Perth Now reports that the WA state parliament has passed legislation requiring wagering operators across Australia and overseas to pay a fee for betting on WA racing.

Racing and gaming minister Terry Waldron said the Legislative Council had passed the legislation without amendment and the horse racing industry would soon benefit from the revenue flow.

“The Western Australian TAB is currently paying fees to interstate racing industries for the right to bet on their racing product and these fees amount to about $18-million per year,” Waldron said.

“This legislation will allow the Western Australian racing industry to charge similar fees on WA racing and thereby claw back up to $15-million of lost revenue.” He added that the levy would be applicable retrospectively from September 1 2008, will be based on a betting operator’s turnover or gross revenue, and will be directed to the WA racing industry.

The Minister said regulations to set the fee and enable the process were currently being drafted and it was hoped that the in-flow of fees would start in the new year.

“Securing the financial benefit of our racing product for the local industry is crucial. Had we not acted, the industry faced the prospect of losing nearly $18-million per year from the stakes base for metropolitan and country racing,” he said.

The legislation allowed all authorised Australian betting operators to use WA race fields, provided they continued paying the levy and complied with information requirements in relation to matters concerning the integrity and reputation of the racing industry.

Offshore betting operators would be required to apply to the Gaming and Wagering Commission for approval to use the race fields, and will also be subject to the same conditions as those operators licensed in Australia.

Waldron said domestic operators could pay the levy based on a percentage of either turnover or gross revenue.

“Wagering betting operators will pay either 1.5 percent of turnover, or the greater of 20 percent of gross revenue or 0.2 percent of turnover,” he said.

Betfair is currently in the middle of a court action against Racing New South Wales over a similar levy. The head of Betfair’s Australian operations, Andrew Twaits, has argued that the NSW racing authority is colluding with Betfair’s local rival Tabcorp in trying to force his company out of the state.

Betfair initiated the litigation against Racing New South Wales following the imposition of a 1.5 percent levy on turnover, describing the action by the racing authority as anti-competitive and discriminatory between different businesses.

Another corporate bookmaker, Sportsbet, is challenging the constitutionality of the legislation that was used to introduce the levy, reports the Australian newspaper “The Age”.

Betfair and other low-margin corporate bookmakers say the levy should be calculated on gross revenue, as it is in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, because the NSW model heavily favours the incumbent TAB operator, Tabcorp.

The 1.5 percent levy constitutes 60 percent of Betfair’s gross revenue, the company complains, contrasting this with the fact that Tabcorp pays only 9.75 percent of its gross revenue due to a different business model.

The disparity comes about because the TAB has far thicker margins than the corporate bookmakers. The TAB takes 16 cents out of every dollar in the betting pool, while corporates like Betfair take out between 1 percent and 3 percent, giving the punter a better deal.

Running to 12 pages, the report makes the unsurprising finding that the state’s lawmakers are faced with three choices: do nothing and await federal level legalisation; pass a law expressly banning online poker, or take the initiative and pass laws to legalise it in the state of Florida.

The report examines the implications of each course of action, commenting that the federal option is unlikely to establish the additional consumer protection that Florida might wish for, and that there are uncertainties over whether a legalisative attempt at federal level would be successful anyway.

Actively prohibiting online poker, on the other hand, was fraught with difficulties regarding effective enforcement but could ameliorate the dangers of compulsive gambling. Here the impartiality of the study slips to some extent, quoting unidentified ‘opponents of gambling expansion’ as claiming that Internet gambling addiction rates are ‘three to four times higher’ than conventional offline gambling. This claim is highly arguable with well documented scientific studies by respected institutions, yet this does not appear to have been explored in greater depth.

The third choice – legalising online poker at state level – offers the advantage of more closely meeting Florida’s regulatory wishes, and the possibility of raising tax revenues. However, in this area too the study reaches some puzzling conclusions, commenting that ‘expanding authorized gambling in the state to include Internet gambling could generate revenue’, but noting that ‘at this time no objective estimates exist to assess potential state revenues.’ This flies in the face of an estimate of $90 million a year in tax income which was submitted to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability recently by the Poker Voters of America after being independently assessed by the H2 Consultancy.

Much of the report deals with the present laws governing online gambling at federal and state level, noting that although there are federal claims that it is illegal throughout the United States through the outdated Wire Act, Florida state law ‘…does not expressly prohibit Internet Gambling.’ However, it notes that in the opinion of the Florida state Attorney General ‘…the Wire Act provisions, in combination with state law, prohibit an individual from placing a bet or wager by wire communication or via the Internet.’

Police in Rome announced Monday the arrest of nine people accused of illegal betting in Italian football. Amongst those arrested was the president of third division team Potenza, Giuseppe Postiglione and Pro Vastese sports director Luca Evangelista.

They are accused of being involved in organised crime and of sporting fraud relating to a number of bets placed on matches in the second and third divisions from 2007 to 2009.

One match under investigation is the Serie B encounter between Ravenna and Lecce on April 26, 2008, won 3-1 by the away side, on which Postiglione alledgedly placed a bet that won him Euro 86 000.

Giovanni Colangelo, the public prosecutor in Potenza, claimed match-fixing had been taking place.

This is not the first Italian scandal of this nature. In 2006 the Calciopoli scandal involved high-profile Serie A teams and resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B and stripped of their last two league titles. AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were also punished for their roles in alleged match-fixing.

Following the weekend disclosures, FIFA has called an emergency meeting in December to discuss questionable refereeing and obviating corruption in ‘the beautiful game’ reports Bloomberg business news.

President Sepp Blatter called the meeting in response to refereeing that allowed a handball that helped send France to the World Cup last week and the arrest of suspects in Europe’s largest match-fixing investigation. There were also riots before and after a qualifying game between Algeria and Egypt.

“Due to recent events in the world of football, namely incidents at the playoffs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, match control (refereeing) and irregularities in the football betting market, the FIFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee,” FIFA said in a statement Monday.

Bloomberg reports that the police action in Europe follows raids in the U.K., Switzerland and Germany. Police said betting companies may have been defrauded out of as much as Euro 10 million euros in cheating and corruption scams.

“But this is just the tip of the iceberg,” investigating German prosecutor Andreas Bachmann said.

Moneybookers has transferred the benefits of the Moneybookers eWallet into the offline world whilst giving its customers instant access to their cash, wherever they are, using the new product. Moneybookers is the first mainstream eWallet provider to do this, a spokesman claimed this week.

Unlike existing prepaid cards, customers using the Moneybookers MasterCard, issued by Newcastle Building Society in the UK, will not have to split funds and separately preload the card. Instead, the Moneybookers MasterCard synchronises automatically in real time with the funds in the customer’s Moneybookers eWallet.

This innovative feature gives the card an ease of use and simplicity that makes it suitable for managing finances in a wide variety of applications. As well as allowing customers to shop online and offline, users can both book holiday flights and pay for their souvenirs when away. Businesses can pay their suppliers – all whilst managing their spending directly via their Moneybookers eWallet.

The card is available for all Moneybookers customers with a set up fee / annual fee of Euro 10, and withdrawal fees set at Euro 1.80 and FX fee at 1.99 percent. The card will initially be available in four currencies: GBP, EUR, USD and PLN.

Currently, over 12 000 new Moneybookers eWallet accounts are opened every day, the spokesman revealed, adding that the alternative payment sector is estimated to make up 30 percent of all online transactions by 2012, suggesting that consumers will continue to seek alternatives to banks for day to day activity.

Martin Ott, co-CEO of Moneybookers, said: “We’re very pleased to be launching the next step in online payments. We recently signed up our ten millionth account holder; as this sector grows our customers are increasingly looking to exploit the time and safety benefits of the eWallet in the real world.”

“As the largest provider of MasterCard prepaid cards in the UK and Europe, NCS is pleased to work in partnership with Moneybookers and together drive further the development of the prepaid cards industry,” said Kriya Patel, Head of Newcastle Card Solutions Limited. “The Moneybookers eWallet offers a whole new dimension in terms of convenience and this new card brings together for customers the benefits of a sophisticated online payment platform with access to their money offline, wherever they are, whenever they choose.”

The new Paddy Power operation is a white label of London Capital Group, which has a list of clients also powered by Ariel’s technology, including financial spreadbetting sites E*Trade Spread Betting and Tradefair Spreads.

The Ariel platform uses Flex technology, enabling faster response times, robust connections and up-to-date prices.

Simon Denham, CFO of London Capital Group said: “This was an extremely efficient, hassle-free upgrade. We have been collecting feedback from our customers, most of whom are retail investors, and have received overwhelmingly positive commentary on the new platform. It offers customers a much richer interface, faster pricing, multiple views, multiple trade tickets as well as tear-off windows.”

Angus Clacher, CEO of Ariel, revealed that the new platform was delivered in a short timeframe and without interruption to Paddy Powers’ operations. “The project was completed in 8 weeks and there was zero downtime, which is essential for a business like Paddy Power Trader, which trades 24 hours a day,” he said.

The platforms new features include:

* Faster Trading: the stake entry is embedded in the trade ticket so that paddypower customers have default stakes, the ability to directly edit on ticket and visual cues on the BUY/SELL buttons.

* Multiple Trade Tickets: enable paddypower customers to watch multiple live markets and trade with a single click.

* Multiple Views with Browser Tear-offs: allow simultaneous opening and arranging of windows including “My Portfolio” and “Open Positions”.

* Cherry Picking: the ability to cherry pick open positions permits trades to be closed in the order the client sees fit. This allows a client to
close a profitable trade in order to increase trading resources for use on other trades.

The company has signed a sponsorship agreement on the Hahnenkamm World Cup alpine ski race that will see it supporting the event until 2012.

Bwin will generate publicity for the event public relatons and marketing activities, hospitality and promotions, providing media backdrops and, notably, a huge 60 metre long advertising billboard on the Seidlalm curve during the Super G and Downhill races. The company’s logo will be featured prominently throughout the slalom course.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this sponsorship agreement,” said Manfred Bodner, Co-CEO at Bwin. “In the years since its conception, the race has developed into a huge event and it fascinates even those who do not usually follow ski racing. For us, as an international brand with Austrian roots, it’s an honour to be part of such a global ski highlight.”

The event takes place between January 22 and 24 next year in Kitzb?hel, Austria.

The deal, commencing next (December) month, has significant reciprocal benefits for both parties, including an extensive portfolio of Hull KR rights for Sportingbet such as brand positioning on the front and back of the home and away jerseys as well as the club’s training kit.
Sportingbet.com branding will also feature prominently in the stadium, including perimeter boards, the dugouts and the players’ tunnel, and the online gambling group will be sponsoring the club’s website and plans to create a dedicated Hull KR microsite with news, offers and competitions throughout the season for fans.

Hull KR will benefit from the increased exposure that will result from the relationship, both in the UK and overseas. The club will have a strong presence on promotional material and Hull KR-related campaigns that Sportingbet.com will be undertaking over the course of the agreement.

The deal augments sponsorship agreements that Sportingbet has acquired with leading football clubs such as Premier League teams Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Portsmouth FC.

The move into Rugby League will help the brand build its overall sporting credentials and Hull KR will subsequently benefit from this expertise.

Sportingbet.com will be present in the stadium, with a comprehensive package of perimeter advertising, VIP hospitality and online betting services to Hull KR supporters, including in-play betting.

“Hull KR has grown into one of the leading clubs in the game and this partnership reinforces this,” said Neil Hudgell, club chairman of Hull KR. “Sportingbet.com is Europe’s biggest online bookmaker and we are delighted to be working with them,” he added.

Marc Thomas, head of sportsbook operations at Sportingbet.com, said: “Sportingbet.com is proud to be supporting Hull Kingston Rovers this season. We’d been monitoring them closely over the last season and their terrific performances confirmed what a great opportunity this is.
“Sportingbet.com shares many of the values and attributes of the club and its supporters – a real heritage, knowledge and passion for rugby league, a desire to entertain and to bring fans closer to the game,” he said.

Teruntum assemblyman Chang Hong Seong drew attention to the phenomenon again this week, claiming that despite action taken by the authorities in addressing the problem of gambling at Internet cafes, many such outlets are still operating openly.

The Star.com reports that the politician revealed that most of the patrons were youths, and this could lead to social problems and an increase in crime if the youths became addicted to gambling.

“I have written to state police chief Datuk Robiah Abdul Ghani expressing my concern over the matter after receiving numerous complaints,” the assemblyman told the State Assembly.

“In the first 10 months of this year, the police and local council inspected 81 premises in Kuantan district and revoked the licences of 37 outlets.

“A utilities company was roped in to cut electricity supply at these outlets,” Chang said, urging all parties, particularly the local council and police, to step up enforcement and surveillance so that Internet gambling outlets would not continue to flourish.

Gaming VC was established in 2004, is headquartered in Luxembourg and is licensed in Malta, the Netherlands Antilles, and Italy. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the AIM market.

Chartwell’s chief operating officer, Dave Acorn said: “We are seeing increased demand for the benefits offered by an open architecture platform. To fully realize global growth opportunity and preserve the investment operators have made in their existing infrastructure to date was one of our key considerations during the development of the latest version of our Chartwell gaming platform.

“Betaland will be the first client to launch on our new state-of-the-art Chartwell Games Platform in Alderney.”

The Betaland.com website offers a wide range of online betting methods that include poker from Boss Media, download casino action from Net Entertainment, virtual horseracing, live dealer wagering and sportsbetting. It is one of 7 online gaming sites owned by Gaming VC Holdings SA.

In a move that a number of observers are speculating is a publicity stunt for Team Full Tilt, which Dwan recently joined, the audacious online poker star has issued a challenge for Isildur1 to reveal his identity and meet him for a live confrontation in London.

The invitation is for the Swede to accept a spot in the live Full Tilt Poker Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge, arranged by Matchroom Sport and scheduled to take place next week at the Les Ambassadeurs club in Mayfair.

“The poker community seems to have stood still over the past few days to watch this epic online match-up between Tom and Isildur1,” said Eddie Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Sport. “We are hoping he can come out from behind his avatar to be part of TV history in London.”

The rules of the heads-up match are: blinds are $500/$1,000 and each player buys in for $500 000. Neither player can leave until they are broke or 500 hands are complete. Opponents may choose No-Limit Hold’em or Pot-Limit Hold’em.

Three players have so far accepted the challenge: Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, UK businessman Sammy “any two” George and online cash game maven Marcello “Luckexpress” Marigiano.

“This is poker in its most raw form – two players battling it out for $1 million, mano-a-mano,” said Hearn. “It doesn’t get any bigger than this.”