Sportingbet Employee Released from Turkish Custody

One of Sportingbet's two employees detained in Turkey has been released without charge, the company said Monday, though the other remains in custody and has been refused bail.

The two employees, who are Turkish nationals and are not members of Sportingbet's executive board, were detained in May and filed separate appeals.

The employee who was denied bail is now awaiting formal charges, but the company "continues to offer him support and is seeking clarification about when and what charges, if any, will be brought," it said.

The employee who was released has returned to the United Kingdom.

"The whole thing is very frustrating," Andrew McIver, chief executive of Sportingbet, told the Telegraph earlier this month. "It's very unfair on the individuals."

The London company said that several other employees associated with its former marketing partner, Maslin Properties Ltd., remain in custody.

Sportingbet acquired Maslin in February 2007 for an initial consideration of £3.5 million, with a deferred consideration of 35.3 million company shares. At the time of acquisition, Maslin held ownership over the Superbahis.com domain name.

“Maslin Properties Ltd. were the group’s ex-marketing partner per se, but those marketing elements became ‘ex,’ as it were, when they were bought by Sportingbet last year,” George Hudson, a spokesman for Sportingbet, told IGamingNews in May.

Shortly after the Maslin acquisition, the Turkish government enacted legislation prohibiting unlicensed commercial operators -- domestic and foreign -- from offering Internet-based games of chance to Turkish residents.

While Sportingbet does take bets from Turkish residents, the Superbahis.com operation -- including servers, payment processing services and Internet technology support -- is located “in the Group’s licensed and regulated locations,” according to its 2007 fourth-quarter results statement.

In Monday's statement, the company said that for the third quarter ended April 30, 2008, net gaming revenue from Turkey accounted for approximately 14 percent of group net gaming revenue, versus 26 percent the previous quarter.

Across the Internet gambling industry, a small number of companies, including Betsson, a Sweden-based operator, continue to target Turkish residents.

Several operators, including Ladbrokes, Betfair, Unibet, Bwin Interactive Entertainment and 888 Holdings, maintain Turkish-language Web sites targeting Turkish expatriates, exclusively.

Still others, including PartyGaming, have withdrawn from the market entirely.

Mr. McIver and Mr. Hudson could not be reached immediately for comment.