As August rolls on, a good chunk of the European igaming business is on holiday, as are many of their North American and Asian counterparts.
All that rest and relaxation didn’t completely kill the headline news from the industry.
Here’s some of the top news stories from the last week in gambling and SEO.
Gambling News
- Opap Deal Goes Through – The Greek government’s deal to sell off a third of Opap, its gambling monopoly, to a Czech hedge fund for €652 million ($870.52 million). This deal is by no means a done deal. Some European operators are saying that it violates European Union trade laws and should be squashed.
- Arsenal Partners with Bodog – Bodog is hoping to capitalize on Arsenal’s huge Asian fan base with a new, three-year sponsorship deal. The online gambling giant’s partnership with the Premier League heavyweight should generate plenty of marketing momentum for Bodog partners without destroying the integrity of the game. (Did you hear that, Roger Goodell?)
- Pete Rose Opens Up – Sports betting posterboy Pete Rose (who is himself a giant hypocrite) opened up about the hypocrisy of his ban for sports betting, while other more serious crimes are overlooked saying: I should have picked drugs or I should have picked up beating up my wife or girlfriend because if you do those three, you get a second chance.
Other News
- Bitcoins are Real Currency – A Texas judge declared Bitcoins to be, “real currency,” in a Federal Court. The ruling was in response to a con man who said he hadn’t committed fraud because he only stole Bitcoins. (Nice try, guy.)
- Use No Follow on Embedded Widgets – Matt Cutts video advice barrage continued this week as addressed the SEO challenges associated with embedded widgets. His advice, use a no-follow tag to avoid getting dinged by spam filters.
Finally
- Gambling Winnings Can Be Garnished – If you’re a Chicago-area deadbeat dad who also happens to be a successful gambler, we’ve got some bad news. The state of Illinois just passed a law that allows gambling establishments to garnish payouts to pay off late child support payments. The measure could bring in as much as $1 million a year.