News from my desk January 25, 2013 @ 11am

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Headlines you may have missed had you not checked out our Breaking News page late last night !!


German State Stops Offering Betting Concessions
HAMBURG, Germany (January 24, 2013) -- The last regional government in Germany to oppose a state-controlled gambling monopoly has relinquished its authority to allocate concessions to private providers.

CJEU: GREEK GAMBLING MONOPOLY VIOLATES EU LAW
BRUSSELS, Belgium (January 24, 2013) -- The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) today delivered its ruling confirming that the Greek gambling monopoly violates EU law.

Schleswig-Holstein Repeals Gaming Law
Votes to Join State Treaty Just as the German Federal Court raises concerns over the consistency of its gaming framework, the last remaining state votes narrowly to join the federal treaty
KIEL, Germany (January 24, 2013) -- The German state of Schleswig-Holstein (SH) voted in parliament Thursday in favor of repealing the existing online gambling law in the state and joining the federal gaming treaty.

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES' 1,000,000 Degrees™ Wide-Area Progressive Hits For More Than $1.2 Million At The Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino In Texas
LAS VEGAS, (January 23, 2013) -- Bally Technologies, a leader in slots, video machines, and casino management systems for the global gaming industry, announced today that its 1,000,000 Degrees™ Class 2 wide-area progressive slot link hit for more than $1.2 million on Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Mass. Budget Proposal includes Gambling Revenue
BOSTON, Massachusetts (January 24, 2013) -- Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's budget proposal for the next fiscal year is the first that counts on any revenue from the state's new gambling law. Administration officials anticipate $83 million in licensing fees for up to three resort casinos and one slots parlor allowed under the 2011 law.

Greek Market Ends Down
ATHENS, Greece (January 24, 2013) -- Athens Stock Exchange ends lower on Thursday below 1.000 points, weighed down by hefty losses for index heavyweight OPAP. This follows the ruling by the EU?s highest court that the Greek gambling monopoly, in which the government owns a minority stake, is illegal.

LOTTOMATICA GROUP Creates A Single, Unified Leadership And Business Structure To Drive Its Future Growth
Name change to GTECH S.p.A. to be submitted for Shareholder approval
ROME, ITALY and PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND (US) - (January 24, 2013) - Lottomatica Group S.p.A. today announced a plan to further integrate its businesses on a global basis and change the company name to GTECH S.p.A. These changes are aimed at supporting growth, improving efficiency and enhancing profitability across operations, stepping up the pace of internationalization of the Group to better capture its full potential.

SHERIFF GAMING Launches Three New Games Ahead Of Ice
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (January 24, 2013) - - Sheriff Gaming has today announced that it has launched a further three games ahead of this year's ICE Totally Gaming event and that are now available to demo at www.sheriffgaming.com.

CASINO-X Chooses Quickfire As Exclusive Games Provider
ISLE OF MAN - Casino-x has chosen Quickfire, powered by Microgaming (www.quickfiregames.co.uk), as its exclusive casino software provider to launch into the online gaming market.

International Game Technology : IGT's sbX® Goes Platinum
LAS VEGAS, (January 24, 2013) -- International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) a global leader in gaming systems technology, today announced that they have reached the milestone of over 100 installs of their sbX® system.

OPAP'S Greek Gambling Monopoly Ruled Illegal by EU Court
ATHENS, Greece (January 24, 2013) - Greece's gambling monopoly, owned by Opap SA (OPAP), was ruled illegal by the European Union's highest court, sending shares of the company down as much as 21 percent.

UK betting group Ladbrokes Acquires Ireland's Betdaq
LONDON, UK (January 24, 2013) -- UK online betting and gaming company Ladbrokes Plc (LON:LAD) said today it had sealed a deal to buy the operator of the Irish Betdaq betting exchange business from TBH Limited for an initial sum of EUR30m (USD40m) on a cash-and-debt-free basis.

Probability Names New CFO
LONDON, UK (January 24, 2013) - Probability PLC : Qurban hussain, has been appointed as the company's chief financial officer.

OLG Reaches Agreements In Principle For Leases At Eight Ontario Gaming Sites
TORONTO, Ontario (January 24, 2013) -- The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is pleased to announce that it has reached lease agreements in principle for its slots operations with eight of its site holders.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Confirms Possible Bethlehem Casino Sale
LAS VEGAS (January 23, 2013) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. is looking into the sale of its Bethlehem casino. resident and COO Michael Leven confirmed reports that Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is up for sale "if we get our price," he told the financial network Tuesday.