The new venture will operate across the Vision Media network of Internet gambling sites, which includes BetMotion.com, CopacabanaPoker.com, ApostoGano.com, and ApostouGanhou.com, offering a mix of poker, casino and bingo across all services.

The white label will be up and running in good time to generate football World Cup action in mid-2010, and the betting service will be integrated into the Vision Media platform so that players will be able to use existing accounts to wager on sports events.

Stefan Sluijter, manager of business relations at Vision Media, said: Sports betting is an important component of Vision Medias future growth strategy and we were looking for the right partner to help us deliver this content. We will offer a sports betting service with competitive odds across a comprehensive range of events and markets.”

Stian Hornsletten, CEO of EveryMatrix, parent group of OddsMatrix, said, Our partnership with Vision Media will enable them to enhance their overall product offering, and will give EveryMatrix access to Latin America. Were confident that sports betting will very quickly start to contribute to the growth of the Vision Media business.

OddsMatrix growing list of white label sports book clients includes Tell Gaming, Chili Gaming, Tower Gaming, Setanta Bet, NoiQ, BetFriends, Best Games, Pepe Games, BeteXpress, Mr123, EuroPoker, Vision Media, BetWize, JuegosLucky, Mermaid Poker, Sun Poker, GUTS.com, Danbook, BetClick, Centrebet, Globet, Oxygen, Zedbet and IASbet.

FullTiltPoker.com referred to the New Jersey native as ‘one of the most influential and successful players in online poker history’ and he now joins other successful pros sponsored by the site including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham and Patrik Antonius.

“Team Full Tilt doesn’t take adding a team member lightly,” said Lederer.

“But, Tom Dwan has proven, through skill and dynamic play, that he will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. We are proud to count Tom as one of our own.”

Dwan is a former Boston University English major and took over $5.4 million playing virtual poker last year. In addition, he took the $1.1 million top prize in September at FullTiltPoker.com’s Million Dollar Cash Game in London after dominating last season’s High Stakes Poker programme on GSN.

It seems that the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, drove around for five months with a lottery ticket worth Rands 20 million (about GBP1.6 million or US$2.5 million) lying in the pocket of his car’s door panel.

A spokeswoman for the lottery operator, Gidani, said the man had more than 50 tickets in his car at the time.

“I went to pick up my children from school and I happened to be early. That’s when I decided to check my tickets,” the winner told Gidani.

Gidani spokeswoman Thembi Tulwana takes up the tale: “Tucked into a pocket in the driver door panel for the past five months was a R20 million winning lotto jackpot ticket with the six correct numbers for a draw that took place on 28 March 2009.”

She said the man took the tickets to a retailer to check the numbers as he had time to kill. Several of his fifty old tickets had winnings of between R30 and R100, but the last ticket to be checked came up with the big-win reading “Not authorised to pay.”

The man subsequently took the ticket to the Gidani headquarters, where it was confirmed that he was now worth R20 million.

Tulwana says the stunned punter had prioritised settling his debts, after which he planned to renovate his home and ensure his children’s future.

His R20 million bonanza cost him just R40 on a ‘quick pick’ randomly chosen numbers ticket.