Online Casino and Gambling News: August 2008

Ladbrokes to merge poker room into Microgaming Poket Network

The managing director for online gambling operations at UK gambling group Ladbrokes, John O'Reilly, revealed this week that the company is to change its poker strategy from being a standalone Internet poker room powered by Microgaming, to being a full member of the Microgaming Poker Network, joining over 40 other tier one poker operations and enhancing player liquidity.

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Back to a study for Californian poker

Latest information on Assemblyman Lloyd Levine's proposal to liberalise poker in California is that his bill AB 2026 has undergone another revision, taking it back to a study of the prospects for the game within California.

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Weak Q2 from World Poker Tour - decreased license fees blamed

World Poker Tour Enterprises has released its numbers for the second quarter 2008, ended June 29, with plenty of developments but weak results and a reducing headcount throughout the company.

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Betsson Q2 revenues up 63 percent

Reports and challenges from Swedish betting officialdom appear to have done little to halt the success of Betsson's land betting shop, opened in Stockholm earlier this year and still going strong, according to Q2: 2008 results released this week.

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Vietnamese officials asked to check online games

The Ho Chi Minh City department of Information and Communications has asked its controlling structure, the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications, to examine eight online games which have been generating massive interest in Internet cafes and other outlets among students and citizens alike.

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Poker Players Alliance refuses to support HR6663

The chairman of the one million member Poker Players Alliance, Former Senator Alphonse D'Amato says that the Alliance cannot support Texas Representative Pete Session's Bill HR6663 because it confuses a clear judicial understanding of the status quo of online poker.

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Still no reasons for USTR postponement of EU meetings

Last week's surprise announcement that U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab had postponed key meetings with European Union officials on a Remote Gambling Association (RGA) complaint accusing the US of discriminatory and protectionist practices in violation of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules has still not been justified, or a new date set.

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Poker in the Park reprised at Leicester Square

London's Leicester Square will again be the centre of UK poker action next week as a reprise of last year's popular "Poker in the Park" festival is presented each evening between August 15 and 16. The event will undoubtedly heighten the profile of the game in preparation for the World Series of Poker Europe, which takes place at the Empire casino on the square between September 19 and October 2.

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Betterbet taken over by UK bookie Stan James

The online sportsbook division of BetterBet, the Playtech-powered white label sportsbook, poker and casino site managed by Inside Gaming appears to have enjoyed a short life despite an impressive management team experienced in the UK betting business.

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Sportech profits up 50 percent

The UK football pool group Sportech has reported positive H.1 2008 results, highlighting a healthy 50 percent rise in pre-tax profits to £7.8 million, and an increase in gross win revenues to £36.6 million - up 28 percent.

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