Market Briefs

Betbrokers Financial Future Uncertain

Trading in Betbrokers, a betting brokerage and online gambling operator in London, was suspended Tuesday after the company announced Friday that its subsidiary, Betbrokers Ltd., was placed into administration.

The news comes as little surprise following a June announcement that the company was unlikely to meet market expectations for the 2008 fiscal year.

Betbrokers said then that "a lack of funds in the clearing house account has severely restricted the amount of bets that can be taken."

Moreover, Wayne Lochner, the company's chief executive, said the lack of funding has had a "detrimental impact" on the company's United Kingdom operation.

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Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: Betbrokers

Listing

Low Close: N/A

High Close: N/A

Weekly Change: N/A

Market Capitalization: £743,000

Casino Is King for 32Red

32Red, the Gibraltar online operator, continues to right the ship following last December's timely sale of Betdirect, having logged a strong first half on growth in its flagship casino business.

Casino revenue came in at £6 million -- out of total revenue of £6.6 million -- up an impressive 31 percent over the comparable period last year, and 38 percent against the previous half.

"The strong growth in the 32Red casino has been driven by both increased active player numbers [12,283] and an improved yield per player [£491]," Edward J. Ware, the company's chief executive, said in a prepared statement.

Growth in poker revenue, however, did not compare favorably to casino, coming in at a stagnant £600,000 -- a number that has remained unchanged since the first half of last year.

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Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: 32Red

Listing

Low Close: 27.5 pence

High Close: 27.5 pence

Weekly Change: None

Market Capitalization: £18.9 million

GigaMedia Offloads Legacy Biz for $20 Million

GigaMedia Ltd., the Taiwan software developer, on Thursday unloaded its legacy cable and Internet service provider business -- a long-in-coming move analysts think will have little near-term impact on the company's shares.

The deal, done with China Network Systems Company, a cable television service provider in Taiwan, sees GigaMedia take $20 million in cash plus up to $5 million over the next two years.

The company said it is set receive a one-time gain of $8 million on the sale, which it expects to close shortly.

"GigaMedia has been looking to sell this legacy business for a while, so it's nice to see," one analyst told IGamingNews in an e-mail Thursday morning.

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Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: GigaMedia

Listing

Low Close: $11.17

High Close: $11.96

Weekly Change: + 4.3 percent

Market Capitalization: $570.3 million

Emerging Offerings Catalyze 888 Growth

888 Holdings today revealed a 36 percent first-half rise in total net gaming revenue against the previous-year period, driven primarily by strong performance in the company's emerging offerings.

So-called emerging offerings -- a revenue segment covering bingo, sports betting, live-dealer casino and other products -- grew 660 percent to $19 million year over year.

Gigi Levy, the company's chief executive, said these newer products -- in tandem with the company's up-and-coming business-to-business arm -- will "continue to be the foundation of our future growth."

In the 2008 fiscal year, 888's b-to-b arm has attracted poker licensees including PokerDome, a skin of a licensee formerly on Playtech Ltd.'s iPoker Network, as well as Sportech, soon to be a former client of CryptoLogic Ltd.

To view the full story, click here.

Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: 888

Listing

Low Close: 145.5 pence

High Close: 148.5 pence

Weekly Change: + 2 percent

Market Capitalization: £523.9 million

Mixed Results for Party as Poker Lags Casino Growth

While PartyGaming's year-over-year first-half metrics showed growth across all revenue segments -- including the newly added bingo stream -- the company and its analysts were concerned by soft growth trends in sports betting and stagnation in its flagship poker offering.

Poker revenue came in at $153.9 million, up 6.4 percent against the comparable period last year but down 9.2 percent quarter over quarter. As part of its strategy to reignite growth and curb its loss of market share, the company intends to relaunch its PartyPoker platform during the second half.

"We think that that (relaunching the platform) will be a major driver in terms of bringing players back to see what we've done and to also acquire players," James A. Ryan, the company's recently installed chief executive, told analysts and investors during Friday morning's conference call in London.

Mr. Ryan said that a platform rebrand will accompany the relaunch in an effort to make the product "more relevant" to the European player community. He also projected that the company will improve management of high rollers -- some of whom were lost to technical difficulties this month -- as well as add needed steam to player-targeted marketing.

Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: PartyGaming

Listing

Low Close: 206.75 pence

High Close: 213.75 pence

Weekly Change: +1.42 percent

Market Capitalization: £897.1 million