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Nambling Notes - Jan. 25, 200125 January 2002
Makin’ Deals -- Tattersalls announced this week that it has made a deal with media and Internet company GoConnect to provide video clips of lottery results, news and competitions to the company’s betting site, tatts.com. The clips will be available to GoConnect’s media subsidiary, GoTrek. John Mortimore, general manager of tatts.com, said the agreement may in time allow users to watch lottery drawings via the Internet. VirtGame is teaming up with Sense Holdings Inc. to improve its fraud and underage access control technologies. Sense Holdings’ biometric and micro-sensor identification systems will be combined with VirtGame’s own border control services. Tidbits from the US -- California horsemen united this week to gain information about negotiations between the Thoroughbred Owners of California and betting operators. On Thursday the California Horse Racing Board gave advance deposit wagering licenses to Magna and TVG, but earlier in the week the state’s horsemen formed Concerned California Horsemen to make sure their voices were heard during the licensing process. A Tidbit from New Zealand -- Steel Balls is at it again, according to the New Zealand Herald. The newspaper reported this week that a gambler named Graham Bruton -- aka Steel Balls, a nickname he earned for making large bets -- placed a $20,000 bet on credit at a TAB sub-agency earlier this month. Betting on credit is against TAB rules. Bruton lost the bet and failed to pay up, forcing TAB to close the sub-agency, which was at the Red and Black Tavern in Christchurch. Legal Stuff -- Station Casinos has filed lawsuits that allege trademark infringement against two site operators for domain name rights due to its ownership of two Fiesta casinos. Station is suing International Thunderbird Gaming Corp. and its subsidiary in the British Islands over the domain name "fiestacasinos.com." Thunderbird’s lawyer, Albert Attallah, told the Las Vegas Sun that the company is looking into filing a countersuit for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. Station is also suing Dotsplash.com for allegedly linking the domain name "fiestacasinohotel.com" to a site at sqrl.com that contains links to other sites. New Stuff -- This week Intertops.com launched what it is calling the world’s first real-play mahjong site. Named for the Chines phrase “city of fortune,” Fatchoising.com allows groups of people all over the world to play the ancient Chinese game. The site is in three languages: traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and English. Dot com Entertainment will be launching several new online gaming products in the upcoming year. During the next two months, the company will introduce some of its latest projects, including www.tipibingo.com, www.bingogold.net and www.victorsbingo.com. Dot com will also be working on two projects with U.K.-based clients, it said. Trans-Global Interactive Ltd. is planning to launch its first online casino on March 31. The company will operate the casino via its 70-percent controlled subsidiary, Vanuatu Internet Data Centre. Names and Faces Changing Places -- Park Place Entertainment has named a new senior vice president for e-commerce. Frank Han is the co-founder of eToys. The newly created e-commerce position will entail creating Web-based marketing strategies and developing Internet products. Park Place President and CEO Thomas E. Gallagher said Han’s job will be to give customers more choice and convenience. “It also means creating new online products that ultimately may include gaming-related offerings where they are legal and appropriate,” he said. The Alderney Gambling Control Commission appointed Andre Wilsenach as its new chief executive. Wilsenach is a former member of the South African Lotteries and Gambling Board and was the first chief executive of the provincial Gaming Board of Mpumalanga. James A. Ryan is replacing Harvey Solursh as CryptoLogic’s CFO. Ryan is an accountant with 15 years of experience in financial management and has formerly held senior management positions with companies including Epson Canada Ltd. and Metcan Information Technologies Inc. MGM Mirage appointed former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman to its board of directors. Herman served as labor secretary for the Clinton administration starting in 1997. South Africa's National Gambling Board Chairman Chris Fismer was elected vice-chairman of the International Association of Gaming Regulators at the group's yearly conference in London. Fismer succeeds Peter Dean, who will become the IAGR's chairman. Saying Goodbye -- Fortune Gaming.com announced this week that it's changing its focus from online gambling to medical technology. The company’s directors, Anthony Uanno and Kevin Lee, have resigned and the company has acquired Promerita Inc. From now on the business will be known as Austin Medical Technologies Inc. Tidbits from the UK -- The Isle of Man’s chief minister is saying the island may meet the European Union “part way” on its Code of Conduct Committee’s concerns regarding offshore tax practices. Richard Corkill also assured the island’s legislature that it would have final say on the EU’s tax initiatives. The Isle of Man has until now not conceded to the EU’s Tax Code of Conduct and Savings Directive. While the United Kingdom has no constitutional right to determine the island’s tax policy, it has stated that its dependencies will heed the EU’s demand. Corkill said his government is in discussions with the U.K. government about the matter. “We have no wish to create difficulties for Europe, nor do we want to become the target of European countervailing measures by standing wholly outside international developments,” he said. “But equally we have no intention of surrendering our autonomy or undermining our economy.” Paddy Power said this week that it will not be able to deliver tax-free betting as it promised last month. The company's chief executive, Stewart Kenny, said that because it looks like the British Horseracing Board will not charge a flat fee to betting operators, Paddy Power will probably not be able to offer deduction-free wagering this year. "We had hoped to deliver tax-free betting in May but it now looks as if there will be a charge to punters," Kenny said. "Just how much nobody knows at the moment. Obviously all firms will make their own decision on this but I think you will find that the whole industry will make a change." Several U.K. bookmakers, including Eurobet and Victor Chandler, are dropping their SMS wagering services. Eurobet announced it was canceling its system but would not reveal why, saying only that the company had decided to move on to other things. A Victor Chandler spokesman said the system's limit of 160 characters was to small for wireless wagering.
Nambling Notes - Jan. 25, 2001
is republished from iGamingNews.com.
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Anne Lindner |
Anne Lindner |