WORLDGAMING plc HALTS TRADING Shares of online gaming firm World Gaming Plc (WGP.L)) were suspended on Monday at the company's request because a looming U.S. ban on online gaming had it difficult to continue trading.  "Following discussions with all of key parties concerned and having taken legal advice, (the directors) have requested the trading of the company's shares be suspended with immediate effect due to a fundamental uncertainty over its ability to continue trading," it said in a statement.

Leisure & Gaming plc OUT OF USA It is the view of the Board that following enactment of the Legislation it will no longer be appropriate for the Company to serve US-based customers and that the Company should focus solely on its existing UK and Italian businesses. As a result the Company is undertaking a strategic review in order to decide whether to suspend, close or sell its US operations. In particular, the Company has received a number of approaches and is at a preliminary stage in progressing discussions which may or may not lead to an offer for the Company\'s US-facing businesses. The Board is actively exploring the optimal route to maximise value for the Company' s shareholders.

Fairground Gaming down on closure of US ops Punters exited Fairground Gaming Holdings, 6 pence adrift at 17, after the company joined a growing list of UK online gaming companies to announce the closure of its US business because of the recent legislative crackdown. The group, which runs casino and poker websites, said it will cease taking bets from US customers because of the imminent passage into law of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

PartyGaming falls from FTSE as Empire seeks refuge Online gaming firms continued to suffer on Monday from a looming U.S. ban as World Gaming fought for survival, Empire Online said it would invest in safer lines of business and PartyGaming was earmarked to exit the FTSE 100 index.

Bet365 Group Responds to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act We regret to inform you that due to recent legal developments in the US, bet365 are no longer able accept customers who are resident in the United States of America. Any outstanding balance in your account can be withdrawn back to you in the usual manner. Please confirm how you would like to withdraw this money. Any returns from unsettled wagers will be sent back once settlement has taken place. Please contact us to confirm when your wager has settled or if you would like clarification of your unsettled wagers.

Britain may loosen Internet gambling law Britain may bring in legislation allowing London-listed Internet gambling companies to move their headquarters to Britain, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. The paper said it had seen documents in which the government said the move would provide Britain's online gamblers with "a safe, well-regulated environment." The paper also said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had been lobbying the Treasury to introduce a favorable tax regime for online gambling companies. The biggest London-listed Internet gambling company, PartyGaming Plc which is in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, is based in Gibraltar, as is 888 Holdings Plc. Empire Online Ltd is based in the British Virgin Islands.

Antigua Protests US Anti-Gaming Law, by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington Antigua and Barbuda's Minister of Finance, Dr Errol Cort, just returned from a visit to the US to persuade officials to accept the WTO's anti-US ruling on Internet gambling, has expressed shock and dismay at the passage by Congress of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.  Stated Dr Cort: "It is remarkable that on the heels of our visit, during the course of which we highlighted the desire of Antigua to amicably work together with the United States Government in ensuring the safe delivery of these services to consumers in America, the Congress should choose to further protect their remote domestic industry at the cost of countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, where these services are highly regulated."  While expanding domestic opportunities for legal gaming, the legislation effectively bans all international and inter-state online gaming, by making it illegal for banks and credit card firms to make payments to such internet operations. The provisions were tacked by Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist (R-Tenn) onto an unrelated bill on port security and have been sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. Dr Cort's delegation held a series of meetings with representatives of the US Department of State, the US Trade Representative, the Department of Justice and with Members of Congress, in an attempt to resolve the impasse over the American government's refusal to comply with a WTO ruling against US actions preventing banks from processing transactions from online gaming firms based in the islands.

Web server threat deals a new blow to Sportingbet Sportingbet yesterday suffered another blow to its US-facing online gambling business after the rival company which hosts its web servers in Antigua announced it may be forced to cease trading. World Gaming, which had, until recently, been the subject of takeover talks with Sportingbet, yesterday suspended trading in its shares. It told investors there was a "fundamental uncertainty" over its ability to continue trading.  A spokesman for Sportingbet last night refused to comment, but the company is understood to be urgently seeking alternative web server providers willing to be linked to the controversial industry.

FireOne to block U.S. gamblers after ban Payment processor FireOne Group said on Tuesday it would stop dealing with U.S. online gamblers after President George W. Bush signs a bill into law banning payments for online gaming there.  "The act will have a significant negative impact on the business ... and consequently the company has embarked upon a restructuring of its operations and cost base," it added.

How horse racing avoided new US internet betting law The American horse racing industry paid more than $3m (£1.6m) in political donations, and spent millions of dollars more on entertainment and "education", to ensure its exemption from the new internet betting laws that sealed the destruction of offshore online gambling.  The figures show a sophisticated lobbying effort targeted at specific Congressmen, and have infuriated executives from the UK-listed online gambling companies whose shares have collapsed by more than half in the past three days.  See More.

Internet ban a boon to gambling industry Advocates of a bill targeting Internet gambling wanted it passed so badly that they "sold their souls" in agreeing to numerous exemptions that will generally help rather than hinder the gambling industry, an expert said Wednesday.  Attorney Tony Cabot, founding editor of the Internet Gambling Report and coeditor of the Gaming Law Review, said in an interview that the bill, long sought by congressional conservatives opposed to online gambling, "opens up huge opportunities" for the industry. See More.

Chartwell  and Parlay Agree to Extend Merger Date Chartwell Technology Inc. (TSX:CWH - News; "Chartwell") a leading provider of gaming software systems to the online and remote gaming industry and Parlay Entertainment Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PEI - News; "Parlay") the world's leading provider of Internet bingo solutions, announced today their intention to extend the closing date for a proposed business combination, originally set out in a Letter of Intent (the "LOI") entered into on August 30, 2006.

Australian Online Shares Crash Too The US Congress decision to approve the Internet Gambling bill appears to be having a devastating impact on global industry share prices as news breaks that Melbourne-based Betcorp Ltd, and Lasseters Corporation, based in Queensland have both slumped on the Australian Stock Exchange. Betcorp slumped 57 percent from 106.5c to 81.5, with Lasseters down 51.4 percent at 3.5c. Both companies derive most of their revenues from the United States and are expected to be hit hard by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was unexpectedly rushed through the US Congress on Saturday.

Four lose chips on Sportingbet gamble Four of the biggest institutional shareholders in Sportingbet, the internet gaming company, yesterday saw a combined £140m (€208m) wiped off the value of their shares as the US Congress approved new laws restricting online gambling.

Fidelity International, M&G Investments, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and New Star are among the biggest institutional shareholders in the company, which saw a 65% slide in its share price yesterday following moves by the US Congress to ban credit card firms and banks from taking payments intended for the gambling groups.

Fidelity, which as of September 26 held 15% in Sportingbet according to regulatory filings, saw £74.8m (€111.4m) wiped off the paper value of its stake.

M&G, with a 5.8% share of Sportingbet as of yesterday, will have been hit by a fall in value of £28.9m. The manager was buying shares in the gambling group as late as Friday last week, Regulatory News Service filings show.

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers had a 5.25% stake as of yesterday, and will have seen the value drop by £26m. As of of September 25, New Star had a 2.1% holding, which will have fallen in value by £10.5m.

Fidelity was hit further from a reduction in the paper value of its 4.1% stake in online gaming group 888.com, whose shares dropped 26%. It would have seen £5.2m taken off the value of that holding.

Merrill Lynch declined to comment on its losses. Fidelity, M&G and New Star did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Pokerstars to leave USA? PokerStars, the number two poker room and one that operates privately, removed its NETeller links on Monday ahead of a initial

decision to also leave the US market.

PartyGaming dismisses report on loan problems PartyGaming Plc (London: PRTY.L - News) dismissed a newspaper report on Wednesday that it must negotiate a new loan facility with its banks within 30 days of President Bush approving a bill to crack down on Internet gambling. The Financial Times reported that the move was prompted by a clause in a $500 million loan agreement allowing its lenders to call in the loan in the event of an alteration in U.S. law that affects PartyGaming's position in the country.  See More.

PartyGaming to Scrap Its Dividend  PartyGaming PLC, the world's biggest online gambling company, said it will scrap its interim dividend afte

WorldGaming in trouble The Board of World Gaming announce, having reviewed the Company's debt facilities agreement, that the Directors believe it may be in technical default of its loan conditions due to a material adverse change in the circumstances of the business, arising from proposed changes in legislation in the United States.  The Company continues to operate at the current time and is in discussion with its lenders.

Analysts weigh in Analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort said: "We do not believe this [law] is the end game. This could be construed as a violation of civil rights and promoting a chilling effect on free speech in the US." Experts highlighted that the bill includes carve-outs for a number of other online gambling activities including horse racing, Indian tribes, intrastate activities and fantasy sports.

"This represents protectionism and is in contradiction of the World Trade Organisation ruling in the US versus Antigua and Barbuda case," said Dresdner. The WTO ruled in 2004 that the current US administration was infringing on the trade rights of Antiguan online gaming and poker sites.

AGA Comments Even the American Gaming Association, which represents the traditional casino industry in gambling mecca's like Las Vegas and Atlantic City,

said the new bill was a "bad idea." AGA chief executive Frank Fahrenkopf said his group wanted a federal commission to study whether the technology exists to go after under-age gambling on the Internet while regulating and taxing above-board websites.

"I still think the next Congress will pass such a measure," he said.

Banks See Protections in Gambling Bill The Internet gambling legislation passed late last week by the U.S. Congress, which led to a major sell-off of Britain-based online gambling stocks Monday, remains a concern to the U.S. banking industry but isn't as burdensome as feared.

"We got some language in the bill that looks like it protects the financial services industry," said Steve Verdier, director of congressional relations for the Independent Community Bankers of America, which represents almost 5,000 banks in the United States. "It could have been a lot worse."

The legislation is designed to prohibit U.S. banks and credit card companies from processing payments for illegal online gambling. Financial services companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had expressed concerns about the compliance burdens that would be imposed, such as tracking and blocking potentially millions of transactions.

Under the legislation as passed, "If you are acting as a normal bank, and you're not in some sort of conspiracy with a betting house, then you are not going to be held liable," Verdier said.  "If they find that the banks just don't have the technology to track and block these transactions, then we don't have to," Verdier said. "The Fed and Treasury are not supposed to ask us to do the impossible."

Full Tilt Poker to stay in US market Trying to calm its players’ nerves, Full Tilt also helped to clarify the grey areas surrounding the legislation via the site’s poker blog. ”The new legislation will not criminalize individuals for playing online poker. Instead, the bill will eventually attempt to prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming. As poker is a game of skill rather than of pure chance, we hope that it will not be affected by this new bill.“

Vancouver still an iGaming Mecca The Vancouver Sun reports in its Tuesday edition on-line gambling is big business for Vancouver's technology sector. The Sun's Derrick Penner writes up to 1,500 people write software, test programs and offer on-line transaction services for offshore casino websites, according to one estimate. "Vancouver has actually been one of the hubs of software development for the industry," said Jake Kalpakian, president of Vancouver's Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment. Mr. Kalpakian's company employs 25 programmers in Vancouver. Another five operate the sales and marketing operations in Cyprus. He estimates in Vancouver the bulk of those employed providing services for on-line casinos work for Bodog.com, the Costa Rica-based business of Canadian billionaire Calvin Ayre. Others include World Gaming. Chartwell Technology is another rival to Las Vegas From Home, which employs 25 of its 130 North American employees in Vancouver, said David Bajwa the firm's manager of investor relations. Mr. Bajwa believes it would be difficult to make an accurate count of how big the sector is here. Vancouver is home to a significant number. The Sun on Monday located at least 10 firms with operations within the city.

Below are some of the firms with operations in Vancouver that offer services to online casinos.

- Riptown Media, advertising and marketing: 250 employees.

- Triple Crown Customer Service, customer support: 200 employees.

- Chartwell Technology Inc., software development: 25 employees.

- Las Vegas at Home.com Entertainment Inc., software development: 25 employees.

- Technical Systems Testing, website testing services: 15 employees.

- Thrillx Systems Ltd., software development: six employees.

- Citadel Commerce Corp., online transaction services.

- World Gaming, software development and customer service.

- Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Ltd.

Gaming Transactions Inc. Launches Poker at Keno.com Software Managed by CYOP Systems   LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keno.com Ltd. (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaming Transactions Inc. (Pink Sheets:GGTS - News

Keno.com's software is managed by RedFelt Software Ltd. (UK), a subsidiary of CYOP Systems International Inc. (OTCBB:CYOS - News)

Party Gaming to stop taking US Bets (PartyPoker)

CRYP to stop taking US Bets (Intercasino)

888 to stop taking US Bets  (Casino-on-net, Pacific Poker)

Deal between WorldGaming and Sportingbet is called off

Is Sportingbet also going to discontinue USA operations? (Sportsbook.com)

Is WorldGaming stopping USA too?  (Sportsbetting)

Most Gaming stocks down 60% to 75%

I. NELSON ROSE COMMENTS The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was rammed through Congress by the Republican leadership in the final minutes before the election period recess.  According to Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), no one on the Senate-House Conference Committee had even seen the final language of the bill.  The Act is title VIII of a completely unrelated bill, the Safe Port Act, HR 4954, dealing with port security.  It can be found on pages 213 -244 of the Conference Report: http://www.saveonlinegaming.com/hr49543.pdf.  It is based on the Leach and Goodlatte bills, HR 4411 and HR 4777, but there are some important differences.  See More

Online gaming in crisis over U.S. ban

By Pete Harrison

Online gambling firms faced their biggest-ever crisis on Monday after U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming there, threatening jobs and wiping 3.5 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) off company values.

Britain's PartyGaming Plc, operator of leading Internet poker site PartyPoker.com, and rivals Sportingbet and 888 Plc said they would likely pull out of the United States, their biggest source of revenue.

"This development is a significant setback for our company, our shareholders, our players and our industry," PartyGaming Chief Executive Mitch Garber said.

The House of Representatives and Senate unexpectedly approved a bill early on Saturday that would make it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

The measure was sent to President George W. Bush to sign into law, which most analysts see as a certainty.

"We believe that this will have a very material impact on the long-term prospects of online gambling, and in particular poker," said analyst Julian Easthope at UBS. "This will lead to a rapid decline in the use of online poker sites."

PartyGaming generates about 78 percent of its revenue from the United States, while Sportingbet gets about 62 percent there.

CRACKDOWN

Shares in PartyGaming, which rakes in nearly $4 million a day from its 19 million customers, fell 57 percent by 1155 GMT.

Sportingbet, which owns sportsbook.com and ParadisePoker.com, lost 60 percent, 888 was down 33 percent and Austria's bwin.com fell 24 percent.

Bwin could be pushed to the brink, having paid heavily for Swedish online poker site Ongame earlier this year to gain access to the U.S. market, said Leopold Salcher, an analyst at Austria's RCB. "This could break their neck," he said.

Online gaming exploded in 2005 with a string of high-profile company flotations in London, which has become the industry's corporate center.

The bulk of revenue has always come from U.S. players, but the firms were located in offshore jurisdictions like Costa Rica and Antigua for fear of prosecution in the United States, where the legal status of online gaming and betting was uncertain.

Shares in Sportingbet and BETonSPORTS had already been hammered after recent arrests of senior executives on charges of illegal gambling in individual U.S. states, but investors remained hopeful online betting and gaming would not be completely banned at a federal level.

Meanwhile, big American corporations like Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. were forced to sit on the sidelines as gaming money streamed out of the country.

PartyGaming said in a statement, "If the President signs the act into law, the company will suspend all real money gaming business with U.S. residents."

"Any such suspension would also result in the group's financial performance falling significantly short of consensus forecasts for 2006 and 2007," it added.

MERGER SCRAPPED

Stephen Whittaker, joint chief investment officer at Britain's New Star Asset Management, said the likely ban could be challenged.

"This represents protectionism, and the WTO have said you can't do that," said Whittaker, whose portfolio includes about 2 percent of online gaming stocks. "Overall, we'll probably remain with most of our holdings."

"We'll probably reduce one, maybe two," he added. "We want to let the dust settle a bit -- it will take a few days."

Sportingbet said a ban would hit trading and it would scrap a planned merger with World Gaming as a result.

888 Plc said the move would hit its results, as did gaming software provider Playtech, whose shares fell 42 percent.

But Paul Leyland at Arbuthnot Securities said Playtech was relatively well positioned. "The only company for which you could categorically say that redeployment is easy is Playtech," he said. "But for the others it's much more difficult."

A ban would also hit payment processors such as Neteller Plc and Optimal Group's FireOne subsidiary.

(Additional reporting by Laurence Fletcher in London and Alexandra Schwarz in Vienna)

888 TO SUSPEND US OPERATIONS 888 Holdings, one of the biggest companies in the $12bn online gambling industry, is expected to suspend indefinitely business from US customers on Monday, according to a report in the Financial Times of London. People close to 888 said they believed the company would issue a statement to the London Stock Exchange accepting that the passing of the bill in the US Senate on Friday would have a "material" detrimental impact on its business, according to the report.

888 is the parent company of Pacific Poker.

The online gambling industry is bracing for i-gaming stocks to be in turmoil

much of Monday following the weekend's news. Most of the sector companies that trade on the London Stock Exchange rely heavily on the US market, including PartyGaming, whose US market is estimated to be more than 80%.

"The provision does not ban online gambling," insisted one online gambling

industry expert and attorney who wished not to be identified. "There are

restrictions that are not imposed on the gamblers themselves."

The bill attempts to make the use of credit cards, eChecks and bank wires more

difficult for the purposes of online gambling within the next 270 days. A time

limit has been placed on the bill to ensure banks can set up a system of

compliance, which is currently not in place and may never be.

PartyGaming, the biggest online gambling company, said it was "evaluating the

situation" and was expected to issue a statement on Monday.

SportingBet - whose former chairman Peter Dicks returned to the UK on Saturday after a New York court refused to extradite him to Louisiana, where he faced a charge of "gambling by computer" - was believed to be preparing a statement for the stock exchange, but is expected to wait to assess the impact of the bill, according to the Financial Times.

888, which relies on the US for half its profits, was said to be in the process

of deciding to make a clean break with the US, paying back gambling deposits

paid by customers when they registered on the company's websites.

US Congress approves Internet gambling ban bill WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Most forms of Internet gambling would be banned under a bill that received final U.S. congressional approval early Saturday.

The House of Representatives and Senate approved the measure and sent it to President George W. Bush to sign into law.

The bill, a compromise between earlier versions passed by the two chambers, would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

Democrats had accused Republicans of pushing the bill to placate its conservative base, particularly the religious right, before the Nov. 7 congressional elections.

"It's been over 10 years in the making. The enforcement provisions provided by this bill will go a long way to stop these illegal online operations," said Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican and a chief sponsor of the measure.

Negotiators from the Republican-led House and Senate reached a deal on the legislation Friday and attached it to unrelated legislation to bolster port security, which the Congress approved.

The final bill dropped earlier provisions opposed by some gaming interests that would have clarified that a 1961 federal law banning interstate telephone betting also covers an array of online gambling.

Investors in British-based gaming companies such as BETonSPORTS Plc (BSS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Partygaming Plc (PRTY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and 888 Holdings Plc (888.L: Quote, Profile, Research) have tracked the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican and potential 2008 presidential candidate, recently appeared at a hearing in Iowa -- the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest for the 2008 election -- to listen to concerns about Internet gambling. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky)

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Dicks can go home again Peter Dicks, former chairman of Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L: Quote, Profile, Research), can return to the United Kingdom after New York Governor George Pataki refused to sign the extradition order, a defense attorney said on Friday.

Dicks, who resigned as chairman of online gambling firm Sportingbet two weeks ago, was arrested in New York on Sept. 7. Louisiana authorities want him extradited to the state to face charges related to Internet gambling.

ukbetting plc Acquisition of The Ritz Club London Online ukbetting plc, (UKB.L) the online sports content and gaming company, has today acquired The Ritz Club London Online for an undisclosed sum. Under new ownership, the online operation will have no connection with the land based casino, The Ritz Club, operating from The Ritz Hotel, London. The online gaming site is fully operational for customers with immediate effect.

Cyop Systems launches first licensee at Keno.com Company Expects to Drive Corporate Revenues from Tier One URL Partnership  London, UK, September 27, 2006 // RedFelt Software Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CYOP Systems International Inc. (NASD OTCBB: CYOS.OB), a provider of online casino software and operator of games portals, is pleased to announce that its first licensee has launched at www.keno.com.

Gaming Transactions Inc. launches new version of KENO.COM London, UK, September 27, 2006 -  Keno.com Ltd. (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaming Transactions Inc. (GGTS.PK:) and a leading provider of online gaming portal management is pleased to announce that that it has launched a new version of Keno.com. Patrick Smyth, CEO of Keno.com Ltd. commented, ”We are ecstatic to have launched the new software, and will begin marketing immediately.  The platform, on which Keno.com resides, is resilient, provides players with entertaining games and allows us to expand and grow.  This is the first version of games, and we will be rolling out our new Keno games and Progressive Keno in the very near future.“

William Hill halts U.S. betting British bookmaker William Hill said on Wednesday it had stopped its gaming business in the United States, pending clarification of the scope and enforceability of state and federal gaming laws. William Hill said it had taken steps to stop accepting casino and poker business from clients with a U.S. address or U.S.-issued credit card, the same as steps already in place to prevent Internet betting on sports events by U.S. residents.

Ritz stops taking online wagers On Tuesday, London's upmarket Ritz Hotel said it had closed its online gaming site due to legal uncertainty.

Antigua Fights on While US political pundits warn that this would not be the last effort to tie the gaming legislation to other essential bills, the government of Antigua & Barbuda is continuing its efforts to achieve an end to its Internet gaming conflict with the US through diplomacy. Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr Errol Cort is currently in Washington for meetings with influential members of Congress, as well as officials in the office of the US Trade Representative, the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department. The aim, he says, is to negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution to the Internet gaming matter.

Antigua & Barbuda has waged a lengthy battle with the US at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the issue and the case is currently before a WTO panel which will, over the next two months, assess America's level of compliance with the trade body's 2005 ruling. Even as Dr. Cort pursues a diplomatic solution, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has called on China, a new member of the WTO, for support in the matter. Speaking at a meeting with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing in St. John's yesterday, PM Spencer appealed to China "to use every opportunity to highlight the inequities of the international trading system that are damaging the economic interests of Antigua & Barbuda."

Empire Online First-Half Profit Jumps on Asset Sale Empire Online Ltd., the owner of online gambling brands including Club Dice, said first-half profit increased more than 10-fold after the company sold assets to PartyGaming Plc to settle a legal battle. Net income jumped to $253.1 million from $21.2 million a year earlier, Tortola, British Virgin Islands-based Empire said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. The company, which booked a one-time gain of $233.1 million, said raising profit next year will be ``challenging'' unless it can increase the number of new paying customers from about 250 per day.

Empire was one of four ``skins,'' or marketing partners, that fed gamblers to tables at PartyGaming's PartyPoker Web site. PartyGaming, the world's biggest Internet poker company, said in October its players would no longer share tables, prompting a lawsuit by Empire that brought the company $250 million under the terms of a February settlement.

Without the one-time gain, Empire's first-half profit would have dropped 5.7 percent to $20 million. Sales declined 9 percent to $38.2 million.  The shares slipped 0.5 penny, or 0.8 percent, to 60 pence at 8:44 a.m. in London. They cost 175 pence each when they were first sold to investors in July 2005. Numis Securities analysts cut their share-price forecast by 31 percent to 89 pence today. Empire has a market value of 187.4 million pounds.  The proportion of new players from outside the U.S. rose to 55 percent in the first half from 29 percent a year earlier, Empire said. Empire cut its first-half dividend by 50 percent to 1.7 cents per share.

London Companies still dropping Stock in Gaming VC Holdings SA slid 37 percent yesterday and Leisure & Gaming Plc dropped 18 percent as the Web gaming companies said profits have been worse than they expected.

Nigel Payne Speaks Out SportingbetSportingbet executive director Nigel Payne wrote in an article for the Times on Wednesday that the opposition to online-gambling was spurred more by commercial interests than a desire to protect minors from getting hooked. "I believe that the real picture that emerges is one of fiscal protectionism that is being masked by political manoeuvering and adroit public relations," Payne wrote.

Sportingbet finance chief expects U.S. arrest warrant Sportingbet's Finance Director Andy McIver is working on the assumption that the U.S. state of Louisiana has a warrant out for his arrest on online gambling charges, he said in an interview on Wednesday. "I'm personally working on the assumption that it is a stronger possibility rather than a weaker possibility," McIver told Reuters by phone from London when asked whether he expected Louisiana to have a warrant out for his arrest.

"We have now formally said that no board member is to go to the United States following the arrest of Peter Dicks," said McIver, who is due to take over as Sportingbet's chief executive in October.

CryptoLogic Shares Keep Falling on Ireland Move Shareholders continued to punish CryptoLogic Inc. after the company's announcement Monday that it will take a one-time charge of $8-$8.5 million, plus an additional $2.5-$3 million annual expense, to move its corporate headquarters to Ireland. Shares of CryptoLogic fell $1.64, or 6.9 percent, to close at $22.29 Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Analysts said the expenses associated with the move, lack of specific details about how it will enhance revenue, and concerns about future executive and board leadership are all weighing on the Toronto-based software company's stock.

"In our opinion, what the reorganization does not provide is a clear path to enhanced revenue growth, taxation benefits, or cost savings," said Canaccord Adams analyst, Greg Harris, in a research note Tuesday.

Harris cut his CryptoLogic rating to "sell" from "hold" and lowered his target to $20 from $22. He doesn't own CryptoLogic shares and there are no banking conflicts with Canaccord.

Desjardins Securities' David Shore said he believes the sell-off is a "little excessive." Management has done a good job running the business so some faith in this latest move is justified, he said. Still, the additional costs associated with the move prompted the analyst to cut his target on the stock to $34.50 from $40. He maintained his "buy" rating. Shore doesn't own CryptoLogic shares and there are no banking conflicts with Desjardins.

"I am surprised at the stock market reaction because from a corporate point of view ... it's the next logical step for the growth of CryptoLogic," said CryptoLogic chief executive, Lewis Rose, in an interview Tuesday.

CryptoLogic's customer base is heavily concentrated in Great Britain and continental Europe, a growing region for online gambling that already accounts for 60 percent of the company's revenue, Rose said. Great Britain also offers a friendly regulatory environment, which will give CryptoLogic more flexibility to execute its strategy, he said.

That strategy could include acquisitions, or it may include shifting from a software developer into a full-blown gambling site operator, Rose said. On the latter point, the executive took pains to point out that he was merely speculating and that there are no immediate plans for CryptoLogic to operate its own gambling site, a move that could cause friction with the firm's licensees.

Rose noted that it's not the first time CryptoLogic has spent large sums on strategic initiatives. A couple of years ago, the company announced plans to spend $12.5 million to upgrade its software, he said. That move has helped propel CryptoLogic to record revenue and earnings in the first six months of fiscal 2006, he said.

Whatever CryptoLogic does this time around, Rose will not be the one executing the strategy. As part of its announcement Monday, the company said Rose will leave in 2007, as he is unable to move to Ireland permanently due to family reasons. Rose said he expects to remain with the company well into 2007 and stressed that the firm's management team, including its chief financial officer Stephen Taylor, and chief technology officer, Michael Starzynski, are remaining.

The composition of the company's board may be a different story, as CryptoLogic indicated in its release Monday that some directors may be succeeded by new European non-executive directors to reflect the firm's growing European-oriented business. That process may already have begun, as the company said last week that Edward Greenspan resigned his board seat due to the substantial workload associated with his law practice.

In all, about 20 CryptoLogic employees will be based in Ireland. The move will be implemented in January 2007. CryptoLogic has 400 employees and is currently headquartered in Toronto. It plans to maintain its Toronto operations, which has about 250 employees.

Sportingbet executive director Nigel Payne wrote in an article for the Times on Wednesday that the opposition to online-gambling was spurred more by commercial interests than a desire to protect minors from getting hooked.

"I believe that the real picture that emerges is one of fiscal protectionism that is being masked by political manoeuvering and adroit public relations," Payne wrote.

Empire Online Acquisitions Strategy on Hold Empire Online, the internet gambling firm with a $260 million cash pile, today indicated that it had put its acquisitions strategy on hold in the light of the increased legal uncertainty sweeping through the industry.  The London-listed gaming group, which had been expected to act as a consolidator of smaller online rivals, suggested that instead it would consider returning its surplus cash to shareholders.

Empire Online's move underscores the nervousness among online gaming companies as American regulators push ahead with plans to have large parts of online gaming declared illegal in the United States and move to crack down on company executives. The apparent freezing of its expansion plans came as first-half profits before tax and exceptionals at Empire Online slumped 36.9 per cent to just $15.7 million, as revenues from online poker slumped but the casino playing take surged.  Net gaming revenues for the six months to the end of June fell to $38.2 million, compared with $49.7 million for the same period last year.  A slide in poker revenues to just $8 million following last year's high-profile spat over its previously shared platform with Party Gaming was in part offset by improved revenues from its online casinos, where revenues rose almost threefold to $30.2 million from $10.7 million last year.

Although Empire Online today declared a $5 million dividend, it warned investors that the traditional trading slowdown in the second quarter had been harsher than it had expected and new player sign-ups were running at a disappointing 250 a day.

"While the board expects the outcome for the current year to be broadly in line with market expectations, if there is no improvement in this rate of sign ups, earnings growth for 2007 will be challenging," it said.

Internet gambling bill revived in DoD measure Controversial language to curb illegal gambling on the Internet snuck back into the defense authorization bill over the weekend.  While the language in the bill was not finalized as of press time last night, the insertion of the Internet gaming language could be a big win for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). But that potential victory hung in the balance on Monday as House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) continued his threats to postpone a vote on the overarching bill until negotiators from both chambers include unrelated measures on immigration and court security. ”The Speaker will not move this bill until these critical security measures are included in it,“ Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said yesterday.  Source. 

Phantom Fiber Upgrades WWTS' Mobile Platform and Eight New Gaming Operators Go Mobile Phantom Fiber Corporation (OTCBB: PHFB), a wireless transaction enablement company specializing in the gaming and entertainment sector has upgraded World Wide Tele-Sports (Bet WWTS), a recognized leading betting service in the offshore gaming industry for over a decade, to its Advanced Wireless Platform. This week Phantom Fiber also launched eight more gaming sites on the latest version of its advanced mobile platform.

The new list of clients includes: Advantage Wagering (www.advantagewagering.com), Bet Bet (www.betbet.com), Cyber Sportsbook (www.cybersportsbook.com), Oasis Casino (www.oasiscasino.com), Las Vegas Sports Betting (www.lasvegassportsbetting.com), Sportbook (www.sportbook.com), Wager On Sports (www.wageronsports.com) and Quicksilver (www.betqs.com).

CYOP Systems Provides Shareholder Update Red Felt Software Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CYOP Systems International Inc. International Inc. (OTCBB: CYOS), a provider of online casino software and operator of games portals, is pleased to provide an update on its operations:

a. The Company expects its first licensee, Keno.com Ltd. (UK) (www.keno.com), to be launched later this week. Keno.com Ltd. (UK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaming Transactions Inc. (Pink Sheets:GGTS). The site will use the Red Felt Software, which has over 40 games including Blackjack, American Roulette, Video Poker, Classic Slots, and Craps.

b. RedFeltGold.com now has a number of affiliates who have begun to market their websites and drive traffic to www.RedFeltPoker.com.

c. The Company is looking at moving its headquarters to the United Kingdom in anticipation of the advent of iGaming licensing by the British government next year. Inter alia, the Company now has a new corporate website that better reflects its business at www.cyopgaming.com 

d. The Company is in the final stages of negotiations with a tier one marketing company to license its casino and poker products. While the Company cannot guarantee the success of these negotiations, it does feel confident that the Red Felt Software is leading edge in its design and play capabilities.

Australia's PBL investing 286.6 mln aud to expand online and gaming businesses Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd said it intends to make a series of transactions in Australia and the UK for about 286.6 mln aud which will expand its online and gaming businesses. The gambling and media group said its wholly owned subsidiary, ACP Magazines Ltd, will offer 1.21 aud a share for the 59.1 pct of Carsales.com.au which it does not already own, valuing the unlisted online car sales advertisements business at 270 mln aud.  The company, controlled by Australia's richest man, James Packer, said it has also acquired a further 2.4 pct of online job advertisements company Seek Ltd, at 5.04 aud a share or a total cost of 35.2 mln aud, increasing PBL's shareholding to 27.1 pct.

Upheaval in Internet Gambling Continues

Patrick Smyth - Editor GamingPublic.com

September 26 2006

• CryptoLogic is traded on NASDAQ National Market
• Was the largest publicly traded iGaming Operation still headquartered in North America
• USA is missing out on potential tax revenues

This announcement comes on the heals of a number of crisis’ in the industry.  It looks like CEO’s and Board Members are fleeing in high numbers.  And whilst North America may be a base for revenues, the UK & Eire are becoming centers for this booming industry.

So far, since the BETonSPORTS Crisis, the following have tendered their resignations:

John Anderson - 888 Plc CEO

David Caruthers – BETonSPORTS CEO (Terminated)

Nigel Payne – Sportingbet CEO (October)

Peter Dicks – Sportingbet Chairman of the Board

James Grossman – WorldGaming Chairman of the Board

Clare Roberts – WorldGaming Member of the Board

Lewis Rose – CryptoLogic CEO (Spring 2007)

Edward Greenspan – CryptoLogic Member of the Board

All of this is unsettling for this industry, and I believe there will be more shake-ups before the year end.  Besides more resignations, it might include acquisitions by Party Gaming & Empire Online who have large war chests.  I would also look to BETonSPORTS re-opening and taking bets from the USA.

By not regulating the industry, the USA & Canada are missing out on tax revenues, employment and spin-off commerce as companies move into the UK and Eire where iGaming is being regulated. 

Leisure and Gaming plc Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2006

Operational Highlights

• Strong growth in customer signups in core brands, and extension of VIP average customer lifetime to 21 months (2005: 17 months)
• Integration plan on track with substantial benefits & savings expected in 2007
• Acquisition of the fully licensed BetShop Group (Europe) Limited for initial consideration of up to £12.7m, significantly expanding Group operations in Europe
• Acquisition of IGW assets delivers ownership of core technology and software platform

Financial Highlights

• Turnover $339.9m, up 33% (2005 pro-forma $254.7m)
• Net win $45.7m, up 24% (2005 pro-forma $36.9m)
• Growth in operating EBIT* of 22% to $9.5m (2005 pro forma: $7.8m)
• Strong operating cash flows of $7.4m (2005: $0.2m outflow)
• Strong cash balances of $27.5m** (2005:$10.5m) before player funds of $8.2m (2005: $3.3m)
• Entered into a secured loan facility of $20m

WORLDGAMING BOARD MEMBERS RESIGN The Board of World Gaming announce that at a board meeting of the Company held on Thursday 21 September 2006 James H. Grossman and Clare Roberts resigned from the board of the Company as non-executive chairman and non-executive director, respectively.

CryptoLogic Selects Ireland for its Global Headquarters CryptoLogic Inc. (TSX:CRY.TO - News) (NASDAQ:CRYP - News)(London: CRP.L - News) announced its proposal to advance its global strategy by establishing its headquarters in the Republic of Ireland in January 2007, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. The company also proposes to adopt the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange as its primary market, and intends to maintain its Toronto and NASDAQ listings. CryptoLogic's software development team will remain in Canada.

CRYP CEO TO STEP DOWN Mr. Rose is committed to remain as President and CEO of CryptoLogic into 2007 to assist with an orderly transition until a new CEO based in Ireland can be recruited. For family reasons, Mr. Rose is unable to move to Ireland permanently. 

Gaming VC Holdings S.A. Interim Results Gaming VC Holdings S.A. (AIM: GVC), a leading European online casino provider, today announces its Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2006. Financial Highlights:

- Interim revenue and profits in line with market expectations

- Revenues of EUR 21.2 million show recovery to H1 2005 levels (2005: H1 EUR 21.3 million H2 EUR 19.2 million) as a result of direct mail marketing campaigns

- Gross profit of EUR 15.7 million (2005: H1 EUR 16.5 million H2 EUR 14.3 million)

- Operating profit of EUR 6.8 million (2005: H1 EUR 11.2 million H2 EUR 2.2 million)

- Profit before tax EUR 6.7 million (2005: H1 EUR 11.1 million H2 EUR 1.2 million)

- Basic earnings per share EUR 0.21 (2005: H1 EUR 0.36 H2 EUR 0.05)

- Soft launch of Russian language casino with Russian joint venture partner

- Increased marketing spend on poker

- September revenue below expectations

- Second half anticipated to be materially below expectations

- Recommended interim dividend of 13 pence per share (2005: H1 21 pence H2 21 pence)

Business Highlights               H1 2005       H2 2005      H1 2006

New registrations                     13,200        19,600       26,900

New depositing customers         8,100         9,900       12,700

Daily average revenue      EUR 117,500   EUR 106,350  EUR 117,000

Legal dueling over Web site domain Harrah's wants WSOP.com for poker series In 2004, Harrah's acquired the venerable Binion's Horseshoe casino downtown in large part, company executives said at the time, so the company could cash in on Binion's increasingly popular World Series of Poker, or WSOP for short.  But that plan has hit a snag, Harrah's claims in a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Binion's former information technology director, Federico Schiavio.

One year before the sale of Binion's, Harrah's claims, Schiavio registered the domain name for an Internet site called WSOP.com. Since then, Schiavio has used the site to divert Web traffic to an online gambling site called All In Poker, Harrah's claims. More recently, it appears WSOP.com is in the process of designing its own gambling site.  Harrah's has no control over that Web site and receives no profits from it - a problem it's anxious to fix. See More.

GERMANS START SECOND FRONT IN EUROPE BATTLE OVER iGAMING   Executives of online gambling companies could be arrested on criminal charges in Germany if they set foot in the country.  Officials from the interior ministries of the German states of Hesse and Bavaria told The Business that executives of foreign companies who let German residents place sports bets online are committing ”criminal“ acts that could lead to prosecution in Germany.

French state gambling officials also plan to adopt a tougher stand: officials told The Business that they will continue to report offences by foreign betting operators to the government, raising the possibility of more arrests of executives at offshore gambling firms.

Attempting to enforce their monopoly on sports gambling, Hesse, Bavaria and Saxony ordered Austrian online betting company Bwin to stop advertising and offering betting services in their states. The ban ”goes for everyone else, too,“ a spokesman for the Hesse interior ministry in Wiesbaden told The Business.  See More.

Another Gamble for Online Betting Legal Wrangling in the U.S. Is Clouding the Prospects For the Industry World-Wide

By AMY SCHATZ

Two recent arrests of online-gambling executives in the U.S. are drawing attention to a spirited but so far unsuccessful effort in Washington to clarify the legal status of Internet gambling and resolve the political and legal issues of regulating it.  See more at the WSJ.

SBET to expand in USA Online bookmaker Sportingbet will step up efforts to expand in the United States despite U.S. arrests of British gambling bosses, its new chief executive told the Financial Times.

Andrew McIver, who becomes chief executive in October, was quoted in the newspaper's Thursday edition saying Sportingbet would increase its push to find more U.S. customers and acquisitions.

"It's still the U.S. -- or what's the point? I still hold that view," McIver was quoted as saying in an interview.

Reid against Frist's efforts Senator opposes linking Web bet ban to other bills

By TONY BATT

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Tuesday said he would oppose efforts by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to attach an Internet gambling ban to another bill in the closing days of Congress.

"That would be unfortunate," Reid said.

Although Reid has said he would vote to ban Internet gambling because he thinks it cannot be effectively regulated, he has also said he could support a study of online wagering by a federal commission.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he would support a ban and a study.

"I would support the proposed ban on Internet gambling if it was paired with legislation to study online gaming's prevalence and the impact of emerging technology," Ensign said in a statement.

Ensign said the proposed ban is not a permanent solution but would curtail Internet gambling and "protect children" while a study is conducted.

In April, Nevada casinos called for a study of Internet gambling. One month later, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., introduced a bill calling for an 18-month study of online betting by a federal commission. Porter's bill has 50 co-sponsors but almost certainly will not pass this year. If he is re-elected, Porter is expected to revive the bill in 2007.

France increases fines for illegal gaming firms France said on Tuesday it would sharply increase fines for companies found to be advertising illegal betting, days after two Austrian executives were placed under investigation for alleged violations of gaming laws. Budget Minister Jean-Francois Cope said the government planned to raise the fine from 4,500 euros (3,000 pounds) to around five times the cost of any investment of advertising.

"We have decided to strengthen the fines against publicity," Cope said at a press conference, adding that the measure would be added to law aimed at preventing child delinquency. "I can't find an economic argument which says that the money generated by gaming activities in France should be grabbed by off-shore economic operators," Cope said.  He said the decision to increase the fines was not a "French fad" and said other countries in Europe were also looking at the issue very closely.

BETonSPORTS U.S. ban extended by Missouri judge A federal judge on Tuesday extended another 30 days an order preventing indicted online gaming company BETonSPORTS Plc from taking bets in the United States.   The order extending the ban was issued by Judge Carol Jackson of the U.S. District Court. Federal prosecutors and a lawyer representing the company told Jackson they were trying to work out some of the finanrcial issues raised in the indictment.

BetOnSports is negotiating a settlement BetOnSports PLC, the billion-dollar Internet gambling company targeted by federal prosecutors in St. Louis and Washington, is negotiating a settlement of civil and criminal charges against the company, lawyers on both sides said in court here Tuesday.

"What we are interested in doing is resolving this matter," Jeffrey Demerath, a lawyer for BetOnSports, told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Fagan agreed, telling Jackson, "I think we can resolve matters."

Bodog cancels conference Due to the uncertainty created by the U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions, the decision has been made to not proceed with the Bodog.com Marketing Conference at Atlantis in December.

With all the attention our industry has garnered in recent months by certain officials within the U.S. government, a number of speakers and attendees have communicated their apprehension about participating in an industry event of such magnitude. It is in light of these concerns, and with the best interest of all delegates in mind, that our decision to not proceed with the conference was made.

Backdoor move to ban Web gambling fizzles

GOP leaders vow to continue prohibition push

By TONY BATT

STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., tried to attach an Internet gambling ban to a defense bill last week but was rebuffed by two powerful senators, congressional sources said Monday.

Despite the setback, advocates said GOP leaders will keep trying to add an online wagering prohibition to must-pass legislation until Congress adjourns this year.

Frist approached Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and asked him to add an Internet gambling ban to a defense authorization bill, according to congressional staffers who requested anonymity.

But after checking with Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Warner rejected the idea because an online wagering ban would not be relevant to defense legislation.

A source close to Frist confirmed the majority leader made the proposal to Warner, but declined to elaborate.

Nevada is for iGaming

After hearing of Frist's proposal, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., sent Warner a letter urging him to reject any amendment that would ban online betting.

"We must not use this important (defense) bill as a convenient vehicle for political pet issues such as a ban on Internet gaming," Berkley said.

Berkley opposed an Internet gambling ban that passed the House 317-

93 in July.

Although the Department of Justice has said Internet gambling is illegal, the $12 billion industry continues to grow, with more than 2,300 Web sites.

Frist, who has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2008, criticized online wagering during an August visit to Iowa.

While in Iowa, Frist joined Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, one of the two

main sponsors of the ban that passed the House, in conducting an

informal field hearing critical of Internet gambling.

On Sept. 5, the day Congress returned from its August recess, Frist

made a speech on the Senate floor and listed an Internet gambling

ban as one of his priorities as Congress rushes toward adjournment.

Frist's second term expires this year, and he is not running for re-

election.

EU to charge France over anti-competitive gambling laws on Oct 18 The European Commission will charge France on Oct 18 for stifling competition in the sports gambling sector, an EU source said. The source said the decision to take action against the EU member state was made "a few days ago" by the EU executive's internal market services.

In April, the Commission named seven member states whose practices it was examining in the sports gambling sector; Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy wants to ensure that laws in member states banning gambling services are "necessary and not discriminatory".

McCreevy has said he is not seeking unfettered liberalisation of the market but "to be assured that the measures put in place by the member states are fully compatible with Community law" on freedom of services.
 

Phantom Fiber Launches Seven Additional Gaming Sites on Its Mobile Platform Phantom Fiber Corporation (OTCBB: PHFB), the leader in wireless transaction enablement software in the mobile gaming and entertainment sector, has added seven more brands to its wireless platform portfolio, just in time for the new NFL season. The Company just recently launched nine other new gaming sites in time for the 2006 football season.  The new list of clients includes: APlusSportsbook.com (www.APlusSportsbook.com); Bacobet (www.Bacobet.com); BetonFighting (www.BetOnFighting.com); BetsGoneWild (www.BetsGoneWild.com); GalaxySports (www.GalaxySports.com); OptionSports (www.OptionSports.com), and Sport-Bet.net (www.Sport-Bet.net), all powered by the DGS sportsbook and horse racing gaming platform and operated by the Costa Rica International Sports Corporation (BetCRIS). Each one offers a diverse list of clientele and additional revenue avenues for all parties involved.

By integrating Phantom Fiber's mobile application, operators enable their players to access their accounts from anywhere in the world, at any time, using their same online username and password. Phantom Fiber shares in the revenue generated from the mobile players.

Casino Affiliate Convention in Vegas Update "The biggest threat to this industry is not the United States government," said an obviously annoyed Marc Lesnick, organizer of the fourth annual Casino Affiliate Convention during the opening remarks of his program last week. "The biggest threat to this industry is the little boys who were afraid to come here today." 

Lesnick was alluding to the fact that several affiliate programs had withdrawn as attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors over fears that U.S. law enforcement officials would raid the event, and his speech was marked by colorful phrasings, such as, "You're smoking crack if you think Stardust was going to let anything happen." (Ed Note - "How to make friends and influence people Marc?")

The conference logged about 500 attendees, but the figure is still noticeably below last year's peak of 700.

Nine of the event's 18 main sponsors withdrew from attending, and 21 of the registered 49 exhibitors declined to set up their booths.

888 Holdings plc Dividend Declaration 888 announced on 14 September 2006, together with its interim results, that its board of directors has approved the payment of an interim dividend of 4.5 cents per share and a special dividend of 4 cents per share to holders of 888's ordinary shares. The board of directors now confirms the details of payment for the interim dividend and special dividend will be paid together as one aggregate dividend amounting to 8.5 cents per share. The board of directors has approved a record date of 13 October 2006 and a payment date of 31 October 2006.

CryptoLogic Board Change  CryptoLogic Inc. (TSX:CRY.TO )(NASDAQ:CRYP)(London: CRP.L) announced that Mr. Edward Greenspan has resigned as a Director of the Board of the company. Mr. Greenspan has indicated that his substantial workload associated with his law practice, particularly as the defense lawyer in the Hollinger International case, no longer permits him to devote the time and attention to serve fully as a Director of CryptoLogic.

Germany: The German Constitutional Court has finally delivered its long-awaited verdict on the legality of the German state's sports betting monopoly (click here to view our previous articles on this issue). The court had indicated in an oral hearing in November last year that it might end the monopoly. Whilst the court did not go this far, it did rule that the German legislation in this area be revised in order to ensure adequate protections were in place to prevent gambling addiction. In particular, such protections were to be achieved by ensuring that advertising of sports betting services be toned down and only provide basic information about the services on offer. The German Government therefore appears to be faced with the choice of either opening up the industry to competition, or keeping the monopoly enjoyed by state-controlled betting operator Oddset whilst obliging Oddset to introduce far stricter policies to combat addiction.

Such policies would include greatly reducing Oddset's ability to advertise its betting services and even ending Oddset's provision of services online or by mobile phone (if such services are incompatible with an active campaign to combat addiction). There must therefore be considerable doubt as to whether Oddset could continue to be commercially viable if it were forced to adopt such policies.

The German Government has been given until 31 December 2007 to revise its legislation and it remains to be seen what approach it will take.  However, the court's verdict also had some more immediate repercussions as it called for "immediate action" to be taken to reduce the monopoly's current level of advertising. As a result, Oddset has reportedly shelved the advertising and sponsorship campaign that it had planned for this summer's World Cup.

France Threatens to Arrest Gaming Executives The French national lottery warned online gaming executives yesterday that they could be arrested if they set foot in France, after the joint chief executives of BWin, of Austria, were detained by French police.

The arrest of Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger as they prepared for a press conference at Monaco football club, which is sponsored by BWin, sent a fresh shudder through the online gaming industry. The sector has been battered by the recent arrests of two British online gambling executives, Peter Dicks, the Sportingbet chairman, and David Carruthers, the chief executive of BetOnSports, in the US.

A spokeswoman for the state-owned Française des Jeux (FdJ), which runs the national lottery, the football pools and scratch-card games in France, said yesterday: ”It is reasonable to assume that any other executive from an online bookmaker who came to France would also be arrested. We are doing exactly the same as the authorities in the US who arrested the British executives.“

US Politician Speaks up in Favor of iGaming In an interview with InternetNews.com North Dakota State Rep Kasper said, "the people of our nation want to do what they want to do in the privacy of their living rooms."

He went on to call the proposed Frist attachment of the anti-gambling bill to a defense conference "ridiculous." Kasper went on to explain that if Frist gets his way North Dakota will become a safe harbor for internet poker players worldwide.

Kasper plans to introduce bills in the next session of the North Dakota legislature legalizing internet poker which would make it possible for online gaming casinos to bring their software, hardware and employees to North Dakota.

South Korea steps up online gambling crackdown  The government announced it is cracking down on South Koreans who have set up Internet gambling websites overseas to escape a domestic drive against betting. The Information and Communication Ministry said that in cooperation with portal operators, the government blocked domestic access to 53 overseas gambling sites in the first week of this month. A total of 181 overseas gambling websites have now been blocked to South Koreans since the start of the year, it said, adding the move affected 60,000 local punters. The action is aimed at preventing operators of gambling websites from moving their servers overseas, the ministry said in a statement.

Prosecution authorities last month also launched a crackdown on video gambling arcades, which have mushroomed across the country by taking advantage of legal loopholes. President Roh Moo-Hyun has made a public apology for failing to prevent the spread of the arcades, whose operators are suspected of bribing government officials in return for licenses and favors. South Korea boasts one of the world's highest Internet penetration rates, with one out of every four people having access to high-speed Internet. South Koreans on average spend 47.2 hours per month in cyberspace, the third highest following Israel and Finland, according to the ministry.

French police arrest heads of Austria's BWIN for allegedly marketing online gambling Police on Friday jailed the co-chief executives of Austrian online company BWIN for allegedly violating French gaming laws, police and judicial officials said.

Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger were arrested at the training center of AS Monaco, a first division soccer club where they were to hold a news conference, a police official said. BWIN has links to several first division clubs, said the official, who was not authorized to use his name.

The center is located in France's Alpes-Maritime region, near Nice.

Four police cars pulled up before the news conference and the men were questioned in a club dressing room before being taken to Nice where they were placed under investigation and jailed, according to police. The two can be held for questioning for up to 48 hours.

They risk being placed under investigation _ a step short of being charged _ for allegedly violating French laws which prevent online gaming and advertisements from companies other than the two which hold a monopoly here, the Francaise des Jeux, which conducts the lottery, and the PMU which conducts bets for horse races.

BWIN spokeswoman Karin Klein called the detention "scandalous."

Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, she said the company did not yet know exactly why the two executives had been detained.

"Our lawyers are still on their way to Nice," she said.

Trading of BWIN shares was suspended on the Vienna Stock Exchange Friday afternoon following news of the arrests.

The men were detained on orders of Judge Jean-Marx Cathelin, who has been investigating alleged illegal gambling, lotteries, advertising illegal lottery advertising and illicit horse betting since November 2005. The French lottery and PMU had filed a complaint against BWIN in April 2005 in a court in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb.

"They organized from Austria illegal bets targeting the French public," a spokesman for the French police and intelligence service said.

They also broke a French law "that forbids illegal betting houses such as BWIN from advertising in France," he added

A police spokesman said the BWIN CEOs were suspected of organizing from Austria betting activities that targeted customers in France and violating a French law forbidding "illegal betting houses ... from advertising in France."

Casino Affiliate Conference in Vegas Draws Low Numbers The annual Casino Affiliate Conference at Las Vegas does not have the same numbers as it did last year.  When we attended in 2005, there were over 1000 attendees, while this year numbers range at about 200.  To quote a gaming software supplier, "it is dead here!".  We have to wonder why Mark didn't cancel an event in the USA after everything that has happened recently?

Phantom Fiber Launches Another Five New Brands On Its Advanced Mobile Framework  Phantom Fiber Corporation (OTC BB:PHFB.OB), the leading provider of secure wireless technology and mobile solutions for the gaming and entertainment sector, has launched another five new brands on it's advanced wireless platform. Phantom Fiber has recently added Betmaker (www.Betmaker.com), Gold Medal Sports (www.Goldmedalsports.com), Bookmaker (www.Bookmaker.com) 7 Palms (www.7Palms.com), & Bet Zone (www.Betzone.com) to its rapidly growing client base.  The integration of five new brands at this time of year is in line with the forecasts Phantom Fiber had projected in its strategy for the 2006 football season. For the past year Phantom Fiber has made it an integral part of their business composition to acquire and launch numerous new operators powered by their mobile framework. This would allow those operators to facilitate mobile betting on clients' mobile phone's or PDA's. This strategy has proven to be successful and resulted in unprecedented growth in the operator's user base for this upcoming football season and established Phantom Fiber yet again as an industry leader.

According to the Times, another 50 Warrants Outstanding The Times understands that Louisiana has a total of more than 50 warrants outstanding against executives from internet gambling companies that have clients who live within the state's boundaries. These warrants will remain sealed unless, as happened in the case of Mr Dicks, an arrest is made.

It is believed that those targeted by the warrants include other Sportingbet directors, including Nigel Payne, the chief executive, and board members of companies including PartyGaming and 888 Holdings. John Anderson, the chief executive of 888, stepped down yesterday, although he denied the move was related to the US legal situation.

Gaming and Casino Fund available as NTF offering at TD Ameritrade / National Investors Services The Gaming and Casino Fund (GACFX) has been added to the no-transaction-fee mutual fund platform of National Investors Services Corp / TD Ameritrade. It is now available to former TD Waterhouse customers, as well as Ameritrade customers. In recent months, the new Fund has been added to availability at Fidelity Investments, Pershing, E*Trade, Ameritrade, and Scottrade.  The Fund has gained new customers weekly since its inception, and expects to see increasing growth as additional investors learn of the Fund’s existence. The Gaming and Casino Fund is available for direct investment at www.gacfx.com.  The Gaming and Casino Fund is the only mutual fund to specialize in the gaming and casino industry. It invests at least 80% of its assets in gaming-related companies including casinos, gaming manufacturers, pari-mutuel companies, and lottery support systems, as well as electronic/video game developers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Chartwell Announces Financial Results for the Three and Nine Months Ended July 31, 2006  Revenue for this year's third quarter was $4.7 million compared to $4.5 million for the same period a year earlier. Net income was $0.5 million compared to $0.7 million for the prior year period, with fully diluted earnings per share of $0.03 compared to $0.04 for the comparative period of 2005. The Company's results reflect its continued investment in developing new products and operational functionality to meet requirements under new customer agreements and to address new market areas. See More. 

September 29th is Date GOP hopes to End Session The outlook for legislation to prohibit Internet gambling also appears grim. The House voted 317-93 in July to ban online wagering, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has said he wants to schedule a Senate vote.

But time is running short because GOP leaders in Congress hope to adjourn by Sept. 29 so lawmakers can campaign.  "I think we're making some progress," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the Senate's leading advocate of an Internet gambling ban.  "It's in kind of a delicate stage right now, trying to put together

the assurance that it can be adopted, and again, you've got 2 1/2

weeks," Kyl said.

888 Holdings Public Limited Company Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2006

Financial Highlights

   * Profit before tax* up 88% to $48.0m (H1 2005: $25.6m)

   * Net Gaming Revenues ('NGR') up 32% to $163.5m (H1 2005: $123.7m)

   * Profit before tax* margin up to 29% (H1 2005: 21%)

   * Operating expenses % of NGR down to 25.6% (H1 2005: 28.0%)

   * Cost per acquisition** of US$165 (H1 2005: US$200)

   * Net cash generated from operations up 109% to $56.1m (H1 2005:  $26.8m)

   * Basic EPS up 89% to 13.8c (H1 2005: 7.3c)

   * Interim dividend of 4.5c per share

   * Special dividend of 4.0c per share

Online gambling to become part of defense bill? Frist trying to piggyback credit card ban on military funding authorization

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is trying use a bill authorizing U.S. military operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit people from using credit cards to settle Internet gambling debts.

Frist, R-Tenn., and his aides have been meeting with other lawmakers and officials in both the House and Senate to get the measure attached to a compromise Defense Department authorization bill, according to a Senate GOP leadership aide.

The House passed a version of the Internet gambling measure in July, but the Senate has taken no action on similar legislation. Neither of the defense bills passed by the House and Senate mention it.

Frist is pushing for an approach that isn’t quite as sweeping as the House measure, said the leadership aide and lobbyists following the issue. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.

Frist, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, recently discussed the online gambling measure in the politically important state of Iowa. He also called it a legislative priority in a recent speech on the Senate floor.

The measure’s supporters include the National Football League as well as conservative and antigambling groups. Some banking groups are lobbying against it.

Federal officials have made recent arrests involving offshore companies operating Internet gambling sites. The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States although many of its customers live in the U.S.

The bills authorizing defense programs are: S.2507 and H.R.5122.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14824615/from/ET/

Dicks going home to UK for a while A New York City criminal court judge ruled on Thursday that Peter Dicks, who resigned as chairman of British online gambling firm Sportingbet.com Plc earlier in the day, can leave the country and return to Britain. Dicks, who was arrested last week and charged with "gambling by computer" under Louisiana state law, must return to the United States on Sept. 28 for a hearing in New York on a motion to extradite him to Louisiana.

Rumors of margin calls forced World Gaming 6p lower to 49p Rumors of margin calls forced World Gaming 6p lower to 49p, even though it is still officially in takeover talks with Sportingbet. The word is a number of brokers have taken the stock off their margin-eligible lists after a recent volatile performance, forcing sellers to dump the shares. Even if the Sportingbet bid materializes, it is likely to be at a substantial discount to the £56.6m value indicated last Friday.

Source: Click here 

Golden Palace Invests in Zone4Play's Multiplayer Blackjack Tournaments Software Zone4Play announced  that Golden Palace Ltd has signed an investment agreement with RNG Gaming Ltd., an indirect subsidiary of the Company and with Gaming Ventures plc, a subsidiary of the Company. RNG is a subsidiary of Gaming Ventures, which the Company formed and intends to spin off to its shareholders once certain regulatory approvals are obtained. RNG Gaming Ltd. was established to further develop and license the Black Jack gaming technology to third parties based on a license fee and revenue share basis. (Ed Note - Blackjack21.com already has a patent on tournament blackjack - we expect that they will defend it putting companies such as the aforementioned at risk)

UKbetting could hive off gaming arm Peter Dubens, the chairman of website group UKbetting, has given a strong hint that the company could sell off its gaming arm to concentrate on its content business, such as the popular fans' site Football365.

He said: "Logically, there's an argument for hiving off the gaming side." His comments came a month after it was rumoured that PartyGaming was looking at the company. A deal to sell off the gaming business to PartyGaming would make sense, allowing the poker giant to diversify more into Europe and ridding UKbetting of its least profitable business.

UKbetting was reporting its first ever first-half profit, substantially helped by an increase in advertising revenues up 34pc to £1.74m – an increase fuelled by fans posting their own video clips on teamtalk.com, which drove up the number of visitors to the site.  Mr Dubens reiterated his belief that the company would not take bets from America and said the group would concentrate its expansion on launching multilingual versions of oddschecker.com.  The group reported a first-half pre-tax profit of £197,000, compared with a loss of £405,000 a year ago on turnover up 12pc to £62.4m.

Las Vegas From Home plans 8.91-millon-share buyback Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment Inc. is commencing a normal course issuer bid. Under the bid, which will be conducted pursuant to the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange, the company may purchase up to 8,913,000 of its common shares representing approximately 8.9 per cent of the company's issued and outstanding common shares.

The bid is subject to acceptance for filing by the TSX-V, will commence three clear trading days after the TSX-V acceptance is received and will continue for a period of 12 months. The price at which the company will purchase its shares will be the market price thereof at the time of acquisition. Purchases of common shares will be made in the open market through the facilities of the TSX-V. Any common shares acquired by the company will be cancelled. Purchases under the bid will be made on behalf of the company by Scotia McLeod and Wellington West Capital Inc.

The board of directors of the company believes that the market price of the common shares may not fully reflect the value of the company's business and its future business prospects. As a result, the board has concluded that the purchase and cancellation of the common shares may represent an appropriate and desirable use of the company's funds and provide market stability.

Atlantic City August casino winnings rise 4.5 pct Casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, won 4.5 percent more money from gamblers in August compared with a year earlier, the state's Casino Control Commission said on Monday. Casinos' gambling winnings totaled $494.4 million during the month, the state regulator said. The 12 casinos in the second-largest U.S. gambling market saw their slot machine revenue rise 3.4 percent to $363.5 million, while table game winnings rose 7.9 percent to $130.9 million. For the first eight months of the year, casinos won $3.5 billion from gamblers, up 4.1 percent over the same period last year.

Nevada casinos have record July, win $1.04 billion CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - While casinos in several Nevada markets reported declines in July, the $1.04 billion statewide total won from gamblers was a record for the month, the state Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday.  Frank Streshley, senior research analyst for the board, said the July win was up 8.4 percent compared with the same month in 2005. He added the win was "a lot stronger than expected" due in part to a July 4 that fell on a Tuesday and became part of a 4-day break for many tourists. 

Ultimate Blackjack Tour The Ultimate Blackjack Tour is coming to CBS television next week and the popular casino game is expected to make a solid showing on the big stage.

The "Ultimate Blackjack Tour" makes its initial debut next Saturday on CBS, matching top players from both the blackjack and poker worlds in "Elimination Blackjack" tournaments.

The Elimination style tournament is similar to poker in that players are systematically taken away from the tables until a winner is determined in heads-up action. Secret bets add an element of bluffing, and similar to the poker shows, the TV audience can see the dealer's hole cards.

ESPN was the original bidder for the show, but due to undisclosed reasons decided to drop out of the bidding and CBS television was able to nab the spot. For more information, go to the CBS website.

PartyGaming Exec Accuses US of Protectionist Tactics As reported by the U Guardian: "PartyGaming chief executive Mitch Garber  issued a thinly veiled attack on the manner in which the US justice department appears to be pursuing offshore gambling operators that seek customers in America.

"Speaking less than an hour after learning of the arrest of Sportingbet chairman Peter Dicks, he said: 'We are a FTSE 100-compliant company. If the department of justice has any issue with our business, I would hope they would notify us and communicate that with us fully.'

"Mr Garber also said he was hopeful that the company would be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, a move that would add regulatory legitimacy to the world's largest online gambling group.

"Like most internet operators, PartyGaming is licensed in an offshore territory and not subject to regulation in the main markets in which it operates.

"…He attacked countries that appeared to be mirroring US attempts to ban online gambling while protecting their domestic industries…"

Jackpot Joy Stopping new USA Players (see letter to affiliates) 

"We wanted to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances revolving around a licensing agreement, Jackpotjoy will be temporarily unable to accept any new players residing in the United States. Players from any other country of residence can sign up as usual.

This will not affect activity with any of your existing US players and non-US players. All previously acquired players will still be able to play, and you will still receive commissions on the revenue generated.

We are aiming to resolve this issue as soon as possible and will keep you updated on progress as it is made.

We will be in touch as soon as we resume normal activity, and thank you for your patience in this matter. We are also more than happy to give you assistance to seek opportunities with other target markets."

The Jackpotjoy Affiliate Team

www.jackpotjoy.com/us 

affiliates@jackpotjoy.com

ukbetting plc (LSE: UKB), the online sports content and gaming

company, announced its results for the six months to June 30

2006.

• Group turnover increased 12% to £62.4 million (H1 2005: £55.5
• million)
• Gross profit rose 16% to £13.2 million (H1 2005: £11.4 million)
• EBITDA profit improved 76% to £1.6 million (H1 2005: £0.9 million)
• Group operating profit of £0.1 million (H1 2005: loss of £0.3
• million)
• Adjusted profit on ordinary activities before goodwill, share options costs and tax up 64% to £0.9 million (H1 2005: £0.6 million)
• Pre goodwill EPS rose 141% to 0.70p (H1 2005: 0.29p)
• Strengthened balance sheet from £11 million placing and £5.5 million exercise of shareholder warrants
• Cash of £13.0 million (December 2005 £0.7 million) and net funds of £12.0 million (December 2005 net debt of £2.4 million

Sportingbet Plc Resumes Trading Shares in Sportingbet, the online bookmaker, plunged 40 per cent this morning after trading resumed following the arrest late last week of Peter Dicks, the chairman, on charges of alleged internet trading violations. More than £400 million was wiped off the formerly £1 billion-plus company as the shares fell 95.5p to 143.5p.  News of his arrest sent a shockwave through the online gaming world and wiped more than £1 billion of the value of listed companies in the sector.

NETeller shrugs off gaming concerns and Reports on Q2  Money transfer specialist Neteller (LSE: NLR.L - news) shrugged off the problems afflicting the online gaming industry to record a 43% increase in first-half profit and forecast more improvement in the second half. Pretax profit was $58m in the six months to end-June on revenues up by 62% at $119m.  Customer numbers rose from 1.75m at end June last year to 2.91m with average daily sign-ups of 3,251 compared with 3,609 in Q1 and 2,898 in Q2. Active customers in Q2 2006 were 535,853 compared with 359,467 in Q2 2005 and 146,015 in Q2 2004.

"Whilst the gaming industry is subject to continuing regulatory uncertainty, Neteller is well placed to report significant progress during the second half of 2006," chief executive Ron Martin said.

Malaysian firm bags Stanley for £605m Malaysian gaming group Genting International is this weekend working towards an agreed £605m takeover of Stanley Leisure, the British casino group. The two sides intend to make an announcement early this week. Leonard Steinberg, Stanley’s chairman, has agreed that his company will be taken over for 860p a share. He has also given an irrevocable undertaking to sell half his 11% stake to Genting. See More.

Gala Coral in £540m Tote bid If predator wins auction, it will rival William Hill and Ladbrokes as the country's biggest bookmaker.  Gala Coral, Europe's biggest betting and gaming group, is preparing to buy the Tote in a move that will spark a bidding war with venture capital firms and overseas gaming firms scrambling for control of Britain's publicly owned betting service. A racing industry consortium has first refusal to buy the Tote, but those close to it said this weekend that it was struggling to get the finance in place to match the government's new valuation, which is in excess of £400m. The bid deadline is later this month.

Sources close to Gala say it is preparing a bid which could be as much as £540m - equivalent to £1m for every high street shop that the Tote runs.

The move will delight Gordon Brown as it means the Treasury will collect much more for the Tote than originally envisaged. But the racing industry will be angry that the Tote is no longer in a position to contribute as much money to the sport as it has in the past.

If Gala wins the race for the Tote, it will rival William Hill and Ladbrokes as the country's biggest bookmaker with 1,900 shops in Britain. William Hill, the UK's current leader, has 2,100 shops. A Hills executive said it would not bid for the Tote because it was unlikely to pass competition regulators. This also effectively rules out a bid by Ladbrokes.

Progressive Gaming International Receives Approval to Begin Live Field Trial for 'Wireless' Version of Rapid Bet Live(TM) in Nevada Progressive Gaming International Corporation (NASDAQ: PGIC - News) a leading provider of diversified products and services used in the gaming industry worldwide announced today that the Nevada Gaming Control Board's Technology Division has approved the first installation of the "wireless" version of Rapid Bet Live for a live field trial at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Rapid Bet Live allows live wagering throughout the entire course of a sporting event. The Company received regulatory approval to distribute the "wired" version earlier this year. The "wireless" version will give patrons the flexibility of placing wagers on a mobile device from specific networked areas in the casino as well as playing from fixed terminals within the sports book. The wireless version will not allow patrons to access or place wagers on the Internet. Wagers will only be placed and accepted over the sports book's intranet--a local area network which employs a secured 802.11x method of communication.

PartyGaming rules out Victor Chandler bid Online gaming group PartyGaming is not bidding for sports betting rival Victor Chandler and is unlikely to get into a bidding war for World Gaming plc, Chief Executive Mitch Garber said on Thursday. Mitch Garber also told a conference call that sports betting business Gamebookers, which it bought for 102 million euros ($131 million) last month, was overperforming.  When asked whether he was bidding for Victor Chandler, which is seen fetching as much as 450 million pounds ($847 million), he said: "No. Definitely not."

FUN Technologies Signs Dual Casual Games Agreements with German T-Com  FUN Technologies Inc. ("FUN" or the "Company")(TSX:FUN - News; AIM:FUN) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SkillJam EU Limited ("SkillJam"), has signed a pair of exclusive agreements with T-Com, the strategic business segment for broadband/fixline communications of Deutsche Telekom AG, to deliver its casual games platform to T-Online Internet Service Provider users. Through the first agreement, SkillJam will develop, operate and support a private-label online games platform for T-Online. Additionally, SkillJam has entered into an advertising agreement with InteractiveMedia CCSP GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, to promote SkillJam's skill games site within T-Online.de Web sites.

Under the terms of the exclusive, two-year online games partnership, SkillJam will create a German-language casual games platform, which accepts Euros, for T-Online's onSpiele games portal (http://www.onspiele.de/). The platform will include free games as well as subscription-based skill games, in which players compete for tokens that are redeemable for cash and merchandise prizes. T-Online.de is one of the largest portals in Germany, reaching 14 million unique visitors per month (AGOF, July 2006).

Furthermore, through an exclusive online advertising partnership, T-Com will promote SkillJam's German-language skill-based games site via the T-Online.de Web sites. Several million consumers visiting T-Online's Web sites, including onSpiele, Gamesload and onUnterhaltung, will be able to easily access SkillJam's www.skilljamspiele.de site for an opportunity to compete in skill games tournaments for cash and prizes.

Sportingbet under fire  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chairman of online bookmaker Sportingbet.com , Peter Dicks, was arrested in New York late on Wednesday on Internet gambling charges, an officer with the Louisiana State Police said on Thursday.

Dicks was "picked up by U.S. Customs for charges that our Gaming Enforcement division was doing as part of an ongoing investigation on Sportingbet.com," Senior Trooper Dwight Robinette of the Louisiana State Police, said.

Robinette said the arrest warrant was issued for Dicks and others in May. The arrest warrants are sealed and there are no indictments, he said.

Robinette said other warrants have been issued in the investigation, but declined to name any of the other individuals charged.

Peter Dicks was arrested at Kennedy International Airport following his arrival on a flight from England, Queens district attorney spokesman Kevin Ryan said Thursday.

Customs, performing a routine name check around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, discovered he had an outstanding warrant issued by the Louisiania State Police Gaming Enforcement Division.

Police officers with the Port Authority, which runs the airport, took Dicks into custody, where he remained Thursday awaiting arraignment in a state court.

Ryan said the July 12 warrant charged Dicks, who lives in London, with gambling by computer, which is punishable by up to a year in prison.

A message left with Senior Trooper Dwight Robinette Jr., spokesman for Louisiana State Police, was not immediately returned.

Analyst Comments Andrew Lee, an online gaming analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort in London, sees this as a vendetta by the Department of Justice in U.S against all the sports-betting companies. "Unless the chairman is being held on charges unrelated to online gaming, we can probably assume the Department of Justice has an agenda against sports-betting companies that are using telephone lines to make bets', he said.

Daniel Stewart sees no impact from US arrest of non-exec chairman Peter Dicks LONDON (AFX) - Daniel Stewart Securities PLC said it notes the recent detention by US Authorities of Peter Dicks, the group's non-executive chairman. The company confirmed that Dicks was in the US on business unrelated to the company, and the directors of DSS believe that this will have no direct impact on the operations of DSS and its subsidiaries. (Ed Note – Daniel Stewart have their heads up their asses...or maybe they own lots of SBT stock???)

Arrest Details

Peter Dicks, non-executive chairman of Sportingbet, was arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy at around 4.35am Thursday morning British Standard Time.

The arrest was made by the 113th precinct of the New York Police Department. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the Louisiana state police, which is "repsonsible for enforcement of gaming legislation in the state", a spokesperson told eGaming Review. The charges are understood to be state-related rather than federal.

The arraignment hearing for Peter Dicks is due to take place from 6.30pm New York time at the Queens Criminal Court.

Sportingbet's Chairman Detained in NYC on Fugitive Warrant Issued by Louisiana

© 2006 The Associated Press

LONDON — The chairman of online gambling company Sportingbet PLC has been detained by officials in New York on a fugitive warrant, two months after the chief executive of BetOnSports PLC was arrested in the United States on racketeering charges.

Queens District Attorney spokesman Kevin Ryan said Thursday that Peter Dicks was being held on a fugitive warrant issued by Louisiana and was scheduled for arraignment later Thursday.

Sportingbet chairman detained in U.S. - Sportingbet PLC, an online gambling company, said Thursday its chairman has been detained in the United States, two months after the chief executive of BetOnSports PLC was arrest in the U.S. on racketeering charges.

The company said a hearing has been scheduled for Sportingbet Chairman Peter Dicks, though no further details were given. The London Stock Exchange suspended trading in Sportingbet shares at the company's request.

Online gaming stocks dive as U.S. holds exec The United States detained a second Internet gaming executive on Thursday, adding to fears it is cracking down on the lucrative industry and sparking share price falls that wiped over $1.5 billion off the market value of the sector.

Shares reacted instantly across the $12 billion-a-year industry, with industry leader PartyGaming (London:PRTY.L ) plunging as much as 19 percent, 888 Holdings Plc (London:888.L) down as much as 18 percent and Playtech (London:PTEC.L) down as much as 17 percent.

Shares in Austria's bwin.com Interactive Entertainment (Vienna:BWIN.VI) also slumped.

"This arrest highlights the U.S. Department of Justice is going after online gaming companies by arresting their board members," said a London analyst who declined to be named.

Sportingbet said it had sought immediate temporary suspension of its shares pending clarification of the situation. Dicks was arrested at 0100 GMT on Thursday and his hearing is scheduled for 1300 GMT, it added without giving a location.

PartyGaming Plc  Interim results for the six months to 30 June 2006

Highlights

• Revenues up 51% to $661.9m (2005: $437.4m) with continued growth in poker and very strong growth in casino; non-US revenues up 151% to $149.8m (2005: $59.8m)
• Clean EBITDA* up 47% to $380.0m (2005: $257.7m); EBITDA after share option charges and IPO-related expenses up 74% to $340.6m (2005: $195.4m)
• Clean earnings per share* up 42% to 8.8 cents (2005: 6.2 cents); basic earnings per share up 73% to 7.8 cents (2005: 4.5 cents)
• Cashflow from operating activities before movements in working capital up 62% to $380.0m (2005: $235.1m)
• Total real money sign-ups up by 19% to 519,532 with 46% of Q2 sign-ups coming from outside the US Interim dividend of 3.0 cents per share (2005: nil)

Sportingbet to buy WorldGaming? Separately, Sportingbet said it is in the early stage of talks about a possible recommended takeover of World Gaming PLC in an all-share deal worth about 56 million pounds ($105.8 million).  Sportingbet's potential offer for World Gaming, based on its own closing price of 244 pence ($4.61) on Wednesday, would value its competitor at 104 pence ($1.97) a share.

World Gaming plc/Sportingbet Plc - Statement regarding possible offer The Boards of World Gaming plc ("World Gaming") and Sportingbet plc ("Sportingbet") note the recent movement in World Gaming's share price and confirm that they are in very preliminary discussions which may or may not result in Sportingbet making a recommended all share offer for World Gaming. Based on the closing price of a Sportingbet share of 244 pence per share on 6 September 2006, the offer envisaged would value each World Gaming share at an implied price of 104 pence. There can be no certainty whatsoever that agreement will be reached and an offer will be fo