Market Briefs

PacificNet 'Here to Stay' Having Settled with Creditors

PacificNet Inc., a gaming technology company, has settled a dispute with several of its creditors and now hopes to move forward in building the business and regaining the trust of its customers.

The dispute arose last year when the company, based in Hong Kong, defaulted on debenture payments to several of its creditors -- or bondholders -- which resulted in penalties and ultimately an accelerated repayment schedule, Jacob Lakhany, an investor relations representative for PacificNet, explained to IGamingNews by telephone Monday.

Mr. Lakhany said the debt was initially taken out as a fundraising venture to expand the company's gaming operations.

"It was kind of a routine fundraising that, due to some other previous issues, we were unable to make one of our payments on time, which kind of triggered the whole default status and the penalties and so forth," he said.

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Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: PacificNet

Listing

Low Close: 65 cents

High Close: 78 cents

Weekly Change: + 6.8 percent

Market Capitalization: $9.83 million

New Dutch Law Engenders Questions on Tax Liability, Lawyer Says

The Dutch tax authorities have been given the power to impose a 29 percent tax on foreign online gambling operators, but whether or not they will remains to be seen.

On Tuesday, the Dutch Senate approved an amendment to the Gaming and Betting Act extending the country's tax on land-based gaming to online gambling operators.

The law is a surviving piece of a proposal that would have given Holland Casino a three-year online gaming license, according to Justin Franssen, a lawyer with Van Mens en Wisselink in Amsterdam.

The Holland Casino licensing proposal was rejected by the Senate in April.

"While that bill died, somehow the tax law survived," Mr. Franssen told IGamingNews.

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New Fish in Party's Pond

While PartyGaming's live-dealer agreement on Thursday grazed industry headlines, rumor of the Gibraltar company's having appointed a new marketing officer has been all but confirmed.

IGamingNews understands that Jon Salmon, the managing director of Intercasino's marketing agency, AdsDotCom, has been given the nod and will join ranks with one of I-gaming's biggest brands.

At this point, however, it is not clear whether Mr. Salmon will replace or serve alongside Sabin Brooks, Party's marketing director, who joined the company before its July 2005 initial public offering.

"Basically, Jim (Ryan) knows him (Mr. Salmon) quite well," one analyst, who wished not to be named, told IGamingNews Thursday morning when asked about why Mr. Salmon was taken on.

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Weekly Statistics from Bloomberg.com: PartyGaming

Listing

Low Close: 195 pence

High Close: 210 pence

Weekly Change: - 4.6 percent

Market Capitalization: £763.7 million

French Government Mulls FDJ Privatization

Merrill Lynch, the American financial services behemoth, has been appointed financial advisor to the French national lottery La Française des Jeux, pending a government decision on whether to sell a portion -- or all -- of its 72 percent stake.

The news came Thursday as Christophe Blanchard-Dignac, who heads the company, spoke at a press conference on the launch of a new game.

La Française des Jeux -- known in the foreign media as FDJ -- has on offer a suite of games that includes the Euromillions European lottery, and reported sales of 9.3 billion euros in the 2007 fiscal year.

Les Echos, a French newspaper, has speculated the French government will proceed with FDJ's privatization via an initial public offering sometime in 2009.

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