Nambling Notes - April 26, 2002

Tidbit from the US -- The Nevada Gaming Commission was warned against computer viruses, hackers and other pitfalls of starting an online casino last week when it heard a presentation from Marc McDermott, head of the Gaming Control Board's electronic section. The elusive Commission chairman, Peter Bernhard, who has thus far claimed ignorance when asked to by IGN to comment on I-gaming, called Internet gambling a "complex issue" and said the commission would discuss it at its May 16 meeting.

New Stuff -- Six CryptoLogic licensees, one of which is Antigua-based Omni Casino, have adopted the software supplier's suite of no-download Java games. According to Omni, the collection includes 28 games. Sean Stokes of Crypto's investor relations department said a number of deals with other gaming sites are pending. World Gaming introduced its next-generation gaming platform last week at its first annual licensee conference in Whistler, British Columbia. The new product, called Back Office, is designed to blend with and expand World Gaming's offering of products. Mike Aymong, CEO, said Back Office offers significant e-commerce and business support services. "Since our main focus remains on business fortification, the development of Back Office will solidify our network of gaming destinations and more players than ever will have access to out comprehensive suite of games." Jackpot Madness announced in Thursday that it has paid out its winnings for Progressive CyberStud Poker. The winner received $357,089.04. PayPal said this week that it has been given the award for best e-commerce solution from the Software and Information Industry Association at its annual Codie Awards. The online payment service was one of 700 products reviewed for this year's awards.

Makin' Deals -- Blue Square will now offer Littlewoods' PrizeBuster, a game based on the National Lottery. The online bookmaker, one of the United Kingdom's largest, announced the agreement with Sportech, Littlewoods' owner, this week. Blue Square's 240,000 registered users will also be able to access the full menu of Littlewoods football pools via the BlueSquare site. Churchill Downs agreed to a one-year deal with Youbet.com to designate the betting company the official online wagering platform of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby takes place May 4. Each year more than 20 million people tune into the event by radio or television. This week Youbet.com also announced a marketing and content agreement with the Maryland Jockey Club. Youbet.com began accepting wagers from Hollywood Park races this week as well. Blue Square and Orbis, a subsidiary of Jerusalem-based NDS Group, reached an agreement this week under which the software provider will supply Blue Square with technology for its new telephone betting service. The U.K. bookmaker already uses Orbis' Open Bet Interactive Gambling System for its Internet, interactive digital TV and WAP phone betting. Zetters Group purchased financial betting company Financial Spreads from Sporting Index for £8.7 million sterling. Zetters, which offers football pools and other sports betting, said it hopes Financial Spreads will complement its overseas financial spread betting unit, IFX.

Tidbit from South Africa -- Changes in gambling law are afoot in South Africa. At the country's second gambling conference in Sun City recently, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said the government plans to create more uniformity and improve monitoring across the provinces' gambling outlets. "A regulatory system that cannot ensure compliance is not worth much," he said. It is our view that the capacity for monitoring, surveillance and enforcement has to be national as well as provincial."

Tidbit from the Philippines -- The Philippine president this week nixed what would have been the world's first casino university. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. had planned to offer college courses on casino management and operations, but President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who read about the plan in the newspaper, released a statement saying she would not support such a move. "We don't want to cultivate a culture of gambling," she said.

Tidbit from Mexico -- The president of the Mexican Hotel and Motel Association, Miguel Torruco Marqués, is advocating the legalization of casinos in Mexico. Torruco said this week that legalized casinos could create 160,000 jobs and generate US $800 million in earnings in his country. Mexico has an underground gambling industry that deprives the government of $600 million in revenue per year, he said.

An Irish Tidbit -- Irish bookmakers and British Horseracing Board chairman Peter Savill tried and failed to form a data-licensing deal when they met on Monday. The BHB is requesting that Irish bookmakers pay ten percent of their gross profits on U.K. racing, which is the deal it struck with British bookmakers.

Tidbit from the IOM -- Barclays' wealth management section, Barclays Private Clients, this week decided to establish its offshore banking headquarters on the Isle of Man. The bank will function as a holding company for Barclays' offshore banking business in Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man.

Names and Faces Changing Places -- Simon Noble resigned his position as managing director of Intertops.com, where he has worked since 1996. Noble said he is leaving to pursue other interests. Gary Adelson and Brad Rosenberg joined Youbet.com's board of directors. Adelson has worked as a television producer with credits including the show "Eight is Enough." Rosenberg is a co-founder and principal of North Atlantic Partners, a private investment firm. Vincent Maphai is being appointed the leader of the SA Responsible Gambling Trust, an organization formed to help South African deal with problem gambling. The new group is a vehicle for government oversight of the National Responsible Gaming Programme, which aims to prevent and treat problem gambling. Maphai is the executive director for corporate affairs for South African Breweries as well as the chairman of the South African Broadcasting Corp.