Movie Box Office Futures Market Proposal Moves Forward

Gambling and Hollywood do apparently mix, based on the proliferation of branded slot games found in online casinos and the Hollywood movie betting proposals currently being shuffled around the desks of Hollywood money men, legal eagles and bean counters.

Much of the Hollywood - gambling action started with the adaption of Hollywood titles from the likes of Paramount Pictures, StudioCanal, Warner Bros and Marvel Entertainment, later to find them in the likes of PartyGaming's PartyCasino and Virgin's Virgin Casino, it would certainly appear so, however that's not the end of the story.

Media Man and Gambling911 do a follow up probe of Hollywood, AussieWood and Bollywood, learning that proposals are moving forward. Hollywood must need the money!

Despite numerous attempts to stop the proposals, a second exchange proposing box office-based commodity trading has won preliminary go ahead by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC on Tuesday advised the proposed Cantor Exchange has green lighted in a review of its online technology and innovation et al.

The commission has previously approved similar technical underpinnings of the proposed Trend Exchange, which many budding gambling and internet entrepreneurs are grinning about.

The CFTC also must rule on product details of the exchanges, which the major film studios are opposing. 

To get readers up to speed you you get a handle on it, the first two decisions have gone against Hollywooders, the MPAA and other industry groups continue to battle against the proposals.

Cantor Exchange and Trend Exchange had planned to begin trading as soon as this this week!  The dates have been delayed pending final regulatory review procedure.

Cantor proposes to allow direct access to its online exchange, where users would purchase contracts selling box office projections, be it long or short, from six months prior to films' wide releases through the first four weeks movies screen in theaters. Trend Exchange would utilize brokered trades and halt trading once flix hit theaters.

In addition to lobbying the CFTC, Hollywood has recently opened a second front in its fight against the proposed exchanges in Congress.

A Hollywood-backed amendment was also added to the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act...a financial-reform Senate bill...to prohibit boxoffice commodity exchanges! The amendment is set for discussion this Wednesday by the Senate Agriculture Committee. There is a clear sense or urgency on this matters, and everyone is looking to make an extra dollar our of show business, but gambling entrepreneurs and Hollywood whales and wheeler dealers have different views as to how to go about it.

This Thursday, a House subcommittee that oversees the CFTC also will review the two exchange proposals.

We reckon Lew Wasserman from 'The Last Mogul' fame would love this stuff, however these happenings are leaving a significant paper trail, where as Wasserman basically left none!

Media Man birdies tell us that the likes of Google (Ventures and Enterprise), PartyGaming - InterTrader, Virgin Enterprises Limited inc Virgin Games and James Packer, Australian casino king - 50% owned Betfair, are watching this space very closely, as are Australian iconic actors and film entrepreneurs, Paul "Hoges" Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) Shane Jacobson (Kenny) and Mel Gibson (Mad Max). Australian talent agents and professional business spruikers, Harry M. Miller and Max Markson are also understood to have recently become aware of these happenings via Media Man and Gambling911 reports, and are finding the developments "interesting". Media Man plans to incorporate b2b elements of this specific sector into its business model.

Cantor Exchange and Trend Exchange, putting extra Business in Show Business. Without the Business, there is no show.  If anyone gets a cut, including yours truly at Gambling911 and Media Man, we reckon its "deal on" for Deal Or No Deal, and just a case of Show Me The Money!

*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and intenet portal development company. Gaming is just one over a dozen industry verticals they cover

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited, Virgin, and has conducted b2b with Crown, Virgin, PartyGaming, Betfair and others