Nambling Notes - Jan. 22, 2003

Tidbit from the Australia -- Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Northern Territory Racing Commission has suspended the license of Darwin-based Consolidated SportsBet, an online sports book, for not paying $50,000 owed to a customer. The group owes an additional $50,000 in turnover tax, which was due Jan. 12. The commission said two additional customers were owed lesser amounts, but those complaints weren't the basis of the suspension. The suspension will last until the company pays the $100,000 owed and demonstrates the ability to pay its debts.

Tidbits from the US -- I-gaming technology provider VirtGame Corp. today announced that it has been awarded a patent for "Gaming system with location verification," by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent covers virtual gaming environments with verification of players' location to regulate access to players in authorized locations. The company has been working on its verification and border-control software for six years. VirtGame President and CFO Bruce Merati said the patent covers "various remote gaming applications on networks such as Internet, Intranet, wireless, interactive TV, etc." . . . The Clark County Department of Aviation reported today that traffic at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport is still down. The airport said traffic was up from 2.5 million people in December 2001 to 2.7 in December 2002, however, that's still 8.5 percent lower than the 3 million coming through the airport in 2000. The total number of travelers in 2002 was 35 million, compared to 35.2 million in 2001 and 36.9 million in 2000.

Makin' Deals -- Scientific Games today announced that its subsidiary, Blue Suede Acquisition Corp., has completed its previously announced acquisition of MDI Entertainment Inc.

In Other Words -- "Instead of merely trying to shut down these services, racing leaders throughout the world could stand to gain by exploiting the technology the betting exchanges are using, and attempt to take control of a system that the wagering public has embraced."
- From an article published in Bloodhorse.com, written by Editor-in-Chief Ray Paulick.