With the WSOP once again hogging the headlines, we’re wandering off the beaten track in search of a few scraps of worldwide poker news. Expect fresh new ideas, slightly-older-but still-pretty-fresh ideas, and very-old-not-at-all-fresh ideas.

Very Betable

The buzz word for online gambling in 2012 seems to be ‘social’ which admittedly makes the industry a little late on the uptake. When even the hulking behemoths of national news have integrated social media into their cluttered offerings you know you’re a little behind. Thankfully a new company called Betable are looking to make that integration a little easier by offering to handle the gambling side of things all by themselves. Players can wager via Betable on any service where their API is integrated and they will handle the calculations and payouts. That has the excellent fringe benefit of meaning that your company isn’t technically providing any gambling services. Definitely worth keeping an eye on. [Betable]

Wham Bam, No Thank You Pam

Less exciting is the new venture from entrepreneurs Elton Pereira & Jeremy Nichele. Their new Facebook game, BamPoker, basically brings play money poker software up to the standard of real-money clients 5 years ago. It includes all the basic features you’d expect of a poker client, including at least one sound I’m pretty sure is directly lifted from Full Tilt. Oh, and I forget to mention the least exciting part: It’s spokeswoman is Pamela Anderson, in all her glorious cultural relevance. [Marketwatch]

Bwin Lament Zoom Poker

The fast paced stylings of Rush Poker are looking positively ancient in this fresh-faced company, but that hasn’t stopped PokerStars’ strikingly similar Zoom Poker from putting the hurt on its competitors. In a recent financial report, Bwin.Party attributed a sharp drop in poker revenues to the success of Zoom Poker. Bwin promised that they’d have their version of super-fast poker active in the near future. [BwinParty]

Cyprus Instates Online Ban

This idea, sadly, is pretty old. The Cypriot House of Representatives have outlawed online gambling. The island nation seem to be mainly concerned with the lack of tax revenues resulting from a lack of up-to-date legislation and locals preferring off-shore operators. The new laws also impose taxes on land based gambling which will all be funnelled towards the country’s sporting endeavours. As ever in the EU someone has complained about the ban contravening free trade laws. This time its Betfair, who are yet to decide if they’ll actually launch any legal proceedings. [iGaming Business]

Endurance Record Does Not Endure

A British soldier has gone where Phil Laak could not, breaking his record for the longest session of poker ever played by a human being. At the G Casino in Manchester, Barry Denson completed 120 hours and 20 minutes of on-felt action. He hopes to raise money for military charity Help for Heroes and is awaiting confirmation from Guinness World Records before he can officially claim the title. [Poker News]

Rafael Nadal is Playing Poker

I really feel like I need to ram home how big of a deal it is that PokerStars have Rafa Nadal playing for them. He might have crashed out of Wimbledon in the early stages but he’s still a sporting superstar in every corner of this, admittedly very round, Earth. Anyway, the first promo video featuring him and his poker coach Isaac Mayolas has hit the intertubes. Take a gander at it, if you so fancy. [Youtube]

After all that innovation I feel inspired to explore new frontiers, so I’m off to Mars. See you next week, shortly after my return pod bursts through the atmosphere in a ball of flaming glory. Don’t panic, I’ll bring you back a souvenir.