Issue N15, 2008
April 10, 2008
Cryptologic Signs Agreement with South Korean Gaming Company
In a bid to gain a stronger foothold in the fast-growing Asian gambling market, industry leader, Cryptologic has bought minority stakes in a South Korean games developer company, Mobilebus, with plans to develop a range of games and portals that will appeal to the Korean market. It is estimated that the current Korean gaming industry is valued at over $1-billion and Cryptologic is naturally keen to grab a piece of the pie. If all goes well with the partnership, Cryptologic has reserved the right for itself to buy a majority stake in Mobilebus.
Commenting on the deal, Cryptologic’s President and CEO, Briand Hadfield said: “Today marks another key milestone in CryptoLogic's global diversification and expansion, and another key step into the lucrative Asian market. Asia is critical to CryptoLogic's 'follow the sun' approach to business: it's about having development going around the clock, around the world. As an experienced game developer in a gaming-friendly market, Mobilebus will help bring players a uniquely Korean entertainment experience.”
In response, Mobilebus Inc’s CEO John Lee said: “CryptoLogic's track record of integrity, innovation and performance will help Mobilebus take its business to new heights and open up new avenues for growth. Together, our companies are poised to make an impact in this highly profitable market.”
France May Allow Gradual Opening of Sportsbetting Industry
Speaking to the French publication, Le Parisien yesterday, the country’s budget minister, Eric Woerth said that he would recommend to his government the idea of opening France’s sportsbetting industry to private competition by 2009/2010. The concept would allow the state-controlled monopoly group, PMU to maintain its market control by organizing the bets, while private companies could market them. The companies would, naturally, need to be properly licensed by French authorities.
Woerth said that he had stipulated in the recommendation that should private companies be allowed to organize bets under French law in the future, they would be subject to the same tax regime and conditions that PMU is subject to. Licenses would be given to companies who followed strict criteria, with the main aim being to counter money laundering and problem gambling.
It is expected that France’s move comes as a way to appease the European Commission, which has been putting increasing pressure on the country for denying foreign operators and private companies from competing in its gambling industry. Under European Union trade laws, member states should follow a policy of open trade borders, something that is not been done by France and a number of other European states with their gambling legislation, according to the European Commission.
888 Announces over 100% Increase in 2007 Profits
On Tuesday this week, the online gaming company, 888 announced that its full year pre-tax profits for 2007 had increased by a massive 106%. All in all, the company made gaming revenues of $213.4-million. Europe accounted for the company’s largest growth market, growing by 58% from the previous year. The United Kingdom was 888’s single largest market, an indication that regulation and licensing in this country is working.
Gigi Levy, CEO of 888 said: “2007 was a year of transformation for 888, in which we had to restructure our business following the enactment in the United States of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in October 2006. I am very pleased to report that we have now successfully completed the restructuring and repositioning of the business and have delivered record results for the year, both in terms of revenue and profit.”
All in all, the largest contributor to 888’s net gaming revenues was the online gaming sector, increasing to over $118-million – an improvement of 33% from 2006 figures. Poker contributed $80-million, while backgammon and bingo also continued to improve and contributed a total of $14.4-million to the company’s overall numbers.
Betfair Racing Ahead with TOTE Tasmania Deal
In a lucrative deal that is set to earn the Tasmanian horseracing industry millions of dollars in revenue, Betfair, one of the world’s largest sportsbetting companies has become the official agent for TOTE Tasmania. Betfair will market Tote Tasmania’s products to its millions of customers around the globe, increasing the profits of all the parties that are involved in the deal.
The CEO of TOTE Tasmania, Craig Coleman, said: “It is worth noting that Tasmania is the only jurisdiction in Australia whose licensed wagering companies are allowed to advertise in the UK. Betfair already has more than one million registered customers in the UK which it can market Australian racing to immediately.”
Betfair CEO, Anthony Klok said in response, “We’ve always maintained that Betfair’s exchange products complement those of the traditional operators. This agreement enables us to leverage our technology and online distribution expertise to better meet the needs of our customers.”