Issue N18, 2009
May 6, 2009
Betfair and Jadestone Team Up
Betfair, considered one of the United Kingdom’s leading gaming groups that incorporates casino, sports betting and poker brands, has announced the signing of a lucrative distribution deal with the Swedish gambling group, Jadestone. Betfair will carry Jadestone’s impressive new DiceArena multiplayer skilled games network, and join other top names in the industry such as bwin, Gala Coral, Finland’s PAF and Nordic Bet who offer their players this gaming options.
“Betfair is very excited to reach an agreement with Jadestone to offer their DiceArena platform to our two million registered customers,” said the Managing Director of Betfair Games, Steve Ives. “Betfair prides itself in offering our customers choice, value and control, and by giving them access to the innovative multiplayer table games offered through DiceArena that will enhance the customer experience even further.”
The Director of Jadestone in the United Kingdom, Andrew Pegler commented: “We are very pleased to announce Betfair as a future partner on the expanding DiceArena network. We are proud of our existing partner portfolio and Betfair represents another top tier operator keen to tap into our supply of next generation multiplayer games.”
Betfair said that it will incorporate the DiceArena product into its system after the summer months.
Intralot to Sponsor Melbourne Soccer Team
The Greek giant lottery brand, Intralot SA will – through its wholly owned subsidiary in Australia – sponsor the A-league soccer team, Melbourne Victory. This soccer team is particularly well supported by fans during matches and is the only team in history to win three major titles in one year – the Challenge Cup, Premiership and Championship in the 2008-2009 season.
The move to improve its brand exposure is especially important for Intralot as it struggles with declining lottery sales figures in Australia, ever since being awarded a 10 year contract to run the Victoria lottery. Sales have been so bad that the Victoria federal government has threatened to take action if things do not improve by June.
“Intralot if proud to be undertaking its first major Victorian sponsorship with the A-league's most successful club and one that has fought and won challenges similar to those confronted by our company,” commented the General Manager of Intralot Australia, Leo Watling.
“We're pleased to welcome Intralot Australia into our organization and see many exciting collaborative opportunities in the future,” said the Chairman of Melbourne Victory soccer team, Jeff Lord. “They are an emerging company in Australia and we look forward to helping them grow their brand. In fact, the focus that both our companies have on Melbourne and Victoria, helps make this partnership a perfect fit.”
Minnesota State Makes Move to Block Online Gambling
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety made moves this week to block its citizens from gambling at online sites, after letters were sent to 11 Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) and telephone companies. The businesses were told that since online gambling is illegal in Minnesota, they should block all Minnesotans from accessing sites that provide these services. A list of no less than 200 online sites was attached to the letter of warning.
Naturally, there has been a huge uproar by interest groups across the board, ranging from the Poker Players Alliance to groups in favor of freedom of speech and choice for the American public at large.
Minnesota State Representative Pat Gerafalo issued a statement earlier this week, saying that he would be seeking to introduce urgent legislation to block the Department of Public Safety from banning online gambling.
“The Department of Public Safety has to have better things to do with their time than to go after a college kid in his dorm room or some guy sitting in his basement spending a couple of hours playing online poker,” said Gerofalo. “Demanding that a private sector internet service provider block access to websites is not a proper function of our state government.”
“I'm certainly not condoning online gambling,” continued Gerofalo. “But I have serious concerns about government banning access to websites. This is the kind of thing they do in communist China, not the United States of America. Besides, how about we focus on balancing the state's $6.4 million budget deficit and not harassing Minnesotans anymore than Democrat legislative leaders are already trying to do.”
NBC Sports Launches New Online Poker Site
The NBC Sports Channel will launch its own free to play online poker site that will work off the Zen Gaming software platform. The site will offer non stop single and multiplayer Texas Hold ‘em poker tournaments, plus the chance for players to win a seat at the Heads Up Poker Championships in March next year, worth $20,000.
“We are happy to add NBC Sports as a partner,” said Mark Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of Zen Gaming. “Our team will provide all the logistical support for the promotion, including site development, hosting and tournament overview and administration. We look forward to bringing NBCSports.com, its advertisers, sponsors and of course its online constituency an immersive and compelling online contest.”
NBC Sports was also naturally pleased with the deal and Jon Miller from the group said: “Poker has been a growth area in our broadcast schedule over the last few years, and we have always sought to bring a complimentary online component to our audience. We feel we have brought a new level of engagement opportunity to our online audience by providing them with an opportunity to enjoy free poker, connect with our on air programming and interactively engage with our sponsors and advertisers.”