2007 April 30 Gambling News, Events and Happenings - Page 8

Pretax profit before exceptional items for 2006 is forecast to be in the range of 58.3-76.4 mln usd, against 67.4 mln usd the previous year, with the consensus at 67 mln usd.

According to reports in the Financial Times in Britain, the Tour de France cycle race has been hit by controversy not over drugs but gambling, with a team banned for being sponsored by an online bookmaker. And the European Commission is taking an interest in the issue.

The outspoken columnist of the Seattle Times, Danny Westneat, is a pragmatic writer we have quoted before, and this week he spent some time with a skilled online poker player to find out why the draconian laws against online gambling in the state of Washington consider this pastime a Class C felony on a par with possessing child pornography, fleeing police or robbing a grave.