SEARCH NEWS:

 

Churchill-Magna comports with Youbet business model

WOODLAND HILLS, California -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Youbet.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBET) said today that the objectives espoused by Churchill Downs and Magna Entertainment in their announcement of a content joint venture yesterday validate Youbet's substantial investments in a number of areas including its distribution model for racing content.

"We applaud the commitment by both companies to invest in wagering integrity, security and product innovations," said Youbet CEO Charles F. Champion. "These are the types of significant expenditures Youbet has made in the past decade to generate appropriate returns for both shareholders and industry stakeholders."

Champion said that Youbet expects to continue to have access to Magna and Churchill content. "While we have not seen any agreements or proposals at this early stage, the joint venture's stated emphasis on broader distribution of racing content bodes well for our non-exclusive business model, which has produced annual increases in handle far in excess of the industry average due to our highly effective targeted marketing of content to a loyal customer base in forty states.

"In addition," he said, "we anticipate that additional competition in the advanced deposit wagering market will have a beneficial impact on the industry's overall levels of wagering growth."

Separately, the company said that one-time costs associated with, among other things, its successful defense against claims brought by TVG with respect to license terms and fee arrangements would cause the company to report a larger than expected loss for the fourth quarter of 2006.

The company also said that it will initiate annual earnings guidance and expects diluted earnings per share of $.15 to $.17 for 2007. The guidance details will be incorporated in the company's year-end release and conference call scheduled for March 13, 2007.

< Gaming News