Issue N5, 2009

February 4, 2009

Mahjong Time Links with Chinese Sport Site

A San Diego based software company, Mahjong Time has entered into a lucrative partnership deal with a Chinese language sport news website, SportCN. The deal will effectively see Mahjong Time supplying the site with quality four player Mahjong gaming products, complementing the media element and providing readers the opportunity to take part in a much loved social pastime. Mahjong is one of China’s most popular games and is slowly gaining recognition in the online world as well.

“Mahjong Time's gaming solution is a perfect fit for SportsCN.com and its diverse users,” said the Chief Executive Officer for Mahjong Time, William Sutjiadi this week. “Mahjong is a national pastime in China, and our multilingual real Mahjong games offers a user friendly interface that allows players to compete within minutes. We are established as the premier Mahjong licenser and our game client's community based platform will complement SportCN.com's very active users of bloggers and message board participants.”

“Our partnership with Mahjong Time will allow us to offer a new level of entertainment for our visitors while giving our company a new source of revenue,” said the Chief Executive Officer of SportsCN.ocm, Cason Lee. “In addition to our industry leading sports coverage, we are providing our community members with a genuine Mahjong experience that will increase their time on the site and further enhance our brand loyalty.”

Online Poker Players Can Become Cover Celebs

Online poker players will be pleased to note that they stand a real chance of appearing on the front cover page of one of the leading publications in the industry, Bluff Magazine. The magazine has launched the Bluff Online Poker Challenge, which gives players the chance to prove how much money they can earn in multi table tournaments and sit and gos within a one month period, with a starting bankroll of only $200. The player with the greatest return at the end of the month will be crowned Bluff Online Poker Challenge winner and appear on a future cover of the magazine.

The competition has already attracted many online players who are ready to prove their stand in the industry. Players such as Sorel Mizzi and Josh 'JJprodigy' Fields have already confirmed their participation in the challenge that kicks off on March 1.

“We wanted to find a way to recognize the best players online and give them a real challenge,” said one of the co-founders of Bluff Magazine, Eric Morris. “By putting the winner on the cover of Bluff, we're not only recognizing the achievement but also giving the players something to play for.”

Bingo Takes off in Rugby World

One of the best rugby teams in the United Kingdom, the Wigan Warriors, with 18 championship titles under their belts, have signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with Mecca Bingo. The deal will see Mecca Bingo’s logo emblazoned on the back and front of the rugby team’s shirts when they play at home, joining the Tote Sport Limited logo – a company which acts as official betting partners for the Wigan Warriors.

“We would like to welcome MeccaBingo.com on board as our new main sponsor,” said the Chief Executive for Wigan Warriors, Mick Hogan. “It is particularly pleasing to have such a well known, national organization with the Wigan Warriors for the 2009 season. We have very exciting plans to engage our supporters in ways that will add to their match day experience at the JJB Stadium. We look forward to a very exciting season with Wigan Warriors and MeccaBingo.com.”

“MeccaBingo is proud to be so closely involved with Wigan Warriors as well as the sport of rugby league,” said the Managing Director of Rank Interactive, owner of MeccaBingo.com. “The club has an enviable heritage and is recognized as one of the most prestigious and successful rugby league clubs in the world. We look forward to supporting the warriors in their efforts to achieve success on and off the fields.”

Ladbrokes Wants Hands on Victoria Gambling License

The UK based Ladbrokes gambling company headed off to South Australia this week to meet with industry executives, with the intention being to eventually apply for the gambling license currently held by Tabcorp in Victoria. Ladbrokes realizes that the license will only expire in 2012 but wants to introduce its cutting edge product to the local industry and network as much as possible until then.

“Australia has many attractions for us,” said Kevin Hopgood, the Managing Director of International Development for Ladbrokes, who, together with the company’s Chief Information Officer, Steve Maxwell, visited Australia. “From a sporting perspective, there are a lot of similarities to the United Kingdom, horseracing, greyhounds, cricket, rugby, tennis. The sports and the culture are very, very similar and the betting interest very similar. We see it as a market we could deliver in and deliver a very good proposition to the Australian punter.”

Casino News, February 2009