The Las Vegas-based giant revealed that Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Incorporated would ‘manage the global growth of the World Series Of Poker’ while also exploring a ‘European interactive strategy’.

‘As the world’s largest gaming company, Harrah’s is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion,’ said Gary Loveman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Harrah’s Entertainment.

‘It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best-in-class brands.’

Loveman revealed that the new subsidiary would explore the use of interactive gaming technologies to expand the reach of its brands globally, beginning in Europe, in addition to growing the World Series Of Poker. Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment will utilise the Total Rewards customer loyalty programme to strengthen and grow the firm’s customer base.

Garber will serve as Chief Executive Officer for the new subsidiary while Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner for the World Series Of Poker, has been appointed as its President. A lawyer, Garber also served as Executive Vice-President for Optimal Group, FireOne’s Nasdaq-listed majority shareholder, before moving to PartyGaming and has experience with the industry going back to the 1990s when he developed the first gaming law practice in Canada for the Montreal-based firm Lazarus Charbonneau.

Abstract from www.igamingbusiness.com

The South Carolina State Judiciary Committee recently ratified Senate Bills 535 and 628 by a vote of twelve to eight and the measures now look set for a full vote before the full Senate sometime next year.

Bill 535 also outlines the process by which a non-profit organisation may obtain a gaming license, although it asserts that 90 percent of any monies raised in an event must go directly to charity.

In February, five home poker players in the southern state were found guilty under a law from 1802 that, when read literally, makes it illegal to take part in any diversion played with cards or dice including board games such as Monopoly. However, Mount Pleasant Municipal Judge Larry Duffy ruled at the time that poker was a game of skill and not one of luck or chance, which prompted some legislators to take a second look at the antiquated legislation.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) poker advocacy group lobbied hard through its nearly 10,000 members in the state for a change to the law and commended the Committee for passing the two pieces of legislation.

“The thousands of poker players in the state are now one step closer to being allowed to enjoy a game of poker online or with their friends around the kitchen table without the fear of being accused of a crime under outdated state laws,” said John Ridgeway, South Carolina State Director for the PPA.

“With the continued rising popularity of poker across the country and the state of South Carolina, it is vital that any laws related to gaming not only reflect he realities of the 21st Century but establish a clear definition of what constitutes legal gaming and what constitutes illegal gaming,” said John Pappas, Executive Director for the PPA.

“These two bills achieve those goals and we urge the South Carolina Senate to quickly bring these pieces of legislation to the floor for a vote before the end of the session.”

Abstract from www.igamingbusiness.com

Virtue Fusion is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Internet bingo solutions and its network operates on an aggregated model so that partners benefit from shared critical mass and larger jackpots.

VirginGames.com/bingo previously utilised software from St Minver but the change will see players able to enjoy one of the largest selections of networked games available through a bingo client. Virtue Fusion pioneered the mini game and offers titles including Marine Mayhem, Clover Rollover and Big Top Tombola, which have proven highly popular with players.

“It was important for VirginGames.com to select a partner that could give our players the widest choice of game variants, jackpot sizes and price-points,” said Simon Burridge, Chief Executive Officer for VirginGames.com.

“Virtue Fusion’s network is undoubtedly the market leader in this respect. We are delighted to be joining the Virtue Fusion network and are looking forward to growing our business over the coming years.

”We value Virtue Fusion’s flexible network model because we value the right to offer something different. Virtue Fusion’s network structure allows us to be just what we want while benefiting from the largest prize pools available online today.”

“We are delighted that VirginGames.com has chosen Virtue Fusion’s industry-leading software for its bingo offering,” said Bob McCulloch, Chief Executive Officer for Virtue Fusion.

“VirginGames.com will benefit through our flexible networked approach to bingo by offering small games that are good for communities while leveraging the power of the network by offering the biggest jackpots available.”

Abstract from www.igamingbusiness.com

The Austrian firm reported that this figure represented a 1.1 percent increase on the final quarter of 2008’s €101 million while the first three months of this year saw gross gaming revenues reach €117.6 million, which was a 12.5 percent year-on-year upsurge.

Turnover from sportsbetting rose by 9.2 percent year-on-year to €762.7 million with a margin of 8.2 percent leading to a three percent increase year-on-year in gross revenues from sportsbetting to €62.4 million. Poker turnover rose 37 percent year-on-year to €31.1 million buoyed by the satisfactory development of the firm’s Italian poker business alongside the successful migration of the various poker labels to Bwin Poker and lucrative cross-selling.

Bwin stated that gross revenues from its casino and games business amounted to €18 million and €6.1 million, which was an increase year-on-year of 9.5 percent and 26.7 percent respectively. The growth of its games business was attributed largely to the expansion of its product portfolio along with the launch of its Italian skill games site at Bwin.it.

The first quarter of this year also saw the number of active customers rise 25.6 percent to 1.16 million while Bwin attracted 295,000 new players, a 16.1 percent increase year-on-year.

Costs per new active customer fell 17.2 percent compared to the first three months of 2008 to €123.40 while gross gaming revenues per active customer dropped 10.4 percent to €101.30 from €113.00.

All of this saw Bwin report a 72.9 percent increase year-on-year in earnings after tax of €18.9 million alongside a net cash position of €70.8 million, which is considerably higher than the €53.2 million it recorded for the first quarter of 2008.

Abstract from www.igamingbusiness.com