Friday, Nov. 8
UK Bit -- The U.K. government is launching a consultation document to see if any further changes are needed to betting regulations beyond the abolition last year of the 6.75 percent betting tax. John Healey, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said the betting tax reforms have so far been a success. "But we are not complacent and want to see if any fine tuning is needed," he said. The consultation seeks opinions from both bookmakers and gamblers before the Dec. 31 closing deadline. Results of the consultation will be published in the spring.
Event -- The eighth annual Western Indian Gaming Conference will take place from Jan. 21-23 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Ca. The show is presented by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
Betting Canceled -- BetWWTS.com smells a rat in the recent rash of betting applications from the "The Bachelor" star Aaron Buerge's hometown of Springfield, Mo. The Antigua-based gaming site on Thursday suspended wagering on the TV series after it started receiving nine new account applications per minute from Springfield, all of which wanted to place bets on the same woman winning Buerge's heart. "The bachelor, it seems, is not the only person who knows the answer to the question all of America is asking," the company said.
Thursday, Nov. 7
UK Tidbit -- Sportech plc said today that the U.K. Secretary for Trade and Industry has decided not to refer Sportech's acquisition of Zetters International Pools Ltd. , to the Competition. Sportech, which owns the Littlewoods brand, purchased Zetters on Aug. 14.
New Stuff -- Boss Media introduced its new turnkey bingo platform, which will be launched through the Stockholm-based company's bingo portal, bingoarena.com. The site will offer bingo games, slot machines and scratch lotteries, and Boss expects to license the software to state-owned operators, private operators, media companies and charity organizations. Peter Bertilsson, the CEO of Boss, said he wouldn't be surprised if bingo
turned out to be his company's most important product in the future. "We believe that bingo can reach a wider audience of people who play because it's fun, and not only because they want to hit the jackpot," he said.
European Bit -- The European Gaming Organization will hold a special meeting on Dec. 5 at the Amsterdam Hilton Schipol Airport to discuss the role of the organization in the upcoming years as European countries and the European Union assess their respective positions on gambling. Chris Brammer, the group's secretary general, said the meeting is open to non-members. "We plan to have a meeting in the morning for ex-members and other interested parties followed by an EGO AGM in the afternoon," he said. "The input from the industry is needed as it is they who decide what EGO does for them."
Wednesday, Nov. 6
New Stuff -- Jackpot Madness will launch an upgraded version of its site next month. The improved progressives games site will include more user-friendly graphics and more interactivity.
Makin' Deals -- UniCache Inc. , an alternative payment company, said it has selected to use terminals from Hypercom Corp. for its new money transfer service in Latin America. UniCache, which is based in Las Vegas, said the
new service will allow people to use its stored value card, Unicard, at Hypercom payment terminals. The terminals will be located at thousands of small businesses in the United States and Central America, UniCache said. Hypercom is based in Phoenix, Ariz. ... Omicron Technologies Inc. said it has acquired the rights and interests to a remote-play blackjack game that is jointly owned by Station Casinos Inc. The game, called "BJ-Live," will consist of a real dealer interacting with several players at once.
Keeping Tabs -- CYOP Systems International Inc. said more than 50,000 people have registered as players on its CrediPlay Network, a skill-based games network that includes SkillArcade.com.
Tuesday, Nov. 5
Bit from New Zealand -- Christchurch Casino in New Zealand recently launched a bingo Web site, www.kiwibingo.com, that is offering prizes of up to US $10,000 per game. The casino already has an online version of casino
games up on the Internet, www.kiwicasino.com, which is hosted in Antigua. The operation was recently cleared of an investigation from the New Zealand Internal Affairs regulators, who say it is illegal for any company other than the TAB to take Internet bets in the country. Gregory Cott of the Internal Affairs gaming compliance office, said the matter was settled when Christchurch Casino pledged that it takes no bets from New Zealanders or anyone within New Zealand's boundaries.
Makin' Deals -- Sportinglife.com will now provide the sports content for FT.com, the Web site of the Financial Times newspaper. Sportinglife will include news about football, cricket, golf, horse racing, motor sports, rugby and tennis. As part of the deal, FT.com will post links to betting sites affiliated with Sportinglife, including
www.sportal.com and www.ukbetting.com. According to its January 2002 figures, FT.com has 2.7 million unique monthly users and 55 million monthly page views. David Annat, managing director of Sportinglife.com, said the partnership will benefit his group. "We are
delighted to be working with a leading content provider such as the FT, and this partnership is testimony to our success in the field of sports content," he said. "It enables us to attract even more users to our sites, further enhancing our position in the market."
US Bit -- Youbet.com has a free rider problem, and the Los Angeles-based company is doing something about it. Youbet.com announced starting in 30 days, people who use the site to gain sports information and not place significant wagers will have to pony up a subscription fee. Unlimited access to the site's information, including audio and video, will cost $14.95 per month. Ten hours of access per month will cost $7.95.
New Stuff -- A fantasy league for lawyers? It's true. Fantasycourt.com said will allow people to bet and receive points for every Supreme Court decision they correctly predict for the court's entire term. At the end of the term, the player with the most points will receive the title "Fantasy Justice of the Year" and will receive $2,500.
Bit from the UK -- Sky is consulting with U.K. gambling addiction awareness charity Gamcare to develop a safety net for players who use Sky's interactive television gambling channels such as attheraces and Ladbrokes. Richard Flint, director of betting gaming for Sky Interactive said the company wants to make sure its partners offer responsible gaming opportunities.
Monday, Nov. 4
New Stuff -- InterCasino announced it's the proud new owner of poker software and will now offer poker rooms along with its regular offering of
casino games. Ryan Hartley, managing director of InterCasino and InterCasinoPoker, said players can use U.S. dollars, pounds sterling and euros in the poker rooms and that the site is offering existing players $10 an hour to balance tables and start new ones. "We feel that the combination of our six years experience of online gaming, software that is more realistic than anything else I have seen out there, incentive schemes and bonuses renowned for being the most generous in the world and a large player base will quickly boost InterCasinoPoker to the top of the market," he said.
US Bit -- The New York Times takes a look at Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general of New York. Spitzer is known throughout the I-gaming community as the prosecutor who has extracted pledges to halt I-gaming transactions from both PayPal and CitiBank. Spitzer, who was dubbed "The Enforcer" by Fortune magazine, is making a name for himself by investigating corporate wrongdoing. The Times quotes Democratic political consultant Richard Schrader as saying that Spitzer is the leading contender for New York governor in 2006. In tomorrow's election, Spitzer is favored a third term in a landslide against Dora L. Irizarry, a Republican.