Online gambling scratchcard game developer Neogames has added to its inventory of over 40 games by launching a new single line slot offering dubbed “Pirates Paradise.”

Themed on a piratical island paradise, the casino game features a range of typically pirate elements and the mandatory treasure. Players seek to match 3 symbols the same in order to win.

Pirates Paradise has been translated in 10 different languages and localised to cater for Neogames’ growing list of white label and licensee partners.

A British banking row over Dutch online gambling that has been simmering since early this year surfaced again this week as rumours circulated that another bank may be about to join the Royal Bank of Scotland in apparently taking casino gambling directions from Dutch politicians.

Complicating the issue, there appears to be some uncertainty over casino games whether the Dutch demand that British banks refuse to process online gambling transactions to Dutch residents is backed by appropriate Dutch legislation.

Fiery Dutch minister of justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin ignited the furore earlier this year (see previous InfoPowa reports) when he wrote to British banks hinting that the Dutch government could resort to legal measures if its requests to cut off online gambling transactions with Dutch residents were not met.

The intriguing issue of whether there is Dutch legislation actually backing his implied threat is still live. At the time, Dutch gaming law expert Justin Franssen, succinctly pointed out: “The minister literally said that if he finds out that the letter to the banks is having no effect then he intends to put legislation in place. He is admitting that there is no legislation – no legal basis – for this. ”

Even Dutch justice ministry officials appeared uncertain, surmising that the issue might be covered under the Gambling Act of 1964’s clauses regarding “stimulating participation” in gambling generally, or by a Dutch Supreme Court ruling that prohibits entities from helping online operators carry out any illegal business.

And a source within the ministry admitted that the European Commission was unlikely to be happy with the unilateral attempt to impose a Dutch ban on companies within another EU member nation.

It is understood that the Dutch still face a legal challenge on the issue from the UK-based betting exchange giant Betfair, too.

Nevertheless, the Royal Bank of Scotland, now 70 percent owned by the British taxpayer following its near-failure after the sub-prime mortgage debacle, agreed to comply, possibly because it reportedly has substantial Dutch interests. It is understood that the Dutch government had earlier selected RBS as its primary bank for financial transactions, giving RBS responsibility for around 66 million transactions per year.

But RBS appeared to be the only British bank prepared to accept Dutch direction, until last week, when rumours surfaced that Barclays Bank may be prepared to submit to the Dutch requirements as well.

Reports in the Dutch media that the Brits were sending a political mission to the Netherlands to discuss the issue were denied by British government officials, and Barclays appeared to be stonewalling, saying only that it would ensure its clients were aware of the provisions of the Dutch Gaming Act, a relic from 1964 which has little relevance to conditions pertaining today.

Online gambling spoftware developer Playtech plc’s shares dipped sharply by 20 percent when it released its second quarter numbers this week and revealed it expected full year earnings to be lower than expected. The company said this was partly due to the adverse general economic conditions, but more specifically to a slower than expected start for its online betting joint venture with William Hill plc.

Playtech took a 29 percent stake in the venture last October. Will Hill shares also declined after the giant gambling group admitted the online venture faced an extensive integration period in a difficult trading environment. However, the firm said it was comfortable with market forecasts for William Hill Online.

Playtech took the edge off its results with an announcement that it had entered into a strategic partnership for the provision of Playtech’s Casino and Poker product to the Serbian State Lottery, the sole provider of online gaming in that country.

In addition the company has signed a number of significant licence agreements in the first half of 2009, such as with Betfair and NetPlay TV, that will start to deliver additional revenue streams towards the end of the year. With the positive impact of William Hill Online migrating all of its casino activity to Playtech’s platform, these will provide new initiatives for growth in the medium term.

Playtech listed it’s key performance indicators for Q2 2009 ending June 30th as:

* Strategic partnership with the Serbian State Lottery

* Gross Income for the quarter rose 23.3 percent to Euro 33.1 million, (Q2/08: Euro 26.9 million) 1.9 percent below the Euro 33.8 million achieved Q1/09;

* Gross Income for H1/09 was up 29.8 percent to Euro 66.9 million, (H1/08: Euro 51.6 million);

* Adjusted EBITDA for the group for the six months is expected to be not less than Euro 43 million;

* Net cash at 30 June 2009 of Euro 48.7 million, after payment of a dividend totalling Euro 18.2 million (Q1/09: Euro 53.0 million before payment of dividend);

* Total Group revenues in Q2/09 increased by 0.4 percent to Euro 27.0 million, (Q2/08: Euro 26.9 million) but decreased by 4.2 percent from Euro 28.2 million in Q1/09;

* Casino revenues decreased by 8.1 percent to Euro 17.9 million, (Q2/08: Euro 19.5 million) and decreased by 3.3 percent on the Euro 18.5 million earned in Q1/09;

* Poker revenues increased 17.8 percent to Euro 8.2 million, (Q2/08: Euro 7.0 million) but decreased by 6.4 percent on the Euro 8.8 million earned in Q1/09;

* Total Group revenues in H1/09 were up 7.0 percent to Euro 55.2 million, (H1/08: Euro 51.6 million);

* Share of William Hill Online profit in Q2/09 totalled Euro 6.1 million, an increase of 9.8 percent compared with a contribution of Euro 5.6 million in Q1/09.

Management reported that the underlying performance of Playtech’s business continues to be resilient, with the company successfully exploiting a series of new opportunities in the period and delivering adjusted EBITDA up over 27 percent on the first half of 2008. Despite the industry experiencing a slowdown in activity, Playtech’s diversified licensee base has allowed the company to deliver gross income 23 percent ahead of Q2 2008 and only slightly below that achieved in the first quarter of 2009.

“The William Hill Online (WHO) business is making encouraging progress after a slower than anticipated start to the year due to a prolonged integration period and difficult trading conditions,” the report advises.

“This will impact our expectations for the first year’s trading. However, Playtech remains confident that the WHO transaction will prove to be transformational for the company and will make an important contribution to earnings in 2009 and beyond.

“The Board is confident the company will deliver strong growth for the full year to December 2009 compared to 2008.

“However, owing to the slower than anticipated start to WHO and the general challenging economic environment impacting some of our licensees, the Board believes that full year trading will be below current market expectations. Adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2009 is expected to be in the range of Euro 43 million to Euro 45 million.

In addition to its deals with the Serbian State Lottery, Betfair and Netplay, Playtech singled out its Italian online poker network, which is exceeding management’s expectations and is now Italy’s third largest poker network by revenues generated by the network licensees, while further positive progress in regulations will bring new opportunities in Italy from this strong base.

The company also noted its agreement with Chillipoker, a strategic partner in the French market, in anticipation of the introduction of new regulations liberalising the French market for on-line gaming.

Management advised that current trading was going well, with a solid pipeline of new licensees and good business prospects ahead in 2009 with operators in soon-to-be-regulated jurisdictions, in addition to various other online gaming operators. Several additional Memoranda of Understanding were signed with operators in the period.

Initial trading in July 2009 continues to be flat over Q2/09. Playtech remains strongly cash-generative: gross income is significantly ahead of last year and the company has maintained its EBITDA margins through careful management of its administrative and other expenses.

New Zealand is gearing up for a comprehensive and government funded study of gambling that will look at whether casinos and the TAB - and other parts of the sector - target specific cultures, along with issues such as gambling behaviour, problem gambling and the manner in which gambling is marketed.

The Ministry of Health has budgeted nearly NZ$700 000 for the research into how to prevent and address gambling harm, according to proposals published on the Government’s electronic tenders website this week.

Four projects are investigating impact characteristics of venues, games and marketing on gambling behaviour and the reduction of harmful gambling, including whether players on electronic games can be reined in with warning pop-up panels.

The NZ$220 000 allocated to the marketing study will look at the impact of marketing, advertising and sponsorship on gambling perceptions and behaviour. Internal impacts include the use of culturally-specific imagery in venues, and in the wider community, they include sponsorship of community events.

In earlier research in 2006, the ministry noted that while casinos were not seen as creating harm on the whole, for certain groups, such as Asian gamblers, they did cause significant harm. Overseas experience had shown that Asian gamblers of different cultural backgrounds could be affected by the way gambling was marketed and presented.

Separately, the ministry has budgeted another NZ$96 000 to find out how game characteristics such as pay-offs, play speed, near-miss features and jackpots influence gambling.

The ministry is calling for researchers to register interest in the studies, which include questions developed with the Department of Internal Affairs and representatives of the gambling industry.

Questions it has proposed include the effect of advertising, sponsorship and promotion of gambling on public views and attitudes, and whether the marketing of large lottery jackpots encouraged people to spend more on lotteries than they usually did.

The ministry wants to know whether use of terms such as “jackpot”, “bonus”, and “must be won” changed gamblers’ perceptions of the likelihood of winning, and how many people spent more than they could afford on trying to win big jackpots.

Up to NZ$240 000 will be spent studying the potential for pop-ups to constrain use of electronic gambling machines.

Successful tenders for the work are expected to be identified in October 2009, with the deadline for delivery of the research to be in June 2013.

The UK financial spread betting company IG Group has reported revenues up 40 percent at GBP 257.1 million in the year ended 31st May 2009.

EBITDA was up 33 percent at GBP 131.1 million, compared to GBP 98.5 million the prior year, and adjusted EPS was up 22 percent at 24.74p (2008: 20.28p).

Investors will be pleased with the firm’s announcment that it is to pay a final dividend of 11p per share, making a total dividend of 15p per share for the year, up 25 percent.

The report revealed that new financial account openings were up 74 percent at 74 331 in the period and current trading was strong.

“IG has again delivered excellent growth,” Tim Howkins, CEO, said. “We have made encouraging progress in each of our newer offices and they all have scope for significant further expansion. Alongside our direct offering to retail clients we also continue to develop our network of introducers and white label partners. The Group is in good health, with a strong competitive lead and I remain confident about the prospects for the coming year.”

Online bingo sites SunBingo.co.uk and NOTWBingo.co.uk have budgeted over GBP 500 000 in a promo that currently offers players the chance to win one of 100 new cars on wagers as low as two pounds sterling.

Running through to September 27, players who deposit or wager a minimum of two pounds on bingo or ten pounds on slots at SunBingo.co.uk and NOTWBingo.co.uk will have the opportunity to win a new Fiat Panda 1.1 Active Ecos as part of the 100 car initiative.

New players who register, deposit and wager the minimum amount during the Seize The Summer promotion will be given a maximum of three entries into the special prize draw, one admission for each activity.

Existing customers will receive two entries for depositing a minimum of ten pounds and wagering at least two pounds on bingo or ten pounds on slots. Existing players that do not deposit but still wager the minimum will receive one entry into the daily prize draw.

The competition is only open to UK residents over the age of 18 and there is no cash alternative available.

The giant Vienna-listed online sportsbetting group Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has agreed to extend its sponsorship of MotoGP through the 2010 season, Dorna Sports SL has announced.

The agreement extends Bwin’s partnership with the premiere motorcycle racing tour, introduced in 2004, and will see the Bwin corporate logo feature prominently across all 17 circuits with banners on the track, the pit lane and the starting line.

“During the years of our partnership, Bwin has proven to be a significant and reliable partner for MotoGP with lots of drive and innovation,” said Paul Serracanta, Managing Director for Dorna Sports. “No question, Bwin provides MotoGP with extra horsepower.”

Prominent Bwin branding is to be included on the podium, in the press conference areas and television interview backdrops, and the gambling group will continue as the title sponsor of the Gran Premio De Espana race from Jerez and the Grande Premio De Portugal from Estoril. In addition, Bwin will have ‘an important presence’ at the Grand Prix Ceske Pububliky from Brno and the Grand Prix Di Rimini from Misano.

“As we remain fully committed to the MotoGP World Championship, it is only natural for us to renew our partnership with Dorna Sports,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, Head Of International Sports Marketing for Bwin.

“MotoGP broadcasting reaches hundreds of millions of viewers throughout Europe and the world. It has become one of the most exciting sports events out there and fits perfectly with the Bwin brand.”

Poker players-turned-television reality stars Jean-Robert Bellande (’The Survivors’) and Annie Duke (’The Apprentice’) may soon be joined in the celeb stratosphere by two women poker players, according to a report in Bluff Magazine this week.

Apparently sources close to CBS have confirmed that the upcoming season of ‘The Amazing Race’ - a famous travel reality series that involves teams racing around the world - will include two professional female poker players playing as a team, although the identities are not disclosed.

However, a poster at a well known fan message board thinks that one of the duo is Maria Ho, a supposition based on photos allegedly taken as filming on the next race in the series started recently.

Bluff feels the other is likely to be Tiffany Michelle, basing its guess on the fact that Michelle did not enter this year’s World Series of Poker main event and explained this on her blog by writing: “It’d have to be something pretty big to deter me from the WSOP Championship Event this year and trust me, it is! I can’t disclose much right now but I’ll be leaving to film a project for a month and it conflicts with the Main Event. This project and my part are very huge and it’s an opportunity that is just too good to pass up. At the end of the day, acting and performing have always been my passion, in fact it’s how I fell into poker to begin with and I never want to lose sight of that part of my life and career.”

Bluff lends credibility to its prediction by revealing that pre-production filming for The Amazing Race began July 12 in Los Angeles with the actual race beginning July 15. And the normally active Michelle has not sent out a tweet since July 13, when she let the world know she was filming a project.

“Couple days into filming & I’m having a blast, lovin’ the cast & crew but remembering how long filming days can be. Love being back on set!,” she wrote.