Wednesday, Nov. 24
Policy Change? -- According to Isle of Man Today, the Isle of Man's Council of Ministers is considering a report compiled by the Department of Trade and Industry that examines the potential risks and benefits of changing the isle's remote gaming policies to allow operators to accept bets from U.S. players. The paper also reports that two large companies are preparing to settle on the isle, assuming that it makes the necessary changes to permit bets from the States.
BetonSports Alert -- Costa Rica-based BetonSports.com, which in July floated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market at a share price of 140p, issued a profit warning today. The company blames recent poor performance on the cancellation of over $10 million in radio advertising during the NFL football season, the company's busiest time of the year. The lack of NHL hockey in North America is also taking a toll on the company, which last Sunday lost $3 million when 10 out of 13 NFL games went against it. The company's stock value fell 81.5p (over 50 percent) on the day to close at 79p.
Million-2-1 -- Mobile gaming company Million-2-1, which operates a non-profit lottery for charities in Greater Manchester, is expanding its offering by adding a suite of Java-based fixed-odds games. A dice game and a Hi-Lo card game will be the first new games to launch, with horse racing and "Lucky Balls" to follow soon after. All of the games can be downloaded and then played for fun or for real money.
Mobile Z4P -- I-gaming software developer Zone4Play has launched its play-for-real fixed-odds casino applications on the Hutchinson 3G mobile network in the United Kingdom. Digtial Interactive Television Group (DITG), the parent company of popular numbers game Avago, is also collaborating on the service and will allow Zone4Play to offer Avago-branded play-for-fun games as well as fixed-odds real gaming products.
Lottery Bill -- A bill that seeks to update England's 10-year-old National Lottery system would formalize the merger of separate funds into one, thereby saving between £6 million and £12 million. The bill would also create a more competitive licensing process and provide greater public involvement in deciding where funds are distributed. The National Lottery Bill is expected to be introduced early in the next legislative session, but may not be a top priority.
Tuesday, Nov. 23
More Relief for Sporting Options Customers -- U.K.-based betting exchange IBetX wants to attract customers of the now defunct Sporting Options by offering former Sporting Options who open IBetX accounts £1,500 in credit or 25 percent of their outstanding balance with Sporting Options, whichever is lowest. Last week Betfair announced that it was offering a similar deal that should compensate 5,000 of Sporting Options' 5,300 clients.
Crypto Version 6 -- CryptoLogic's new Version 6 software platform features two new games--"Super Slideshow" and "Fruit Fight"-- that are similar to the fruit machines found in British soft gaming venues like pubs and restaurants. Other new games included in the software upgrade are "Casino Solitaire," "Casino War," "Super Fun 21" and "Bonus Video Poker." Another new addition is an improved games menu that enables players to view an in-game preview of games before loading them. The platform is already running at InterCasino, Littlewoodswoods Casino and William Hill Casino, with more sites to follow.
GP Buys Holy Sandwich -- GoldenPalace.com's latest acquisition is a 10-year-old toasted cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary. The sandwich made headlines in papers all over the world last week when its owner put it up for auction on ebay. The former owner claims the sandwich is lucky, noting over the span of the 10 years in which she owned the sandwich she won over $70,000 at casinos. Also, though the sandwich has remained preserved in nothing more than a plastic bag, it shows no signs of mold whatsoever. GoldenPalace plans to use the sandwich, for which it paid $28,000, to raise money for charity. Meanwhile, the company has announced the first stop on its Charity Shootout Tour-- featuring the ball from football star David Beckham's missed Euro 2004 penalty shot--will be at Aston Villa on Dec. 4 during halftime of their game against Liverpool. Proceeds will benefit NSPCC.
BetandWin's Objective -- Austrian betting company BetandWin.com has stated in its recent financial report that it is planning to expand its business in Spain and Greece. The company is already utilizing online marketing techniques in Spain and will soon put print ads in daily newspapers and try to develop a TV presence in the form of special advertising formats. BetandWin's plan for Greece is to mix offline advertising with sponsorship activities to broaden its customer base.
4njbets.com -- The state of New Jersey's account wagering system is up and running at 4njbets.com. New Jersey residents over the age of 18 can bet on races at any of the state's four horse racing tracks as well as races included in the site's simulcasting network. A phone wagering system is also in place.
Monday, Nov. 22
Snooker MOU -- The Sunday Mirror reports that the World Snooker Association (WSA) is expected to enter into a memorandum of understanding with betting exchange Betfair, through which Betfair would share betting information with the WSA in situations in which either organization suspects illegal activity. The memorandum has been drafted and is expected to be signing within a few days. Betfair already has similar arrangements in place with several international sports' governing bodies.
Laundering -- The Press & Dakotan, the newspaper of Yankton, South Dakota, reports that an attorney named David Wintroub has been indicted on 15 counts of money laundering and conspiring to launder money. Wintroub is said to have allegedly laundered $175,000 in proceeds from the operator of a marijuana distribution network and invested it in a Web site that provides an online casino and sports book as well pornography.
Betdaq in China -- Irish betting exchange Betdaq is teaming up with CITIC Pacific, a publicly listed Chinese company, to launch abex88.com, a Macau-licensed betting exchange that will target the Chinese betting market. Primarily a manufacturing and construction company, CITIC Pacific posted US$175 million in profit during the first half of 2004.
Bonds -- GamSure, a U.K.-based I-gaming bond guarantee company that incorporated in September, stated that the demise of Sporting Options could have been prevented if the company had a player's bond scheme in place. GamSure says that it works closely with government jurisdictions, banks, insurance brokers and bank processors to implement an industry-wide bond scheme that provides a guarantee for the financial liability of both operators and players. The scheme entails operators taking on a small cost per user, with the GamSure bond assuming financial responsibility for the operation based on pre-defined trigger events, such as bankruptcy or license withdrawal.
Welcome -- iGGBA (interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association) has announced the addition of iGlobalMedia as its 51st member. Based in Gibraltar, iGlobalMedia owns and operates PartyPoker.com, StarluckCasino.com and PartyBingo.com and is one of the largest I-gaming companies in the world. iGGBA is an E.U.-based I-gaming industry body that works with governments and regulators to formulate fair and proper regulation, uphold probity and trustworthiness in the industry and support standards of appropriate social responsibility.
Angered Soprano -- Actress Jamie-Lynn DiScala, who plays Meadow Soprano on the HBO series "The Sopranos," had signed an agreement to join I-gaming company Casino Fortune in an effort to raise awareness and money to fight eating disorders, but she terminated the deal after Casino Fortune's senior vice president, Dennis Rose, made several comments that DiSacala found offensive, including, "Why did we hire her? Mainly because she was fat, then scrawny, and finally found a way to control her eating disorder." Casino Fortune last made national news in the United States when it hired a former contestant from Donald Trump's reality TV series "The Apprentice" and then pitched a bid for a stake in Trump's casino company.