Sportsbook.com Launches PlayBook Magazine

This week, Sportsbook.com sends complimentary copies of its new magazine - PlayBook - to all its active customers.

The glossy magazine will explore the world of sports betting, casino gambling and poker rooms. It will also feature articles examining gamblers’ lifestyles. The pages are full of practical advice to help players, including articles like “Mix it Up” explaining betting terms for beginners, to in-depth advice on betting boxing, playing blackjack and winning at poker.

As you would expect from a magazine by Sportsbook.com, PlayBook also provides cutting-edge analytics on the hottest sports action. Befittingly, the Premiere issue’s cover girl is Brooke Burke, the face of Sportsbook.com.

“PlayBook is the first of its kind in the online betting industry,” says Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director Sportingbet PLC Americas Region, 'Sportsbook.com has hundreds of betting options. We launched PlayBook to help customers better understand all the opportunities the site has to offer. The message of the magazine is 'Strategies for Winning,' and our articles cover how to play better online and off.”

Nolan Dalla, successful gambler, respected teacher and passionate gamblers’ rights advocate, is the Editor of PlayBook Magazine. “I’ve been a successful gambler and I enjoy helping others succeed. This magazine gives me the opportunity to help players develop their skills and to take a look at the issues and topics that interest gamblers.”

PlayBook Magazine is only available to active customers of www.Sportsbook.com.

New rules for proposed Singapore casino

Singapore's government has announced restrictions for a proposed casino in a move designed to appease church and social groups.

The project, planned as the city-state’s first casino resort, would restrict credit for Singapore citizens and permanent residents, charging them membership fees of S$100 ($61) a day or S$2,000 per year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Tourists, who contribute more than five percent to the $91 billion economy, would get free entry.

Mark Mobius, who manages emerging market stocks at Templeton Asset Management Ltd., said: “It's important for Singapore to develop its tourism industry and a casino is one of those services that attract a lot of tourists. It can be done in a nice way that's not ruinous to the society and that's been shown in many parts of the world.'

Las Vegas Sands Inc., MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Macanese gambling tycoon Stanley Ho have all expressed interest in the project, all keen to tap into Southeast Asia, a region with a combined population of more than 500 million people, almost twice that of the United States.

New back-office system for gaming industry goes to market

Multi-platform Technology Company, Zone4Play has announced that its new advanced Cross Platform Back Office solution, ZoneMAS has gone on the market. ZoneMAS has been already been deployed on the Winner channel, a new UK fixed odds service, soon to be launched on NTL and Telewest Broadband digital cable platforms. The new system enables the delivery of betting services on different interactive platforms (web, mobile and iTV) using one time registration process and a single account.

ZoneMAS supports, amongst other things, fixed odds games, lottery games, number games, bingo games and includes advanced marketing & advertising tools.

Idan Miller, SVP Marketing and sales of Zone4Play said: 'This new launch positions Zone4Play as the sole provider of an end-to-end cross platform interactive betting solution in the market. We are happy to provide an advanced back office, game engines and front end development abilities for any iTV system, mobile devices and web services. ZoneMAS presents a new and

fresh cross platform solution designed to meet the unique requirements of the service on each of the platforms.'

Online punters say London WON’T win the Olympic Bid

According to punters on international pool betting website AnyBets.com, London will be lucky to win the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

More than six months out from the decision date of 6 July 2005, Paris is the strongest contender on AnyBets.com with 58 percent of money placed in favour of the world’s most romantic city. London lags behind in second place with only 21 percent of the bets.

At least London won’t need to be too concerned about Moscow stealing the show, going by the results on the pool betting website. Moscow is the least likely to win the bid – just 2 percent of the money bet in the pool was from Moscow supporters.

According to an AnyBets.com spokesperson, it is not surprising that customers have been attracted to this particular pool, considering the constant hype about the bid in the relevant cities leading up to the decision.

“Our website accepts bets from people across the globe, so it will be interesting to see as we get closer to the decision how London fares in the eyes of the punters compared to the other bidding cities,” an AnyBets.com spokesperson said.

AnyBets.com will run a pool on practically any subject and topical issue and is proving increasingly popular with the public as a means of betting on the hot topics that aren’t often covered by the bookmakers.

Bengal Online Lottery wipe-out

The Bengali government voted this week to wipe out the online lottery business from Calcutta and the rest of Bengal. The crackdown on online lotteries could culminate in a clean-up.
In the last week over fifty per cent of the outlets in Calcutta have been closed down. Over 1,000 machines have been seized and one hundred people have been arrested in connection with the raids.

State finance minister Asim Dasgupta said about 85 per cent of illegal online lottery operations had been stopped. “The crackdown will continue till we have wiped out this menace,” he stressed.

The director of state lotteries lodged 112 complaints with the police on December 20 and 21 against agents, traders and others involved with 11 online lottery companies operating in the state. “None of the lotteries was abiding by the rules prescribed by the government,” Dasgupta stated.

The 11 companies under fire are Playwin, Smartwin, Lotto, Super Lotto, Smart Lotto, V1, Dhandhanadhan, Technost, Sunshine, Classic ON-line and Lotus.

Online Casino & Sportsbook announces holiday bonuses

With another holiday season upon us, Bodog.com is spreading some holiday joy with increased bonuses for new accounts and account reloads. Starting Thursday December 23, 2004 and running through to midnight on Thursday December 30, 2004, Bodog.com will up the ante on the bonuses players will receive.

“We have had another great year here at Bodog.com, and we know that without the players none of this success would be possible,” said Rob Gillespie, President of Bodog.com Sports Casino Poker. “With all the great NFL, NBA, and finally, hockey games on the schedule for the holiday weekend, a little free cash in your account can go a long way.”

For those signing up new accounts, a 20% bonus will be issued on their initial deposit. This accounts for all of the deposit methods Bodog.com offers. And for the already loyal Bodog.com players, a little holiday cheers with reload bonus of 20% on each and every deposit using Instant Check, NETeller, Credit Cards, and the brand new Bodog.com addition, Central Coin.

“This is a great offer for the holidays, considering how many great games are on the board this weekend, players should take advantage of these bonuses quickly,” said Gillespie. “Kobe and Shaq are going to be facing off for the first time since Shaq’s departure from LA, the Pistons and Pacers renew their rivalry, the Packers and Vikings on Friday afternoon, and a full slate of NFL action over the rest of the weekend, this is going to be the best holiday ever.”

Player scoops £150,000 at Online Casino

Christmas came early for one lucky casino player when he won over £150,000 at attheracescasino.com

Peter, from Middlesex, struck gold when a £5 side bet on Caribbean Stud Poker displayed a Royal Flush and won him a staggering £125,000. His main bet of £150 won him an additional £30,150 to take his total haul with a single bet to £155,150.

And, he was so surprised with his win that he immediately placed a £1,000 bet just to make sure it was true. To confirm his good fortune he even won that too. Peter said: 'I normally play Blackjack but it wasn’t going as well as normal for me so I switched to Caribbean Stud. How lucky was that?'

At The Races, which is best known for its live horse racing channel, declared that it was the largest ever recorded win on its Casino. A spokesman for attheracescasino.com said: 'We are delighted for Peter. He is one of our most loyal customers and it is great to see our players win large jackpot prizes like this.'

The win could not have come at a better time for Peter with Christmas just around the corner. He also turns 60 this month.

He said: 'I have a large family and we always spend Christmas together. I plan to make the family happy and share my good luck.'

Surely, with such a big windfall Peter will hold back a little bit of money to spoil himself? 'I just might buy myself a Mercedes CL 500,' he added.

Online Sportsbook picks NBA Christmas results

With just four days remaining before tip-off, Sportsbook.com fans are picking the Miami Heat to beat the LA Lakers and Shaq over Kobe in head-to-head competition.

'The Christmas day showdown is quickly becoming as popular at Sportsbook.com as the college bowl games,' said Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director, Sportsbook.com. 'I suspect it will be our most wagered on basketballgame between now and March Madness.'

In addition to the overall winner, props that have garnered the most attention to date on Sportsbook.com include:

Shaq O'Neal (Heat) Total MISSED Free Throws on Xmas Day, Kobe Bryant (Lakers) Total Points on Xmas Day and Shaq O'Neal (Heat) Total Points + Rebounds on Xmas Day.

Online Casino buys another trinket in publicity stunt

GoldenPalace.com has recently been on a bit of a publicity drive by buying useless trinkets for huge amounts of money and landing themselves in the press. This week the company did it again by buying a plate from a homeless man that had won the hearts of the American public.

The man, Jay Sherman recently became homeless. He claims to have a plate from the Titanic, which belonged to his great Aunt. He was trying to hawk it to buy a roof over his head. The online casino came to his rescue and has offered him $10,000 with another $10,000 if the sale gets enough publicity.

GoldenPalace recently also bought a haunted walking stick and a cheese sandwhich that looks a bit like the Mother Mary.

'It's a blessing,' Jay Sherman said in a casual news conference outside the downtown Dallas library. 'First I'm going to take care of the people who loaned me money. Then I'm going to work hard to get a job and make a living.'

The plate belonged to Jay's great-aunt, who was said to be a Titanic survivor. Although the manufacturer authenticated the plate as made for the famous ship, Jay could never prove his aunt Eva Freada Husted was aboard it.

Most Titanic trinkets reach in the region of $100,000, but this seems to be out of the casino’s budget, but Sherman said,'I can't look at a blessing and say I'm disappointed. You just don't know how it is to live under a bridge.”

Mystery Chef’s quarter of a million pound take away

A lucky chef will be able to afford to pay someone to cook for him this Christmas after winning almost a quarter of a million pounds from bookmakers William Hill with a £20 football bet.

The man in his early thirties placed his bet at a William Hill branch in Exeter and successfully predicted the outcome of FOURTEEN football matches played at the weekend, to serve up a tasty takeaway worth £233,090.20.

”This is one of the biggest football bets ever landed” said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe,”The man will be able to prepare caviar and lobster for his Christmas lunch and wash it down with the finest champagne. He tells us he will buy a house with his winnings.”

The man selected the following teams to win their games - Chelsea, Celtic, Cheltenham, Swansea, Walsall, Airdrie, Gillingham, Hull, Coventry, Derby, Port Vale, Stockport, Preston - and he went for Blackburn to draw with Everton.

Poker may settle National Hockey League dispute

The online poker site has sent registered letters to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow, inviting them to settle the longstanding labour dispute in a game of winner-take-all Texas Hold'em.

PokerRoom.com casino boss, Patrik Selin said, 'If they can't resolve this dispute through traditional negotiations and compromise, then the PokerRoom.com tournament offers them the best, and quickest, way to declare a winner and let the fans enjoy hockey again before it's too late. With no downloads required to play and the tournament hosted online, Mr. Bettman and Mr. Goodenow can easily take on the challenge from their respective offices in New York and Toronto.'

More than three months after the start of a labour dispute that derailed the start of the NHL season, the prospect of ice hockey becoming the first professional sport in North America to lose an entire season is edging closer to reality.

At the heart of the dispute between the league and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) lies the former’s insistence on the implementation of a salary cap for each team. The players’ union opposes any such system and when the collective- bargaining agreement expired in August, the league locked out the players in the absence of a new agreement.

The NHL and the players' association met last week in Toronto and the league made a counter-proposal to the players submission of last week. Both parties have rejected the other's proposal and no date has been set for future negotiations.

Royal Flush Yields Four of a Kind at Oasis Casino

Oasis Casino, has announced Joe G from New Jersey has hit a $32,000 Jackpot in the casino’s Double Joker Poker online poker game. Joe G’s winning hand came when he drew a Royal Flush in Oasis Casino’s most popular online poker game.

The $32,000 paid to the long-time Oasis client marks the fourth time since October that the online sportsbook and casino has paid out a bonus jackpot in excess of $20,000.

Oasis has paid out bonus jackpots totalling nearly $200,000 during the past two months, including a $77,000 Caribbean Stud Progressive Jackpot to James M. from California.

“We like to think that the total entertainment experience we provide our players is priceless,” said Oasis Casino’s Director of Corporate Communication, Randolph Shea, “but if you had to put a dollar amount on it, $200,000 is not a bad figure. Either way, there are going to be some nice Christmas presents under the tree this year for quite a few of our players.”

Online betting exchange offers cash incentive

Betfair is offering customers the chance to earn over £8,000 for every new customer they introduce to the site.

The new ‘Refer and Earn’ scheme is open to all Betfair customers who have placed bets of more than £100. It offers substantial rewards every time they introduce a new customer to Betfair. For each new customer who spends £100 that they introduce, the original customer will receive £20 followed by additional quarterly bonuses for up to one year.

Customers simply pass on a unique referral code to friends or colleagues and then sit back and watch the payments pour in. Referred customers also receive an initial £20 free bet and the opportunity to be a part of the bonus structure.

Betfair’s Director of Acquisition, Paul Witten said, “The new Refer and Earn scheme is by far the most generous and lucrative referral scheme we have offered. We're aiming to draw sharp minded punters to our site while also rewarding those customers who have remained loyal to Betfair.”

Online poker company offers baseball funding

A deal to bring Major league Baseball to Washington has potentially been saved by a generous offer from an online poker site.

Empire poker has offered up to $50 million to prevent the potentially new team, the Washington Nationals, from non- existence. The company would finance the team's move from Montreal to a new District stadium.

Ron Burke, the company's top marketing executive said, 'If you turn on the TV, you'll see poker being played more and more. It's become a lot more mainstream. It's like the national pastime.' He adds, 'The exposure [of the stadium name] would be good for us, and the city would have baseball.'

Empire has yet to hear back from baseball or city officials.

Interactive TV launches first online service

Yoomedia, a British interactive entertainment company, announced the launch of FancyaFlutter.co.uk. this Thursday.

The website is Yoomedia's first step into onlinegaming, and is an important step in the company's goal to establish its gaming brands across all the major interactive media including Digital TV, the web and mobile phones.

The launch of the online version of FancyaFlutter has allowed Yoomedia to develop better quality, more sophisticated games than are possible over digital interactive television. New animation on the website improves the visuals for gamers and a winners area shows the latest lucky winners. Punters can now play a greater selection of games including a range of Keno games, roulette, Bingo and scratch card game; Dino Scratch.

David Docherty, Yoomedia's Director said, 'The launch

of FancyaFlutter.co.uk consolidates Yoomedia's position at the forefront of interactive gaming in the UK. Yoomedia now have a strong presence on all the main interactive platforms, including television, mobile and now online.

FancyaFlutter has developed into a strong, popular brand on Sky, and due to the high quality of the games we have developed, and the simple way in which you can play for as little as 10 pence, we expect FancyaFlutter.co.uk to attract large numbers of players in the online world'.

The move also compliments Yoomedia's recent merger

with DITG (Digital Interactive Television Group), whose gaming assets include the Avago and William Hill channels on Sky. All of Yoomedia's gaming brands operate in the 'soft', fixed odds gaming market, a sector that has seen massive growth in the last 12 months, particularly among women.

New Missouri Online Lottery Contract

GTECH corporation announced that it has been chosen by the State of Missouri to provide a new online lottery system which is expected to start on July 1, 2005.

The Missouri Lottery has the option to renew the contract for up to eight years beyond the expiration date of June 30, 2012. With respect to its proposed contract with the Missouri Lottery, GTECH expects to generate approximately $85 million over the seven-year term.

'We've had a successful partnership with the Missouri Lottery since 1991, and we are grateful for the opportunity to build on this relationship over the next seven years,' said GTECH President and CEO W. Bruce Turner. 'We believe the Lottery's decisions throughout the procurement process have been focused on the importance and value of providing the highest quality products and services available. Today's announcement verifies that belief.'

GTECH will provide ongoing services to the Missouri Lottery including installation and maintenance of the central system, terminals, and communications network; software maintenance; retailer training; marketing support; hotline management; and field service.

The Missouri Lottery has been a valued GTECH customer since 1991. Since its fiscal year 2000, the Missouri Lottery's total sales have increased year- over-year from $507 million in fiscal 2000 to $791 million in fiscal 2004. Lottery profits in Missouri are earmarked for education.

Fan places 20 grand on Cricket match

A William Hill client from Surrey has staked £10,000 on South Africa at 2/1 to beat England in the opening game of their Test Series, and a further £10,000 on S. Africa to win the Series at odds of 13/10.

If both parts of the bet are successful he will make a profit of £33,000.

Hill has cut S. Africa from 2/1 to 7/4 to win the opening match, with England also quoted at 7/4 and the draw a 31/20 chance, while S. Africa are now 6/5 joint favourites with England at the same odds for the Series, with a drawn series offered at 15/4.

England are 66/1 to win the Series 5-0 and S Africa are also currently quoted at 66/1 to do likewise.

Hill makes Michael Vaughan 10/3 favourite to be England's top scoring batsman of the Series and also offer 7/2 Trescothick; 5/1 Flintoff; Strauss; Thorpe; 13/2 Butcher; 8/1 Key; 33 Jones, Read; 50 Collingwood;

100 Giles.

Lotteries find new ways to profit

A survey of gambling companies has found future profits may be better found outside traditional areas.

Currently, interests outside the core gambling business can account for up to 40 percent of some lotteries profit totals, and this figure is expected to rise.

Of the 100 companies surveyed, two-thirds consider expansion beyond their basic business plans a growth area, into sectors such as offering gambling product services and technology provision.

The findings also show a move to private ownership of state-run lotteries. Survey author Martin Oelbermann said: “85 percent of the state operators surveyed expect that the number of privatized state-licensed lotteries will increase in the next 3-5 years”.

Bingo supplier announces new figures

A leading supplier of bingo equipment has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share of common stock for the quarter ending 31 October.

GameTech, which supplies electronic bingo equipment, including hand-held terminals and management software, hope the new figures will herald a substantial growth period.

Chief executive John Furman said: 'We believe we are well positioned to increase our market share through various means. In order to meet our goals, we feel it is important to reserve our cash to fund our growth initiatives. We believe our shareholders will be better served in the long run as a result of this decision.'

Bingo operators are supported by GameTech products that typically increase play, revenues and profits, and with software that is customized to enhance management and operations, all backed by unparalleled customer service and support.

New Online Basketball scratch card for Eastern Europe

European Game & Entertainment Technology, a Finnish supplier of digital gaming solutions, has successfully delivered the first Estonian internet scratch card game to Spordiennustus, an online gaming subsidiary of the Estonian Olympic Committee.

The scratch card has a basketball theme and it follows the standard scratch card model with 2 games, doubling the chance to win. Players can also play for ‘double-or-nothing’. The winnings can be up to 100,000 EEK, depending on the price of the purchased ticket.

'Our wish is to offer for our customers new and interesting interactive gaming possibilities. The profit which comes from the games goes to supporting Estonian sports”, says Sven Kolga, Chairman of the Spordiennustus Board.

Spordiennustus has only recently launched its anew look website and as a result its turnover has more than doubled in the last six months.

'This shows how a successful online gaming solution can be diversified, bringing in new revenue streams,' commented Lauri Gorski, CEO of EGET, 'Sports betting and Instant Games are complementary, encouraging players to spend more time on the site and strengthening their relationship with the gaming operator.'

The delivery of the scratch card is just the first phase. The cooperation with EGET will continue, with other releases of instant games to follow next year. These will include games such as Keno, which will be available at the beginning of next year.

Suzanne Shaw’s Christmas Baby, a Mother Punter’s Delight!

Punters on international pool betting website AnyBets.com, hope that ex-Hear’Say’s Suzanne Shaw will have a Christmas baby, and they are putting their money on it!

More than half of the bettors predict the pregnancy will run to schedule, and that the little bundle of joy will come into the world on December 25. Considering the problems Suzanne’s had in the last month with the pregnancy and the baby’s father, Darren Day, a Christmas baby would be the perfect gift for the former popstar.

30% think that the baby will arrive late, and 15% bet that Suzanne will go into labour early and deliver on Christmas Eve.

According to an AnyBets.com spokesperson the pool has only just begun and already people are flocking to the website to place their bet.

“Given the grief poor Suzanne has had during her pregnancy, it’s great to see the public get behind her and hope for a Christmas baby. Everyone seems to be cheering for her and it’s such a great testimony to the public that they’re putting their hope in the magic of Christmas. The odds for Suzanne to have her baby on Christmas Day are very good at the moment, but it will be up to nature in the end to decide if the Christmas wishes for the majority of punters are fulfilled.”

AnyBets.com will run a pool on practically any subject or topical issue imaginable, and is proving increasingly popular with the public as a means of betting on the hot topics that aren’t offered by traditional bookmakers.

UK gets first interactive fixed odds channels

The interactive TV and mobile services specialist, Two Way TV and interactive gaming solutions specialist Zone4Play are set to launch two fixed odds interactive TV services across the UK on the NTL and Telewest Broadband digital cable platforms in the New Year under a partnership between the two companies.

The Winner Channel will provide a range of fixed odds games,

including Slots, Hi-lo, Keno and Dice and will also feature a launch jackpot of GBP500,000. The Roulette Channel will include a range of roulette-style games. The channels will provide digital cable viewers with their first opportunity to take part in many popular instant win, fixed odds games.

The commercial director of Two Way TV, Guy Templer, said: 'We have been running fantasy casino-style games for the last year and these have proved remarkably popular, so creating real betting services is a natural extension for us. Digital cable TV is virgin territory for these types of service and we believe that there is significant unmet demand'.

David Thatcher, Director of Television at ntl commented: 'Two Way TV was the first partner to launch premium interactive services on our platform and these have been amongst our most popular services to date. We're delighted to offer our customers more choice of interactive services at the start of a year which will see regular enhancements to our overall digital TV service.'

Frenzy for Official WPT Merchandise Reaches Mania Status

Every Christmas, there is one thing that everyone wants, and this year it is the World Poker Tour Merchandise that shoppers are going mad for.

Internet search engine Lycos lists poker items as its No. 1 researched topic on its annual list of 'Top 10 Most-Researched Toys of 2004,' upending video games from 2003. In issuing the list, Lycos cited, 'The popularity of poker gifts has been fuelled by the global phenomenon of the World Poker Tour, which continues to average a 'millionaire a month' in its 16-tournament season.'

Scott Kling, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for U.S. Playing Card Company which makes the merchandise said 'The minute the stores put it out, it's gone.'

The 'Official World Poker Tour(TM)' (WPT) Poker Set

in a handmade wood case with a suggested retail price of $199.99. It features 400 11.5-gram heavyweight, professional quality clay-filled poker chips (125 blue, 100 red and 75 black). The 11.5-gram chip, known as the 'true' poker player's chip, is similar to those used by the top casinos on the WPT tour. An exclusive WPT spade design and casino stripes are moulded into the chip using two colours. USPC WPT chips are easier to shuffle and manipulate than other poker chips in the market because they have specially designed rounded edges and a rough clay surface. Two colourful decks of casino quality WPT cards are included, along with Texas Hold 'Em instructions.

In a Honolulu Advertiser article, Hawaii Costco store manager Robert Loomis said of the poker sets with heavy clay chips, 'If we could have the quantities, it would easily be our No. 1-selling non-food item in the store. No one expected them to be selling the way they are.'

The frenzy shows that poker is fast becoming the most popular gamble you can make.

Christmas Discount for Mobile Gaming Summit

MforMobile have just announced a special Christmas discounted rate to the Mobile Gaming Summit ‘O5. Booking before Christmas day will knock £200 off the ticket price to attend.

The event takes place in London from January 27 - 28 and gives the latest hard-hitting case studies and interactive sessions with mobile gambling industry leaders such as Vodafone, O2, Orange, William Hill, Betfair, Betdaq, Nokia, Sony Ericsson. The latest business issues will be discussed and analysis will be given from a handful of the leading brands in the business.

Michael Setters, director of MforMobile said, “ The Mobile Gambling Summit '05 has been designed for the industry by the industry after months of research with your peers.” He added, “There will be case studies, exhibitions, interactive debate, networking opportunities; all with one clear aim to build and operate a Mobile Gambling business that will deliver real profits.

Online casino makes staple buy

Online casino GoldenPalace.com has purchased staplers autographed by stars from auction site ebay.

Paris Hilton, Bill Gates, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Donald Trump, and NFL Quarterback Tom Brady were amongst the celebrities who contributed to the 'Staplers of the Stars' online charity auction created by Staples.

The online casino has been making headlines recently with a surprising set of purchases from ebay. Amongst the motley collection is a half-eaten toasted cheese sandwich said to bear a likeness of the Virgin Mary, and a walking cane complete with ghost for an unbelievable $65,000.

The question is what is next on the casino’s shopping list?

Snooker player pots poker prize

Snooker champion Matthew Stevens has successfully conquered the poker game after winning half a million dollars at the final of 888.com’s Pacific Poker open.

The sports star beat tennis legend Yevgeny Kafelnikov and darts champion Phil Taylor in the final even though he only started playing the popular card game 18 months ago.

The 27 year old has used some of his winnings to jet off to New York for a pre-Christmas holiday.

He said, 'This is absolutely unbelievable and I am in a complete daze.

To get to the final Stevens had to beat poker professionals and online qualifiers that made up a field of 108 hopefuls.

World darts champion Taylor finished second and Kafelnikov, who has announced his retirement from tennis to concentrate on professional poker, came third.

Online World Poker Satellites are announced

From Albuquerque, NM to Verona, NY casinos and international online poker rooms are getting in on the action by providing poker enthusiasts a low-cost way to potentially play their way into the prestigious $25,500-seat World Poker finale. It is anticipated to draw more than 1000 players and a whopping estimated prize pool of $25 million.

The international online poker rooms include PartyPoker.com, UltimateBet.com, PokerStars.com, bodog.com, TigerGaming.com, and PokerChamps.com. Currently, the online casinos start their satellite buy-ins anywhere from $5 to $50.

“Poker is the ultimate democratic sport; anyone can rise to the occasion,” said Steve Lipscomb, founder and president. “We are pleased to bring the opportunity to win a seat in our World Poker Championships to so many properties across the country, enabling thousands more players to get a shot at our record prize money. We tip our cap to the satellite affiliates and thank them for helping us grow this grassroots entry system.”

In April 2004, Martin de Knijff of Stockholm, Sweden, prevailed over 342 players, to take home a first-place $2,728,356-cut of the $8,342,000 pie. However, he sat at a Final Table with three relative unknowns, including two college students who collectively took home $1,164,311, once again proving everyone has a serious shot at the WPT World Championship prize pool.

Should a player win one of the coveted satellite spots at a regional or online casino, he or she will receive from the hosting poker room the $25,000 + $500 buy-in, round-trip airfare and accommodations at the Bellagio.

The World Poker Tour, the show that reinvented poker as a televised spectator sport, will broadcast 16 new tournaments filmed at leading casinos and exotic locales from Las Vegas to Paris, beginning with the launch of its Third Season in March 2005.

Overloaded and Terraplay Join Forces for Mobile Gaming

Wireless technology company Terraplay Systems has signed an agreement with Endemol owned company Overloaded, to provide a real-time, multi-player wireless gaming platform. Overloaded is a publisher and distributor of games for mobile handsets using Java, Brew, I-mode and Symbian technology, through major network operators, primarily in Holland, Belgium and Greece, and to a lesser extent, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany. The service is due to be launched January 2005.

'Overloaded has been evaluating multi-player platforms for some time now and we found that Terraplay's powerful and flexible platform gives us the ability to offer multi-player gaming solutions efficiently and effectively over 2.5G and 3G networks today and tomorrow' said Ashu Mathura, Overloaded Managing Director. 'We are the first to roll-out real-time multiplayer mobile games big time to end consumers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece and we are sure that they will become a vital extension to our existing game services to end consumers and operators in these regions'.

“We are very excited about this agreement. With this initiative, users will not only have access to true real-time multi-player mobile games from this market leading gaming service, but also to top Endemol TV branded multi-player titles. We are sure that this will be well received by all operators and users connected to the Overloaded billing and delivery platform. It's also excellent news to all our game developers that are developing on the Terraplay platform, as it opens up still more channels to market and increases the presence of the Terraplay technology with key global partners' added Jeremy Lewis, CEO, Terraplay Systems.

Aussie Racing loses its bid to block Betfair

The Australian government has refused to grant the racing industry’s wish of a Betfair ban, as this week Communications minister Helen Coonan confirmed the Government would not stand in the way of Betfair’s quest to get state licenses.

The imminent signing of a wagering contract with one of the state or territory governments will set in train Betfair's 50-50 joint venture with Kerry Packer, a deal which is said to be worth a cool A$30 million.

They have received a positive response from all but two jurisdictions - South Australia and Western Australia.

Two of the company's key executives, Mark Davies and Ed Wray, moved to Sydney earlier this year from Betfair’s British bases in a bid to lobby for a licence. They have reportedly had a positive response from most of Australia. The first state or territory to license Betfair is likely to see the others follow suit.

Employment prospects is one of the reasons states are keen to get Betfair a licence.

Racing coverage in doubt

The future of televised horse racing has been thrown into doubt after British network Channel 4 threatened to pull the plug on its coverage at the end of next year.

The loss-making broadcasts may be pulled unless the sport helps to fund the television rights and production costs.

'Sadly, racing hardly attracts the younger viewer,” said Channel 4’s head of sport David Kerr. “Therefore it is not particularly attractive to advertisers.”

Another spokesman for the channel added: 'When a race is on terrestrial TV, betting goes up 250%. The people who really benefit from terrestrial coverage are the bookmakers. So why should we be making a loss on this to fund other people's profits?'

The channel began showing racing at weekends in October the following year, when ITV's Saturday afternoon show, World of Sport, dropped its ITV Seven horse racing coverage.

Since ITV dropped its Seven horse racing coverage, Channel 4 has become synonymous with the sport, having access to some of the biggest courses including Cheltenham, Newmarket, Epsom and Goodwood.

Channel 4 will be renegotiating the rights and contracts for horse racing, which run to the end of 2005, over the next three months.

Payment security strengthened in new launch

First Atlantic has announced the launch of ecommerce payment solutions in Europe, leveraging the banking environment of Cyprus.

The launch was proceeded by the successful certification of First Atlanic's CISP Compliant cGateRSecureVerify with Visa Europe and the company's 3-D SecureT Payer Authentication service for Verified by Visa and MasterCardR SecureCodeT.

Based on the Card Associations' 3-D SecureT technology, cGateRSecureVerify provides eCommerce merchants with protection from fraudulent transactions, chargebacks and unauthorized payments made online.

The new solution, which is available to all companies either existing in Europe or looking to expand in the region, has direct clearing services for US Dollars, EUROs, Pounds Sterling, Cyprus Pounds and Swiss francs.

CEO of First Atlantic Commerce, Andrea Wilson said, 'FAC is well positioned to provide meaningful multi-currency processing to clients in the region with the added benefits of Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode at reasonable prices,' says Andrea.

$337,273 Winning Week at InterCasino.com

InterCasino (www.InterCasino.com) winners racked up their Christmas bonuses this week scoring big on the site’s many games and progressive jackpots. Five lucky players, wagering only $3,440 in total, took home a cumulative impressive $337,273 on four of InterCasino’s most popular games.

Players ‘Klazzus’ and ‘Sweepea’ won $14,869 and $50,658 respectively playing Let it Ride Poker. Placing the bonus bet gives Let it Ride players a chance to scoop an additional $30,000 bonus when they hit a Royal Flush; although even without playing the bonus bet, the Royal Flush pays a princely 1000 to 1!

Next up was player ‘Kimmc’, who hit the jackpot on the Triple Olives Progressive Slot and took $18,023 back home to Australia. Once Kimmc converts her cash back into Australian dollars, she’ll be sitting on $23,891 – enough to ensure that her family will have a very merry Christmas.

‘Danskin’ will also be toasting a glass of champagne to InterCasino this holiday season, after nailing $22,708 playing the 9-line slot machine Cool Bananas. A player since 2003, it looks like ‘Danskin’ has cracked Cool Bananas’ winning formula.

But the player to envy the most during this spectacular winning week is unquestionably ‘LLCoolV’, Not just for his cool username, but for the $231,015 Rags to Riches MEGA-Jackpot that he won after only wagering $33. That’s a 7000 times return on investment, and enough to buy everyone on his Christmas list a new car, and still have plenty of change for the champagne on New Year’s Eve!

‘LLCoolV’ has been a player at InterCasino.com for just under one year, and has taken to Rags to Riches like a fish to water. But then again, why wouldn’t he? Rags to Riches progressive MEGA-Jackpots start at $100,000 and frequently pay out well over $200,000, as ‘LLCoolV’ can happily confirm!

“We always expect more winners at this time of year, as it’s a busy time, but 5 major progressive winners in a week is something special- I guess the spirit of the holidays has gotten into our machines! This Christmas we have also designed a special Advent Calendar, as a thank you to all our players, new and old. We are offering a different promotion every day until Christmas, so why not visit our site and see what promotion awaits you today!” said a festive Ryan Hartley.

VIP package created by Vegas giants

Two of Vegas' top sports and entertainment marketing companies have joined forces to accommodate the growing need for preferred golf tee time reservations and preferred VIP access to area nightclubs. They can be found at a booth located in baggage claim at Las Vegas, McCarran International Airport.

The joined forces of Vegas-Passport and Las Vegas Preferred Tee times offers a complimentary Vegas experience in the golfing and clubbing arenas hosted by model and Vegas home-girl Monica White. The International MAXIM Magazine model/'Hometown-Hottie' finalist, has just signed a one-year contract to manage the Vegas-Passport brand. Ms. White will be on hand to assist with golf reservations and Vegas-Passport details.

By combining the efforts of these two companies, the 3.6 million monthly visitors passing through McCarran Airport will have the opportunity to make golf tee times and nightclub table reservations or purchase a Vegas-Passport giving them VIP access to a number of Vegas' hottest nightlife destinations.

'It's all about providing access and accommodating the patron,' says Cree Crawford, Managing Partner of Vegas-Passport. 'Today's visitor may not be a high roller, but wants to experience the same access and quality customer care afforded to the big player. We like to think we make everyone feel like a VIP, and in our eyes ... they are!'

World's Number 1 Ranked Bull Rider Rides for Sportsbook.com

Sportsbook.com has announced a sponsorship deal with the world's number one ranked bull rider, Dustin Elliott.

Elliott is currently competing in the National Rodeo Finals which are taking place at the Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, Dec. 3rd-12th, 2004.

Dustin Elliott has successfully defended his world number one position since July 2004. This month's National Rodeo Finals marks the final stage of Elliott's most successful year of riding to date.

He said, 'I've had a year of firsts, and partnering with Sportsbook.com, a leader in its field just makes sense. Sportsbook.com can bring a greater audience and more excitement to our sport.'

With over 50,000 rodeo fans and $5 million in prize money, the NFR is considered the world series of rodeo, drawing sell-out crowds since the 1970s.

'From mixed martial arts to bull riding, Sportsbook.com is teaming up with the top athletes in the most exciting events ever televised,' said Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director, Sportingbet Plc Americas Region. 'Millions are watching the NFR on ESPN, and it seemed like a natural fit that the world's top ranked online gaming destination should partner with the world's number one ranked bull rider; Dustin Elliott.'

Hendon Mob teach the masses how to play poker

World renowned poker pros, The Hendon Mob, are hosting a 4 disc DVD series that teaches the secrets to winning the big hands playing Texas Hold’em.

The Hendon Mob teach enthusiasts everything they need to know to graduate from novice to expert tournament player in the simple, step-by-step videos,

The DVD includes strategies, secrets and tips as they take the viewer through Beginner, Advanced and Tournament level instruction.

“We’re thrilled to have created the most complete poker instructional video series on the market. Millions of people are very excited about poker, now they have the tools to go out there and play with confidence. Poker is a game of skill and the Win Big Playing Poker series enables players to get proficient very quickly,” said Sherman Sall, co-founder of Planet Easy and the director of the series.

Win Big Playing Poker is comprised of three fully detailed learning videos, available for purchase individually, plus a fourth bonus disc for those who purchase the complete set of videos. With a total running time of more than 170 minutes, these step by step videos have been carefully crafted so that both the novice and advanced player will benefit from the contents.

New Licensees launched on PokerNetwork

PokerNetwork, the poker software licensing company has recently signed a further three more licensees – Net Entertainment, Hollywood Poker and Futurebet.

Net Entertainment is a leading provider of non-download Internet Casino Software. Hollywood Poker is an American celebrity poker site fronted by the movie star James Woods who is a prominent player in the poker community and finally, Futurebet is a Canadian software company that will license PokerNetwork’s software to their licensees in a third party agreement.

Patrik Selin, CEO of PokerNetwork comments: “These three new licensees join the six others we have recently signed to PokerNetwork, proving that the quality of software we offer is so high that our competitors can’t match us. We are on track to achieve our aim of becoming one of the largest poker software licensing companies in the online gaming market.”

The PokerNetwork community already has an established base of more than 3,000,000 players worldwide. PokerNetwork is unique in that it offers Java based, no-download-required, poker software as well as downloadable clients for Windows. As the only product on the market to do so, this enables Mac and Linux users to play poker within the PokerNetwork community.

World's Sexiest Sportsbook Ships World's Sexiest Calendar

Players at the world's sexiest sportsbook - PlayersOnly.com - (www.playersonly.com) will be receiving an early Christmas gift from the online casino that's as famous for its galleries of beautiful women as its sportsbook, casino games and poker rooms.

'We know our players love to browse through the thousands of photos of girls at PlayersOnly.com,' says Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director for Sportingbet Plc Americas Region. 'We figured what they'd really want for Christmas is more girls - so that's what we're giving them.'

The exclusive 2005 PlayersOnly Calendar features nine provocatively dressed women over thirteen months, posing at the beach, on the court and on the playing field. 'We wanted to do more contact sports,' laughs PlayersOnly Brand Manager JR Romero. 'But we didn't think our players would like the wrestling shots as much as we did. We're considering doing an 'out-takes' edition for our VIP players.

'After an international search, we narrowed it down to about twenty girls,' says JR. 'We did photo sessions with each of them before choosing the nine women that ended up in the Calendar. It was a tough job really!'

The calendar is undoubtedly the sexiest sports calendar for 2005, befitting for the sexiest sportsbook online.

The free 2005 PlayersOnly Calendar is available only to PlayersOnly.com members. To qualify to receive it, players only need to wager $50 at PlayersOnly.com between September 1, 2004 and January 31, 2005. New players who want their copy for the New Year can get one by depositing $50 and making just $50 in wagers.

Isle of Man may lift US gambling restrictions

The gambling jurisdiction of Isle of Man, situated approximately half way between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea, has recently been under proper examination. Local gambling authorities have been discussing the opportunity to remove the restrictions on IOM-licensed casinos offering gaming to US players.

The Isle of Man may allow its licensed internet gambling operations to accept wagers from the American market. The restriction concerning US gambling activity was implemented in order to favour the US large gambling companies MGM Mirage and Kerzner International, which have since closed their IOM online operations.

However, according to the Online Gambling Regulations Act 2001 of Isle of Man, licence holders of Isle of Man are free to determine the appropriateness of accepting bets from any jurisdiction, including the US.

So far, the Department of Trade and Industry has submitted a report to the Council of Ministers which investigates the potential opportunities and risks regarding possible shift in the gambling policy.

The Department of Trade and Industry had consulted with interested parties, locally and internationally. According to different resources, the government hails the initiative and is about to rule in favour of allowing individual companies to decide for themselves whether or not to accept US bets.

New gambling policy is expected by different experts to give a substantial boost for the island’s e-gambling business.

Techno tricks used to ring roulette winnings in Casino

Three gamblers who used a James Bond-style laser device to win more than £1.3 million at the Ritz in March did nothing illegal.

The Hungarian woman and two Serbian men are to be allowed to keep their £1.3 million winnings.
They smuggled in a laser scanner in a cellphone that was linked to a micro-computer. The scanner measured the speed of the ball as it was released, identified where it fell and measured the declining orbit of the wheel.

The data was beamed to the computer, which calculated on which section of numbers the ball would land and flashed this to the cellphone just before bets closed at the wheel's third spin.

Casino managers became suspicious after the trio won £1.3 million over two days in March. On the first night they won £100,000. They returned the next night to win a further £1.2 million, which they quickly cashed. After declining offers of free caviar and champagne, they departed soon afterwards.

Suspicious security experts examined CCTV footage and officers from Scotland Yard's gaming squad later arrested the three at a nearby hotel and impounded the cash and mobile phones.

Legal sources say there were no grounds to prosecute because their scanners only provided information and did not manipulate the equipment.

Betfair Wins Company Of The Year Award

Betfair, the world’s leading betting exchange, was crowned the KPMG Company of the Year at the annual CBI/Real Business Growing Business Awards in London last week.

The Awards ceremony was attended by Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who addressed an audience of more than 600 of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs.

He was joined in his praise of the Award winners by Digby Jones, Director-General of the CBI, who said, “Innovative companies are the backbone of the British industry. This award champions their success and I’m sure will help pave the way for even greater achievements.”

Andrew Black, founder of Betfair, added, “We are absolutely delighted to have received this prestigious Award. It is a great honour to be recognized in this way, particularly in front of some of Britain’s leading businessmen. It is a fantastic endorsement of both our product and our business.”

Betfair has single-handedly revolutionised the global betting industry. Launched just over four years ago, it is already one of the UK’s most successful internet-based businesses, and has visions of becoming the world’s leading betting organisations.

Before the Awards ceremony, the company had already been widely acclaimed for its success, winning the Ernst and Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2003.

Betfair’s contribution to British innovation was further recognised last week when it won two awards, the Most Innovative Betting and Gaming Concept and the overall Most Innovative Leisure Concept, at the Leopards: Leisure Operator Awards.

Matching-fixing in UEFA Cup tie?

Some of the British bookmakers are convinced a betting coup took place surrounding UEFA Cup match between Greek side Panionios and Georgia's Dinamo Tbilisi.

The extraordinary betting patterns related to the match, which Panionios trailing 1-0 at halftime went on to win 5-2, caused several bookmakers to suspend betting.

“I have no doubt that this was a betting coup,” said Graham Sharpe at William Hill. “But whether it was a betting coup based on a fixed result is another matter. You often see unusual betting patterns that you can subsequently put down to a bandwagon effect.”

The explosion of online gambling in recent years helps explain why British bookmakers were taking bets on a UEFA Cup Group D match, which were played by two unglamorous clubs in front of 2,500 fans in Athens.

“This was a worldwide coup,” said Caspar Hill at Betfair, an online company that acts as broker for gamblers around the world to bet against each other.

The odds offered on Betfair for Dinamo Tbilisi leading at halftime and going on to lose went from a relatively normal 36-1 down to 5-1 before kick-off, while the odds on Panionios winning came in from 4-7 to 1-4.

The outcome of the odds indicate heavy betting on those outcomes, although Hill said that in Betfair's case that might not have been just normal gamblers.

“To have so many people calling up asking about a 5-2 result is very unusual to say the least,” Hill added.

Dinamo Tbilisi and Panionios have both discarded match-fixing allegations.

UEFA officials said they were gathering information but had not yet launched an official investigation.

Online bookie takes wagers on the head of the dolphins

After Miami Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt resigned on Tuesday, wagerweb.com is taking bets on who will be the head coach when the season opens in 2005. The Dolphins came off a loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago to drop their record to an embarrassing 1-8, and on Tuesday the head coach resigned.

Wagerweb.com CEO Dave Johnson said, 'Wannstedt was put in a very tough situation when Ricky Williams surprised everybody and retired, but in today's NFL you have to win no matter what problems your team faces, and if you don't, you most likely will lose your job.”

He continued, “We have already taken a large number of wagers on former Head Coach Don Shula. The assumption is people may be thinking of the Joe Gibbs hiring by the Redskins last season.'

Odds on The Louisville head coach, Bobby Petrino and LSU head coach, Nick Saban are both at 3:1. Dan Marino, the former Dolphins quarterback has been given odds at 200:1.

Office Pools Go High Tech

Office pools are always popular this time of year. Not only do they offer a good rate of return on your stake, they liven up office life, encourage a bit of good-natured debate and competition between co-workers and build up a good team spirit in the office. To get everyone involved in pools has become a way to bet on events not covered by sportsbooks, and they are often tailor-made to reflect hot topics of office banter.

The problem is that, while they are great fun, they can also be time-consuming for the pool organisers who may have a mounting in-box and a fuming boss to deal with. Step in AnyBets.com, online pool betting specialists. They’ll help you organise an office pool within minutes on any event you want. Once an account has been created, anyone in the company can log on and join in. It’s simple, private and a real hit with the pool organiser.

Whether you and your colleagues want to speculate on who in your office will get promoted first, the winner of your favorite reality TV show, Miss World or some hot topic in the news, such as whether Sharon Osborne will recover her stolen jewels, then AnyBets.com will set up a private office pool just for your company. Of course, sports pools are still the most popular, but people will bet on the strangest things.

A spokesperson for the company says: “There’s a real culture of pool betting in offices. It’s fun, topical and gives you much better odds than anywhere else. Playing against your friends is much better than playing against a sportsbook, and even if you lose, your victorious colleague will probably buy you a drink after work.”

InterCasino.com Honored for Top Slots and Fastest Payouts

Online casino InterCasino.com has been honored by two of the largest gaming magazines in North America. Strictly Slots, a magazine dedicated to slot enthusiasts, named InterCasino.com the ‘Best Online Casino for Slots’; and Casino Player Magazine awarded InterCasino.com ‘Fastest Payouts for an Online Casino’.

Strictly Slots is the authority on slot machine play, and the most widely read Slot magazine in the world. It has over 130,000 readers, and its narrow focus on slot and video poker play means that their ‘Best Online Casino for Slots’ award is their highest honor bestowed on an online casino.

'InterCasino has invested heavily in Slots over the last few years, which has clearly paid off,' says Casino Player and Strictly Slots Editor-In-Chief Adam Fine. 'They have over thirty of the best Slots online as well as some amazing progressive jackpots. On top of this their introduction of Fruit Machines has set the Slots market a buzz so they truly deserve the Best Online Casino for Slots Award.'

'At Casino Player and Strictly Slots magazines, we make it our goal to sort through the multitudes of online casino sites and reveal only those sites with the finest reputations, best games, and excellent customer service. For this reason, we are especially pleased to recognize InterCasino as one of the finest online casinos on the web”.

InterCasino.com’s ‘Fastest Payouts for an Online Casino’ award from Casino Player Magazine puts InterCasino at the head of a very long list of more than 1,000 competing online casinos.

“We want our customers to have access to their money in a moment’s notice, which is a standard we want to set in the industry. We do whatever it takes to remind our customers that InterCasino.com is about service, and the best way to say that is by paying our winners as soon as possible,” said InterCasino’s famous Casino Manager Ryan Hartley.

InterCasino.com is also the recipient of Gambling Online Magazine’s 2004 “Top Casino” award, the magazine’s highest honor. Additionally InterCasino.com was inducted into the Gambling Online Magazine Hall of Fame, the first online casino ever to receive such distinction.

2004 has been a winning year for InterCasino and for its players. These awards not only distinguish InterCasino.com from its competitors, but attest that InterCasino is the finest example of gambling in cyberspace.

New software to curb spam

Leading European internet portal Lycos has made new software available for the first time in attempt to hit back at websites that distribute spam.

Among those affected by the nuisance mail are internet betting sites, often a target for the spammers who hope to clog up corporate or commercial domains.

The software works by sending traffic to websites known to distribute unsolicited e-mail – thus slowing them down and making it difficult for them to operate.

Spam costs the world an estimated £14.8bn a year in lost productivity and extra security measures, while the UK Office of Fair Trading claims spam accounts for more than 60 percent of all e-mails sent.

Poker handheld to be launched

A handheld poker game is to be launched this week, cashing in on the gambling game’s growing trend.

No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em has been created by Saitek Industries, allowing users to experience the popular poker version through a portable device.

A favourite with veterans and beginners, Texas hold ‘em offers the perfect balance of chance and strategy that was considered perfect for the new game.

'We have been closely watching the poker craze and especially the popularity of Texas hold 'em,' said Saitek executive Bill McMahon. Mr. McMahon also drew attention to the unit’s unique features, including a poker table-shaped screen and a variety of realistic sound effects.

Retailing at $50, the game will be released in the new year.

Sports Columnist opens Betfair’s second office

Brough Scott officially opened the second Betfair office in the presence of David Royall, Mayor of Stevenage, and members of staff, including Betfair founders Edward Wray and Andrew Black and chief executive Stephen Hill.

The opening of this second centre reflects the growth of Betfair, the world’s leading betting exchange. The company, which was set-up in June 2000, now employs over 400 staff.

Betfair operates a 24/7 telephone betting and helpdesk service. The call centre in Stevenage will operate in conjunction with the centre in Hammersmith, with calls being directed to whichever agent is free.

Betfair’s Director of Customer Relations, Julie Cooper, said, “Betfair is a British success story and will keep creating jobs in Britain. There was absolutely no question of transferring the call centre overseas, and we are pleased that Stevenage can benefit.”

Bookmakers worry over Chelsea ‘Armageddon’

Bookmakers will face paying out massive sums if Chelsea continue their excellent start to the season and win every competition they have entered.

José Mourinho’s team edged out Fulham last night in the Carling league cup, securing a place in the semi-finals. Bookmakers make them 5/4 favouries to lift the first trophy of the season.

The west London club also sit proudly at the top of the English Premiership, a competition they have not won since 1955, and qualified easily for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League, conceding only one goal in the process.

Chelsea are 33/1 to complete the amazing quadruple sweep, and bookies face a pay-out disaster - on the scale of Frankie Dettori’s seven-race win at Ascot in 1996 - if Chelsea achieve their target.

Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush said: 'It would be historic, and at 33/1 it's a big ask. But from our point of view it would be Armageddon if they manage to do it. It would be awful for us, terrible if they maintain their form.'

London Clubs bid for mega casino

London Clubs International highlighted its interest in the scramble to operate one of the UK's eight proposed mega casinos.

The group, which owns Les Ambassadeurs casino in Park Lane, London, said it had four or five potential partners ready to take advantage of gambling deregulation.

The government is set to announce further details about the eight Las Vegas-style casinos next. London Clubs already has a casino in Southend in Essex which is seen as one of the possible sites.

Barry Hardy, chief executive, said: 'We have had a lot of approaches from a wide variety of people, not only gaming operations but also financial and property-related companies. We know how to run casinos and, should we decide to bid for one or more of the eight proposed regional resort casinos, it would make sense to bring in a partner who has the expertise and financial backing to help us develop the business.'

However, he stressed that the company would not get into a bidding war and he said second-tier casinos would be a more likely avenue for expansion.

London Clubs already has strong financial backing from Genting, the Malaysian group, which owns 15 per cent of its shares.