Online gambling operators in the Czech Republic were sounding off this week on the draconian taxation burden they have to carry, making it difficult to compete in a global market full of hungry competitors.
The positive news last week that Loto Quebec is to venture into online gambling with other Canadian provinces following Quebec government approval has to some extent been clouded by developments that indicate there has been little synergy on Internet gambling in the province.
The South African software developer Kiron Interactive, fresh from its appearance at ICEi, has announced that it has landed a contract with the UK Barcrest group, part of IGT-UK.
Management and employees at the Swedish online gambling software provider Net Entertainment are celebrating a remarkably successful year despite difficult economic conditions, reporting that full year after tax profits soared by over a third on the previous year’s results.
According to reports in the publication The Register this week, it was disclosed at the recent “Cybercrime in Betting and Gaming” conference in London that security services are conducting possible terrorism funding investigations involving online gambling.
The giant Visa card processing conglomerate has joined Mastercard in clamping down on Internet gambling transactions, according to growing reportage in the US media.
In an op-ed piece that appeared in the Washington publication Roll Call, Representative Jim McDermott this week reinforced calls for a more pragmatic approach to sports betting by Congress.
The Finnish Slot Machine Association (RAY) and its lottery counterpart Veikkaus have been given the government green light to push ahead with legal online gambling ventures that include online poker and casino action (for RAY) and online bingo and similar number-based games (for Veikkaus)
The spectacular fall from grace of a high-living, 25-year-old Aussie e-processing whiz was in the Australian media again this week as it was disclosed that Daniel Tzvetkoff had declared bankruptcy in January 2010 with personal debts totaling over A$ 50 million.
Betfair has added some retail experience muscle to its board of directors with the appointment this week of Marks and Spencers finance exec Ian Dyson as an independent non- executive director.
Further to our ICEi report on the launch of white label supplier Plus-Five, the company has confirmed that it generated a gratifying amount of interest at the show.
Moves In the state of Iowa to legalise sports betting as a means of raising tax revenues to cut budgetary gaps have made an unexpected move forward with a positive state Senate committee vote, although observers say there’s still a way to go and many obstacles ahead.
The intention of the Loto Quebec board to expand into online gambling, along with two other Canadian provinces, took a step closer to fruition this week with the news that the provincial government cabinet has approved the project.
Observant industry show-goers at ICEi and the Microgaming stand last month would have noticed an intriguing but fleeting insert in the large-screen presentation of visuals from the gambling software company’s top games – the iconic inscribed ring from Tolkien’s world famous Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Canadian online bingo specialist Parlay Entertainment Inc. has announced a three-way relationship with Atacmedia and Beast Gaming, which it is confident will bring new solutions to the online gaming industry.
The industry has been following with interest the investment in South Africa made by Gibraltar-based bookie group Victor Chandler , and this week the news is that the company’s launch of an in-play running betting product in imminent and will play an active role in the World Cup games in that country.
It appears that the corporate struggle between executives of French commercial television group TF1 and SPS Betting, both subsidiaries of the Bouygues group did nothing to distract TF1 chief Nonce Paolini from his pursuit of online gambling deals.
The independent US research group BolaVerde Media reports that according to mandatory declarations made by lobbying companies in the third quarter of 2009, the amount of cash invested in this activity has soared 50 percent over Q3 2008.
Online gambling group Party Gaming plc has reported a significant 32 percent rise in fourth quarter sales – a hopeful sign that punters are back enjoying a wager after a hard year.
Last week’s confirmation that Party Gaming and Bwin Interactive are talking about partnering has set off a round of media reportage on the old topic of industry consolidation.
A review into corruption in sports commissioned by the British government and carried out by a panel under the direction of football star Rick Parry has recommended the inception of a special new Sports Betting Intelligence Unit to investigate corruption in betting on sport, according to The Guardian newspaper.
The Dow Jones news service reports that a federal appeals court on Monday upheld a contempt order for refusing to comply with a grand-jury subpoena against two companies owned by a Canadian man accused of processing more than $350 million in payments for Internet gambling companies.
Scratch card business NeoGames has launched new triple scratch slot game Namaste, an Indian themed triple scratch slot game where the player can play up to three games in one by matching the same symbols in each machine.
It’s hardly Vegas – a large shed-like building in the middle of a snow-covered field 60 miles from the nearest reasonably sized city – Rostov-on-Don. But the newly opened Orakul Casino represents a fresh start for a Russian gambling industry that was almost obliterated by draconian government action that banned it to four remote regions …