Online cash processor says Asian activity will drive its earnings for foreeable future.
The Isle of Man-based online financial processor Neteller has announced doubled profits for the third consecutive half year.
The company predicts that Asia's growing appetite for online gaming will drive earnings at for several years, and that the craze for online gambling, which made up 80 percent of the company's transfers in the first half, was still going strong in Western markets, and Asia had huge potential to continue that growth, Chief Executive Gord Herman reported.
"Asia hasn't even started in this industry yet. It's potentially a massive industry that right now probably has, at least, a 2 to 3 year growth cycle," Herman told Reuters news service in an interview.
Neteller's pretax profit jumped 126 percent to $40.6 million (GBP 22.1 million) in the six months to end-June, while it increased revenue by 122 percent to $73.5 million. Herman said he saw this level of growth continuing into the second half and beyond.
"For the last half of the year that's certainly sustainable. For 2006, ... I would guess with what's happening, and our ability to penetrate the Asian market, that that's highly probable," he said.
Although the percentage of Chinese people hooked up to broadband internet was tiny, the actual number -- around 80 million -- was the same as in the United States, Herman said. This figure was expected to grow to 280 million by the end of next year.
At present gambling is restricted in China to certain economic zones such as Macao, but Herman said the issue was to what extent the Chinese government could control a new generation who are online and like gaming.
On the heels of the report, Neteller shares climbed 2 percent to 883-1/2 p, valuing the business at GBP 1.07 billion. It sold shares at 200 pence when it floated last April.
Herman estimates that the company has a 15 percent slice of its market, but said this percentage had the potential to grow as banks in the United States and Britain became more reluctant to process online gaming payments.
Neteller's membership doubled to 1.75 million year on year, with 3,000 new members joining daily.
ABSOLUTE POKER TO HELP WITH KATRINA FUND-RAISING
More tournaments to raise money for the American Red Cross
Absolute Poker has followed the lead of Bodog and PokerStars in launching tournaments designed to raise relief funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The company is sponsoring an online donation 'tournament' to raise money for the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts. Absolute Poker will match all collected funds, donating 100 percent of money raised to help victims.
Absolute Poker is offering a range of charity tournaments, with tables starting at $1, and going all the way up to $100. For all money gathered in the charity tournaments, Absolute Poker will match the buy-in with a donation of the same amount.
These are not real-money tournaments, as money collected will not be awarded in prizes, but rather, will be donated to help the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Alternatively, players who want to donate money, but who prefer to skip out on the tournament, can donate money directly through the Absolute Poker cashier.
THE KING LIVES UP TO HIS NAME
Cashalot progressive jackpot nearly on a million dollars
The Microgaming big win progressive King Cashalot jackpot is currently pushing a million dollars, according to spokesmen from several of the 70 online casinos offering this game.
MGS progressives have on several occasions paid out well over a million dollars each to lucky players who hit the bigtime, with payouts made in one cash tranche, usually presented in a luxurious holiday venue.
Casino operators report that the current jackpot is the highest yet seen on the game.
BRAGA TO HEAD UP MICE AND DICE
Marketing arm of Gamesys intends to "...leave the competition standing."
Mice and Dice Limited, the marketing subsidiary of Gamesys has a new md following the appointment of Michael Braga to the position this week.
Formerly known as Gamesys Marketing Support Ltd., M&D fulfils marketing services for and on behalf of Profitable Play (PPNV), operator of top UK gaming site Jackpotjoy.com. These services include identifying potential partnerships and media arrangements, supporting customer acquisition and retention and serving the customer base through support facilities.
Braga was in bragging mood, it appears, saying "Just as Gamesys has always been at the forefront of gaming technology, and Profitable Play at the cutting edge of consumer gaming, Mice and Dice aim to be the last word in marketing in our industry. With the UK's number one online gaming site, and especially the top online bingo game to promote and develop, we're going to be making sure our marketing activity continues to leave the competition standing."
HIGH ROLLER FACILITY AT BINGOMANIA.COM OPENED
$7 million in bingo prizes every month
Bingo high-rollers who want to spend more to get more can sign up for a new high roller program just announced by Helix Gaming International, which owns the popular BingoMania.com site.
The Super High Roller Room at BingoMania.com will deliver an "....exciting opportunity for online bingo players who prefer to play for large game prizes and generous bingo progressive jackpots."
Costing $5 a card, the Super High Roller Room gives players the opportunity to play progressive jackpots that start at $5,000 and build until won. To celebrate the launch of this new room, the current progressive jackpot has started at $10,000, says gm Stuart Gordon.
Bingo Mania awards an average of $60,000 in progressive jackpots and over $7,000,000 in bingo game prizes each month.
MAHJONG MANIA SIGNS ANOTHER OPERATOR
Asian sportsbook to offer game on soccer website
Mahjong game specialists, Mahjong Mania have landed a deal with Betex, the Asian sportsbook operator to launch the popular game on its soccer betting website.
Gamblers will pay a set fee per game to play. "The agreement with Mahjong Mania provides our clients with access to a popular, challenging and engrossing game which we believe will become a significant addition to the gaming industry,” Johnny Hon, chairman of Betex said.
POKERSTARS EUROPEAN POKER TOUR CONFIRMED
Launch date of September 16 for six month tour
In what is billed as the richest tournament in European poker history, PokerStars.com is again sponsoring the six month European Poker Tour, commencing September 16 and expects the prize pool to exceed last year's Euro 4.5 million.
PokerStars is the world’s second largest poker site, and is hoping its headline sponsorship of the tour will allow it to break into the growing European poker market. The first EPT was broadcast on UK terrestrial TV channel Five and satellite sports broadcaster Eurosport.
MOBILE CASINO FROM BETDIRECT
Boss Media and Mfuse partner to provide technology
Betdirect, the UK sportsbook owned by Sportech, is the latest gambling operation to aim for the mobile casino gambling market following its introduction of mobile sportsbook facilities earlier this year.
Providing the know how and technology for the new games is a team effort from Boss Media and British mobile technology specialists Mfuse.
Betdirect operates the interactive TV betting for the UK’s largest TV channel ITV alongside its online sportsbook, casino and poker operations, and is owned by publicly listed firm Sportech, which also operates the Littlewoods casino and poker sites.
Boss Media has experience in the mobile gamblikng field, having equipped the William Hill group with a suite of games.
Charles Palmer, co-founder of Mfuse said current Mfuse customers like Paddy Power, Blue Sq and Sporting Index are considering implementing the companys mobile system.
MILLION DOLLAR MARKETING
New player-participation site has big plans
A company that promises to reward players with shares in its success, Pokershare.com launched recently (see previous InfoPowa reports) and has now announced very ambitious marketing plans.
The company signed up to the Excapsa Poker Network / UltimateBet, and revealed plans for an up to US$10 million TV and print campaign to take it into the Top Ten global poker sites.
Chief executive Lucan Toh said Pokershare would be spending big on above-the-line advertising to give the site a strong start. “We wouldn’t be in the market if we didn’t think we could be a top ten site by the end of 2006,” he said.
“We are spending US$5-10 million to give us a foothold in the market, and if we didn’t think we could be a top ten site we would pack up our bags and go home. We are going to do a lot of online advertising, but we are also putting together a television and print campaign and I think we will get through our money reasonably quickly,” Toh said.
The firm plans to launch a dot net site in the middle of September, which will be backed by a TV campaign in the US.
Toh added there were plans for the profit sharing concept to eventually be extended to casino and skill gaming sites. There were no indications as to where Pokershare funding originates or how strong it is.
BAD NEWS FOR LADBROKES
After months of arguing, a defeat in the Dutch Supreme Court
There was bad news for Brit betting group Ladbrokes this week, which suffered another defeat in its legal fight with the Dutch state monopoly De Lotto that dominates betting in that country.
Ladbrokes has fought for the right to offer its Internet services to Dutch gamblers in terms of the European Union's open trade agreements. After having its arguments rejected by a lower court, the determined betting group took the case to the Dutch Supreme Court, which has now confirmed the earlier ruling banning the firm from taking bets in The Netherlands.
The decision in the main proceedings follows a summary ruling in February, which forced Ladbrokes to block customers with a Dutch IP address.
De Lotto claimed Ladbrokes was acting illegally by accepting bets from Dutch citizens, and the ruling sets a precedent that could now lead to similar action being taken against other egaming operators.
All is not lost yet, however. Ladbrokes has started preparing an appeal which it hopes to have heard before the year is out.
John Reilly, Ladbrokes Managing Director of eGaming says, “Our aim has always been to appeal this case until it is heard in the European Court of Justice, as we have always accepted that in the context of Dutch Law we will lose. We believe that betting is subject to Article 49 of the Treaty of Rome as other goods and services are.”
POOR SIX MONTHS FOR BLUE SQUARE
UK betting group suffers GBP 1 million loss
Weak sportsbook margins cancelled out record performances in online casino and poker operations in the current six monthly reporting period, says British gambling group Blue Square, the online subsidiary of the Rank Group. The result was a GBP 1 million loss despite strong growth from the online casino and poker operations.
“Sportsbook margins continued to be weak throughout the first half contributing to an operating loss of GBP 1 million,” a Blue Square spokesman said. "Gross win numbers showed zero growth at GBP 10.8 million compared to the same period last year, despite growth of 43 percent.
The Blue Square sportsbook now has 156,000 active customers, and saw significantly higher bet volumes with revenues up to GBP 250.9 million. Like Paddy Power, revenues from non-sportsbook activities exceeded those from the sportsbook for the first time.
KAHANER WINS LEGENDS OF POKER
$1.125 million prize in marathon competition
Alex Kahaner won the 2005 WPT Legends of Poker this week, earning $1,125,000.
A record 839 players put up $5,000 each to compete for the Legend of Poker title, fought out at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The number of players surpassed last year's log by 172 and forced tournament organisers into splitting the field into two *day ones, * resulting in what was in effect a four day poker tournament in a three day timeframe.
The final table was:
Todd Phillips 1,900,000 in chips
Alex Kahaner 1,855,000
Kenna James 1,540,000
Jake Minter 1,525,000
Tim Phan 1,080,000
Kevin O'Donnell 500,000
Possible winnings ranged from $208 500 at sixth place through to the top prize of $1 125 000.
CARD ROOM CHIC FROM PURPLE LOUNGE
Impressive bonuses and a luwury limo draw in new poker room launch
Readers with a taste for the good life will probably enjoy the ambience created around the new Purple Lounge.com poker room, which operates on the huge, 40 card room Prima Poker global poker network.
The card room is celebrating the launch of the site by giving away that quintessential British luxury limo - the Bentley to one of the first 10,000 players to register. And it's offering a rewarding 100 percent match on the first deposits up to $1000 too.
Purple Lounge is distinguishing itself from competitors with some upmarket features like Tara the virtual "poker-chick-with-attitude" and aims to take poker beyond the velvet rope, offering a fresh gaming experience for players who aspire to play in a "...sleek, sophisticated environment filled with trendy extras."
The site includes celebrity gossip, scandal and a luxurious theme with an exclusive ‘Side Bar’ of unique player benefits, including Tara’s stylish travelogue, cool tunes and updates on player rewards.
The operators have catered for all levels of skill. Novices can receive tuition as well as action and for the more experienced high rollers there's big stakes play on a variety of games including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Seven and Five-Card Stud.
Other features include Insurance for high-ranking hands on bad beat jackpots; bonus hands and cash prizes for players with the best hand every 24 hours.
ORBIS ACQUIRES GAME DESIGN CAPABILITY
NT Media takeover will lead to full online casino turnkey packages
The British interactive gambling software company, Orbis has acquired game design firm NT Media and the capability to develop and further enhance new games concepts as well as a fully fledged casino software package that will be offered as a fully integrated module of the Orbis OpenBet(TM) product family.
The takeover involved the acquisition of all of NT Media's share capital, for a consideration that may vary between GBP 1.6 million and GBP 4 million in cash. The consideration is dependent upon future performance and the achievement of certain milestones.
All employees of NT Media will join Orbis and will provide ongoing services to the existing customers of NT Media.
NT Media is an innovative games invention and design company, which has provided the user interface for the popular Ladbrokes Balls numbers game, as well as SkyBet Internet and interactive TV games. NT Media has a suite of 50+ games including multiple games running across industry leading platforms.
Orbis Managing Director, David Loveday commented: "The acquisition of NT Media now gives Orbis the opportunity to offer a full end to end service from game concept and design through to the complex backend software."
NT Media founder, Nik Robinson who will join Orbis as Creative Director and is widely regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of the fixed odds games market. He has been responsible for the development of the industry wide "Balls" game and has recently constructed what are claimed to be the most advanced and sophisticated implementations of Roulette and BlackJack in the industry.
SUN VEGAS GOES DUTCH
New Dutch language site for online casino
Sun Vegas Casino.com is going Dutch from this month with a new Dutch language site catering to the growing online gambling market in that country.
“We’ve had an astounding increase in Dutch players and therefore it was a logical step for Sun Vegas to launch NL.SunVegas.com,” said Austin Green, Casino Manager, at Sun Vegas Internet Casino.
Part of the Vegas Partner Lounge group, NL.SunVegas.com will be one of the few casinos catering to Dutch players and offers the same wide assortment of bonuses and services.
NL.SunVegas.com has a 24-hour service for anyone with any questions regarding the new site: “We have a dedicated support staff that will handle any query. All you need to do is e-mail us or give us a call on our new Dutch toll free number,” says Green.
SPORTINGBET DROPS AFFILIATE PROGRAMS?
Termination notice issued to affiliates
Affiliates were receiving shock termination notices from Sportingbet.com this week, suggesting that this company has decided to discontinue affiliate-style marketing going forward.
The notice said that effective 1 October 2005, Sportingbet.com will no longer accept customer referrals via an Affiliate Program and is therefore issuing a Notice Of Termination to all affiliates registered with the SportingBet Affiliates program (an outsourced affiliate program management provider.)
Giving reasons for the change, the brief to affiliates advises that Sportingbet.com currently has no specific geographical market focus and faces growing restrictions on where it can advertise. It therefore plans to alter the dynamics of the Sportingbet.com site, so that it enables the SportingBet European business to establish a single Pan-European brand, complimenting and supporting the regional brands of the company.
This means that Sportingbet.com will effectively become a portal/gateway to the European domains, and will no longer acquire customers using its network of Affiliates, or through any other form of marketing. Instead, regional brands will use their own Affiliate Programs and marketing budgets to drive new customers to their businesses, contributing to the European business of Sportingbet.
Affiliates are asked to remove SportingBet's banners and links by 30 September 2005 and have been advised that negotiations have produced a set of special terms and conditions with SportingBet Plc., allowing existing affiliates to continue to reap the rewards of their referrals to date. The brief then goes on to describe these deals in detail, but cautions affiliates to keep these details in confidence.
That was immediately breached by several sources publicly posting the details on leading message boards.
The brief concludes by expressing regret over the shock nature of the announcement and reiterates that the Sportingbet Affiliate Network will "....no longer accept applications and will close its doors indefinitely on 5 February. Up until such date, you will continue to receive your commission payments for wagers placed by your previous referrals up to Superbowl Sunday. However, if you would like to promote one of SportingBet's regional brands or if you're looking to work with another reputable Sportsbook, Poker Room, or Online Casino, please contact us, and we'll point you in the right direction."
In a postscript, the brief explains a situation where it appears that payments to affiliates have been delayed. The explanation is that: "Due to further challenges with the Finsoft/SportingBet integration, your Affiliate statistics will continue to be unavailable until further notice. We apologize for this delay, as we are awaiting a confirmation date when the problem will be rectified. Thank you for your continued patience."
MORE DETAIL EMERGING ON CASSAVA BUSINESS PRE-IPO
48 percent rise in net gaming revenues for first half 2005
Analysts were poring over Cassava Enterprises first half 2005 results this week as the intense interest in the forthcoming IPO of the company continued.
CEO John Anderson is believed to be awarded a maximum of 1 percent of stock following the IPO, several financial and business papers reported.
Net gaming revenue for the six months ended June 2005 were US$123.7 million, a rise of 48 percent on the same period last year.The growth was in part due to a surge in revenues from the Pacific Poker website, which rose 226 percent to US$43.8 million. Poker currently comprises around 35 percent of total revenues for 888.com.
There was also proof of the company’s strong international focus with 45 percent of revenues derived from outside the US. The group said 19 percent of its income came from members in the UK, 19 percent from members resident elsewhere in the European Union and 7 percent from the rest of the world.
Rival firm PartyGaming, the owner of the PartyPoker site, takes around 90 percent of its revenues from the US market.
FORMER CANBET EXEC SUES THE FIRM
Founder of Mansion Sports was wrongly accused in public statement
The Age newspaper in Australia reports that Michael Tomeny, the former head of online bookmaking business Canbet, is suing the company for defamation over an announcement it issued just prior to him launching his own gambling website, Mansion Sports in the Gibraltar jurisdiction last September.
Tomeny was Canbet's executive director from February 2000 until April 2003. He is suing Canbet and International All Sports over the contents of an update of the merger between the two groups emailed to customers in August 2004.
In documents lodged with the Supreme Court of Victoria, Tomeny claims the document suggests he was responsible for poor performance and business practices at Canbet, that he failed as a manager and that he performed so poorly Canbet removed him.
But Tomeny says he left because he believed Canbet should be based in Britain in the face of increasing legislative hostility to online gambling in Australia. He also claims the company was in good shape when he departed.
International All Sports chief executive Robert Edge said the company intended to defend the allegations.
FORTUNE LOUNGE BACKS OFF ON RETROACTIVE AFFILIATE CHANGES
Affiliates had no problem with changes going forward, but retroactive decision stirred up a hornet's nest
Another of the companies that sought to impose retroactive changes on their affiliates' contracts backed away from the controversial issue this week, easing a confrontational situation that seemed to be headed for the courts (see earlier InfoPowa reports)
In a communique to its affiliates, Fortune Affiliates which manages programs for the major Fortune Lounge group of online casinos said that it had reviewed the impact of the recent rule changes over the past two months, and has decided to revert to the commission formula as existed prior to the July 1 change.
"We have been motivated to do this in the interests of maintaining our good relations with the Affiliate community," said the communication. "At the end of the day, relationship benefits are the most important to us."
The switch back will be effective September 1st, 2005.
Fortune Affiliates continued: "Throughout these recent conversations, it is clear that some affiliates are still concerned about the impact that winners can have on their earnings (ie. within one of our brands). We are therefore developing a new model that will be offered as an option to all existing Affiliates along the following principles:
"• Participating Affiliates will be paid 0.6% of their players’ total wagering
"• NO COSTS will be deducted e.g. comps or progressive contributions
"• NO DOWNSIDE. If your player plays, then you must earn. There will be no such phenomenon as negative earnings
"Note that due to this model still being in the development stages, the above information is a sneak preview only and not absolutely finalized."
The company concluded with an assurance that any changes introduced in the future, would not be applied to existing players without the buy-in of affiliates.
LAST MINUTE CASINO LAUNCHES
WorldMatch powers new operation, licensed in Malta
The latest online casino arrival is owned by the Italian portal of the lastminute.com group, which has extended its range of lifestyle products and deals with a new online gaming section called Casino Last Minute.com.
This gaming site comes from the studios of turnkey provider WorldMatch, a company that offers the first online gaming system with a regular licence issued by an EU member state: Malta.
Following the success of its English parent company, the Italian portal of the lastminute.com group has signed an agreement with WorldMatch to set up an online gaming section where subscribers have the opportunity to experience an exciting world of entertainment that enables them to take part in promotions to win trips and holidays.
“E-gaming is becoming increasingly popular and Internet is now one of the major sources of leisure fun and entertainment”, says Alexis Bonte, Managing Director of lastminute.com Italy.
NEW SLOT GAME AT WILL HILL
Another innovative concept from Dynamite Ideas
The William Hill website has launched Dynamite Idea's latest game titled Quick Bet Triple Hi-Lo.
Triple Hi-Lo is available on licence exclusively from Dynamite Idea and incorporates quick and easy to understand gameplay with an intuitive interface. The game features 3 reels numbered 1-13, giving the player the choice of which reel to play higher or lower on. Its accumulating stake play encourages increased bet placement, which combined with the high in-game win rate leads to numerous repeat plays.
FORTUNE SMILING ON WILL HILL
Gross win up 5.5 percent in recent weeks, and online operations doing well
UK gambling group William Hill was enjoying better news this week after weaker returns earlier this year caused profits to fall six per cent.
The group, which competes with Ladbrokes for the number 1 bookie position in Britain, said profits before exceptional items fell to GBP 123.9 million in the six months to June 28, from the previous year's GBP132.5 million. However, the group said there were signs of improvement in recent weeks, with gross win up 5.5 percent in the nine weeks to August 30, compared with a 0.3 per cent rise in the first half.
The biggest money-spinner of the last two years - fixed-odds betting terminals - enjoyed a net weekly profit per machine in the latest half rising just GBP 4 year-on-year to GBP 400.
The interactive business grew operating profits from GBP 24.4 million to GBP 31.7 million, helped by the explosive growth of poker, where income rose by 151 percent. Profits from telephone betting virtually halved to GBP 7.8 million, while those from the shops were 9 percent down at GBP 89 million.
The recent purchase of the Stanley high street shops is producing useful revenues, despite Hill having to sell 78 shops to satisfy the regulators.
Analysts are currently forecasting about GBP 200 million in profits for the full year, with the group still highly cash generative, highlighted by a promised GBP 200 to GBP 300 million share buyback.
SOMETHING FOR THE MAC GAMBLERS
New poker room has some attractive offers for the Mac frats
Mac online poker players can finally play online poker by using the no download software at MacPokerPlayer.com. And the new poker room will give new players up to $100 as well as entry into its free roll Bellagio qualifier and Shark Cage Tournament.
Mac online players have struggled in the past few years to join the burgeoning online poker arena. Many Mac online poker players have had to purchase expensive virtual PC software, which has delayed many potential players from jumping on board.
MacPokerPlayer.com realised the potential from this untapped market, which represents 4.4 percent of PC users. The non-download software designed specifically for Mac users will target the estimated $486 million marketplace, say the operators of the new site.
ASH GAMING SIGNS UP WITH ORBIS
Games supplier will give a wider games choice
Orbis, an NDS group company and provider of the OpenBet interactive gambling platform have announced technology teamwork with Ash Gaming, a provider of interactive and betting games.
Ash Gaming, formerly known as Ash Leucker, was established in 2000. The firm specialises in developing innovative, highly profitable games that can be delivered on a variety of digital platforms. With customers such as William Hill, Gala Group and Gamesys the company has firmly established itself both creatively and technically.
The partnership will enable operators to access a greater choice of games content and design, combined with rapid deployment and simple integration allowing operators to react to a quickly changing market.
FILM STAR THE CHAMP AT LADIES NIGHT 3
And Jennifer only started playing a year ago...
Movie actress Jennifer Tilly jumped up from the table after winning the World Poker Tour Ladies Night III tournament at the Bicycle Casino in California this week, saying that her win proved that her victory in the World Series Ladies tournament in July was "no fluke."
The latest win was a stunning achievement for a player who only began playing poker a year ago. The actress is the first woman to hold both of these prestigious titles in women's poker and the victory earned her a seat in the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship next April at Bellagio, and a specially-created pink poker set with the WPT logo and Breast Cancer ribbon.
The WPT and the Bicycle Casino will donate $10,000 to Breast Cancer Research in honor of Tilly and the other competitors at the Final Table.
"Jennifer Tilly embodies the new breed of player on the WPT," says Steve Lipscomb, Founder and CEO of WPT Enterprises, Inc. "Regardless of gender, age, education, or economic background you can become a champion if you work hard to learn the game. We have always said on the WPT, "Anyone can play, anyone can win." When an actress who has only been playing for 12 months can best some of the best players in the game, you witness the democracy of poker."
Tilly began her pilgrimage to poker eminence by first playing in the WPT Hollywood Home Game series. She then played in the WPT Invitational event which annually pits celebrities versus professionals. There she met Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, a top player who would go on to win that event. They began dating several months later, and she took up the game under his tutelage.
The other competitors at he final table this week included defending Ladies Night Champion Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier -- a fiercely competitive French Canadian lawyer-turned- poker pro; Marsha Waggoner, the Grand Dame of Poker with 30 years of experience; Cecelia Reyes Mortensen, up-and-coming pro and wife to WPT champion Juan Carlos Mortensen, and Aidiliy (Lilly) Elviro, an aggressive new player, and one of the WPT Season III's top woman competitors who is coached by her soon-to-be-husband, WPT champion Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.
WPT Ladies Night III will air Saturday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel.
BETBULL TO DIVERSIFY INTO HIGH STREET BOOKIE SHOPS
Euro 14 million acquisition of Leip Group the start of a retail growth strategy
Betting exchange firm BetBull charged into the European business press this week with its acquisition of German retail bookmaker the Leip Group for around Euro14 million (US$17.5 million), announcing plans to diversify into high-street bookmaking.
“This acquisition is only the start of our continental European retail growth strategy,” Simon Bold, COO of Betbull, said.
The purchase of Leip's estate of 80 shops for Euro 10 million in cash and 700,000 shares is part of a plan to become the “leading Continental European retail betting player" a company spokesman said.
The Leip Group posted a pre-tax profit of Euro 1 million on a turnover of Euro 51.7 million for the year ending December 2004.
Günter Schmid, chief executive of Gibraltar-licensed Betbull, said his firm aims to grow the business organically, but will also seek further acquisitions to grow the scale of the retail operation. The move into retail betting comes on the back of another quarter of low revenues, with just GBP 21,000 generated from the firm's betting exchange operations.
Betbull has launched a German language version of its site, designed to create a fixed-odds betting product for the German horseracing industry.
Bold, who started his betting career in the land-based side of the business, said the move into retail betting was a big step forward for the firm. “This is a fantastic opportunity for Betbull to be part of the retail business in Germany during World Cup year," he said.
STARLUCK GOES MOBILE
CellectivityLimited gets the contract
In the midst of the pessimistic press on the decline of online poker this week following comments by the Party Gaming CEO, the company nevertheless continued with its positive business plan by announcing the launch of mobile gaming at subsidiary Starluck Casino.com
Starluck Casino Mobile allows gamblers to play from their mobile phones, and is just one aspect of PG's announced intentions to smarten up its online casino operations. Mobile technology developer Cellectivity Limited has been inspanned to bring the project to fruition and wireless technology and a Java application will allow gamblers to play European roulette and slot machines, either to gamble or merely for fun.
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