Congress surprise industry, passes online ban
U.S. Congress has unexpectedly passed a bill effectively banning most forms of Internet gambling in the country. Gambling firm 888.com announced that it was suspending its business in the States on receipt of the news, while Leisure and Gaming added that it would be seeking legal advice over the situation.
Government rejects consortium's Tote bid
Plans by a UK racing consortium to purchase the Tote have been rejected by the UK Government. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said that it had not been able to reach an agreement with the group, headed by Arena Leisure, the Racecourse Holdings Trust and the Racecourse Owners' Association for the publicly-owned bookmakers.
Dicks released from custody
Sportingbets chairman Peter Dicks was released from U.S. custody and allowed to return to the UK after George Pataki, the New York State governor, refused to sign an order to extradite Dicks to Louisiana. Dicks said that he was very grateful over the release and, when asked whether he was returning to Sportingbet, he said: "They've had enough of me!"
Online shares take £3b hit
An estimated £3 billion has been wiped off the value of UK online gaming companies in the wake of the US Senates ruling. Online operator PartyGaming saw £2.32billion wiped off the value of its shares after it announced that it would be suspending all real money gaming business once the President ratifies the new law.
Tattersall's pulls out of Lottery race
Australian firm Tattersall's announced that it will not be bidding for the new UK National Lottery licence. The lottery operator said that owing to a careful review careful review of the basis on which a bid is required to be made under the government's invitation to apply for the licence, it would not be submitting an application.
Bingo Association demands Scottish help
The chairman of the UK Bingo Association has demanded that the Scottish Parliament support the organisation in its attempt to gain a £10 million tax break from the British government. Sir Peter Fry told The Herald newspaper that because it had bought in the smoking ban, it must "accept some responsibility for the damages it had caused in the industry."
South African gaming revenue rises
South African gambling revenue in 2005/2006 has risen by 16 per cent according to the country's National Gambling Board, to rand11.5 billion. Talking to parliament, board chairman Chris Fismer said the rand1.6 billion increase from 2004/2005 was largely due to the casinos with contributions from horseracing, betting and bingo.
Betting boards banned at Monaco football match
The French Professional Football League forced AS Monaco to remove advertising boards for online betting firm bwin.com before its weekend's match could start. Monaco said that it would be contesting the decision and may take legal action to fight it.
Cocamatic win Time Crisis 4 distribution deal
Namco Europe has announced the appointment of Cocamatic as the exclusive and official distributors for Time Crisis 4 throughout the Iberian peninsula. The appointment was confirmed at the FER-Interazar expo in Madrid.
Cyberscan posts profit for first-half
Cyberscan Technology has announced a first-half pre-tax profit of £2.6 million, up from a restated loss of £0.5 million from the same period last year. Sales rose by 61 per cent to £11.4 million, despite what chairman Sir Michael Wilkes called 'slow progress in the casino market'.
Korea issues clampdown statistics
Korean police have arrested more than 2,800 people and booked a further 7,790 since it started its crackdown on illegal gambling according to the Supreme Prosecutors Office. About 9,460 of the country's adult-only gaming arcades and slot machine parlours were forced to close during the clampdown.
Top Ten profit slumps on prolonged summer
Bingo operator Top Ten Holdings said that it expected profits for the first-half to be around £500,000 below previous expectations. It cited a prolonged summer heat wave and the World Cup as reasons for the slump.
BetFred heads to Spain
Betfred has joined forces with Spanish gaming group EKASA in what Chairman Fred Done called a 'strategic alliance'. Done told the gambling and gaming expo Fer-Interazar in Madrid that he was delighted to be bringing his 50 years worth of industry experience to Spain to help Ekasa develop a 'robust retail gaming business'.