Issue N18, 2008
May 1, 2008
Gambling Companies Can Take Bets on Tennis, Rules Court
European online gambling companies marked a victory for themselves this week when a Belgian court ruled in their favor in a case brought against them by the French Tennis Federation. According to details of the case, the FTF asked the court to prohibit three popular European companies, BWin, Ladbrokes and Betfair, to take bets on tennis matches that were due to take place in France this year, namely the Paris Masters and the Roland Garros French Open. The Federation called for the companies to be compelled to pay 5000 Euros a day for breaching this ban.
However, the Belgian judge in Liege decided that there were no grounds for ordering the gambling operators to stop taking bets, despite the fact that the Federation blamed them for ‘staining’ the good reputation of tennis. The court was satisfied that European gambling companies as a whole have taken the necessary steps to ensure a regulated and transparent industry. Commenting on the ruling, the Secretary General of EGBA, Sigrid Ligne said: “EU-licensed bookmakers are professionals that have a high level of expertise, know-how and risk management skills. This has been clearly recognized by the Belgian judge looking at the fact-based evidence to dismiss all the claims in this case.”
Cantor Casino Launched This Week
A new online casino was introduced to the gambling industry this week, and one thing that players won’t need to worry about is money issues at this site! Cantor Casino is the first proprietary online casino launched by one of the world’s most impressive financial services company, Cantor Fitzgerald. The company, which has a gaming arm known as Cantor Gaming, is already active in the market through affiliations with other gambling companies, such as Entraction and Punch Taverns.
Manu Gambhir, Managing Director of Cantor Gaming, said: "As a company that has always been associated with innovation and has had a deep experience in operating mission-critical systems that can process tremendous volumes of transactions, stepping into online gaming is a logical step for Cantor. But it's not about being the biggest; it's about being the best. We're confident that our customers will find the new advanced betting games as well as our traditional casino games perfect for their needs and tastes."
New players will enjoy a wide range of unique games and services, including Cantor Financial Odds and next-day cash outs.
Danes Move Towards Online Gambling Legalization
The Danish Tax Minister said in a radio interview this week that his government is currently investigating ways to bring an end to a state monopoly on the online gambling industry. Kristian Jensen said that while it was presently illegal for foreign companies to compete in the market, his contemporaries were considering opening up the market so that others could participate equally with the state-owned Danske Spil.
Jensen has created a proposal whereby the gambling market would be regulated and all companies would require a license to operate. He foresaw that the income generated by these companies would benefit a multitude of social projects such as youth organizations, sports clubs and the arts.
The Danish government has recently moved towards a softer approach to opening up its online gambling market because of pressure from the European Commission. Last year, the Commission accused Denmark of going against European trade laws by blocking its market to foreign operators, and threatened the country with legal action through the Court of Justice. While Denmark claims that it would probably win any case brought against it, it also conceded that most Danish gamblers were already gambling through foreign sites and that it could at least benefit from the income if its markets were regulated and legalized.
Gambling Operators Star on the Sunday Times List of Richest Individuals
Gambling company founders and owners were represented at all levels on the annual Sunday Times list of the richest individuals in the United Kingdom it was shown this week. PartyGaming co-founders, Anurag Dikshit, Russel Deleon and his partner, Ruth Parasol appeared in the 94th and 97th spots. All three dropped significantly from higher spots on last year’s list, mainly due to the erosion of PartyGaming’s stocks in recent months. Their combined personal fortunes, however, were still valued at over £1-billion.
Also in the Top 100 was Michael Spencer (62nd place, up from 88th last year) whose shares in City Index and ICap pushed his personal wealth up to over £1.5-billion.
Also appearing on the list, below the Top 100 line, were the Done brothers, Fred and Peter, who own the high street betting shop chain, Betfred. Their 126th place on the list was due to their personal amassed fortune of £640 million, almost double the amount that was shown last year. Victor Chandler appeared 244th on the list, while Peter and Denise Coates, the founders of Bet365 were estimated to be worth £300-million jointly.