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Sweden-based online casino Mr. Green.com is probably still celebrating this (Thursday) morning after being voted top gambling website in Sweden on making it through to the finals.

Internetworld’s annual competition - now in its 13th year - looks at a wide range of Swedish internet casinos websites, and adjudged Mr. Green top in the online gambling category, commenting that the site was stylish and exciting, with social functionality and a commendable emphasis through its ‘Green Gaming’ elements on responsible gambling.

The judges praised the company for its ethical approach to online gambling, its sense of fun and energy, and its corporate transparency.

Mr Green’s management also claimed sixth place overall in the competition, besting some formidable rivals like Betsson (53rd) Unibet (57th) and state monopoly Svenska Spel (91st).

Managing director Mikael Pawlo praised the operational and creative teams at Mr. Green for the achievement, noting that the company had been late entering the highly competitive online gambling market, which had merely served to spur their efforts.

“Carrying my title on the business card makes [for] nice days like this - collecting awards - but this is a prize that belongs to the entire operation, from graphics designers to back end programmers, customer support and our masters of Javascript,” Pawlo said.

Mobile gambling solutions provider Spin3, powered by Microgaming, has launched the largest-ever online jackpot progressive video slot - Mega Moolah - for mobile phones.

Mega Moolah joins Spin3’s growing portfolio of casino games for web-enabled smartphones, delivering a mobile gaming experience which is on a par with the online original, with razor-sharp graphics and no download and install times.

The African wildlife-themed game features a variety of colourful characters including zebras, elephants and lions, and offers a unique combination of five reels and 25 pay-lines as well as a wheel-of-fortune-style jackpot bonus game.

The largest of the four jackpots, known as the Mega Progressive, guarantees to make the winner a millionaire; winning one lucky player over Euro 6 million in May 2009.

Matti Zinder, head of Spin3, said, “We are excited to be able to bring the biggest online progressive jackpot to the mobile platform. This is yet another milestone for Spin3 and for the development of mobile gambling. The industry is going from strength to strength and bringing a game such as Mega Moolah, which has such as strong online following, to the mobile platform is a fantastic achievement. The possibility of creating the next millionaire on a mobile phone is a hugely exciting prospect.”

Irish online casinos and offline bookmaker Paddy Power has confirmed its deal with the French casino gambling monopoly Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) which will smooth its path into the liberalised French online gambling market early 2010.

The bookie firm also said it remains on track to meet market expectations for full-year profits, boosting its shares by 5.6 percent midweek.

The agreement with PMU will see Paddy Power committed to a five-year outsourcing deal to provide betting technology and pricing to the French horse racing operator, the largest betting organisation in Europe with Euros 9.3 billion of turnover in 2008, according to the Reuters news agency.

Analysts were enthusiastic about the deal, opining that it could open other doors for Paddy Power in a B2B sense with other French and European companies as Europe is expected to open up and regulate rather than confine gambling to state monopolies. One alalysts characterised the deal as a massive catalyst for Paddy Power stock.

Reuters reports that Paddy Power’s financial director Jack Massey expects the deal with PMU will come into effect around May or June 2010, adding some Euros 3 to 5 million in revenue by 2012 and open up other opportunities.

“The strength of the deal is the quality of the partner which gives us an excellent calling card of other such opportunities that may emerge,” Massey said in an interview with the news agency.

Paddy Power’s md for non-retail and development, Breon Corcoran, added that Paddy Power expected to expand further through outsourcing deals and partnerships with local partners as a number of regulatory markets open up over the next three to five years.

The deal will create 50 jobs at Paddy Power’s Dublin headquarters by June 2010, with 200 additional jobs expected in the following three years.

The company reported on its progress, noting that while sporting results were adverse for the 19 weeks to November 10, 2009, turnover for the period had grown strongly as its presence in the UK increased to 80 shops after it added 22 outlets earlier this year.

Paddy Power is on the Orbis sports platform, but it is understood that PMU has decided to outsource the risk management and pricing functions to a third party.

Paddy Power chief executive Patrick Kennedy said that the agreement with PMU was an impressive start for the company’s new B2B division, and that the firm would be capitalising on its expertise and technology to close agreements with other major betting companies.

The chief executive of PMU, Philippe Germond commented: “This partnership is going to enable PMU to offer sporting bets online under its own brand and retain direct management of its client database. Paddy Power will provide us with its expertise in sports betting. Through this partnership PMU is given the means to be ready for the opening of the online betting market in France next year.”

The independent player protection and standards organisation eCOGRA has announced that Digitote, a provider of advanced sportsbetting software and ancillary web development and back office applications, has successfully achieved the required standards for its Certified Software accreditation seal.

“Currently eCOGRA is working on an ongoing basis with over 25 leading software providers and 25 top casino and poker room operators. 13 software providers have achieved accreditation for their software in the form of the eCOGRA Certified Software seal. 145 online gambling sites are accredited with the eCOGRA Safe and Fair seal,” an eCOGRA spokesman revealed.

Digitote, which has offices in Germany and the Isle of Man, hosted a full eCOGRA audit and inspection team at its premises earlier this year, during which every aspect of its software development activities was assessed as meeting the standards of both the European Gaming and Betting Association and the eCOGRA eGAP requirements.

“Conformance with the EGBA Standards and eGAP requirements has been assessed through the review of controls and substantive testing under the latest EGBA Standards, approved in October 2008, as well as the latest eGAP requirements, approved on 28 January 2009,” the eCOGRA compliance team leader noted.

Following the team’s exhaustive report, eCOGRA’s independent directors on its Seal Compliance Committee approved the award of the seal this week, empowering Digitote to display the seal as a mark of its efficiency and commitment to fair and safe online casinos and sportsbetting.

Andrew Beveridge, chief executive officer of eCOGRA, said that Digitote’s success in meeting the required standards would make it possible for companies using its Xturf software to apply for operator inspection and certification with eCOGRA in the future.

“The EGBA standards are particularly high and a good fit with our own eGap requirements, and by achieving these levels Digitote sends a strong and positive signal regarding its capabilities and professional commitment,” said Beveridge.

“Our audit confirms that the development, implementation, maintenance and security of Digitote’s product and back-office systems are representative of industry best practice and technology standards applicable to software suppliers.”

Digitote director G?nter Boyks said he was pleased with the successful outcome of what had proved to be a very thorough inspection of his company’s facilities and systems.

“Apart from its value as a measure of Digitote’s professional efficiency and commitment to fairness and quality, the achievement of this eCOGRA accreditation provides a practical assurance to both ourselves and our clients that as a business we meet the most demanding industry standards,” he said.

The Digitote Group is a consortium of independent IT companies focused on tailor-made software solutions and product innovations.

As a recognised specialist, the company has been developing software and specialised hardware for bookmakers and racecourses for the past 20 years, with long-term and close co-operation with customers that has enabled it to adapt result-oriented proven methods and innovative technologies continuously and creatively to the specific needs of clients.

Digitote has offices in Witten and Berlin, Germany and in Douglas on the Isle of Man.

The company has a large client list, including major companies like Betbull Bwin Espana, Digibet, Topsportwetten, Primebet and Albers Wettb?rse.

The treaty between German states banning online lottery operations continues to have a profoundly adverse impact on German lottery service provider Jaxx AG as the group struggles to reposition itself as a betting rather than a lotteries and gambling company.

Financial results for the last nine months tell a dismal story, showing a loss of Euro 3.863 million alongside a Euro 1.156 millon deficit for the third online gambling quarter ‘09.

On the positive side, consolidated revenues rose to Euro 88.9 million YTD, mainly due to a 25.6 percent rise in sportsbetting revenues.

Revenues for the third quarter of 2009 totalled Euro 29.4 million, representing year-on-year growth of 2.8 percent, with 70 percent of earnings for the first nine months coming from sportsbetting, 16 percent from lotteries and 14 percent from horserace wagering.

However, EBITDA for the nine-month period was Euro 2.3 million - down 58.7 percent year-on-year - with depreciation and amortisation declining fell by 8 percent to Euro 5.9 million compared to the same period in 2008 as a result of JAXX’s exit from the German syndicate business.

“The fourth quarter is generally casino games considered to be the strongest due to seasonal factors,” Management reported. “The football season is in full swing and the sales figures for tickets for the Spanish Christmas lottery traditionally soar in the final few weeks of the year. Spain’s most popular lottery comes to a spectacular climax each year one evening before Christmas with the draw for the jackpot known as El Gordo, when winnings in the region of two billion Euros are up for grabs.

“Revenues and financial performance in the fourth quarter are expected to show a general improvement on the second and third quarters. In the first few weeks, there have already been clear signs that this will be the case.

“It is, nevertheless, unlikely that the profit targeted for the fourth quarter will be able to compensate fully for the accumulated loss of the first nine months. However, the management of Jaxx AG is confident that the turnaround kicked off at the start of the financial year can be completed next year, based on the measures in progress to expand business and reduce costs.”

A Nepalese store clerk resident near Dallas, Texas palmed a $1.1 million winning lottery ticket presented by a customer, cashed it and then absconded, clearly hoping to enjoy online casino games his ill-gotten gains elsewhere, a criminal indictment in the Lone Star state alleges.

Authorities said that 25-year-old convenience store clerk Pankaj Joshi was indicted in September on one count of claiming a lottery prize by fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The indictment was unsealed this month.