Optimal Payments has signed an agreement to become an official partner for the Lotus F1 team. As part of the deal Optimal will devise unique strategies for “cardholder-not-present” transactions for the Asian, European and North American markets. They will also develop payment solutions for the team’s associates and after Interwetten become the second online gaming industry firm to sign an agreement with the team.

Paddy Power has announced an extensive reshuffle including the appointment of a new chief financial officer. Cormac McCarthy moves from a non-executive director into the CFO throne and as such becomes an executive director. Jack Massey has been made director of finance and company secretary and as such relinquishes his role as finance director. Meanwhile David Johnston takes the position of group general counsel after giving up his position as company secretary and general counsel.

Both Massey and Johnson have been with the company for a number of years now and speaking on the appointments Patrick Kennedy, chief executive of the firm, said: “We have a strong track record of investing for growth and today’s appointments represent another step in this direction. They broaden and deepen our capability and capacity in the key areas of finance, legal and compliance and follow our philosophy of hiring, rotating and retaining great talent.”

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US casino operator Tropicana Entertainment Inc. has named Tony Rodio as its new CEO, subject to stockholder approval at the company’s AGM on May 17. Rodio, who has been president/COO since Nov. 2011, will take over from interim CEO Daniel Ninivaggi.

Cantor Gaming has appointed Brad Thorne as manager of its poker room at the newly opened Cantor Race & Sports Book at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Thorne previously worked as shift supervisor at the poker room in Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel.

International Game Technology CEO Patti Hart has announced she won’t seek re-election to her seat on the board of technology outfit Yahoo Inc. following revelations that she fudged details of her resume. Hart apparently inflated a business administration degree with an emphasis on marketing and economics into a fully fledged degree in marketing and economics. (On Sunday, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson was canned after only four months in the position when similar academic credential-padding came to light.) Hart said she was stepping down from her Yahoo gig to avoid creating “a distraction” from her responsibilities to IGT, where she has been CEO since 2009. IGT chairman Philip Satre issued a statement saying the board found “no material inconsistencies” in Hart’s CV.

Swedish operator Redbet Holding has named acting president Claes Hallén as its new CEO, subject to shareholder approval at its AGM on May 23. Hallén replaces Jörgen Andersson, who has agreed to accept a position on Redbet’s board. Fellow Scandinavian operator Mr Green has hired Ella Hall its first Chief Marketing Officer. Hall previously held the same position at JackpotJoy as well as stints with CNN, Time Warner and Eurosport.

Finally, Carl Stanley McGee has resigned as interim exec director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission after allegations of past sexual abuse involving a minor were brought to light. The allegations stem from an incident in 2007 in which McGee allegedly made advances to a 15-year-old boy in a Florida steam room. McGee was investigated but never charged by Florida authorities, yet the embattled exec said this week that the “growing distractions” from the media were making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties on the state’s newly formed Commission.

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The Commission also reported that the operators had acted appropriately “at all times.”

Paddy Power’s controversial advertising campaign that began this past weekend will continue to adorn the screens of Channel 4. The broadcaster said it has no plans to drop the advert and a spokesperson told MediaGuardian it’s “up to our viewers to make their own judgment about the adverts they have seen.”

The same common sense was not present at ESPN where a spokesperson said: “We’ve reviewed the commercial in question, and have made an internal editorial decision that it will not run on ESPN.”

The number of complaints has now hit 473. As we’ve seen before the amount of complaints doesn’t count for even a shilling if the advert itself conforms to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) code.

Swedish-facing betting firm Redbet recorded a 16.1% increase in revenues last year as they showed signs of recovery. The full year revenue of SEK77.8million was in addition to losses decreasing from SEK29.1m to SEK3.5m. They also released results for the fourth quarter with revenue up 41% compared with the previous year to SEK24.1m.

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At the beginning of the month, Abbantina Malta Limited, the owner of NextPoker.com filed a lawsuit in the Stockholm District Court in Sweden against Redbet. The suit charges Redbet to fully settle a debt of €747,991 plus interest awarded to Abbantina on October 25 by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

Abbatina Malta Limited claims that Redbet did not fulfill its contractual obligations or as described in a statement from the company ‘did not constitute an independent business as all relevant functions were integrated with Redbet Holding’.

In another statement from Abbantina, “Since Redbet Limited in addition has proven unwilling and unable to settle its debt, Abbantina has filed this lawsuit with the Stockholm District Court.”

The dispute arises from a 2007 so-called white label agreement which was cancelled by Abbantina in 2008.

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Recently the Swedish online gaming operator Redbet Holding AB has been making some big acquisitions. Redbet Gaming Ltd through an asset deal, recently acquired i4poker, a gaming site focused on Eastern European markets. Now Redbet has made another acquisition this month, this time signing a deal to acquire DoubleCardrooms, a gaming site powered by Entraction aimed at the Scandinavian market.

In a statement made in the release, Redbet Holding’s CEO Jorgen Andersson said “The acquisition of DoubleCardrooms is the second acquisition in a short time…Our expansion efforts consist of both organic growth and acquisitions. We are actively seeking acquisition opportunities opened up by the consolidation of the gaming market, both in new and existing markets.”

The company was founded in 2002 but did not go online until 2004. Since going online the company has worked to define it’s identity and presence in the online space. The company gained notoriety for making an amazingly fast payout, but as of late Redbet has been executing its business strategy of expanding into the Scandinavian markets with these two new acquisitions.

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