Friday, Oct. 1
Casino Fortune's Apprentice -- Internet gaming operator Casino Fortune, which earlier in the week offered Donald Trump $400 million for a 31 percent stake in the bankrupt Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts business, has reportedly hired one of the contestants recently fired from Trump's reality TV show, "the Apprentice." Stacie J., who left the program in week three of the television series in which Trump fires one contestant per week until only one remains, is apparently joining Casino Fortune as a spokesperson and advisor for the online casino. Trump told the New York Daily News, "It's just a publicity stunt they're playing."
More EuroMillions -- EuroMillions, a venture launched earlier this year with the aim of incorporating several European states into one massive lottery drawing per week, has announced that next week six new countries will join the original three, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. The latest additions to the pool are Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
Makin' Deals -- Net Entertainment, a provider of interactive gaming software for Internet, mobile and kiosk systems, has sold a non-download casino suite to online betting company Gamebookers, which is licensed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria and Antigua. Net Entertainment prides itself on the multi-language capabilities of its casinos, and Luke Brill, director of Gamebookers, stated that his company plans to take advantage of the multilingual games.
Racing Subscription -- British horseracing broadcaster Racing UK began airing as a subscription-only service today after having aired as a free service since its launch at the end of May. The company's business model is based on obtaining 20,000 paying customers within a year to a year and half, with each customer paying £20 a month or £200 per year. Racing UK has reached deals with bookmakers to create subscription incentives that give customers free bets. Victor Chandler, for example, gives a free £20 bet each month to all of its Racing UK subscribers that make at least 10 bets worth £5 each month. Simon Bazalgette, executive chairman of Racing UK, said there will be no blank days on the channel, and when it isn't broadcasting live racing from Britain it, will broadcast live racing from major festivals outside the country. The network also promises other exclusive features, content and interviews.
Thursday, Sep. 30
Costa Rican Taxes -- A fiscal tax reform bill that has reached the floor of the legislative assembly in Costa Rica would create a permanent tax structure for casinos and online gambling operations. Despite the progress, however, the bill has a long while to go before it is passed into law.
Margarita Island -- The Venezuelan government has awarded Senticore, Inc.--a Florida-based company that deals in real estate, land development, timber plantations and professional sports--a license to operate both a land-based and an Internet casino on Margarita Island, a resort island located 25 miles off the coast of Venezuela. The company plans to operate online slots, casino table games, poker, sports betting and more. The company already has a significant presence in Venezuela through its subsidiary, Westar South America, which owns and operates a large Caribbean pine timber plantation that includes two sawmills.
Club XTreme -- Mellon Research, Inc., a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company that provides boutique investment banking consulting services, plans to launch a physical club called Club XTreme, Ltd. in Costa Rica. The company also wants to launch an entertainment portal called Club XTrmeme that will broadcast interactive feeds from the club via the Internet and television so that people around the world can interact with club goers. Club XTreme will also operate online gaming, sports betting and advertising through the portal. Club XTreme intends to book popular DJs, VJs and other music stars and celebrities to host events through the portal.
Global Report -- Double or Quits?, a new report by U.K.-based Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, examines the expansion of the international gambling market during a time when the overall economy is lagging. It is the global slowdown which has acted as the primary catalyst for expansion, explained Warwick Bartlett, GBGC's lead partner. We are seeing governments deregulate gambling in order to raise what are essentially voluntary taxes, a process we predicted two years ago and one that is now well underway. The report also provides an assessment of the size of each sector and the overall market for land-based and online gambling for the years 2001 through 2003, as well as projections for 2004 through 2012.
Fresh Poker Faces -- The Women's Poker Club will launch Fresh Poker Faces, a program for women with zero to six months experience playing poker. Fresh Poker Faces will offer bi-weekly tournaments and give players the opportunity to ask experienced players questions about strategy. Each month's tournament leaders will receive prizes and hopefully advance to the mainstream tournaments of the Women's Poker Club. The Club also features online classes in Hold'em, Omaha, 7-Card Stud and Pai Gow.
Wednesday, Sep. 29
Mobile Lotto in Brazil -- ROK Corporation, a British provider of mobile content, and Fingerprint, a lottery products provider for several state lotteries in Brazil, have jointly formed a company called ROK Brazil Technologies that will create and operate an SMS-based mobile phone lottery in Brazil. ROK will supply the lottery's technology and gaming engine, while Fingerprint will supply business administration and implementation of the partnership in Brazil. ROK will also supply the new company a wide array of content--including ring tones, real tones, wallpapers, logos, Java games, film clips and animations--that can be downloaded from a new Web site to launch later in the year.
Virtual Racing -- Mobile gaming software firm m-connected has launched an on-demand virtual horseracing game called V-Bet Mobile. Players can view complete virtual races on their handsets and bet on the action.
Apprentice Leak -- BetWWTS.com has stopped taking bets on season two of NBC's The Apprentice due to suspicious betting behavior coming from customers in New Hampshire. This marks the fourth time the Antigua-based sports book has suspended betting on a reality TV series. The company's wagering director, Stuart Doyle, said, We are considering not offering betting on reality shows that have been pre-taped. It simply seems impossible not to have to suspend them very quickly. Several $300 bets--the maximum--have been placed on two contestants: Jennifer Massey, a 30-year-old lawyer from San Francisco, and Kelly Perdew, a 37-year-old software executive from Carlsbad, California. The second season of the Apprentice was filmed early in the summer of 2004, but two competitors remain in the competition. The winner won't be declared until the live season finale this fall.
Poker Compliance -- eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), an organization that evaluates and monitors online casinos, announced that it will introduce a set of generally accepted practices for online poker rooms and then award seals of approval to poker rooms that meet the highest standards. As with eCOGRA-approved online casinos, the poker rooms will undergo compliance inspections from an audit panel composed of global firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure that that they deliver fast and efficient payouts, effective player dispute procedures, fair gaming tenets, efficient customer support and operator probity.
Philippine Bust -- Newspapers in the Philippines are reporting this week that a number of Internet cafes in at least two cities have been shut down because the operations were actually more like e-casinos than Internet cafes. In Pasig City, where the municipality's council has banned all forms of gambling, the E-Casino Filipino was closed for violating city ordinances. Customers at E-Casino purchased Internet cards to play online games and redeemed the cards for cash when they won money. Several Internet cafes in the city also reportedly faced prosecutions. Three similar establishments in Quezon City were ordered to close this week, and last month four Sports and Games Entertainment Corporation (SAGE) facilities were shut down for operating without the necessary permits and licenses.
Tuesday, Sep. 28
Deal's Off -- A deal whereby gambling company Blue Square would have purchased betting exchange Sporting Options has fallen apart. The £4 million acquisition was cancelled late in the negotiation stages, even after the due diligence phase, and neither side is commenting. The acquisition would have marked the first time that a bookmaker has purchased a betting exchange.
The Pitch -- The Jersey Star Ledger reports that online gaming operator Casino Fortune has offered $400 million for a 31 percent stake in Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, a company that owns three casinos in Atlantic City. Donald Trump, Chairman and CEO of the company, stated that he has not seen the offer and therefore cannot comment.
Prestige Upgrade -- Prestige Gaming N.V., an online operator of three casinos, three poker rooms and one bingo room, will upgrade all of its operations to a new Playtech software platform on Oct 1. The company is also launching a new portal for its affiliate partners at www.thepartnerpage.com. The affiliate program offers up to 56 percent revenue generated by players starting on the first affiliate month.
Levy -- At a meeting on Sept. 22, the British Levy Board settled on a scheme to collect £94 million from bookmakers for the 2005-2006 year beginning next April. The figure is a continuation of the rates levied for the 2004-2005 year, which is also expected to yield £94 million. Off-course betting shops are slated to pay 10 percent, while on-course bookmakers are to pay 6 percent from profits of £75,000 or more, and pro-rata from less. Spread-betting companies will be charged 2 percent, and betting exchanges and telephone businesses will be charged 10 percent.
Monday, Sep. 27
Jockey Club Hotline -- The U.K. Jockey Club and Crimestoppers are entering into a partnership that will create a telephone hotline for people to report information about possible crimes involving horse racing. Britian's racecourses will provide funding for the hotline through the Racecourse Association, and the project should begin operating by the end of the year. One of the only decisions left to be made before launch is how best to promote the phone line. Information given by callers will be passed on to the Jockey Club anonymously, and any information that leads to a conviction will be rewarded financially. The Jockey Club already runs the Raceguard telephone service and will continue to do so. The maximum reward through Raceguard is £10,000, but it has never been given during the hotline's 11 years of operation.
Mobile WorldPlay -- U.K.-based Worldplay Media has released a mobile casino product that uses MIDP coding to maximize compatibility between handsets in combination with fast download speed. Established brands can build their own identity into the software by white labeling it.
Dream Lotto -- Sports betting firm Globet has commissioned I-gaming software provider Net Entertainment to develop an Internet-based lotto game called Smorpheus. Based on the Smorfia-- an ancient Italian book of numerology that interprets dreams--Smorpheus gives players a chance to win 1 million.
NJ Account Wagering -- At a meeting at Monmouth Park last week, the New Jersey Racing Commission approved the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority's account wagering application for horse race betting. The Sports and Exposition Authority hopes to have its Internet-based account wagering system operating by mid October, with a telephone-based system starting in November. Live video streaming of races will also be offered through the Web site.