Friday, Sept. 6
Bit from Asia -- The Hong Kong Jockey Club will meet with officials from the Macau Jockey Club in mid-October to negotiate a deal on racing bets. MJC Chairman Stanley Ho, whose group is backing off from its proposal to take bets on HKJC races, said he is sure the two organizations can find a middle ground. "If the two jockey clubs are sincere to cooperate, a win-win proposal could be worked out," Ho said.
Quote Worthy -- "Things We Don't Understand" -- Title of a Sept. 6 United Press International article on Greece's ban on all electronic games,
including video games and Internet games, in public places.
Legal Stuff -- Philippine president Gloria Arroyo told the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) in August that it needs to close its slots arcade and cancel plans for a new arcade. PAGCOR had planned to build
up to 20 new slots arcades in the country. Arroyo's spokesman said she decided against the slot expansion to ensure her people maintain moral behavior.
Thursday, Sept. 5
New Stuff -- Internet bookmaker bet365 said the launch of its new betting Web site and betting software will begin this week with the release of a new system made specifically with U.S. players in mind. The company states the new U.S.-style system presents North American with a "more familiar U.S.-style," meaning that customers will be able to view al the main lines on a game in a single betting coupon. In addition, people who bet on football will be able
to bet on the first team to score and the last team to score, the time of the first score and the first scoring play. The new system is at www.365betusa.com.
Makin' Deals -- Fixed-odds and tote betting site betinternet.com plc and Nine Lives Gaming are teaming up to develop a cash-wagering interface for euroofftrack.com, betinternet's totalizator business. The new system will enable players to place tote bets through euroofftrack.com on American and Irish pools, thereby enabling betinternet account holders to bet on the tote without having to open an account with euroofftrack.com.
Names and Faces -- As of Jan. 1, Phil Satre, the president and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, will resign his position. Satre is to be replaced by Gary Loveman, the Las Vegas-based company's current CFO.
Loveman, a former professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, will have his current position taken over by Tim Wilmott, a Harrah's executive who runs the company's eastern division. ... eBay, which acquired e-cash service provider PayPal in July, is making some changes to its management staff. Matt Bannick, former head of eBay's international business, has been appointed as senior vice president of global online payments. Bannick will work closely with PayPal CEO Peter Thiel as eBay integrates the PayPal platform and phases out the Billpoint payment service. Bill Cobb, who had overseen global marketing, will take Bannick's former position as
senior vice president, international.
Wednesday, Sept. 4
A Tidbit from the US -- The August recess for U.S. Congress is over, which means it's once again time to ponder whether I-gaming will make it onto the legislative agenda. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., had his run at it early in the year; since spring, the spotlight has been on Rep. James Leach's, R-Iowa, I-gaming funding prohibition bill. There's not a lot of time left on the legislative calendar, so the coming weeks will be crucial. If there's movement, it will have to be soon.
Makin' Deals -- Quova Inc. , a leading provider and developer of Web geography services and technologies, announced that I-gaming software supplier Online Gaming Systems Ltd. (OGS) will use Quova's GeoPoint
service to provide geolocation and IP mapping capabilities to its FIRE (Fully Integrated, Regulated Environment) and ICE (Interactive Casino Extension) gambling software products. GeoPoint will give OGS the ability to add jurisdictional control to its gambling software. OGS President Lawrence Tombari said GeoPoint will be "a vital component in our ability to mitigate the risks our customers face in leveraging this enormous market opportunity."
New Stuff -- In the gambling arena, it has been a year of progress and change for the British island of Alderney. In that spirit the Alderney Gambling Control
Commission has given its Web site a makeover. The revamped site, located at www.gamblingcontrol.org, is rich with information on the island's gambling regulations, its licensees, its facilities and more.
Tuesday, Sept. 3
Legal Stuff -- A former director of Multimedia Games Inc. has been indicted in a federal investigation over alleged misconduct regarding the company's stock. Gordon Graves, the current chairman and CEO of Multimedia
Games, said that as far as he knows, no current management staff members of the company are being investigated and that it will cooperate fully with the authorities.