as part of a play-for-fun package on the Avago channel. Expected to launch by the end of 2004, the game will feature a sophisticated tournament platform that will enable thousands of players to bet simultaneously. It will also include elements enabling players to communicate and interact with each other.
Youbet Sponsorship -- Online wagering company Youbet.com, the largest provider of horse racing content in the United States, has become a sponsor of ESPN.com's new horse racing version of ESPNMotion, an online video delivery system that lets Internet users view edited video clips from ESPN television broadcasts.
Poker Coaching -- Launched last week, Pokercoaching.com offers aspiring poker players professional card-playing tutelage from two seasoned veterans, Jim Bucci and Bill Seymour. Bucci has been playing poker professionally for 23 years and has made 32 final table appearances, winning seven of them. One of his students recently won over $189,000 by finishing third in the $2,500 buy-in for the PokerStars.com 2004 World Championship of Online Poker No Limit Texas Hold'Em event. Seymour has made 75 final tables and won 17 tournaments, including the 2004 World Poker Finals 7 Card Stud event. The coaches will tutor players by talking to them over the phone while they play online games.
Tuesday, Aug. 31
Complaint -- The Australian Financial Review reports that the Australian Racing Board has filed a complaint against leading betting exchange Betfair for violating copyright laws by posting local information without permission. The Australian Federal Police is investigating the matter. Betfair spokesman Mark Davies said he is unaware of any investigation.
Upgrade -- The Web site of SportsInsights.com, a provider of online sports book statistics, is now compatible with WAP-enabled mobile phones. New features added for the NFL 2004 season include statistic updates every 30 seconds, e-mail alerts, a major Web site infrastructure upgrade, increased bandwidth and the addition of BetWWTS.com as a contributing sports book.
New Games -- The Jackpot Factory Group, an online casino licensed in Kahnawake, has announced that software provider Microgaming has added five new games to its Viper-powered casinos. New games include French roulette, a ten-hand video poker game called "Joker Poker," a Colonial English-themed slot called "Tally Ho" and two progressive slots: "King Cashalot" and "Tunzamunni."
Subscription Model -- British broadcaster Racing UK has announced that beginning Oct. 1 it will become a subscription-based service charging customers £20 a month or £200 for a full year. The company's chairman, Simon Bazalgette, told the Racing Post that a subscription-based business model allows Racing UK to focus on quality racing while having little dependence on advertising. Racing UK, which currently broadcasts free-to-air on channel 425, will begin broadcasting tomorrow with a new look on channel 432. It will continue to broadcast on both channels throughout September so that viewers will be aware of the change and will cease airing on channel 425 on Oct. 1. The company, which is in negotiations to obtain broadcast rights for international racing, anticipates that it will need 20,000 subscriptions to break even.
Ball Returns to TV -- GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe will appear on the British TV quiz show "They Think It's All Over" on BBC1 Sept. 9 along with the ball from David Beckham's missed penalty kick in the Euro 2004 tournament. The ball will be used in a celebrity shootout midway through the program. Its first television appearance since sailing wide of the goal in June will serve to promote its upcoming U.K. tour.
DDoS Struggle -- Northern Territory News recently reported on Internet bookmaker Multibet's struggle with DDoS attacks. According to the report, Multibet's Web site was brought down several months ago, at which time extortionists demanded $28,600 to bring the site back online. Over the next few months, the extortionists demanded regular insurance payments to keep the site free from attack. When the site was eventually attacked again, Multibet's owner, Terry Lillis, contacted the original extortionists seeking protection, but they claimed they were not responsible for the new attacks and offered no assistance. Lillis then contracted an American company to provide security and has not had experienced any problems since then. Most disappointing, he said, was that Telstra and the other Australian telcos were unable to offer any protection. It is not known whether the extortionists who attacked Multibet are same ones who were arrested by Russian police last month.
Betting Zone -- U.K.-based Fast Web Media has added a new "Betting Zone" to its Web site at www.4thegame.com. Besides offering content such as editor's picks, horse racing tips and a how-to guide, the Betting Zone enables punters to shop around for the best prices from its bookmaking partners, Stan James, Betfair, Stanley Bet, and GameAccount. The Zone is now offering users free bets funded by its betting partners and worth £20 and £25.
Monday, Aug. 30
Mia Puesta -- U.K.-based betting bookmaker Sportingbet has launched a Spanish online betting service at www.miapuesta.com. The site will be operated out of the United Kingdom.
Web Snare -- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Thursday that U.S. authorities have arrested over 100 cyber crime suspects and filed 117 criminal complaints for various acts of online fraud since June 1. Ashcroft said the effort, dubbed "Operation Web Snare," was "the largest and most successful collaborative law-enforcement operation ever conducted to prosecute online fraud, stop identity theft and prevent other computer-related crimes." The 160 cases investigated in Operation Web Snare involved 150,000 victims and over $215 million worth of losses. Ashcroft also stated, "The common thread here is the Internet. We do not believe the Internet to be off-base for law enforcement. We will be there with as much intensity and presence as we can muster." None of the cases involved online gambling services.
Match Fixing -- The Italian Football League's disciplinary commission delivered several punishments Wednesday following its investigation into illegal betting and match fixing by players and officials. Six players from the country's top two divisions have been officially banned for periods ranging from five months to three years. The most noteworthy ban was put upon Stefano Bettarini, a Sampdoria defender whose wife is a presenter of one of Italy's top soccer television shows. Bettarini was banned for five months while the Sampdoria club was fined 15,000 euros. Other clubs--Como, Pescara and Siena--were also handed small fines. Two officials for Siena were banned from league activities for six months and seven months; its coach was banned for five months, and defender Roberto D'Avera was banned for six months. Series B club Modena received a five-point deduction, which it will incur at the beginning of next season.
Quoteworthy -- "In the last Olympics we saw only £100,000 staked on the whole thing. This year we have taken that on one part of the shot put event."
- Chris Hill, managing director of Ladbrokes.
Z4P Deal -- Israel-based multi-platform I-gaming applications and solutions provider Zone4Play has signed a marketing and distribution agreement with Bluestreak Technology Inc, whereby Bluestreak will integrate Zone4Play's iTV game packages into its interactive TV platform called DEM (Digital Entertainment Middleware). Bluestreak already has a deal with Time Warner Cable to launch DEM in the United States to a market that could potentially be as large as 10.9 million subscribers in 27 states. Zone4Play has provided four different packages for the venture: a play-for-fun casino games package, a multi-player package that includes Texas Hold'EM, a skill games package based on an exclusive agreement with Game Universe's Skill Jam and a Slingo package.
Upgrades in NZ -- The New Zealand Lotteries Commission has been allocated $43.4 million for capital spending in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Chief executive Trevor Hall says more than half the money will be used to purchase a new gaming system and management information system. Last month the commission released requests for proposals for contracts to overhaul its IT systems, and firms from New Zealand, Europe and the United States are in the bidding. The commission wants to replace its back-end gaming software with one that will include published application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable the sale of the Lotteries Commission products via mobile phone and interactive TV.
Anonymous Tip -- The Australian reported that Australian Federal Police paid a visit to the Sydney home of Betfair's Mark Davies in April to investigate a tip they received claiming that Davies was running an illegal online gambling operation from his home. The cops left after a brief round of questions revealed that the tip was false.