Friday, Sep. 30
Fixing Scandal -- The Brazilian Football Confederation has suspended a second referee involved in a match fixing scandal. Paulo Jose Danelon has confessed to fixing three matches in exchange for about US$4,400 per game. The more prominent referee involved in the scandal, Edilson Pereira de Carvalho, has been suspended by both the Brazilian Football Confederation and FIFA. Carvalho is well known in the sport for kissing his yellow cards and looking to the sky and praying before matches. Both Carvalho and businessman Nagib Fayad, who is Carvalho's alleged contact in the betting ring, were released from police custody Thursday morning. Prosecutors claim that when Carvalho would learn what matches he was to officiate, he would call Fayad and offer to fix the result, sometimes less than an hour before kickoff. All three of the men face charges of fraud, conspiracy and crimes against the economy. Some or all of the 11 matches refereed by Carvalho may have to be replayed as a result of the scandal,
Cantor Casino -- Financial brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald has announced the launch of Cantor Casino, an online casino site that is the first product of its newly formed Cantor Gaming division, which plans to develop and operate online and mobile casinos on behalf of a range of companies in consumer-related sectors in the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Cantor Gaming will not accept casino customers from the United States because it wishes to remain in line with the U.S. Department of Justice's position on remote gambling. The company stated, "This policy should enable companies who are cautious of acting contrary to the Department of Justice's position to offer an online casino to their client base via Cantor Gaming's 'white label' solution."
Battle in Argentina -- Yogonet.com reports that the Argentine Football Association (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino- AFA) is exploring ways to prevent one of Sportingbet's Spanish-language betting sites--Miapuesta.com--from offering wagers on Argentine football. The AFA, which owns the rights to the Apertura Tournament, claims that Miapuesta is using the rights without permission. The AFA also worries that Miapuesta will become a direct a competitor to football betting game PRODE, which is operated by the National Lottery, the only body authorized by Argentine laws to operate football betting. The AFA has asked the National Lottery to initiate legal proceedings against Miapuesta, which began accepting wagers on Argentine football just last week.
Tanzanian Mobile Lott -- Selcom Gaming, the lottery provider of Tanzania, has partnered with lotteries provider Openlot Systems to launch a mobile lottery that offers both numbers games and sports betting via SMS. Players can receive game results in either English or Swahili via the Internet or telephone, and winners will automatically be notified by an SMS text message.
Online Campaign -- Rank Group's Blue Square has contracted British digital agency Wheel to launch an extensive online advertising campaign to drive increased traffic and gaming at its Meccagames.com site. Meccagames is tailored for players who enjoy interacting with others, and Wheel's media plan is designed to increase awareness of this fact. Part of the campaign involves Meccagames becoming one of the first brands to advertise on the new MSN blogging area called "Spaces." Wheel has also launched and is managing the affiliate program on behalf of Meccagames.com and all other Blue Square brands.
Quick Hits -- Online skill gaming provider GameAccount has introduced a new rating system designed to provide a truer measure of a money player's skill to ensure that players receive the fairest match-ups available. The company says it paid out more than $2 million in winnings last month. . . . Winward Gaming Group--operator of Bingohall.com, Vicsbingo.com, Internetbingo.com and Bingoformoney.com--and Next Generation Entertainment--operator of Bingopalace.com, Bigtimebingo.com and Onlinebingo.com--have collaborated to enter the U.K. market online bingo market with one single brand, Bingopalace.co.uk, to gain a strategic advantage over their competitors. . . . Costa Rica-based online betting company Bodog.com was a co-sponsor of the red-carpet world premiere of the movie "Two for the Money" on Monday. . . . The U.K. Office of Fair Trading has informed Ladbrokes that it must sell four of the 141 betting shops it purchased from bookmaker Jack Brown for £76 million in July.
Thursday, Sep. 29
M&A Scuttlebutt -- Just beyond the spotlight that shines on 888.com at the LSE, the latest acquisition rumor involving I-poker behemoth Partygaming is that the Gibraltar-based FTSE-bound group could be coveting P2P giant Betfair. The prospective buy has at least temporarily diverted the attention of Investors and analysts from weeks of speculation that Partygaming has an appetite for Internet poker group Empire Online. While Party is clearly the darling of the I-gaming world, Betfair is certainly no slouch. The U.K.-based company has a stronghold on the person-to-person betting market and is said to be eying an LSE float of its own.
Nine.com Gathers No Moss -- It appears that controversial supermodel Kate Moss has turned down a $5 million offer to be the spokeswoman for online gambling Web site Nine.com. The offer was presented as a means of bailing out Moss, whose recently publicized drug abuse has cost her several endorsement deals. "This story is absolute rubbish," a spokesperson for the reeling supermodel told the New York Daily News. "Kate will not be working with this company."
Bonnier and Boss -- The Bonnier Group's Bonnier Entertainment business says it has signed Boss Media to provide the technology for its new gaming site at www.bingolotto.se, a partnership between Bonnier and Folkspel. The service will be Bonnier's first venture in the real-money gaming space. Boss Media will supply its system for bingo gaming on the Internet with the possibility of expanding to include additional gaming products. Bonnier will also outsource its customer service for gaming to Boss Media.
Gu Going Away -- Xinhuanet reports that the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court has sentenced Beijing resident Gu Lianbao to two-and-a-half years in prison for organizing an illegal football gambling Web site. Gu, 43, was also fined 30,000 yuan (US$3,700) and avoided a harsher penalty by cooperating with prosecutors. According to court records, the Web site for which Gu acted as a banker handled 600 million yuan ($74 million) and is believed to have been the city's largest online betting operation. Police seized about 150,000 yuan ($18,500) in cash, a bank deposit book with a balance of 210,000 yuan ($25,900) and a bank card worth 60,000 yuan ($7,400). Gu was said to be searching gambling Web sites at his home in Beijing when police arrived.
Quebec Not Interested -- Canadian lottery corporations at upcoming meetings will address the possibility of regulated Internet gambling, but Loto-Quebec president Alain Cousinuau believes lottery authorities don't have a handle on I-gaming and all the issues surrounding it. Cousineau, therefore, has gone on record as saying that Quebec won't be leading the way in any race toward regulation. "People say that VLTs are bad, but imagine now (with Internet gambling), it's 24/7 in your own home," Cousineau told reports before a luncheon on Wednesday. "You have access to all the games." He added that studies conducted by Loto-Quebec indicate that Quebecers do not want a government agency hosting online gambling. The debate has been fueled by reports that I-gaming could bring Canadian provinces up to $700 million a year.
Jesus Christ -- In what could be considered gambling's most blasphemous promotional campaign since the world tour of Golden Palace's Virgin Mary sandwich, religious groups are lambasting Irish bookmaker Paddy Power for an ad depicting Christ and the apostles gambling at the Last Supper. The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland has received numerous phone calls and at least 15 written complaints pertaining to the ad, which leads with the caption "There's a place for fun and games" and shows Christ gambling with a stack of chips in front of him and surrounded by the apostles, who are participating in various forms of gambling as well.
Wednesday, Sep. 28
Z4P Float Postponed -- I-gaming software and technology provider Zone 4 Play has postponed plans to raise funds by issuing new shares on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange due to adverse market conditions. The company is investigating the possibility of listing its shares on the AIM without issuing new shares and believes that its business and prospects should not be affected by the postponement of the offering. Zone4Play's CEO Shimon Citron stated, "We believe that the current market price does not properly reflect the opportunities and growth prospects of the company."
Services Directive -- The services directive is expected to appear before an EU Parliamentary committee next week. The law is meant to increase competition across European Member States, but whether or not gambling services will be included is not yet decided. On the one hand, domestic gaming operators want gambling to be treated like most other services under the directive so that they can compete in the European market. Most Member States, however, uphold a regulatory system for gambling that privileges one or two domestic operators as the only companies able to offer gambling to their citizens. These Member States wish to keep gambling out of the services directive so that they can continue to maintain their monopolies. They argue that gambling should be kept out of the directive because gambling is not a normal economic activity, and that it can lead to problems of addiction, crime, fraud and tax evasion.
Betting Exchange Lobby -- Ex-Act, a lobbying group that aims to promote the licensing of Betfair and other betting exchanges in Australia, has launched a website at www.Ex-Act.org and has begun carrying out actions to further its cause. On July 22nd the group wrote a letter to Victorian Racing Minister John Pandazopoulos to ask for his reasons for opposing betting exchanges in Victoria. The Racing Minister's Chief of Staff Ozan Ibrisim has finally responded to the letter, stating that the Victorian Government opposes betting exchanges because "they make substantial profits while contributing nothing to the industry on which their operations are based" and because their activities are "invisible to racing regulators and therefore undermine the integrity of Victorian and Australian racing.
$1 Million Free Roll -- ParadisePoker.com's first million dollar free online poker tournament has ended with Lee Biddulph, a 28-year-old chef from Blackpool, defeating about 3,900 other free-roll competitors to take the $1 million dollar top prize. Biddulph was the only non-American of the nine players who qualified for the final table, which was played out "in a mystery tropical location." All finalists received an all expenses paid weekend to a five star resort in Costa Rica for themselves and a guest, as well as receiving $10,000 just for making the final table.
Making Deals -- The Money Gaming Corporation Ltd has signed a deal with Trinity Mirror to provide its MoneyGaming high-stakes skill gaming network to MGN Digital's 2.7 million unique users. The co-branded site will be available to readers of Trinity Mirror's top online titles, including Mirror.co.uk, Sundaymirror.co.uk, Sundaymail.co.uk, Dailyrecord.co.uk and People.co.uk.
Pulling the Plug -- Australian gaming company Tabcorp has informed close to 30 pubs and clubs in rural NSW that it will withdraw their betting facilities on October 7th because they have failed to obtain more than $2,000 per week in turnover. Tabcorp's general manager of corporate affairs, Bruce Tobin, stated that "The objective is to encourage punters to enjoy the facilities at nearby licensed venues with TAB outlets that offer superior comfort and customer service." Many towns will be left without any TAB access at all.
Quoteworthy -- "At the core of all of this, one needs to ask whether online gaming is an activity from which the greater public ought be saved. Are these really 'sin stocks'? We are aware that the majority of the big industry operators make efforts to ensure play by minors is blocked and that adults have access to problem gambling counseling when needed. The difficulty that jurisdictions such as the US have is that, where domestic gambling is permitted, their views smack of financial rather than moral protectionism."
--excerpt of an article written by London-based gaming lawyer Hillary Stewart-Jones for website TheLawyer.com. The article examines the relationship between American I-gaming legal policies and the success of investments in I-gaming companies on the London Stock Exchange.
Tuesday, Sep. 27
888 IPO -- A spokesperson for HSBC Holdings, the manager of 888 Holdings' initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, told Reuters that "The book was well covered last week. We expect to close the book probably Tuesday evening or Wednesday and it will be priced on Wednesday afternoon." Roger Jones, a UK fund manager at F&C Asset Management who speculated on what this means, stated, "My guess is that 'well covered' means two to three times. The fact that they have brought forward the date shows they don't have any problems selling it."
Match Fixing -- Brazilian football has been rocked by the arrest of referee Edilson Periera de Carvalho, who allegedly accepted bribes from an Internet betting ring in order to influence games. Brazilian police secretly recorded some of Carvelho's conversations and claim that he would receive instructions-often moments before kickoff-on which team to favor in First Division matches. Carvalho has been suspended by Brazilian football authorities, who have also asked FIFA to suspend his status as an international referee. Carvalho has officiated 11 First Division matches this year, and at least eight of them are under suspicion and may have to be replayed. Another referee, Paulo Jose Danelon, who officiated four second division games, has also been suspended for similar allegations.
Quoteworthy -- "I really enjoyed showing these City boys how to play poker. I'm sure they are great at their day jobs but they sure have a lot to learn about Texas Hold'em! I'd be happy to take them on anytime at Paradise Poker.com."
--Supermodel Caprice, ambassador for ParadisePoker.com. Last Thursday ParadisePoker, which is owned by Sportingbet, co-hosted a poker tournament with financial firm Investec at the Gutshot Poker Club for over 100 members of London's financial community including top managers, bankers and brokers. The top four finishers from the event now go forward to a Paradise Grand Final where they could win at seat at next years World Series of Poker in Las Vegas worth $10,000.
Launches and Upgrades -- Over the next two weeks, Phantom Fiber will deploy its newly released wireless horse racing products at BetCris.com, 2BetDSI.com, Tradewinds.co.cr, Regency.co.cr, GGC.co.cr, ExtremeLines.co.cr and Badlands.co.cr. Phantom has incorporated several new features into its technology platform, and will deploy the enhancements to its licensees.
New Entry? -- Video game software developer Bits Corp Plc, which recently reported a drop in profit for its latest financial year, stated in its financial report that it is now actively pursuing ventures in online gambling. The company's top game titles include Constantine- the video game, Rogue Ops and Die Hard Vendetta.
Welcome Aboard -- Sportech's board of directors has appointed Ian Penrose as its CEO to take over for Roger Withers who has been acting in an interim capacity as the company's managing director since November 2004. Penrose's most previous employment was serving as managing director and then CEO of Arena Leisure. During Penrose's time at Arena Leisure, the company established the At the Races joint venture with BSkyB and UK racecourses. Sportech, operator of the Littlewoods and Zetters brands, today reported a decline in pre-tax profit to £5.2 million for the first six months of 2005, compared to £6.0 million during the first half of 2004. Revenue at Littlewoods' and Zetters' pools operations has fallen by 15 percent during the first half of the year, and Sportech expects a similar decline in the second half.
Poker at College -- SUBtv, which broadcasts in 115 student unions across the UK, has signed a deal with Titan Poker to launch a new gambling site aimed at students. Titan will provide the poker software and technology, and SUBtv will promote and arrange online tournaments beginning in October that will lead up to a final tournament at the end of the year.
Sponsorships -- Supermodel Kate Moss, whose contracts with Chanel, Burberry and H&M were dropped after pictures of her supposedly snorting cocaine were leaked to the public, has been offered a $5 million contract to become the "superspokesperson" for online gaming company Nine.com… Unibet Group Plc has decided to sponsor the former MrBookmaker.com cycling team and rename it the Unibet Cycling Team. The company will invest around 3.5 million euro in the team during 2006 and 2007, with an option for an additional two years.
Quickies -- Poker professionals Mike Caro-"The Mad Genius of Poker"-and Phil "Unabomber" Laak have joined Bluff Magazine as columnists… eGaming Review speculates that Austria-based BetandWin might pitch a bid to acquire Gaming VC. Both companies do most of their business in Germany, and the casino sites of both operations use software from Boss Media… Costa Rica-based Sportbet.com has introduced in-game sports betting for the 2005-2006 NFL and NCAA football seasons.
Monday, Sep. 26
Sadly Missed -- I-gaming software and services provider CWC Gaming Inc has sadly announced the passing of its CEO Adam Anhang early Friday morning. The company says that director Steve Reddy, who has worked closely with Anhang, will take over the CEO responsibilities as the company transitions from its tragic loss.
32Red Lists -- Online casino company 32Red floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange Friday but sold only .5 percent of its equity through the public offering. Only two weeks ago the company was about to complete its road show with plans to raise £10 million through its initial public offering, but investors quickly grew apprehensive following the release of PartyGaming's declining growth figures. Rather than completely pull the float, 32Red opted to postpone the raising of funds by selling only .5 percent of the company at 127p to make just over £300,000. The company's CEO Ed Ware stated that dropping the float "obviously went through all our minds but we had done 50-odd presentations with institutions and spent a lot of time and money on the float." He explained that the listing will improve his company's credibility and give it the ability to issue shares for acquisitions. 32Red still plans to raise funds through a share offering in the near future.
Acquisition -- Netb2b2, a holding company whose self-stated goal is to "become a leading provider of Internet-based business-to-business services through the acquisition of business service providers," has acquired interactive TV and Web design firm Fernhart New Media for an initial cash consideration of £125,000 and £375,000 in shares. Although Fernhart is most recognized for its work in developing interactive TV applications for the Sky digital platform, the company also holds licenses for a number of betting games for interactive TV and Internet. Since the acquisition last week, Fernhart has already announced its plan to launch a new free horse race betting information portal at www.OneStopRacing.com.
Rich Americans -- Husband and wife Ruth Parasol and Russel DeLeon, two of the founders of PartyPoker.com, have broken into Forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Both 40-year old DeLeon and 38-year-old Parasol share the 164 slot with several other individuals who have a net worth of $1.8 billion. The two currently reside in Gibraltar.
Deals -- Online betting company BETonSports has signed a deal with Tribeca Tables Europe to become part of the Tribeca Tables Poker Network. BoSPoker.com and Millpoker.com are the first of BETonSPORTS' Brands to launch on the network… Multi-channel I-gaming software provider Orbis has signed a contract to license its OpenBet interactive gambling platform to bookmaker Victor Chandler. OpenBet allow customers to bet on all channels and all products from a single account that is controlled via a single back-office.
In the Press -- New online poker site PokerShare.com has offered the town of Sharer, Kentucky $100,000 to change its name to PokerShare.com. The company apparently chose Sharer, Kentucky-- which reportedly has no city council, no grocery store and no post office- because of its similarity in name to PokerShare.com. An Associated Press article explaining the offer was widely circulated in U.S. newspapers.
Quickies -- The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track has ranked Betfair as Britain's seventh fastest-growing technology company. The list ranks the country's 100 fastest-growing technology companies by sales over a two-year period between 2002 and 2004… For the second time this year, Sportsbook.com has halted wagering on upcoming reality television series The Amazing Race because the winners have apparently been leaked. The show has already been filmed, but the season will not begin airing on TV until tomorrow night. Sportsbook.com says it has received a large number of wagers for the maximum value being placed from Ohio on the Linz family to win. The Linz family happens to be from Ohio… Online betting company Gamebookers has launched a Greek version of its website. The company, which now offers its gaming services in Greek, Romanian, English, Spanish, French, Turkish and German, says that is has experienced double-digit growth in the respective market each time it has introduced a new language. A Russian version is expected before the end of 2005… Online financial transaction processor NETeller has announced that it registered its 2,000,000th customer on Sept. 22.