If Spanish operator Codere had its way, all international online gambling operators would follow Microgaming’s lead and get the hell out of Dodge. Codere launched legal action against Bwin last April, asserting that the Austrian outfit’s online presence in the unlicensed market amounted to “unfair competition” since land-based operators like Codere had no choice but to observe the local laws and stay offline. Codere believes that any operator that established an online presence pre-regulation will hold an unfair market advantage over newcomers like themselves. The remedy? The scallywags should be forced to ditch their brands and customer databases and pay back taxes dating from, say, the dawn of the internet.

In December, Codere made similar allegations against Sportingbet and PokerStars, seeking injunctions to block the sites’ access to Spanish punters. (Gambling Compliance reports that Codere has “copy and pasted” similar injunctions against other companies serving the Spanish market.) A commercial court in Madrid subsequently granted an interim injunction against Sportingbet’s Spanish-facing site Miapuesta, which was then blocked by Spanish internet service providers and payment processors. Sportingbet was compelled to put up a €2m deposit to lift the injunction while the case is before the courts.

But Codere’s victory wasn’t a clean sweep. On Jan. 16, a Barcelona mercantile court rejected imposing an injunction against PokerStars, noting that Stars held another EU-based license and had formally applied for a Spanish license once the government decided to offer them. In the meantime, Judge D. Luis Rodriguez Vega ruled that Stars “cannot be liable for not having obtained the authorization, given that they did not have the chance to do it.” Codere must decide this coming week if it will appeal the decision.

The only market where Codere maintains an active online presence is Italy, but here, too, Stars is drinking their milkshake. Following the launch of their real-money iOS app in Italy, Stars has now released a similar version for Android. Unlike the iOS version, which was only available via iTunes, Stars is making the Android app available directly from its own site. That is, unless Codere objects…

The alleged plans don’t seem to have given Portugal’s existing online gambling monopoly Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa pause regarding its recent appeal court victory over Bwin. Not satisfied with Bwin being forced to cease all advertising with and sponsorship of Portuguese sports franchises, Santa Casa is seeking €27m (plus interest) in damages from Bwin. Santa Casa also expects to use the Porto Tribunal da Relação decision as precedent to go after the 30 other online gambling outfits doing business in Portugal, with BetClic Everest the most likely candidate to next face Santa Casa’s wrath.

Santa Casa’s European affairs adviser Ana Paula Barros told Gambling Compliance that the company had “legal claims against all the national and international operators of whom we have knowledge of and which are awaiting the conclusion of this claim from Santa Casa against Bwin.” Bwin, for its part, isn’t conceding anything, counting on a reversal when its case reaches Portugal’s Court of Second Instance later this year. Barring that, Bwin is also counting on the European Commission declaring Santa Casa’s monopoly invalid. A Bwin spokesperson claimed Santa Casa had “never qualified” that €27m figure.

But later on Friday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Washington correspondent Steve Tetrault tweeted that Gov. Brian Sandoval’s spokesperson “shoots down Twitter report he is telling NV casinos of a Reid-Kyl deal on #webpoker. “That is patently false,” she sez.” So who to believe? The payroll tax bill needs to be passed by the end of February, but the Dems and Repubs are (shock!) a long way from consensus. If the bill doesn’t pass, Americans could see higher taxes deducted from their paychecks, but the Repubs are complaining that the Dems haven’t proposed any serious revenue generators to offset the bill’s expenditures. Online poker could theoretically fit that bill, if you could convince the GOP moralizers to head into a November election having just given the green light to the “crack cocaine” of gambling. (Honestly, in light of Breaking Bad‘s popularity, should that meme not be changed to the “meth” of gambling? Just a suggestion…)

Meanwhile, gambling companies continue to wheel and deal as if the legislation is a fait accompli. A month after musing about “realistic opportunities” in a legalized US online gambling market, Gibraltar-based mobile specialists Probability have applied for a Nevada online gambling license. CEO Charles Cohen said the company was picking Nevada to be the first state to open for business, whether intrastate or nationwide. All they need now is a local partner with a gaming license, but early stage talks with unidentified companies are reportedly underway. Probability’s official twitter feed chirped out the following nugget: “just left the lovely ladies at new Scotland yard with our fingerprints for nevada licence application. now just 100 pages of forms to go.” Cohen and Co. will be whistling a far less merry melody if Probability’s US competitors convince Vegas cops to match those fingerprints to any of the Strip’s unsolved crimes…

Also on Friday, Kentucky horse racing colossus Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) announced that it has acquired the assets of Atlanta-based Bluff Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in addition to assuming control of Bluff’s numerous poker-related domains and an extensive player database, CDI intends “to further expand and build upon Bluff Media’s current content and business model, CDI management believes this acquisition potentially provides the company with new business avenues to pursue in the event there is a liberalization of state or federal laws with respect to Internet poker in the United States.” CDI already operates a thriving online horse wagering business, and US politicians have historically contorted themselves into knots while crafting gambling laws to give racing operators preferential treatment. Is it significant that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky?

Betfair

We’re thinking this must have something to do with their fixed odds offering or are they going to let one lucky customer that lays odds a slot on the ad on a weekly basis? “This week’s lucky customer is Dave from Barnsley!!!”

Scandinavian based Betsson saw revenues and income jump as they released their latest results. For the year of 2011 revenues were up 8% to SEK 1,736.6million and operating income increased by a huge 47% to SEK 559.7m. This included 103,000 more active customers and was in addition to operating income increasing by 35% in the fourth quarter of the year to SEK 1 72.3m. Magnus Silfverberg, President and CEO of Betsson, said: “Betsson now ranks as one of the world’s most influential gaming companies. We have achieved this position thanks to our strong growth and profitability as well as Betsson’s long-term efforts to create attractive gaming solutions for both partners and end users. During the fourth quarter, Betsson has experienced an all-time high in both activity and deposits, while the Group sits at the forefront in the technological development towards a new reregulated reality in Europe.”

In terms of the year to come, the firm is confident the industry will “develop strongly” and that the firm will experience “healthy growth.” The firm also confirmed that they’ve been awarded a licence to operate in Italy and will be launching in the country very soon. He explained that they won’t be applying for a licence in Belgium though, and added: “Our view is their regulation is not in coherence with EU legislation, so we have no plans to apply for that kind of licence.”

Spain

Belgium has called in the country’s police force to help continue the fight against unlicensed gaming industry operators. The Belgian Gaming Commission enlisted the help of the boys in blue in order to file a report on blacklisted firms that is now in the possession of the Public Prosecution Office. Peter Naessens, head of the commission’s regulatory unit, told eGR IP bans are among the imminent measures to make sure Belgium remains a walled-garden. Naessens explained how operators could get their name off the list.

“If they [are awarded] a Belgian licence, if they close down their .be website or if they exclude Belgian players from their .com website, then these operators will be removed from the blacklist at the next meeting of the BGC.”

“We will examine if they really exclude Belgian players at their .com site. If they really do, then we will propose the BGC (at the beginning of next month) to remove them from the black list.”

PokerStars has gained a remote gaming licence from Malta to operate its new PokerStars.eu site. The Lotteries and Gaming Authority licence will, according to head of corporate communications Eric Hollreiser, enable Stars “to provide an enchanced service to players in several European markets.”

Golden Nugget

“We started an intensive process approximately nine (9) months ago and looked at more than a dozen internet gaming companies and selected Alex and Chiligaming because they were experienced in online gaming in Europe and demonstrated incredible passion, talent and knowledge which our team found to far exceed their competitors. We believe that online gaming is inevitable in the United States and that the Golden Nugget will be well positioned to compete when US laws allow for online gaming,” he commented.

As part of the agreement a free-play site is due to launch “within the next quarter” and it’s hoped it will “facilitate swift entry” into any US regulated market that emerges in the coming years. Chiligaming CEO and founder Alex Dreyfus couldn’t contain his excitement, stating: “Chiligaming is thrilled to partner with Golden Nugget, which has a very strong brand presence across the US. With its Las Vegas, Laughlin and Atlantic City properties, it is ideally and uniquely positioned for all of the online developments that lie ahead.”

One of the firm’s first moves into the US was in 2010 when they launched a subscription poker site before a year later deciding the California was just about right for their new office. That was the same time their social gaming offering was launched in California and Dreyfus looks to be giving them the right footing to have a good stab at the US market.

Bally Technologies

Opening its Macau office only five years ago in 2006, Bally’s managing director Kurt Gissane said in areport by Macau Business: “The Asia-Pacific region is extremely important to Bally.” He added that he had a difficult job replacing Cath Burns, who established the company’s Asain head office and managed large-scale systems installation projects for several of the city’s new casinos.

“I don’t look at it as though I have replaced Cath Burns,” he said, as he praised her achievements. However, he wasn’t too negative about their loss. He also mentioned that he was very fortunate to be left with a legacy “which is a strong business across both games and systems but, more importantly, a tremendous team”.

What will be Bally’s next move in strengthening their Asian market? And what will similar companies do in order to fortify their bonds with Asia for that matter?

International provider of gamling technology staffing solutions, Pentasia, announced yesterday the inauguration of its new HR consultancy based in Macau.

Named Pentasia Macau Ltd, the arm was first incorporated in November last year providing human resources consultancy to the gaming market in Macau and acts as a representative office of the Pentasia group.

In a report by Macau Business, Pentasia’s managing director for the Asia Pacific region, Jonathan Pettemerides, said the office’s opening is a significant step forward.

“Macau has been a developing market for Pentasia’s HR consultancy business for some time now and the opening of our new office further enhances the levels of local expertise and face-to-face contact we can provide our Macau based clients.”

Held from 20-22 March at the RP5 Casino in Hannover, Germany, the Slot Summit will have a regional focus on Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Scandinavia and is supported by the European Casino Association (ECA).

The event, which aims to addresses “numerous practical topics and issues of casino and gaming management”, will see a talk by Novomatic as well as from other key operators

Managing Director AGI, Jens Halle, said: “We are convinced that the Slot Summit in Hannover will be on the crest of a wave with a broad field of topical issues that will provide valuable economic and technological information for casino management staff.”

Gaming technology provider, Konami Gaming, has announced today the forming of a partnership with JOINGO, a mobile and social technology company to provide the Konami Casino Management System (KCMS) Patron App.

In case you were wondering, the KCMS Patron App is a mobile loyalty system. A press release by Konami explained it firther, stating it “allows casinos with KCMS to immediately deploy their own branded Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and Mobile Web Apps”

According to Konami’s Vice President of Systems Research and Development, Tom Soukup, “The Patron App is an example of our commitment to provide the latest technology. The KCMS Patron App exploits the unique features of KCMS products and allows operators to not only expand targeted player communications, but also to personalize the experience and information for the customer, all of which will help drive casino revenues.”

The KCMS Patron App will allow players to view all aspects of their loyalty program, such as real-time loyalty club status, point totals, promotional free play credits, points-to-play balance, as well as the current KCMS Floorwide Progressive Bonusing jackpot values.

Video Gaming Technologies (VGT) has developed an updated version of its Cherry 96 slot game – its fans will be pleased to hear. An announcement by the company today stated it will also be the sole distributor of the game as part of its VEGA$ Jackpot$ product line for the Illinois video gaming machine market.

Illinois Sales Manager, Frank Fortunato, said: “We were looking for a way to connect with Illinois players rather than just bringing in games that may have worked in other states. So we asked Illinois operators what we could do to create interest. Their answer time and time again was that they would like to see a game like Cherry 96.”

Cherry 96 has been integrated into the VEGA$ Jackpot$™ game suite and will be compliant with all applicable laws and regulations under the Illinois Video Gaming Act.

Speaking via conference call, CEO Ho told analysts that his company has “continued to execute on our premium strategy, both in the rolling chip and mass market gaming segments. Our premium mass market focus at City of Dreams represents one of our key competitive advantages, giving us an ability to capture and leverage a loyal and more profitable customer base. When it comes to the discretionary spending and consumer sector we really haven’t seen any significant slowdown in Macau. Our hypothesis for a 15-20% [rise] in gross gaming overall for the market this year is based on an 8% GDP growth.”

Ho said the company will continue its quest to raise the billions needed to get its Studio City project up and running in Macau. Ho was confident that no new shares would need to be issued to raise the funds, nor would the timetable for development be affected. Packer’s one-third stake in Melco Crown is expected to give an extra oomph to Crown Limited’s H1 results later this month. Deutsche Bank analysts told Bloomberg they expect Crown to report a 32% rise in profit.

Aussie wagering outfit Tabcorp released its H1 results, sporting a 14.1% rise in profit to AU $189.3m. Revenues were $1.57b, a rise of 2.8% once you factor in Tabcorp spinning off its Echo Entertainment casino business last year. Tacorp’s fixed odds betting turnover was up 39.5% to $152m. Tote gambling in Victoria was off 5.5% to $325m, while New South Wales’ tote total was down 7.2% to $384.3m. Revenue from the new automated horse racing game Trackside was up 95% to $41.8m. Gaming revenues were $569m, but Tabcorp’s poker machine duopoly in Victoria is slated to end in August. The company hopes its new Tabcorp Gaming Solutions (a service provider that manages gaming machines) will contribute $50m to annual earnings.

As for those negative Tote numbers, Tabcorp CEO David Attenborough told The Age not to worry. “Don’t expect the tote pools to disappear. They are well over 50% of our business and will continue to be well over 50% of our business.” That said, Attenborough expects Tote numbers to continue to drop for the next couple years, as punters embrace live betting, a sector Attenborough described as “underdeveloped in Australia.”

Meanwhile, staff over at TOTE Tasmania are sweating it out, wondering if they’ll still have jobs when the $100m sale to Tatts Group is finalized in March. The Mercury obtained an internal company memo in which staff complained about the lack of info as to if/when the knacker’s blade might fall. A Tatts Group spokesman said he sympathized with their plight and that the company was “working towards a position where we can provide TOTE staff with some certainty within the coming weeks.” Premier Lara Giddings claims Tatts told her they intend “to maintain the call centre and will continue to operate, support and enhance the existing retail network.”

While there have been positive performances, such as those of Betsson, 32Red and most recently 888, for the most part iGaming companies have struggled to make a significant impact on the opinions of financial analysts and the wallets of traders.

Many suggestions have been put forward with regards to reasons for the stock market performance of some of the public gaming companies. One that can’t be ignored is that most are simply not operating at their optimum. Barring this, there are many which all contribute to the repeated stock market failings that have been seen in the past 18 months.

The case with almost all of these reasons is that there appears to be an underlying theme – one of instability.

Unfortunately for those involved, instability as a public iGaming company is fairly easily achieved. It can come as a result of any number of changes, many of which may even be necessary.

From any company’s first day as a public company they’re bound to not be operating at 100%. This is due to the focus placed on their IPO, a necessary but timely activity that distracts key employees from fulfilling their usual roles. Financial services company Ernst & Young explain that when preparing for an IPO, the CEO’s and CFO’s roles assume a new balance between time spent managing sharemarket relations versus managing the business.

Recently David Yu, CEO of Betfair, admitted that his soon to be former company had gone off the boil as a result of preparing the company for IPO.

However, a more permanent risk is that of key employees departing the company. While this is an issue which faces all companies, it is highlighted in the gaming sector as staff tend to change roles and even companies regularly.

Another risk that is common across all businesses is the consistency of the products offered. Unfortunately for gaming companies this an issue that is known all too well. Be it website downtime, software glitches or even a rogue bot, there are many potential ways that online gambling products can falter.

All of the above are only some of the internal issues affecting company stability. Those which are external are considerably more hazardous, none more so than the regulation, legislation and taxation of different geographical markets.

However this is a risk which could be subsiding as discovered by Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC). Research conducted by GBGC has shown that for the first time ever revenue generated in Europe from regulated markets will outweigh that of unregulated markets in the continent.

The figures show the rate at which European online gambling regulation is spreading with the percentage of revenues from regulated markets standing at just 37.2% in 2008.

It is predicted that 2011 saw this figure increase to 51% but it’s not going to stop there with the percentage rising further to 60.1% by the end of 2012 and 63.8% in 2013.

In a statement released by GBGC director Lorien Pilling explained: “The founding pillars of the “golden age” of internet gambling in Europe are crumbling and 2012 will be a defining year in that process.”

The increased regulation may be even more significant for public gambling companies making 2012 a make or break year for them. For some, the ability to enter new markets with greater ease is a major advantage of becoming a public company and as such one that they should now be putting to good use.

Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red, explained late last year that the ease with which license applications can be made was important for him. He said: “We believe our status [as a PLC] will be of assistance as we look to apply for licenses in newly regulated markets.”

Surely then, more regulated and stable markets will lead to more stable iGaming companies and more stable share prices. After all, isn’t that a major supposed reason for their constant fluctuation and in most cases underperformance?

There certainly are some valid arguments for this being the case as Lorien Pilling explains.

He agrees: “Shares of companies who operate in regulated markets should be more stable because investors shouldn’t wake up to the news that a CEO/Executive has been arrested, e.g Unibet’s Petter Nylander in Holland, Bwin CEOs in France.”

“Investors dislike uncertainty and regulated markets bring more certainty.”

However, unfortunately for the companies in question, regulated markets are far from a saving grace.

Pilling explains the other side of the coin: “Even in regulated markets governments can still change their mind on a whim – perhaps withdrawing a previously permitted gambling activity without much warning, or imposing a new tax without consultation.”

He also draws attention to the fact that a change in government can create uncertainty and uses France as example. There the result of the upcoming Presidential election is likely to have considerable connotations for the online gambling industry with sides taking differing views on its regulation.

This is also the case in Germany where the common changes in stance by the states have a habit of making a chart of Bwin.Party’s shares look comparable to a heart monitor.

But the bad news keeps coming in the form of the fact that even if market regulation continues to increase across the board and does stabilise iGaming share prices, it still doesn’t guarantee high share prices.

Pilling points out: “Stability does not necessarily mean a rising share price – regulated markets mean increased costs and tax, which means lower profits for listed firms.”

So while an increasingly regulated gambling landscape may allow the industry to continue to professionalise and certainly has other benefits, for public companies it isn’t the saving grace it could be.

Net Entertainment

The coming 12 months will see a live casino launch by the “year-end” and with mobile developments also in the pipeline, new CEO Per Eriksson will be boarding a steady ship.

Aland-based gaming firm Paf is waving goodbye to deputy chief executive Thomas Lundberg. Nicknamed “Pitchi” after Spanish footballer Pichi Alonzo, he will leave the firm at the end of March and, according to eGR, head of consumer experience Anders Wiklund will take on the role. Commenting on the departure, Anders Ingves, CEO of Paf, said: “It is always hard when competent and inspiring people choose to leave the company. I sincerely wish Thomas all the happiness, success and continuous personal growth in his new position. I will morn not having the possibility to challenge him and be challenged and surprised by him every day.

“But I am convinced Anders Wiklund, who takes over the relay-baton from Pitchi, will open up new inspiring ways of thinking in me and in the dot.com-organisation.”

eGR has announced details on the 2012 incarnation of the popular B2B awards. Wembley Stadium will play host to the ceremony on May 10 with the nomination period now open. It’s the third year in a row the awards have been around and tables are available now. As well as a plush new venue, there are five new categories at this year’s gig where awards are now available for mobile payment solution of the year, best customer service of the year, IT vendor of the year, IT distributor of the year and innovation in mobile. What that does mean though is an even longer list of awards being handed out with the number now hitting 32 (THIRTY TWO). We hope you like your awards!

Rank Group

Betting exchange Betfair is on the look out for a new global marketing and brand director after the incumbent departed after five years. Oscar Nieboer left the firm last month to pursue opportunities outside gaming. Betfair confirmed this in a statement reading: “Oscar has left Betfair to pursue a career outside of betting and gaming. During his time at Betfair, he played a key role in shaping Betfair’s marketing strategy and we wish him every success in the future.”

In terms of a replacement, the company told us: “Alex Hathway has taken on the role of Central Marketing Director. He has been at Betfair for six years and during that time has headed up Customer Marketing, International Marketing and more recently Product Marketing.”

Betdaq has agreed to an expanded sponsorship deal with Jockey Club Racecourses moving the partnership into a second year. The contract extends to 10 of the firm’s courses and is understood to be worth six-figures. It means a second year of support for midweek Flat racing at Kempton Park with the Betdaq Wednesday Winner Series back with a vengeance. The exchange will undertake sponsorship of Aintree’s evening fixture in May as well as Haydock Park’s Apprentice Series. That’s in addition to banners being present at another seven Jockey Club courses.

South African gambling bosses have admitted they lack the power to stop players using international gaming industry sites. The National Gambling Board (NGB) has the mere power to write to regulators to ask them to cut it out or use their relationship with the country’s banks to catch out offenders. NGB CEO Baby Tyawa told ITWeb that it’s tricky for the board and the amount of customers using sites worldwide is unknown.

“There is a lot of illegal online gambling going on that we are not aware of,” Tyawa said.

“The challenge is that online gambling is virtual, and the National Gambling Board does not know where it is happening. We are the first to accept it’s an impossible mission,” she added.

The limbo being experienced at the foot of Africa comes from the fact they regulate by the state and not nationally. As we mentioned earlier Stan James signed the latest deal in South Africa and until the recommendations of the Gambling Review Commission are taken on board it will stay this way. Given the choice of getting the best deal available to them, customers will visit the sites offering the best deal. Combine this with the fact that many international gaming industry sites offer a safe atmosphere it’s no wonder South African customers are heading to international waters.

The deal will ensure MDI make names, marks, logos and images related to Live nation and its properties: House of Blues and The Fillmore, available to lotteries throughout the U.S. and Canada. They will be used on instant games and related marketing and promotions, a press release stated.

Steve Saferin, President, Properties Group and Chief Creative Officer for Scientific Games, commented on the agreement. He said: ”This license provides lotteries a unique opportunity to attract music fans to instant games, including the younger demographics that lotteries often find hard to reach. The reputations of these brands, combined with the size and significance of the Live Nation audience, and prize options that include once-in-a-lifetime experiences, make this a really appealing addition to the MDI portfolio.”

Live Nation Entertainment, which includes Ticketmaster.com and Live Nation Concerts, produced 21,000 events in 2010, including concerts at House of Blues and The Fillmore, both of which have locations throughout the United States, so the deal is sure to serve MDI very well, indeed.

Gaming technology designer, manufacturer and distributor, Amatic Industries, has announced it now offers direct AWP sales to the German market.

Describing the new venture as “due to popular demand”, Amatic announced at the IMA that operators can now source its products directly from Amatic. A company press release said the “important feature” of the move is “choice”, so operators who prefer to source Amatic AWPs from Bally Wulff can continue to do so, and those who wish to have a direct link to Amatic now have this possibility, too.

Tatjana Bauer-Engstberger, who is responsible for the German market within Amatic Industries, said: “Through popular demand we have greatly expanded our German subsidiary and now provide direct sales. Our Performer cabinet and MultiLine series of games are a real hit in Germany. Now we have an even stronger sales and service network.”

Paddypowerpoker.com has revealed details of two new additions to the list of Irish Open 2012 live satellite events today.

In a statement, the company said the first live satellite will take place at the upcoming Super Poker Event of Europe in Citywest Hotel, Dublin on Saturday 25 February this year. The buy in is set at €150 + €15 and the event will feature a guaranteed three Irish Open 2012 seats valued at €3,500 each. The Burlington Hotel, Dublin will play host to the second live satellite on Saturday 10 of March 2012.

Wynn Macau

MGM Macau came in second place with $3.3 billion in revenue and City of Dreams ranked third with $3 billion, Macau Business reports.

Las Vegas Sands Corp has announced it is willing to invest in Vietnamese cities: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh at a combined investment capital of up to US$6 billion.

In a report by Vietnam Investment Review, Sands chairman and chief executive officer Sheldon Adelson, confirmed he visited Vietnam in demeber last year to discuss the proposal with local officials. He said: “Our preliminary project only designed one integrated resort in Ho Chi Minh City. But then I arrived in Hanoi and talked to many people in the hospitality industry and tourism and I now think Hanoi has the same potential as Ho Chi Minh City.”

In the report, Adelson also disclosed some information about the Ho Chi Minh City project:  “We designed two buildings to look like two sails on one ship. The idea is to build a building that goes with the identification of the city. The water and the river are so much a part of Ho Chi Minh City,” he said.

There’s yet more news concerning the Asian casino giants, with rumours bouncing around the net that both Sands China and Wynn Macau may be announced as the latest additions to the Hang Seng Index by tomorrow.

French Bank BNP Paribas has reported that tomorrow the move could take place as part of the Hang Seng Index´s quarterly rebalancing. It also said both stocks rank high in terms of market capitalisation and turnover and it’s pretty confident about the alleged news because there were few alternatives as Sands China and Wynn Macau were the “only eligible non-financial candidates.”

The results reveal the company has done pretty well. According to the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) No. 3402 of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) – which is conducted by major international auditing firms – Intralot has “demonstrated overall effectiveness in control design and operation.”

Group Head of Information Security at Intralot, Dr. Christos Dimitriadis, said: “Intralot was the first to have established and certified an international information security management system, according to WLA SCS and ISO 27001. Now Iintralot is expanding its credentials by providing customised assurance on control design and effectiveness over financial reporting.”

The ISAE 3402 audits at Intralot’s operation at OPAP, Staatsloterij and De Lotto were continuous, covered the whole of last year and were based on a unique lottery-specific risk model.

Automated transactions solutions provider JCM Global have predicted its PayCheck 4 thermal printer will be installed in 40% of the games in North America casinos openings in 2012 due to its exceptionally fast market share gain.

JCM Global VP of Sales, Mark Henderson, explained: “When we first became familiar with the PayCheck 4 printer, we instantly recognized its potential, because it is the fastest, smartest and toughest printer we have seen. We rebranded it as a JCM product, and through our sales team and our network of distributors, we introduced it to customers across North America. The response was immediate, because people know quality when they see it.”

JCM affirm its new PayCheck 4 system is the fastest printer in the industry, printing and presenting a complete ticket “twice as fast as competitive printers” the company says, giving operators more power and flexibility to communicate directly with their customers.

Star Trek geeks rejoice – JackpotParty have launched a new slot game named Star Trek Episode 5 – A Piece of the Action live at its online casino.

So far Jackpot Party has launched four exclusive Star Trek online slot games for UK players, including Star Trek Episode 1 – Red Alert, Star Trek Episode 2 – Explore New Worlds, Star Trek Episode 3 – The Trouble With Tribbles, Star Trek Episode 4 – Trap-a-Tribble

In Episode 5, player’s can pick up where they left off as they seek more medals in their next journey to the Final Frontier

In a press release JackpotParty said the ultimate goal of the game is to seek three or more Feature symbols to trigger the Rescue Bonus round. Once triggered, players select from 16 transporter co-ordinate buttons to try and beam their crew mate safely back aboard the USS Enterprise. Beam us up Scottie!

Of course, now that some companies are getting the official pat on the back, others are getting the official bitch-slap. As it was welcoming Stars into the fold, the BGC simultaneously published the first edition of its “blacklist” of non-licensed operators. The list features 10 names: 888.com, Everestpoker.be, Titanpoker.be, Chilipoker.com, Casino.com. Myglobalgames.com, Bingo-round.com, Jackpotcity.com, Casinoriva.com and Megacasino.com. The country’s major internet service providers will now be expected to block access to these sites.

The French Competition Authority has received yet another complaint about the ongoing stranglehold of the horse betting market by former monopoly Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) This latest complaint was filed by rival operator Betclic, following comments in French newspaper Les Echos attributed to Jean-Francois Vilotte, president of French regulator ARJEL. Vilotte was commenting on the latest gaming industry figures that were almost wholly negative, save for horseracing, which was up sharply. Vilotte noted that PMU’s chief competitor, ZeTurf, held only a 10% share of the horse betting market, and the combined rest of PMU’s competition was “marginal,” leaving PMU holding an 85% slice of the horse betting pie.

The new momentum stems from the apparent blessing of the country’s main opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), at the Working Team’s first meeting of 2012. The DPJ’s Issei Koga said speedy passage of the legislation would be vital for the initiative’s success, in part because of competing projects in neighboring countries. Numerous casino giants, including Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment, have expressed keen interest in being first to open up in Japan.

The Philippines isn’t waiting for Japan to act. Work on its ambitious 100-hectare Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City Manila (ECM) project is underway (artistic impression pictured above), but unlike casino zones in other Asian jurisdictions, ECM is making do without the involvement of western casino companies. Among the four projects that have been given the nod to occupy the ECM zone, only one (Manila Bay Resorts from Japan’s Universal Entertainment) is purely foreign. The others are wholly or partly controlled by locals: Henry “retail king” Sy’s Belle Corp. is constructing the Belle Grande; port terminal magnate Enrique Razon’s Bloombury Investments is behind the Solaire Manila; while Resorts World Manila Bayshore is a product of Travelers International Hotel Group, a JV of Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group and Malaysian giant Genting.

American casino firms were reportedly sniffing around the Philippines when the ECM project was first announced in 2007, but never followed through on their initial interest. Their change of heart may have arisen from a perceived conflict of interest in the dual regulator/operator role of the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR). PAGCOR chairman/CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. told Philippines news outlet ANC that such concerns were overblown, as PAGCOR expects to assume more of a pure regulator role (in the Metro Manila region, at least) in the future. Regardless, Naguiat doesn’t feel the Philippines needs/wants any western partners. “Personally, I have no plans of inviting them to come here, invest here. I’d rather deal with our ASEAN partners.”

With the help of those ASEAN partners, Naguiat expects that in five years time the Philippines will become the third Asian jurisdiction (after Macau and Singapore) to surpass Las Vegas in gaming revenue. Something that may help speed that process is the Philippines tolerance of junket operators. While Singapore and the US have demonized junket operators as enabling “terrorist financing activities,” PAGCOR VP of Licensed Casino Development Francis Hernando says his country has sufficient laws in place to deal with money laundering concerns. Macquarie Securities Group researcher Alex Pomento says this “investor-friendly” approach will help the Philippines “niche itself” from the “rigidity in the rules” of Singapore and Macau (and Vegas).

The ECM project is also burnishing the country’s infrastructure, with a light-rail project to get gamblers from airport to hotel and back again with the least amount of fuss. Naguiat says all four ECM partners are “more than willing to fund the skyway” project. With projected annual gaming revenues of $6b once ECM is fully operational, it’s clear they’ll be able to afford a track or two. Too bad the western casino giants got left at the station.

Ladbrokes

“The smaller unit would be more like a convenience store where people could come in and out quickly, suiting younger people in more of a hurry.”

That means one side would be a glorified chillout zone with next door the world’s first betting shop/night club fusion. We live in hope.

It was down to Hills to remind the borough council’s licencing sub-committee of the Gambling Commission guidelines on gaming machines.

“When Parliament passed the Gambling Act, one of its principal objectives was to limit the number of high-stakes, high-prize gaming machines on the High Street,” said Philip Kolvin, legal representative at William Hill.

“This was partly to limit the potential harm to vulnerable people,” he added.

The act referred to concerns that allowed only four “high-stake” gaming machines per premises. Splitting the shop in two would allow eight and however much the interior of the two premises were changed that would still be the case.

Ladbrokes had planned to spend around £280,000 redesigning the premises and will now have to go back to the drawing board to create their “old and new” gambling premises. As for Hills they can mark one down in the win column for now and be glad they had their eye on the ball. Us… we were hoping both sides would be up next week on Harry Hill’s TV Burp. FIGHT!!!

The RGS product gives punters access to Bally’s library of casino-gaming content via a one-time integration. In a press release Bally said the product “will offer enhanced bonusing, proven play mechanics, progressives, and other outstanding features that only a company with more than 80 years in the gaming industry can provide.”

John Connelly, Bally’s Vice President of Business Development, said: “The Bally Remote Gaming Server allows new and existing customers to seamlessly integrate Bally games into their online portals. When combined with Bally’s systems, the Bally Interactive products will deliver a single-view of the player – on the casino floor, at home, and on the move.”

This technology will also be used as part of Bally’s business-to-business social initiatives in supporting customers when entering the social-gaming space.

While Bally is busy launching mobile products, printer developers for the gaming industry FutureLogic has hired Ted Grevelis as its Business Development Manager for the Midwest.

In a press release today, the company said they hired Grevelis for his background in technical sales, sales management, new business development and account management experience

FutureLogic’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing North America, Nick Micalizzi, said: “With this appointment, FutureLogic has strengthened its sales presence in the very important Midwest region of the U.S. Ted’s expertise will be invaluable for bringing FutureLogic’s world-class printers and intelligent promotional couponing solutions, as well as localized support, to our customers.”

Before joining FutureLogic, Grevelis worked for nearly 10 years at IGT as Systems Sales Executive and Director of Sales.

In other gambling industry appointment news, gaming test labs Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) have hired two new workers to add to its recently created professional services group. Consultants Rodney Arsenault and Murray Lee will join GLI’s Professional Services Team in Moncton, Canada. The group have done much expanding in the past year, with the company moving into the Asian lottery market late 2011 being an example.

GLI Canada CEO, Salim Adatia, said in a statement released by the company today: “Adding Rodney and Murray to our existing talent pool gives us the wider breadth of expertise and knowledge required to optimally service the consultancy demands of our valued clients, both in lottery and in non-gaming areas.”