Nambling Notes - Feb. 29, 2008

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A week that began furiously with rumors of a Bwin-Sportingbet tie-up ended quietly with no comment from either company. Last go-around, the operators spent three months in negotiations but were unable to agree on conditions because of "legal complexities and regulatory changes in the industry." Strap in and stay tuned. Ladbrokes has also remained tight-lipped over its reported interest in Parlay Entertainment, declining comment on the release of its annual results Thursday. Parlay Chief Executive Scott White told IGN recently that the group hoped to make a recommendation to the board by February's end. In a move that flew largely beneath the radar, CryptoLogic CEO Javaid Aziz bade farewell to corporate life. Brian Hadfield, who joined Crypto last year as a director, has taken the reigns. The near seven-year spat between Ladbrokes and De Lotto was brought to the fore once again as the European Commission sent reasoned opinions to the Netherlands and Greece. Outspoken De Lotto Chief Executive Tjeerd Veenstra forcefully maintains his long-held opinion that the commission was prompted by commercial European bookmakers -- Ladbrokes, in particular -- to open the investigation. As expected, William Hill's online division suffered on the failure of its in-house software group, NextGen. Newly-appointed Chief Executive Ralph Topping told the press that it will spend a good deal of time and money beefing up its Internet arm in 2008, and plans to launch its Orbis-powered sports book by November. Finally, speaking at AiG, Pedro Cortes, a partner with Goncalves Pereira Rato Ling Vong & Cunha, suggested that as time continues to pass, Macau continues to lose out on its opportunity to create an I-gaming regulatory framework.

In the lead up to Neteller's annual results, Thomson Financial suggests the group is seen as "ripe for takeover," and quotes research from Numis Analyst Richard Carter projecting full-year pre-tax profits of $8.8 million -- down significantly against the previous year's $133.7 million.

Congressman George Miller, a California Democrat, has signed on as the 46th co-sponsor of Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act.

Reuters reports Unibet has stopped taking action on the Russian presidential election "because it is so predictable." Oddsmakers with the firm said they closed the books after outgoing President Vladimir Putin endorsed First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for the job in December.

Following Thrusday's results from Ladbrokes, analyst Simon Champion of Deutsche Bank maintains his buy recommendation on the bookie's shares. In a research note published today, Champion calls the group's underlying results "healthy," and suggests that its plans to invest more heavily in I-gaming marketing could contribute between £80 million and £90 million of EBIT in 2010.

Ladbrokes' head of I-gaming, John O'Reilly, said Wednesday that it would raise its marketing spend from 14 percent of online net gaming revenues to 20 percent, with an I-gaming television advertising campaign -- devised by M&C Saatchi -- set to begin shortly.

CNNMoney says Bwin led other Vienna-listed blue-chip gainers and was up 1.89 percent to 19.97 euros on Thrusday's news that the European Commission had issued reasoned opinions to the Netherlands and Greece.

AFP reports a male spectator at tennis tournament Dubai Open was confronted by officials on suspicion that he was relaying play-by-play commentary over his mobile phone during world number one Justine Henin's shock defeat to Francesca Schiavone.

Weird but true: New York Post reports Romanian cops closed a vandalism case by concluding ghosts were to blame for the damage caused to several local houses. Families living in Lileci reported that evil spirits were breaking windows, tossing furniture through the air, and blowing out candles. "We find nothing to suggest it was anything other than what the people claim," a police spokesman said.

On the London Stock Exchange today, 888 was down 15p (9.7 percent) to 140.00, Ladbrokes was down 13.50p (4.2 percent) to 304.25 while Neteller was up 1.75p (2.8 percent) to 65.00.