Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/04/24/online_gambling_gaming_internet/

WTO head optimistic about US compliance with WTO gambling rulings

Republicans to continue going down?

By Burke Hansen

Posted in Legal, 24th April 2007 16:02 GMT

House of Cards WTO director Pascal Lemy made some optimistic remarks about US compliance with recent WTO rulings to the Caribbean media last week.

He noted that ultimately it is in the US's interest to maintain the core principles of fair trade that underlie the WTO itself. Logically, he is absolutely on the mark. Of course, with a "faith-based" administration in office, just how far logic will carry us remains to be seen.

Republican Congressman's house raided

Ties to convicted Indian gambling lobbyist Jack Abramoff could well take down another socially conservative Republican allied with that same controversial lobby.

According to online reports, US federal agents raided the home of California Congressman John Doolittle on Tuesday.

Notorious lobbyist Abramoff is currently serving a five year sentence for a variety of corruption related charges and has been working closely with federal prosecutors to try to shave time off his own sentence. Obviously, time off his sentence means potential prison time for others, and the "get tough on crime" crowd has to be wondering how they got themselves into this mess. The political magic of harsh prison sentencing is becoming a political nightmare for some.

To paraphrase the Chinese, gamblers always seem to live in interesting times, and their political patrons are no exception.

Party Gaming plc continues to let the good times roll...

Partygaming plc continues to report strong earnings growth and a more muscular price to earnings ratio.

It remains to be seen if this week's mixed news in the online gambling world will put out that fire.

Except for in Turkey

Where Partygaming pulled up stakes last week. The passage of legislation in Turkey last month restricting online gambling drove the world's leading listed online gaming company out of what is really a relatively unimportant market.

Bwin sucks it up and takes a hit

Austrian online wagering outfit Bwin reported losses of $734m last year, primarily due to the write off of its US-facing business, making the name a bit of a misnomer.

Slingo and Pixelplay hook up

Online gaming provider Slingo has partnered up with PixelPlay, an IPTV company. Slingo games will be available over the PixelPlay platform.

Pope's car poops out

Goldenpalace.com, an online casino known for its high profile publicity stunts, tried to auction off - allegedly for charity - a car formerly owned by Pope Benedict that it had bought a couple of years ago on eBay for $244,000. Bidding topped out at $204,000, short of the reserve amount.

Bestline Sports and BetOnline tie the knot

Long overdue consolidation continues to touch the online gambling world, as two more providers announced a merger last week. Bigger really is better, in this business - liquidity is everything. ®

Burke Hansen, attorney at large, heads a San Francisco law office.