Following the success of its second stop in Birmingham last weekend, leading poker magazine Bluff Europe has announced that Dublin’s Sports Emporium is next in line to host the Poker Academy lecture series.

This Saturday, amateur players can ‘learn from the pros’ as Irish poker legend Donnacha O’Dea passes on his knowledge and wisdom assisted by author and player Alex ‘Pickleman’ Rousso.

The day will consist of three hours of interactive lectures followed by four hours of tournament play with direct supervision from a professional player. Tickets start at £150, which includes the buy-in for the tournament, with lectures covering some of the most crucial concepts in professional poker such as its fundamental theory alongside luck and variance, dealing with defeat and bankroll management.

“This is a great opportunity for intermediate players to come along and improve their game by learning from some of the best players in the country and, hopefully, have a lot of fun at the same time,” said Rousso.

After Dublin, the Poker Academy will move on to London’s Casino At The Empire on May 23 where Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak will take over tutorial duties assisted by Rousso.

D-verification company 192business has launched a new German ID check solution using data sources including German credit-agency Schufa.

Paddy Power has entered the Australian market by buying a controlling stake in Australian bookmaker Sportsbet.

The 51% stake is for an initial consideration of AUD48.5m (€27.2m).

The Irish bookmaker will make an initial cash payment of AUD45.8m (€25.7m) from its existing cash reserves of €96m, and issue of 100,000 Paddy Power shares to Sportsbet shareholders.

An additional cash consideration of AUD10m (€5.6m) will be made to Sportsbet shareholders in early 2010 if the company’s earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2009 (before transaction and restructuring costs) exceeds AUD16.5m (€9.2m). Sportsbet has already forecast EBITDA of AUD14.6m (€8.2m) for the year ending 30 June 2009.

Sportsbet chief executive and its current controlling shareholder Matthew Tripp will continue in his role. Paddy Power will appoint four directors to the Sportsbet board, including chief executive Patrick Kennedy and head of non-retail and online Breon Corcoran.

Sportsbet is a long established Northern Territory-licensed private operator, and owns 19.98% of International All Sports.

Under the terms of the acquisition, in the event that Sportsbet’s EBITDA for any of the years ending 30 June 2010, 2011 or 2012 is less than AUD11m (€6.2m), Paddy Power has the right to claw equity from Sportsbet’s existing shareholders on a proportionate basis to the shortfall in profitability. 

Patrick Kennedy said: “The acquisition adds a new dimension to our business portfolio to which we can bring trading, risk management and marketing expertise honed in Ireland and the UK to complement Sportsbet’s existing skills and experience.”

At Paddy Power’s annual general meeting today, chairman Nigel Northridge will highlight the company’s “strong performance” in 2008

World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) Incorporated has signed its first international television sponsorship deal for Season Seven of its popular World Poker Tour television series with PokerStars receiving title sponsorship.

WPTE stated that PokerStars would also receive exclusive in-show educational or gaming site and brand integration into all Season Seven ‘original’ episodes, which will feature commentary by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, airing in Canada, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

In addition, PokerStars and WPTE will collaborate to create ‘localised’ Spanish/Portuguese-language programmes featuring native commentators for territories in Latin America. In the past, WPTE has aired localised productions of its World Poker Tour series in France, Great Britain, the Philippines, South Korea and Macedonia.

“Television sponsorship is an important part of our business so having the biggest company in the poker industry jump on board is an exciting way to start international distribution of Season Seven,” said Steve Lipscomb, Chief Executive Officer for WPTE.

“We look forward to working with PokerStars as we roll out the latest World Poker Tour programming to fans in these territories.”

Paddy Power’s Spanish website is now refusing bets on bullfighting after pressure from campaign groups. 

The Irish bookmaker, which is renowned for its novelty bets, received complaints after allowing Spanish customers to bet on how many ears matadors would cut off bulls.  

The wagers produced hostility from animal rights campaigners, with the Irish Council Against Blood Sports describing them as “grotesque and in the poorest of taste.” 

However in an e-mail to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) this month, Paddy Power company secretary David Johnson confirmed that the company has “ceased accepting bets on bullfighting and it is not [the company’s] intention to offer this market again”. 

PETA Europe Director Robbie LeBlanc said: “Bravo to Paddy Power for distancing itself from a barbaric ritual”. 

Paddy Power was not available for comment. 

Paddy Power is believed to be the only major bookmaker that has accepted bullfighting bets. William Hill media director Graham Sharpe commented: “We never have taken bets of this nature. We were astonished when we heard that another bookmaker was doing so. It is not something we would ever countenance doing.”

The companies have pledged to follow sports betting with casino, poker, bingo and quickplay games once the regulation allows it in South Africa.

Dragonfish will build the pool betting software application that will allow punters to watch and bet on the races online and distribute live streaming pictures of the races to its client base and that of 888.

The company will also provide the South African tote with its e-payments service and back-end software to integrate it into 888’s shared wallet, cashier and customer support systems.

The agreement will be supported by PGE’s distribution and marketing outlets throughout South Africa which includes 400 retail outlets, three telephone betting centres and two online betting sites.

Dragonfish managing director Gabi Campos said: “Horseracing is the largest sector in worldwide sports betting, and we are delighted to work with a global leader in this area. Phumelela has a huge user-base in South Africa, and this deal will ensure that they have the best tools available with which to provide their customers with a cutting edge online gaming offering.”

PGE and Gold Circle operate tote betting in all of South Africa’s nine provinces. In common with other tote operators, they syndicate content to their counterparts across the world via South African-based satellite channel Racing International.