Industry News

Betdaq Launches New Online Poker Room
Betdaq, the Irish-based betting exchange owned by billionaire Manchester United and Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond, has launched its new online poker room on the Scandinavian Entraction network (formerly 24hPoker).

The site offers up to 60 percent cash back (money back into a players account for every raked hand played.

Players can also avail of a range of 100 percent deposit bonuses at all levels as well as weekly VIP sports package giveaways, bi-weekly gadget giveaway freerolls, a weekly bounty tournament, daily cash freerolls and free bet giveaways for all users.

"We have been studying the options for the addition of a poker room product to our portfolio for some time", said chief executive officer Brian O'Sullivan. "Last year we formed a strategic partnership with Entraction and we have been very impressed with the quality of their technology and their people. The partnership has produced an excellent poker product which we believe will be well received by Betdaq players and will provide ongoing opportunities for co-operation as we build our businesses in the UK, Ireland, and in the wider EU."

Everest Poker Revenues Swell
GigaMedia, the Taiwanese owner of Everest Poker, has reported a huge jump in revenues at the online poker site, up 190 percent from $30.9 million in 2006 to $89.7 million in 2007.

Poker revenue rose 21 percent between Oct. and Dec. 2007 compared to the previous quarter and 107 percent compared to the same quarter in 2006. Poker software made up 78 percent of the business unit's total fourth-quarter 2007 revenues.

The company said the growth was driven by the expansion of its real-money player base, with around 182,000 active depositing real-money customers playing on the poker platform between Oct. and Dec. 2007. This is an increase of 12 percent on the previous quarter. During the fourth quarter, around 57,000 new real-money players signed up, a jump of 11 percent from the Jul. to Sept. period.

CEO Arthur Wang said, "We are looking at a great year in 2008, a combination of strong organic growth accelerated by major deals, such as the key sponsorship of the World Series of Poker driving growth in Europe."

NETeller Losses Grow
Payment services company NETeller made a pre-tax loss of $185.7 million in the year to December 2007 after a settlement of $136 million to U.S. authorities in the wake of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The company said the final payment of $38.25 million was made to U.S. authorities on Jan. 16, 2008.

Ron Martin, president and chief executive officer, said "2007 represented a milestone for the Group as we successfully resolved our issues with the U.S. authorities, and energetically refocused the business to put into action our updated vision and mission."

The company was forced to exit the lucrative U.S. market after the UIGEA and reached a settlement with authorities for its part in providing payment services facilitating online gambling.

European revenue grew 28 percent to $41.7 million in 2007 while Asia-Pacific grew 44 percent to $11.4 million.

CryptoLogic Poker Revenue Plunges
CryptoLogic, the Dublin-based network which hosts poker rooms such as William Hill Poker and Littlewoods Poker, has seen full-year revenues for poker in 2007 fall by 42 percent from $33.9 million to $19.6 million. October to December 2007 revenues fell 31 percent $4.6 million to $6.7 million.

Quarter four saw the company acquire Parbet.com, a popular Scandinavian poker brand, and Casino.co.uk, a popular gaming portal. Overall revenue across all business units fell 29 percent from $104 million in 2006 to $73.7 in 2007.

"In 2007, CryptoLogic demonstrated the resilience of its business - and the strength of its strategy," said Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic's president and CEO. "CryptoLogic led the industry in gaming innovation, broadened and deepened its customer relationships, grew both its core and emerging businesses, and made strategic investments in Europe and Asia. CryptoLogic enters 2008 with a new wave of momentum - and a new world of opportunity."

Devilfish Gaming Expansion Under Way
Devilfish Gaming has inked a deal with Entraction which will see it move its poker platform and develop casino and bingo platforms.

Entraction, the publicly-listed software provider, teams up with DevilfishPoker.com to offer players two poker rooms, on the Entraction network and IPN powered by Boss Media. Casino platforms will be developed in conjunction with WagerWorks and Net Entertainment while DevilfishBingo.com will be powered by NYX.

The deal enables Devilfish Gaming to offer poker in both downloadable and instant play versions and players will be able to choose which currency they prefer to play in -- Sterling, Euro, and U.S. dollars. The company will also offer an integrated wallet across poker, casino, and bingo. The company expects to go live with its new poker, casino, and bingo products in the second quarter of 2008.

Paul Barnes, chief executive officer of Devilfish Gaming said, "We reviewed a number of the leading gaming providers and Entraction really ticked all the boxes. It offers us a multi-channel solution, is consistent with our business strategy, and importantly, because it is licensed in Malta, we have instant access to EU markets."
"From our players point of view this move is fantastic news as it offers an explosion of choice. With two poker rooms offering the most popular games, on liquid networks in three currencies, hundreds of slots and table games across two casinos, a new bingo product, and an seamlessly integrated wallet giving players maximum control over their money, Devilfish Gaming has now certainly got game!"

32Red Poker Losses Grow
32Red, the Gibraltar-based online gaming operator which runs 32RedPoker.com, has announced operating losses of £12.86 million to year-end Dec. 2007, up from a deficit of £3.74 million in 2006.

However, preliminary figures show poker performed reasonably well with active poker players up 6.6 percent to 14,753, new poker players up 8.2 percent to 11,054, and the cost per acquisition falling from £29 in 2006 to £22 in 2007.

The company said it has returned to a cash generative position following the sale of BetDirect to Stan James in October 2007 for £5.75 million.

Dutch Chill on Online Poker
The upper house of the Dutch parliament narrowly defeated a bill passed in the lower house in 2006 which would have allowed state gambling monopoly Holland Casino to launch an online gaming site.

The bill was defeated by 37-35 votes and means Holland Casino, which had signed a deal with CryptoLogic to use its software, is now back at square one.

CryptoLogic, while disappointed with the decision, said it would have no material effect on the company's trading figures. "While advocates of safe, secure, and regulated e-gaming are disappointed with the Dutch decision, CryptoLogic never places all its bets on one table," said Brian Hadfield, the company's president and CEO. "That's why this decision will have no material impact on our business. We recognised the challenge in Holland early and prepared our business by accelerating other revenue-generating initiatives."

The Dutch government is one of 10 in Europe currently under scrutiny from the European Commission for hampering or outright banning competition from other EU countries. The Netherlands is likely to face legal action in the near future over its position.

Swedish Gaming Market to Open Up?
A leading Swedish lawyer has claimed the time could be ripe for private betting operators to strike marketing deals in Sweden and position themselves ahead of possible liberalisation of the market after 2010 according to research company Gambling Compliance.

Swedish prosecutors have recently been advised to halt cases against media organisations accepting ads from overseas bookmakers.

The news comes on the back of Swedish Supreme Court ordering the Court of Appeal to test the compatibility of the country's lottery law with existing European law.

Daily newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen have been battling for years to overturn a District Court ruling which barred them from accepting foreign gaming ads.

Meanwhile a state-sponsored one-year investigation into online poker in Sweden has uncovered that players playing with foreign operators are twice as likely to develop gambling problems. The site says the report found that 11 percent of players who only used Svenska Spel exhibited problematic or risky gambling behavior compared to27 percent of players on private operators.

World Poker Tour Goes Online in Europe
The World Poker Tour is expanding its poker offering into Spain and German after extending its exclusive use of CryptoLogic software until 2011.

The company says the addition of the Spanish- and German-language poker rooms should also add valuable liquidity and many new European players. Under the terms of the deal WPT will also extend its casino suite from 13 games to more than 200.
Steve Lipscomb, chief executive officer and founder of WPT Enterprises, said, "Our partnership with CryptoLogic -- particularly their reputation, proven software and liquidity -- has been a key element in delivering a superior World Poker Tour gaming experience for fans in the international space. Expanding and extending this relationship allows us to take the WorldPokerTour.com brand to a higher level."