Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic’s President and CEO, commented: “Today, CryptoLogic leads the way with even more great games, including another brand with proven global appeal in Street Fighter IV.”

Street Fighter IV is one of the most popular video games of 2009, with millions of copies sold since its debut in February. CryptoLogic’s new video slot game promises to match this extraordinary gaming experience. Players spin the reels for a chance to play the bonus round, where they can select from four different interactive rounds. Players select their favourite character and face off against an opponent for a chance to win free games and cash prizes. Players can play up to 25 lines and have the chance to win up to 5,000 times their maximum bet.

In Savannah Sunrise CryptoLogic introduces its first 243 “all-ways” video slot game. Set against the backdrop of an African Safari, Savannah Sunrise presents a more exciting way to play, where instead of being constrained by the number of paylines, players’ payouts are based on the reels they bet. This means that all symbols act as adjacent scatters and any adjacent symbol combination then offers a win. Line up three or more scattered tree symbols and activate 20 free games and up to a 15 times multiplier. Players can place bets in a range from 0.05 to 125 per spin.

The Pyramids and Caesar’s temptress should make Cleo “Crazy Jackpots”, an Ancient Egyptian-themed video slot game an instant favourite. Cleo is the world’s first nine-jackpot video slot game, with each jackpot attached to a payline. Each selected payline may win the corresponding jackpot when five Cleopatra symbols appear on a selected line. The amount wagered per line determines the size of the jackpots to be won. Trigger the bonus feature round by lining up three or more scattered pyramid symbols for a chance to win cash prizes and multipliers.

It’s an alien world in CryptoLogic’s latest 25-payline slot game Area 21. In Area 21’s feature, players test their blackjack skills against an alien dealer. Players move through interactive bonus rounds where they can win up to 25 free spins with a five times multiplier and have the option to play from 0.01 to 500 per spin.

Updated versions of some of Cryptologic’s enduring favourites, including Caribbean Stud Poker, American Roulette and Video Poker are included in the new games pack.

Betfair continues to lead the pack with a healthy margin of 2.6 percent over nearest rival Bet365, with Will Hill in third place, Paddy Power in fourth and Stan James in fifth.

The top ten bookies based on share of referred traffic are:

1. Betfair 15.3 percent
2. bet365 12.7 percent
3. William Hill 9.9 percent
4. Paddy Power 9.8 percent
5. Stan James 9.5 percent
6. Ladbrokes 8.1 percent
7. Sky Bet 4.6 percent
8. Sportingbet 4.3 percent
9. Victor Chandler 4.2 percent
10. Betfred 4.1 percent

Responsibilities agreed under the deal include driving additional traffic to the website, which was revamped and relaunched earlier this (2009) year.

“Greenlight’s clear understanding of what we want to achieve in 2009 along with their proprietary tools and thorough approach to improving natural search rankings impressed us from the very start of the pitch process,“ said Camelot e-commerce marketing manager Charlotte Oldfield, commenting on the agreement.

The lottery’s latest numbers indicate that as at end March 2009 sales through its interactive channels increased to GBP488.2 million.

The website boasts over 4.4 million users, and Martin Pugh, commercial director of Camelot, said recently that interactive operations were contributing over GBP 2.5 million a week to the lottery.

The proposal - S 8309, the Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act - seeks to create a regulatory framework allowing online poker companies to register in the U.S. and subject to taxation and stringent regulation that includes consumer protections relating particularly to age verification, fair gaming, the prevention of fraud and money laundering, and problem gambling. There will also be requirements to ensure that the player is logging in from a jurisdiction where gambling is legal.

Taxation provisions of 10 percent on all deposits made by players to gambling sites are envisaged, with the proceeds split evenly between the state and federal governments.

One of the most vocal proponents of lifting the online gambling ban is the banking industry. Banks say the existing rules don’t define what types of gambling are illegal, leaving them unsure whether to reject individual transactions. In some parts of the country, for example, betting on horse racing is legal, but in others it isn’t, reports Dow Jones.

The difference between the Menendez bill and HR2267 introduced in May this year by Representative Barney Frank is that the former applies only to online poker and other “games of skill,” while Frank’s legislation aims to regulate other forms of gambling, including sports betting and online casino action.

Both bills have been careful to respect the rights of individual states when it comes to gambling laws autonomy.

UPDATE:

Senator Menendez introduced his bill , and was applauded by Poker Players Alliance chairman, former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, who said: “The PPA is pleased that Senator Menendez chose to introduce his bill to license and regulate Internet poker and include additional consumer protections. His continued support for protecting the Internet freedoms of poker players specifically, and Americans generally, is greatly appreciated.

“Today’s action by Senator Menendez is yet another powerful step towards protecting Internet freedom, protecting consumers and protecting online poker. On behalf of the members of the PPA and online poker players nationwide, I thank Senator Menendez for his leadership on this important issue.”

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Creation of a registry of unlicensed online gambling operators that will strengthen enforcement efforts of truly unlawful gambling;

• Mandatory implementation of technologies to protect against underage gambling and to monitor and detect individuals with excessive gaming habits;

• Dedicated funding to develop and implement prevention and treatment programs for problem gamblers;

• Mechanisms to collect the billions of dollars in tax revenue that is currently being lost; and

• Clarification of the Wire Act to create consistency in how online gambling activities, such as horse race betting, are treated under Federal law.

The 42 percent growth that the number represent make Poland one of the fastest growing land gambling markets in Europe, with the slot machine population doubling over the past year to 46 000 and more to follow.

And the Poles apparently like slots; revenues from this category of gaming alone have grown 73.2 percent to $2.7 billion.

Sadly, little progress appears to have been made on the regulation of online gambling, a topic that has been under discussion by Polish legislators since November 2007.

In April 2008 comments by Polish Finance Minister Marek Kapica suggested that a regulatory regime for online gambling would be in position by the second part of 2009. Kapica opined publicly that Poland would have to legalise online gambling: “We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the budget at least derives some revenues from it,” he said.

At that time the Finance Ministry was reportedly preparing appropriate legislative changes for approval by the European Commission as part of the procedures required of EU member nations.

There have been no reports on the progress of this initiative since.

Company revenues soared 27 percent to GBP 303 million and profits were up 29 percent at GBP 72 million, whilst active user members tripled to 650 000.

CEO David Yu hailed the results as “…a progression to online betting [away from the High Street] as people want to be more selective on what they bet on and find better value.”

The company has cash resources of GBP 133 million, obviating the need to raise capital, but as finance director Stephen Morana observed on the question of an IPO: “We don’t need to raise capital but we will need a liquidity event [to allow shareholders to cash in]… A float is an obvious option.”

Betfair is currently part-owned by founders Bertie Black and Ed Wray (25 percent), 20 percent by Softbank of Japan and 25 percent is in private equity