Nambling Notes - May 10, 2002

Tidbits from the US -- MGM Mirage's Internet gambling operation is not off the ground yet in the Isle of Man, but last week the site's software designer, Wager Works, said the site's technology will be shown to U.S. regulators before the site goes live. Paul Mathews, vice president of government affairs for Wager Works, said the software's age and location verification mechanisms would be demonstrated to the regulators. The Catholic Church on Monday addressed concerns related to gambling addiction when more than 220 of the nation's foremost religious leaders issued an open letter to President George W. Bush and Congress. The letter was published in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Asian Tidbits -- Should offshore betting be outlawed in Hong Kong, the government would give up the chance to tax HK $150 billion worth of betting revenue, a representative of Victor Chandler Worldwide told the Sing-Tao Daily this week. Victor Chandler, one of the largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom, estimates that illegal offshore betting amounts to almost double the Hong Kong Jockey Club's estimate of HK$83 million. Fourteen percent of legal gambling revenues in Hong Kong is turned over to the government for taxes. Hong Kong police are preparing a litany of tactics to fight soccer betting during the World Cup. One of their targets will be cyber cafés, where officers will make visits to discourage the patrons from gambling online. W K Lam, home affairs secretary, said the police would "avoid interfering with the customers and normal operations of places for leisure such as pubs and cyber cafés during inspections."

Tidbit from the Emerald Isle -- Going by Paddy Power's estimate, the World Cup could be Ireland's biggest wagering opportunity ever. The Irish bookmaker expects more money to be gambled on the games than was spent at the last World Cup, when a French win cost bookies dearly. "We think people will put a lot of money on Ireland," a Paddy Power representative said. "People can now place bets on the Internet and over the phone, so they can do it from their office."

Makin' Deals -- America Tab, an online race wagering company, is entering a licensing agreement with TV Games Network, the 24-hour horse-racing channel. As per the deal, America Tab will be able to use telephone and computer-enabled waging services that complement the TVG technology.

Tidbit from Canada -- A judge in Quebec this week permitted Canada's first class-action lawsuit having to do with gambling addiction. Now the country's lawyers are expecting mass numbers of lawsuits against gaming facilities in Canada. In the judgment, Justice Roger Banford of the Quebec Superior Court said the plaintiffs could sue Loto-Quebec for CA $625 million in damages in connection with providing a product, video lottery terminals, that is known to cause gaming addictions.

Breakin' Deals -- sportinglife and the Tote are dissolving their online gambling venture, totalbet.com, a year early. The original agreement was for three years. sportinglife will assume sole ownership of totalbet.com and the government-run Tote will embark on its own I-gaming site, which will share the brand of its phone betting service, totebetXpress.

A New Face -- Interactive Gaming & Wagering NV, a subsidiary of Global Entertainment Holdings/Equities Inc., is appointing Jeffrey Niblack as CIO. Niblack was formerly a senior IT architect with IBM.