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There are also going to be various agents throughout the state, including bars and other types of establishments, that would be permitted to allow sports betting and keno. But the main gaming interests are the racetrack casinos and the lottery that are going to be offered in this. The idea of compacts makes sense for a lot of the smaller states. The legislation we’ve seen, including in Delaware, contemplates state compacts and interstate wagering if that wagering is legal within another state and there’s an agreement among the states. Going at it alone, Delaware would make several million dollars that it doesn’t currently have, but sharing liquidity is always a positive thing in the poker community because you really want to make sure you’re creating a vibrant poker economy. States like Delaware, Iowa and Rhode Island, and some of the smaller states, would be well served in legalising and working together to share liquidity.
Delaware makes egaming push
> Melissa Riahei > executive vice-president at US Digital Gaming
Delaware is really the ?rst state that’s fully taken advantage of the DoJ’s December 2011 decision by handing out an offering of a full suite of games, and it does a good job of balancing all the gaming interests within that state and getting everybody involved in that process. You have the racetrack casinos being offered advantages, which will help them become more competitive and give them an incentive to reinvest in their facilities. This could create additional jobs and stimulate the economy. You also have the lottery, which is in many states a very important branch of government that provides a major revenue source for state governments nationwide, and they’re controlling the process. The bill also incorporates the lottery retailers into the process because they are a very important partner to the lotteries nationwide. Their concern has always been that if internet gaming and internet lottery products were offered, they could be in danger of losing their base of customers coming in to play the lottery. Yet the bill incorporates the lottery retailers by requiring people to buy pre-paid cards at lottery retailers to use for internet games. The bill balances the various gaming interests in the state of Delaware. There are three types of games that are going to be offered: traditional internet lottery games like Powerball; casino table games; and sports. All of it will be controlled by the lottery – the traditional games will be offered through a lottery website and then the three racetrack casinos will have the ability to brand some websites and have involvement in the offering of the table games. Delaware is unique because it is one of four states allowed to conduct sports betting. The bill addresses some parlay sports betting and ?nding additional facilities that would allow for those. The bill also classi?ed keno as a lottery game versus a table game, so that is going to be offered as well.
STAR MAN:
PokerStars has signed tennis world number three Rafael Nadal as the latest and arguably most high-pro?le member of its Team SportStars.
“...on one occasion I nearly folded pocket aces after beginning to tap the “speed-fold” button like clockwork”
eGR reporter Tom Victor tests Bet365’s Sprint Poker product and almost falls foul of this year’s must-have poker variant, see p12
Paul Walker
Non-executive chairman
Served as CEO of The Sage Group from 1994 to September 2010, joining Sage as company accountant in 1984 and serving as its finance director until 1994. Has been a non-exec director of Experian since June 2010 and of Diageo since June 2002.
Simon Denyer
Joint CEO
Appointed to the board in 2007. Founder of Inform Group in 2004 and was its managing director prior to its amalgamation with Premium TV in 2007. Before Inform, Denyer was head of digital rights at IMG, and sales director at Sportal.
Oliver Slipper
Joint CEO
Also appointed to the board in 2007. Formerly CEO of Premium TV prior to its amalgamation with Inform Group. Promoted to commercial director in 2003. Appointed CEO in 2005, a role he held for two years.
David Surtees
CFO
Joined in 2008 from independent UK television production business Shine, where he had been CFO since April 2002. Prior to Shine, Surtees worked at Carlton Productions for two years and the BBC for six years.
Peter Williams
Independent nonexecutive director
Recently retired as finance director of Daily Mail and General Trust after 20 years. Joined DMGT in 1982 having qualified as a chartered accountant with Thomson McLintock and worked as an accountant at Grindlays Bank.
www.egrmagazine.com
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