1st US Online Casino

NetplayTV plc, an interactive television gambling group that is usually the bearer of acquisitive and good news for investors, has posted a £3.2 million loss in its half year results, due mainly to the one-off cost of restructuring the company to take advantage of the more liberalised television regime in the UK.

The firm announced that revenues fell 8% to £9.3 million, and that the sale of its premium rate telephony business, Abstract Games earlier this year had affected performance.

Martin Higginson, chief executive of the group said these were one-off costs necessary to secure the further advance of the company in interactive television gambling, now permitted at certain hours by the UK regulator.

(Read the full post about ‘Restructuring for terrestrial television knocks NetPlayTV half year results’…)

In only two short months the online gambling industry has seen an avalanche of new games of all types from a wide range of Internet gambling software providers. Following is a summary of all the latest game releases in one source.

The Swedish company Play ‘n Go was among the most prolific in recent weeks, launching 3 new themed slots and 4 mini-titles in its latest Casino 1.9 package. Included in the package are Cats ‘n Cash, a 5 reel 15 pay-line slot, Fortune Teller, a 5 reel 20 pay-line slot and a 5 reel, 20 pay-line slot branded Photo Safari. The firm’s mini-game inventory has been expanded with the addition of four 3 reelers on a shared progressive network branded Bells of Fortune, Gift Shop, Golden Goal and Speed Cash.

(Read the full post about ‘Quick roundup of the latest online gambling game releases’…)

By ALEXANDRA BERZON, The Wall Street Journal

Though he was a Las Vegas impresario and master of publicity ploys, Bob Stupak never saw some of his grandest visions come true, such as constructing a giant King Kong on the side of a tower, or building a casino in the shape of the sinking Titanic. Expensive efforts to achieve political office also faltered.

But the casino operator and fixture in the local media did realize his dream of building the Stratosphere tower as a giant monument to himself and to the city that at once embraced and derided him. Mr. Stupak died Sept. 25 after struggling with leukemia. H

(Read the full post about ‘Las Vegas Legend Bob Stupak Passes Away’…)

While a lot of online casino software developers have hit the news big-time with all kinds of new games, features and promotions Party Casino kept low profile. Now it strikes back with the launch of new games Multi-Hand Blackjack Pro and the Tarzan Lord of the Jungle Slot.

Lord of the Jungle
The Tarzan Lord of the Jungle Slot offers you five reels chockfull with symbols based on the massively popular Tarzan^TM comic books. Joe Kubert’s illustrations feature all over the reels, with Tarzan swinging across the screen to deliver a free spin bonus and turn wild whichever symbol he likes.

Blackjack Pro
The Multi-Hand Blackjack Pro is a brand new version of Party Casino’s time-proven blackjack product.

(Read the full post about ‘New Tarzan Slot and Multi-Hand Blackjack Pro at Party Casino’…)

By ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Harrah’s Entertainment wants to sell up to $750 million of new term loans under its current credit facility, part of the gaming giant’s continuing efforts to reduce its multibillion-debt and improve its ability to expand the company.

Harrah’s said Tuesday it would use the proceeds from the buyback to refinance or retire some of its existing debt.

According the company, $175 million of the proceeds will be used to purchase some of the company’s debt maturing in the next two years.

(Read the full post about ‘Harrah’s Moves to Restructure Debt’…)

The holiday month of August – traditionally a busy time for Atlantic City gambling – does not appear to have provided relief for the hard-pressed New Jersey land casino industry.

Latest official figures show a continued decline in revenues, with the month of August 2009 16% lower than August 2008 – that equates to a loss of some $2.5 billion in casino profits for the gambling mecca.

Atlantic City is home to eleven casinos and every one of them reported a decline in profits. The Tropicana resort fared best with the lowest slide of 6.9%.

(Read the full post about ‘Atlantic City revenues down 16% in traditionally busy August’…)

Delaware’s filing of a 24-page petition to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to hear whether the state should be allowed to offer single-game sports betting will likely go nowhere claims one expert speaking to Gambling911.com on the condition of anonymity. 

"They (Delaware) will have to be able to show that the judges who decided on this matter did so without any concept of the law, and that is simply not the case here."

An Appeals Court foiled Delaware’s attempt to offer single-game betting late last month.

(Read the full post about ‘Delaware Appeal of Sports Betting Rule a Losing Proposition’…)

Online gambling group Betfair has followed its earlier sponsorship of Manchester United with a two year deal with the top Spanish side Barcelona FC.

In terms of the agreement, Betfair becomes Barcelona’s official betting partner and will create sports betting content through FC Barcelona’s official club website. Betfair branding will also be visible across multiple channels, including perimeter boards at the club’s home ground, and Betfair will also have access to tickets, hospitality and training ground access.

Against most experts’ beliefs, the European Court of Justice has decided to support some individual countries in legally banning online betting competition.

On Tuesday, the EU´s top court ruled that domestic restrictions on online gambling can be upheld by national governments. If the intent is to stop internet fraud and crime, the governments hereby have the right to ban foreign sites from operating within the national gambling market.

The case that brought the question to light was when the Austrian online betting provider Bwin took legal action against Portugal’s state-run sports betting provider for discriminating against private companies by monopolizing the gambling market within the country.

(Read the full post about ‘Online Betting Ban Upheld by the European Court of Justice’…)

Launched late last year with massive publicity and plenty of commercial hype, the online banking operation Ivobank – owned by the Indonesian billionaire Sampoerna family – appeared to be going from strength to strength with a list of gilt-edged online gambling clients that included some of the top companies in the business.

It came as something as a shock, therefore to learn this week that the bank is apparently turning away new business without a clear explanation for its motives or its future, now the subject of intense speculation.

The bank’s advisory that new business was being turned away was accompanied by a statement almost guaranteed to fuel speculation: “…further information will be made available to retail customers, suppliers, merchants and the media” as “future strategic aims are developed”.

(Read the full post about ‘Question mark hangs over Ivobank’…)