Nambling Notes - March 31, 2008

The Bet-Markets conference is officially underway in Vienna, offering two days of intensive discussion on issues and developments in the sports betting sector. A good number of delegates, however, had already gathered on Sunday night under the guise of "networking" to sample a traditional Austrian bierkeller. View the full story.

Antigua said it would give the U.S. Trade Representative until today to put forth a settlement proposal in the dispute over remote gambling services, before it asks the WTO for permission to impose intellectual property sanctions. While Mark Mendel, counsel for Antigua, said his client does not want to pursue this remedy, he has conceded that if negotiations cannot be resolved, they will have to go forward.

Operator Devilfish Gaming said in its half-yearly report that revenue had "remained static" on limited ad exposure for its DevilfishPoker.com site. The group is currently licensed in Kahnawake, which has applied to the U.K. advertising white list and been turned down by the U.K. Gambling Commission. Following a recent deal with Sweden's Entraction, Chief Executive Paul Barnes said Devilfish would leverage Entraction's Maltese licensure to advertise in the United Kingdom -- its core market.

Online security solutions provider Iovation has completed a $15 million round of funding, adding $5 million from SAP Ventures and European Founders to the $10 million received in November from Intel Capital, the investment arm of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based technology giant.

In a trading update issued this morning, spread betting group WorldSpreads said it expects H2 pre-tax profits and sales to exceed original -- at the time of the August 2007 IPO -- and current management expectations by a "significant margin."

Bangkok Post highlights the ongoing debate in Thailand over whether to legalize casino gambling. The piece follows remarks from the country's prime minister, who reportedly said earlier this month: "If [casinos] are illegal, we should legalize them."

On the London Stock Exchange today, 888 was up 2p (1.33 percent) to 155.00, Ladbrokes was up 6.75p (2.2 percent) to 311.25 and William Hill was up 7.75p (2.1 percent) to 375.75.