Poker News Bytes: November 14, 2008

November 14 2008, Haley Hintze

South African Internet-Gambling Regulatory Bill Released

Rules governing the planned legalization of online gambling within South Africa have now been released. Up for public comment after being released by South Africa's Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, is the Interactive Gambling Tax Bill, which calls for the imposition of a "special tax" on online operators with a South African presence. The bill is expected to come before South Africa's Parliament in the spring of 2009, with comments on the proposed bill to be submitted prior to March 1, 2009.

Cryptologic to Join Boss Media Poker Network

The consolidation of Europe-facing online poker networks continued this past week when Cryptologic announced that it had entered into a "strategic Internet poker agreement" with Boss Media AB, another major software network. Under the agreement, poker skins on Cryptologic will have their players migrated into the Boss Media system; InterPoker and Parbet, two of the larger Crypto skins, will make the jump in earl y 2009. It's a cost-savings move for Cryptologic, which expects to save $12-15 annually from merging the services, as the company continues its own focus on online casino-game offerings.

Playtech Reports 67% Q3 Earnings Spike

Online poker network and software provider Playtech Ltd. posted impressive 2008 third-quarter earnings, despite the overall downturn in the global economy and recent gloomy financial news from other sectors. Playtech, which has grown through mergers and acquisitions over the past couple of years, posted €28.5 million (about $36.5 million) in revenues for the quarter ending September 30th, a 69% jump over the same quarter in 2007. Poker revenues made up a steady portion of Playtech's overall growth, jumping 60% to €7.6 million for the period.

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