Need To Know: only the brave

LAST WEEK WAS NOT ONE FOR THE TIMID, with one operator deciding to take on the Australian government, another to conquer France; a third to take over all Europe and a fourth to beat that tiresome Western truth that you only live once.

First among them, England’s GameAccount launched a French network, submitted a licence application and hired new France country manager Eric Guedj from French casino business Partouche Interactive.

GameAccount hopes to replicate its success in the recently-regulated Italian market, where it has already secured licenses with operators including SNAI, Cogetech and new Power 50 entrants Sisal, SNAI and Italian national lottery operator Lottomatica.

But the business won’t stop there, chief exec Kevin Dale said, casually adding that “this strategy of setting up local partnerships in the new jurisdictions is to be rolled out across Europe in line with new gaming policies.”

Napoleon must be turning in his grave.

In Australia, meanwhile, a pro-active Betfair isn’t just waiting for laws to change themselves, taking on New South Wales in court to have the state’s tax regime on horse betting declared in breach of the country’s Constitution.

The legal fight could shape the future both of horse race wagering and of racing funding down under, bringing Australia’s most populous state in line with Victoria and Western Australia in ending protectionism – and dealing a body blow to NSW TABoperator Tabcorp.

Far from letting a little inexperience hold it back, meanwhile, in Sweden another new Power 50 entranttold EGRmagazine.com last week that it is to eschew the country-by-country approach favoured by more cautious operators like Betfair and GameAccount in favour of a Europe-wide campaign to make Bonnier Gaming as big as Unibet and Expekt.

The campaign, to be launched early next year, will include a marketing push in Spain, Italy and Scandinavia via the media group’s network of magazines and TV; the launch of two new Bonnier casino and bingo brands and a sportsbook to follow.

But all that land-grabbing is much too last-millennium for 888, whose Dragonfish B2B arm signed a tie with Linden Lab, the people behind Second Life, the avatar game in which people with disappointing first lives can live more satisfactory ones online.

The deal will see Dragonfish run the payments system behind the ‘Linden Dollar’, a Second Life currency bought with real life cash that Linden says will bring in some half a billion US dollars this year. That’s right: billion dollars. First life ones, too.

Someone should tell Florida.

Elsewhere last week: champagne in Vienna after Bwin EBITDA hit 75% up; Intercasino’s Ads Dot Com hired a new affiliate boss from Ladbrokes; UK poker fell ill, the GAU launched its White List and Levy and Teufelberger denied 888-Bwin wedding rumours.