Nambling Notes - Feb. 18, 2003

Tidbit from the Far East -- Mark Blandford, the executive vice chairman of Sportingbet.com plc, held a press conference yesterday in Taiwan to deny media reports that his company is planning to open an office an operate a lottery in Taiwan, where gambling is illegal. "The stories are unfounded," he said. "Sportingbet is not setting up an office in Taiwan because this would be illegal." Blandford said his company would continue to offer online gaming and betting to Taiwanese customers from its base in the United Kingdom. Sportingbet has 500 customers in Taiwan and hopes to increase that number to 3,000 by the end of the year, Blandford said. AFX is reporting today that Taiwan police have raided SBC Advertising et Promotions Ltd. , a company that did local marketing for Sportingbet. Police told the news service that they took four computers, account books, and Internet and betting data from the office. The Taipei District Court has started a formal investigation into whether the company has encouraged betting among Taiwanese citizens.

New Stuff -- Konami and Hothouse Creations announced recently that the Casino Inc. Web site is live. The computer game, a creation of the two companies, gives online gamers a new perspective of interactive gambling by putting them in the role of a casino manager. The game does not involve gambling with real money.

Bit from India -- The Cricket World Cup has resulted in hundreds of illegal bookmakers being arrested in India this week. The joint commissioner for crime in Delhi expects even more illegal gambling in the near future. "The Pakistan-India match will see a frenzy in illegal betting," the joint commissioner said. "A match of this magnitude has already begun to generate huge interest."