iGaming Business – William Hill has launched its Android application and will include live streaming of horseracing and in-play radio as part of its mobile betting offering. The app complements the bookmaker’s iPhone version, which has been downloaded 1.5 million times, the group said. Juergen Reutter, operations director at William Hill Online, said the Android app was “a significant and important milestone in our goal. Mobile is growing phenomenally quickly and is a fantastic way to engage with our customers anytime, anywhere”. “The success of the iOS app has been breathtaking – reaching 1.5 million downloads is a very proud…

CBS – Bookmakers and organized crime members have long profited in the high-stakes world of illegal sports gambling. New Jersey is now appealing to the Supreme Court to legalize betting on games. The state hopes to collect millions. However, as CBS News’ legal analyst Jack Ford reports on “60 Minutes Sports,” the ruling won’t put the mob out of business. If it becomes legal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has said there would be strict state oversight, much like the way it works at his state’s Atlantic City’s casinos. But Angelo Lutz, who is a legitimate businessman and restaurateur, told…

iGaming Business – The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has order Irish bookmaker Paddy Power to withdraw an advert that offered betting odds on the outcome of the ongoing murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. The decision comes after the ASA said it had received an “unprecedented” number of complaints, an amount widely reported as 5,200 individual complaints. Following the large amount of complaints, ASA chairman Lord Smith has taken the unusual step of demanding that the advertiser withdraw the advert from circulation pending the outcome of the investigation. In exceptional circumstances, ASA procedures under the Advertising Code enable…

Gaming Intelligence – Paddy Power is preparing to roll out a revamped version of its real-money sportsbook offering on Facebook, with a new version of the product set to go live in April. The Paddy Power In-Play! app first launched in August last year, making it the first sports betting app to go live on the social network. However, the operator’s managing director for online Peter O’Donovan explained that uptake of the product has been “limited” so far. “It was the first of its kind, and we continue to refine the overall product proposition to make sure it resonates with…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Betfred has agreed to become a sponsor of the Grand National Festival UK horseracing event. The three-year deal will run from 2014 through to 2017, according to The Drum website. Betfred will sponsor three races at the Festival, which is held at Aintree Racecourse on an annual basis. The races included in the deal comprise the Betfred Bowl Steeple Chase on opening day, the Betfred Mobile Mildmay Novices’ Steeple Chase on Ladies Day and the Betfred TV Handicap Steeple Chase on Grand National Day. John Baker, Aintree and north-west regional director for Jockey Club Racecourses,…

Irish Times – Strong growth in bookmaker Paddy Power’s Australian business compensated for a tougher time nearer home and played a key role in increasing its profits by 1 per cent to a record €141 million last year. Paddy Power yesterday reported an increase in net revenue in 2013 to €745 million from €663 million the previous year and said that pretax profit was up 1 per cent at €141 million from €139.2 million. Operating profit grew at a similar rate to €137.4 million in 2013 from €136 million in 2012. However, “adverse results”, including a large number of fancied…

iGaming Business – The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has launched a formal investigation into an advert from bookmaker Paddy Power that offered betting odds on the outcome of the ongoing murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. The athlete is currently on trial in South Africa accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013. Paddy Power is offering people the chance to bet on the outcome of the trial, with the advert in question featuring an offer for those who place a bet. The advert appeared in national press, as well as on Paddy Power’s…

North Jersey – As Fort Lauderdale sports law attorney Daniel L. Wallach has spotted, the U.S. Supreme Court last week filed an order extending the time to file responses in the potential landmark sports betting case from March 17 until April 21. Wallach notes that the extension could mean no resolution before the end of the June term, so backers – and opponents – may need to be patient. The extension happens to come the day after Easter, so the last workweek day before the deadline is Good Friday. I wonder if that will mean a quicker filing so that…