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Bowman International Plans to Add Online Wagering

In a deal announced in November, Firststake Plc had planned to buy Bowman for £12 million ($17 million) in stock. Firststake, which is based in Bristol, England, was never able to close on the deal.

Last week, Firststake closed its online betting site, Firststake.com, due to financial problems and appointed receivers to run the company while it seeks buyers. Its chain of 12 walk-in betting shops, which do business as First UK Racing, is still solvent, according to the Racing Post.

In a statement, Bowman said, "With annual revenue exceeding $200 million from its operations in Manchester, the Isle of Man and Mauritius, Bowman International will continue to be a leading independent offshore bookmaker."

Referring to the plans to partner with an unnamed software firm to offer online wagering, the statement quoted Gary Bowman: "We have been looking for some time at ways to extend our highly successful telephone betting operation into the online sector. We believe that we have now found the best way forward."

Bowman International has a Web site with live odds, but bets must be placed by phone. The company focuses on the North American market.

The Firststake Web site had begun taking wagers in June, 2000. It would have grown substantially with the acquisition of Bowman.

Sportingbet.com has taken over the customer list of Firststake.com, and will honor funds that Firststake.com customers had on deposit.

But those deposits exclude open bets, some of which customers had placed weeks ago. The Racing Post estimated the value of the open bets at "at least five figures."

Firststake.com is expected to be liquidated. The Racing Post said that bettors with open bets would have the lowest priority among creditors, meaning those betters are unlikely to ever get their money back.

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