News in Brief: William Hill-Playtech injunction; Sportsbet; Chartwell

William Hill has confirmed its injunction preventing Playtech from selling its stake in its joint venture online business will remain in place until a further court hearing expected to take place in May this year. The bookmaker took out an initial injunction in late February as a “defensive measure” to protect its rights following speculation Playtech has entered into merger discussions with rival Ladbrokes and to ensure its “legal rights under the William Hill Online joint venture agreements were maintained”. James Hollins, analyst at Evolution Securities called the process “an unwelcome sideshow” in a note today but said there was no change to his view that the issue would be dealt with “satisfactorily” with both companies continuing to operate within a mutually beneficial joint venture. He added the original injunction related to Playtech’s desire to have “greater clarity” on William Hill’s intentions for the call option it has over Playtech’s 29% stake in WHO. The option is due to expire at the end of next year.

Cormac Barry has been appointed chief executive of Paddy Power’s Australian Sportsbet online business, replacing former owner Matt Tripp, who has moved into a new role as executive chairman. Former Paddy Power head of online Barry joined Sportsbet in July 2009 as part of the transaction which saw the Irish bookmaking giant acquire an initial controlling 51% stake in the Australian online and phone-based bookmaker, valuing the business that Tripp bought for AU$250,000 in 2005 at up to AU$338m. Paddy Power shareholders voted last month to acquire the remaining 39.2% of shares in Sportsbet. John Hartnett has also been appointed chief operating officer, having previously been head of risk at Sportsbet. Gross win from Paddy Power’s Australian business grew 44% year-on-year in 2010, with an operating profit of €19.5m.

Canadian games provider Chartwell saw its revenue drop by 10.3% to CA$2.2m (£1.38m) in the three months ended 31 January 2011. One of the significant contributing factors was the loss of a “significant” licensee in the fourth quarter of 2010, which led to a 10.9% decline in licence revenue in Q1. The company now hopes that recent deals with Centrebet and Rank Interactive will spur a recovery from a difficult few months, which also saw a net loss of $1.9m for the quarter.

Australian operator Tabcorp has rejected an offer for its Sky television channel from racing broadcaster ThoroughVision (TVN). The bid, backed by telecommunications company Telstra, has been valued at around AU$400m (£244.2m).

Sky Betting and Gaming has signed up identify management specialist GB Group to provide its Enhanced Support Service, allowing the operator to refine and improve age verification processes on its websites.

Bingo portal Bingobase.com has relaunched its website based on user feedback, with the site now offering full integration with all social media channels. A “huge marketing push” will be undertaken for the revamped portal, said Raj Ramanandi of Bingobase owner Digital Prophets. Bingobase recently made its second appearance among the bingo affiliates in eGR’s Power 50 Affiliates.