Issue N16, 2009
April 22, 2009
New Life in Bodog.com Domain
The Bodog.com domain showed new signs of life this week, after it was announced that a settlement had been reached between Bodog owners, the Morris Mohawk Gambling Group and 1st Technologies. In the past, a hefty $48 million settlement fee was ordered by a US court in 1st Technologies’ favor, after Bodog was found guilty of patent infringement. Bodog also lost its Bodog.com domain and was forced to build its brand from scratch under the BodogLife title.
Negotiations between Alvin Morris, head of the Morris Mohawk Gambling Group and 1st Technologies saw a change in direction and the domain was up and running this week, redirecting excited players to the BodogLife domain.
“We are pleased to have finally resolved this dispute, and applaud Mr. Morris for his proactive and constructive approach,” commented 1st Technologies’ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Scott Lewis.
“We are pleased to work constructively with 1st Technology and its principals to bring an end to this protracted dispute,” said the Morris Mohawk Gambling Group. “This resolution will provide certainty and will also allow us to continue to enhance our technology base for online gaming in order to provide our users with unfettered access to the best technology.”
PartyGaming Finances: The Good and the Bad
PartyGaming, which has been forced to pay out $105 million to the Department of Justice in the United States in exchange for the end of its case involving charges of illegal gambling activities in pre-UIGEA days, has released its financial report of the first quarter of 2009. The news in the report was mixed, showing a drop in revenues to $100.1 million (22 percent) but a growth of total average daily revenues. The company performed strongly in the casino and sports betting sectors, and less so in its poker offerings (a drop of 33 percent) and bingo (16 percent).
Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer for PartyGaming, said this week:
“Total net revenues grew by two percent on a daily basis to $1,111,800 versus the previous quarter despite continued competitive pressures in poker, further strengthening of the US dollar and a weak macroeconomic environment all continuing to impact performance.”
“We are maintaining our market share in poker and our business-to-business strategy continues to build with the addition of Intralot, one of the world’s largest providers of lottery services to governments, to our Italian poker network, which is expected to launch later this quarter as part of a long-term global agreement,” continued Ryan. “While the business environment remains challenging, our strong poker sign-ups together with the addition of 60 new games to our casino by the end of the first half, further business-to-business deals in the pipeline and our strong control of costs, mean we are well-placed to capitalize on our great products, great brands and strong cashflow.”
“Having successfully resolved our discussions with the US authorities, we are actively reviewing consolidation opportunities that, if concluded successfully, are expected to provide new and additional sources of growth,” he concluded.
Danish Gambling Monopoly to Come to an End
After years of pressure by foreign gambling operators such as Ladbrokes, and with the threat of a lawsuit over its head for contravening European Union free trade policies, the Danish government has finally announced plans to deregulate its gambling market. The most important change is that the sixty year monopoly on the country’s market by Danske Spil will come to and end.
“It will be nice to get some clarity on the issue after so many years of uncertainty,” said the Managing Director of Danske Spil, H.C. Madsen. “We'll also be able to offer casino gambling and poker now, which we couldn't do before.”
The Danish government intends maintaining its monopoly over the Lotto and scratch card games, although foreign companies would not be allowed to apply for licenses to operate casino and poker products.
Ladbrokes Launches New TV Ad
A new television campaign to promote Ladbrokes.com has been launched and the gambling group is hoping that this time, the ad will not be banned by the UK based Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Two of Ladbrokes’ ads have been removed from the media in the past for promoting ‘recklessness’, although industry experts say that ASA has lost all sense of humor. The previous ads featured thrill seekers doing insane things (such as jumping out of planes using crisp packets as parachutes and diving into shark infested waters with raw meat hanging on their wetsuits) in order to get there excitement.
The current ad has an average man playing hide and seek in a deserted city with a Sifaka Lemur, with the buzz “Don't hide from thrills, seek them out at Ladbrokescasino.com”. It is part of a new Hide and Seek series that was developed by M&C Saatchi for 1 million GBP.
Ladbrokes spokesman Ciaran O'Brien said about the new advertising campaign: “Our earlier award winning ads were very popular and we're sure these will prove equally as successful.”