Weekly Nambling Notes

30 January 2005
Friday, Jan. 28

Casino City Delays -- Online gambling portal Casino City continues to plead its case for a speedy trial in its complaint against the U.S. government regarding the government's warnings to media outlets that carry advertising for Internet gambling services. The issue at hand is whether discovery should be stayed pending the resolution of the government's motion to dismiss the case. In a telephone status conference on Thursday, Casino City's attorneys argued that the company is suffering commercial harm under the threat of prosecution and, therefore, seeks "a speedy declaration as to its rights to engage lawful commercial speech." The defendant denies the plaintiff's claim that its right to free speech is at issue and contends that based on the strength of the government's case and the likelihood of dismissal, engaging in pretrial discovery would be a waste of time. Another telephone status conference has been scheduled for March 2.

SportXction on TV -- Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc. announced today that the interactive television version of SportXction(TM), the play-by-play sports betting system developed by the company's U.K. subsidiary, Global Interactive Gaming, has successfully completed the formal test process required of all new products to be broadcast over the BSkyB satellite network. The test process was the culmination of over two years and $6 million of system design and development expenditures.

A Ladbrokes Mobile Casino -- British betting group Ladbrokes rolled out mobile casino games this week in hopes of grabbing a piece of a billion market. The Java-based, full-color mobile games were developed for Ladbrokes by Spin3. Ladbrokes' rival, William Hill, rolled out mobile casino games two months ago through a partnership with software developer Boss Media.

iGGBA -- The Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association (iGGBA) this week announced a new council and a new chairman for 2005. The new chairman is Richard Flint of BSkyB and the new council consists of Richard Boardley of Littlewoods, Nancy Chan-Palmateer of Wagerlogic/Cryptologic, Peter Nicoll of Victor Chandler, Lee Richardson of Chartwell Games, Simon Burridge of Virgin Games, Chris Thomas of Million 2-1 and Brian Morgan of RAL Interactive. The association hopes to continue addressing important developments concerning the U.K. Gambling Bill and carefully monitoring potential policy changes within the EU.

The Next Chapter of Ladbrokes vs. Sweden -- The English edition of "The Local" reports that Ladbrokes has requested the removal of three of the five judges in the Swedish court hearing its case against the Swedish government. The publication doesn't specify why Ladbrokes wants them removed, only that the company believes the judges are "not partial." Ladbrokes is challenging the Swedish gambling monopoly and the restrictions the government places on private gambling businesses targeting Swedish bettors. The company has appealed a ruling that the monopoly does not violate European regulations, and the case will be heard soon by the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court.

Cassava Joining the Party? -- As reported yesterday in IGN, Party Poker operator PartyGaming publicly acknowledged this week that it is considering an IPO. Now one of its biggest rivals, Cassava Enterprises of Gibraltar, says it's pondering a float as well. "We are looking at the situation very carefully," Cassava Chief Executive John Anderson said. "We are considering all the options, though we haven't appointed any advisers." The company, which operates Casino-On-Net, Pacific Poker and the 888.com portal, is said to be about one-third of the size of PartyGaming.

Thursday, Jan. 27

UK Update -- If the proposed U.K. Gambling Bill is passed, the city of Birmingham would seat the new Gambling Commission charged with overseeing the industry. The decision to choose a location outside London follows a review of government agencies by Sir Michael Lyons, former chief executive of Birmingham City Council. The commission will be created by the Gambling Bill, which would revamp regulations for the country's gambling industry. The commission will replace the existing regulatory body, the Gaming Board for Great Britain.

New Poker Software -- I-gaming software newcomer Full House Entertainment says it will roll out the real-money version of its multiplayer "Full House Poker" suite on Feb. 1. Games include Texas Hold'em, 7-card stud, Omaha High, Omaha High/Low and the old favorite, 5-card stud. Tournament functionality and management controls designed for site operators will also be available.

Quoteworthy -- "Everybody knows that this business is rotten."

- Michal Sticka, Transparency International. Sticka, whose privately owned company focuses on combating corruption, made his comments to the Prague Post in an article about the corruption of the land-based casino industry in the Czech Republic. . . . A planned amendment to a law introduced by the Finance Ministry on Jan. 18 calls for more detailed background checks and would require casino bosses to prove on a yearly basis that they don't have criminal records.

Handheld Casinos -- Wi-Fi solutions specialist Diamond I, Inc. has announced plans to roll out a hand-held gaming system called "WifiCasino GS." The system is a wireless PDA-based gambling and media network intended use at Las Vegas-style casinos and resorts as well as cruise ships and racetracks. It's designed to enable patrons to gamble anywhere on a facility's premises (as permitted by regulatory bodies), such as in rooms, poolside or at a bar.

To Float or Not to Float? -- After weeks of IPO rumors, PartyGaming, the group that runs PartyPoker and two other gambling sites, has acknowledged that it is considering a float. The company confirmed that it has retained investment banks Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Investec to review its options and could go public by year's end. The Gibraltar-based company, previously called iGlobalMedia, operates the world's largest online poker room and could be valued at more than £3 billion on the London Stock Exchange, according to some analysts. That would place PartyGaming in the FTSE 100. Some major banks, such as Merril Lynch, UBS and Deutsche, are reportedly staying away from the company because of legal uncertainty in the United States, where most of the company's customers reside.

Women -- A study released this week by uSwitch.com finds that 30 to 40 percent of online gamblers in Britain are female. The group says the statistic is remarkable considering the amount of women (5 percent) who gamble offline. Researchers additionally found that Britons make up 80 percent of all online gamblers in Europe, with those aged 18 to 29 more likely to use the Internet to gamble than those in any other age group. The 18-to-29 gamblers account for 14 percent of the 3.96 million home Internet users who admit to gambling on the Internet.

Wednesday, Jan. 26

Inside Edge Awards -- Betfair.com was named "Editor's Choice of the Year" and its parent company, The Betting Exchange, was named "Firm of the Year" at the inaugural gambling awards hosted by Inside Edge, a British monthly magazine. In December, Betfair won the CBI Growing Business Award for Company of the Year. . . . PokerRoom.com, meanwhile, announced that it has been named "Best Online Poker Site" at the Inside Edge awards ceremony.

LexisNexis Teams With Quova -- LexisNexis, the information solutions provider, and Quova, a leading provider of Web geography services and technologies, announced an alliance to help e-commerce merchants fight global credit card fraud, which industry experts project to reach $60 billion by the end of 2005. Through its RiskWise product line, LexisNexis detects high-risk credit card transactions with advanced identity and address verification. Quova develops geolocation technologies that determine the physical location of Web site visitors in real time. The Quova product will be integrated into the LexisNexis fraud protection suite.

Record Turnout for WPT Event -- The World Poker Tour kicked off its 10th event of the season this week at the Horseshoe/Gold Strike casinos in Tunica, Mississippi with a record 512 players vying for the $5.12 million total prize pool, a $1,664,950 increase over last year's event, which drew 367 players. The winner of this year's $10,000 buy-in event will take home $1,511,282 and will advance to the WPT World Championship when the tour's season culminates at Bellagio in April 2005. The season is comprised of 16 events.

Wireless Zone -- Zone4Play Inc., a developer and provider of multi-platform interactive gaming solutions, has released ZoneITS, a proprietary system that enables the delivery of wireless Java-based applications for fixed odds, sports book, lottery and skill-based gaming services. The initial rollout took place last week when Zone4Play announced a deal with Coral Euronet. ZoneITS will be formally reviewed later this week at the Mobile Gambling Summit in London.

Tuesday, Jan. 25

Play It Safe -- I-gaming trade group eCOGRA has launched a marketing campaign to promote the benefits of honest, hassle-free online gambling through its member sites. The "Play It Safe" campaign includes banners and other advertising on quality portals, opt-in HTML e-mailing, coordinated casino newsletter content, ongoing PR and briefings to leading affiliate marketers. The effort will also put eCOGRA member sites at the forefront with players encouraged to play at the 51 sites that have been granted the eCOGRA seal.

Going Offline -- A few hours after the first draw of the British "Lucky 7 Lotto" game last week, supplierHH Gaming received more than 50 calls from independent retailers throughout the United Kingdom wanting to carry the game in their stores. The company will oblige, and a new retail feature should be available by summer. HH Gaming Chief Executive Simon Stimpson says the new game is very popular because each week a specific charity is given 20 percent of every ticket sold.

VIPCasino Wins Charity Auction -- Bryan Bailey of CasinoMeister and Ted Loh of Got2Bet.com teamed up last week to auction off a prime advertising banner spot on each of their sites with proceeds going to relief efforts in tsunami-stricken areas. The auction closed this week, with VIPCasino and its sister site, InterCasino.com, making the winning bid of $110,000 and earning a 12-month placement at both sites. The money will be donated to UNICEF. Loh said he was "humbled and thrilled" by the results of the auction.

Official Beer of the WPT -- The world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch, has announced a continued relationship with the World Poker Tour; A-B's Michelob AmberBock will be the official beer of the WPT for the 2005 season. The brewer's "World Select" brand was the official beer for the first two seasons. The Michelob AmberBock brand made its sponsorship debut last month on the WPT "Ladies' Night II" special on the Travel Channel.

US Race Betting at Skybet -- Online sports book operator and BSkyB subsidiary Skybet became the first U.K. operator to offer bets on U.S. racing via interactive TV last week with the introduction of pari-mutuel wagering from U.S. tracks. Skybet joins Isle of Man-based BetInternet in offering U.S. pari-mutuel wagering. Unlike BetInternet, however, Skybet has the advantage of allowing customers to bet while watching the races on TV.

Tote Transfer Plan under EC Scrutiny -- The European Commission has announced that it plans to launch an official query into the process that would turn the U .K. pool-betting organization, the Tote, over to a racing trust. Although government legislation authorizing the sale has already passed, referral of the deal to Brussels (to ensure it does not contravene E.C. rules) has prompted a request for further information from the competition directorate. The request is understood to chiefly concern the price the racing trust should pay the government for the Tote and whether the deal, under which racing pays half of what is considered a "fair price," breaches state aid rules.

Monday, Jan. 24

DDoS Hacker Faces Charges -- An alleged computer hacker who carried out denial-of-service attacks aimed at companies in Scotland and the United States is s scheduled to face charges today in Scottish court under the Computer Misuse Act, marking the second time such charges have been brought against a hacker. The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit of Scotland and the U.S. Secret Service worked together on what was dubbed "Operation Casper" to find the man and bring charges against him.

More Gambling on Channel 4? -- British TV network Channel 4 has successfully tested a new gaming operation on its E4 channel and might launch it on the Freeiew free-to-air satellite service. The new operation, 9 Live, would fill a slot opened to Channel 4 by improvements made to Freeview. The games were tested for seven weeks prior to Christmas on E4, and Channel 4 officials said they were pleased with the results. "We can confirm that negotiations with 9 Live are taking place but stress we are in the very early stages of development," a spokesperson for the network said. Programming for the new slot is expected to debut April 1, 2005. The buyer will be tied into a 12-month contract.

Hill Pulls Big Brother Bets - Leading British bookmaker William Hill recently pulled bets on the British TV show "Big Brother" off its board due to "sensitive information" about the show being leaked. The sports book made the move after four people tried to place bets on Friday's surprise double eviction. William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said the long-shot bet was "highly unlikely to have been an inspired guess." The bookmaker said its suspicions had been aroused by betting for the last two contestant evictions, when people were still trying to place large sums, despite odds as short as 1/14. But William Hill's "overwhelming evidence" came Friday when four unknown callers asked to place bets on the show's surprise double eviction. Model Caprice and actor Jeremy Edwards subsequently left the show as prognosticated.

German Referee Resigns -- Caught in the middle of a major betting scandal, a referee who was suspected of betting on a German Cup match he officiated resigned his position Friday with the DFB, the German football association. Robert Hoyzer, 25, was under investigation by the DFB for suspected betting on the result of the first-round German Cup tie (rematch) between SC Paderborn and Hamburg SV last August. The regional side surprisingly beat their Bundesliga opponents 4-2, and the DFB said it suspected that Hoyzer had sought to influence the result of the game and was considering bringing a charge of unsporting conduct against him.

Thais Busted in Cambodia -- Six Thai nationals were charged Sunday with theft for allegedly using an electronic device to cheat a casino in Cambodia. Ham Meng Se, an investigating judge, said he had the suspects--four men and two women--detained during a court appearance late Saturday. He said police took the suspects into custody after staff at a casino caught them operating an electronic device to win more than $2 million in bets. The alleged cheating took place at Star Vegas casino in the border town of Poipet on Wednesday. The judge provided few details about the electronic device or where it was used inside the casino, which has 130 slot machines and 88 table games.