Nambling Notes | July 21, 2008

HEAD HUNTING William Hill, the British bookmaker, is on the lookout for a new head of Internet operation and has hired Amos & Bailey, an executive search consultancy, to assist.

The company will relaunch its online offering, developed by Orbis Technology Ltd., in November 2008 after losing footing in the market to rivals Ladbrokes and Gala Coral. It is looking for an executive to take charge of the Internet division.

Speculation suggests that Ralph J. Topping, who only took over as chief executive in January, may be in line to be replaced during the headhunting process, but a company insider said that was not necessarily part of the equation.

"Depending on who they find, that might be applicable, but Ralph has only just got into the job and there is a lot that he wants to do," the insider told the Sunday Times of London. "He won’t be looking for people to replace him immediately, but for someone who looks like he might be a successor in the future Ralph would be a good mentor."

RED-HANDED Two more tennis players have been banned and fined for betting on matches, proving that the Association of Tennis Professionals was not kidding about plans to crack down on gambling in professional tennis.

"The ATP's anti-corruption program is clear that gambling on any form of tennis match will not be tolerated," Gayle David Bradshaw, the ATP's executive vice president of rules and competition, said in a prepared statement.

Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic on Monday was banned for 10 weeks and fined $15,000, while Michal Mertinak of Slovakia was banned for two weeks and given a $3,000 fine.

The punishments resulted from an investigation launched in November 2007, according to the association. Both players were found to have been betting on matches as far back as late 2006.

However, neither player placed bets on his own matches nor participated in any match-fixing, the association said.

Five Italians had already been sanctioned since the association launched a worldwide investigation almost a year ago.

JOINING RANKS Entraction Holding, the Sweden-based online operator, has signed a deal with Bet1128, an Italy-facing online poker operator, supplying them with software and access to the Entraction Network.

Bet1128 will begin its migration to the network in August.