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MAJOR ONLINE GAMBLING TRIAL STARTS IN CHINA Twenty accuseds and over a billion in wagers alleged in Internet gambling ring case The Chinese media are reporting on what is alleged to be the country's biggest online gambling bust this week as the trial of 20 gambling ring employees commences in the Kunming Intermediate People's Court in Yunnan…

FRANCE TO SELL OFF PART OF GAMBLING MONOPOLY Stake in Francaises des Jeux to be reduced A French government announcement is believed to be imminent, disclosing that the French state plans to sell off an as yet unknown stake in the French gambling monopoly Francaises des Jeux, reputed to be the world's third largest lottery company with 29…

PLAYTECH FAVOURED BY LEADING ANALYST J.P. Morgan initiates coverage of online gambling software developer with a bullish prediction Good news for investors in the online gambling software developer and turnkey provider Playtech plc this week is that leading analyst firm J.P. Morgan has initiated coverage of the company with an "overweight" rating and positive predictions for its…

BETBROKERS IN TROUBLE Bets rejected due to funding shortage The London-listed online betting firm Betbrokers has confirmed that it is turning down bets due to a funding shortage, British business media reported this week.  Founded 4 years ago by Wayne Lochner the internet gambling business places bets for anonymous high rollers and has among its directors highly…

UK BINGO PLAYERS SPEND BIG British bingo websites are generating serious revenues despite the credit crunch The online bingo information and monitoring website BingoPort.co.uk reports this week that UK Internet bingo players are spending well over GBP 600 million each year on bingo tickets.  The site claims that Sun Bingo maintains its position as the number one online…

WILLIAM HILL PLANS MAJOR EXPANSION IN ONLINE SPORTSBETTING New online sports betting platform planned for November as CEO focuses on the Internet One of Britain's largest gambling groups, William Hill plc has ambitious plans to raise its Internet sportsbetting gross win by 50 percent with the introduction of a new software platform in November 2008. 20 percent of…

GERMAN ONLINE GAMBLING NUMBERS UP 2.2 millions Germans gamble online, Forsa study finds The German research body Forsa reports that some 2.2 million Germans regularly gamble online, with over 700 000 accessing the lotto over the Internet and around 430 000 playing online poker. Forsa's study for ICT and Bitkom also discovered that 500 000 Germans bet online…

BRIT MOBILE GAMBLING FIRM ACQUIRED BY IGT Founder Chris Sheffield stays on as IGT enters mobile gaming market The md of IGT in Britain, Robert White, has announced the acquisition of Manchester-based mobile gaming company Million-2-1 after a two year partnership with the firm, marking IGT-UK’s entry into the mobile gaming market. The consideration paid by IGT…

TURKISH AUTHORITIES RELEASE SOME OF SPORTINGBET'S ASSOCIATES 11 released, 28 to go to trial in Superbahis case After almost a week of silence, the Turkish authorities have released information on the fate of 39 people - 2 of them Sportingbet employees from the UK - arrested last week in a police swoop on the local Sportingbet subsidiary…

SportingBet plc reported that an increase in Australian and European players has led to a rise in profits in the third quarter, to £0.06 a share or £3.4m net income. This comes compared to a loss of £62.4m a year earlier after their customer base was dramatically slashed by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act…