Archive for June, 2011

Following its acquisition of the UK Tote , Betfred will meet with Tote management to develop the future direction of the company reports business newspaper CityAM.

Betfred’s founder Fred Done is looking to expand the Tote pool to improve liquidity into markets such as South Africa, France and Hong Kong while remaining focused on revitalising the existing business.

Under discussion will be the re-branding of the Tote’s betting shops as Betfred but racecourse sites will reportedly remain Tote branded.

A search for a new chief executive to lead the operation will be undertaken while Done will remain as Chairman of the company as set out by the bank financing the deal.

Any redundancies, which the UK bookmaker has assured Tote employees will be no more than 150, will take place at a head office level over the next year once the merger is complete.

The newly merged company will employ 9000 employees and have 1350 stores and is set to be finalised within the next month.

Olympian Trading Limited, parent company to IAM Corp who represent multiple online gaming brands including GR88 and Bulldog777 has entered into an agreement with gaming software firm EveryMatrix for the provision of its OddsMatrix sportsbook, GamMatrix gaming management platform and RakeMatrix bingo network.

The GamMatrix gaming management platform will enable the seamless integration of third party casino products from Microgaming and CTXM as well as poker from Merge.

The online gaming brands represented in the deal will offer mobile sports betting via the new OddsMatrix Mobile Sportsbook set for launch late July 2011.

Peter Karroll, CEO, IAM Corp said: “IAM Corp is extremely excited to embark on this new adventure and partnership with the EveryMatrix products, working with them not only for the current brands but also for the future IAM Corp clients who wish to enjoy the most efficient and experienced turnkey online gaming operations available anywhere in the world.”

The Italian media is reporting the arrest of sixteen people, including former Serie A, Serie B and Lega Pro footballers, others still playing and managers of Lega Pro clubs, in a major police swoop aimed at eliminating corruption from football by attacking rigged betting groups

Police spokesman told local media that the Cremona flying squad, in collaboration with the central operational service (SCO) conducted the raids, which included suspects’ homes, several betting shops and a firm of accountants.

Investigators alleged that those arrested may have ‘fixed’ a number of matches in the Serie B and Lega Pro championships in recent months, and magistrates in Cremona issued seven orders for pre-trial detention in prison and nine for house arrest. Initial investigations indicate that several hundred thousand Euros could be involved in the scam.

All those involved face charges of fraud or sports fraud-related criminal association. Investigators believe that the organisation’s bets on each match were worth several hundred thousand euros.

Besides football players and officials, it is understood that betting shop owners are involved, and that a further 28 people are currently under investigation but have not yet been detained.

The arrests quickly spread from Cremona to a wide range of Italian towns and cities, including Bari, Como, Bologna, Rimini, Pescara, Ancona, Ascoli, Ravenna, Benevento, Rome, Turin, Naples and Ferrara.

Making the headlines were reports that former Lazio captain and Italy striker Beppe Signori, is under house arrest following the police actions. Ascoli defender Vittorio Micolucci and midfielder Vincenzo Sommesse are also confined to their homes, whilst Gianfranco Parlato, a former Serie B and Serie C footballer currently working for Viareggio has been jailed.

The police have revealed that the actions this week were preceded by over six months of investigations.

Sergio Lo Presti, head of the Cremona flying squad, detailed what appears to be the trigger for the investigations – an incident in which he said six Cremonese players suffered food poisoning after drinking beverages in November 2010. The police believe that the food poisoning was a deliberate attempt to rig the result of the match which was about to be played.