William Hill Withdraws From Spain

One of the oldest bookmakers in the world William Hill is planning to withdraw from its Victoria Apuestas joint venture in Spain with local gaming machine operator Codere. William Hill officials stated that it is problematic to achieve a substantial growth in the number of outlets.

Slow granting of local regulatory consents and the slower than anticipated regulatory changes within other regions along with difficult economic situation within Spain forced London-based gambling company to quit Spain. William Hill announced that it would be focusing on Internet operations.

Betfair Australia To Be Banned By Federal Government?

Australian federal government has plans to block throusand of websites including Betfair Australia. The list includes websites well beyond the scope of child porn and beastiality. Dental and political sites are also under fire as well as the Betfair wagering exchange, which is legal in Australia.

“We’ve been licensed to operate in Australia for three years and have never received a complaint or any allegation that Betfair locally or globally is not permitted to be used by Australians. The global Betfair site is used by Australians every day,” said Betfair CEO Andrew Twaits.

UK Online Gambling Goes Up

UK online gambling has increased this year according to a survey published by the UK Gambling Commission.  Number of online gamblers in United Kingdom increased to 8.2% compared with last year’s 7.8%.

A group of 2000 volunteers participated in the survey. It was also discovered that most active age group participating in online gambling is 25-34 year olds.

Bet365 Expands IT Infrastructure

Bet365 has plans to expand its IT infrastructure to make sure trading speed and reliability do not become a problem as business increases. The company will deploy GemStone’s data management platform, which was selected from several options.

Bet365’s 800 employees service more than 2,000,000 customers from 140 countries.

Thailand Gambling Sites Ordered To Shut Down

Thailand authorities ordered to close all gaming and gambling sites after suicide committed by a 12-year-old boy whose father banned him from playing computer games.

It is rumored that some online betting websites take in from local citizens almost $3 million USD per night, which is causing huge economic losses.

Internet providers across the country are warned that any company encouraging or allowing online gambling will face jail time and a fine, as well as have their ISP license revoked.