Online Casino and Gambling News: July 2009

Management at mobile gambling specialist firm Probability plc was in confident mood as the week ended, having inked an agreement with Orbis Technology which allows all Orbis OpenBet and Fixed Odds games customers to "seamlessly deploy" Probability's mobile games, including bingo, poker and slots.

The UK land and online gambling group Rank Group plc published its half-year results for the six months ended 30 June 2009 on Friday, with its online division recording an 8% decline to £24.9 million (H1,2008: £27 millon). Operating profit fell 14% to £3 million (H1,2008: £3.5 million).

Smart online gambling operators will be paying a lot more attention to the security of player information on their websites - and those who are making such information available to third parties will have pause for thought - following the results of a YouGov study earlier this year in collaboration with VeriSign.

The still restrictive laws on offering online gambling to Italians could be in for a more enlightened remake, industry observers are speculating. And it could happen before the end of 2009.

In Minnesota, six lottery ticket retailers have admitted guilt and been convicted on charges of trying to claim customers' ticket wins as their own, reports the Pioneer Press. Three were convicted of felonies, and three received one-year suspended sentences, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported this week.

For some months now the unofficial news has been that the island of Jersey - off the French coast in the Channel Isles - has ambitions to become an Internet gambling licensing jurisdiction. The cost of land licensing will therefore be of interest as an indicator of what the cost is likely to be, and it is going up.

The Australian-based online gambling group Centrebet has become Cryptologic's latest games licensee, signing a multi-year agreement for at least ten games from the gambling software provider.

The Reuters news agency reports that Italy's antitrust watchdog has opened a probe into gambling operator Sisal SpA, a competitor of Lottomatica SpA, on suspicion of abuse of market dominance in its Superenalotto game.

Surrey based self-employed carpenter Kevin Packer (28) is celebrating this week after scooping a £100,000 win without risking a penny, thanks to a no deposit bonus from William Hill Casino.

Ukash has brought Australia into its widening international net of customer outlets, inking a deal with epay Australia. Ukash vouchers, which allow consumers to shop, pay and play online using cash, will initially be available at 3,600 outlets across Australia with the possibility of expansion later in the year.