Issue N19, 2008
May 8, 2008
New Gambling Commission Survey Published
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission produced the latest results of its independent survey this week, showing that there has been little change in the general gambling landscape of the country. The most notable figure from the new survey was that the percentage of internet gamblers in the population remained static at 8.6% compared to last year’s research probes. This has come as quite a surprise to industry experts who expected the number of gamblers to rise significantly because of the lifting of restrictions on gambling advertising since the last survey was commissioned.
Out of the 8000 participants questioned in the survey over one year, 6.3% said that the National Lottery in the United Kingdom was their favorite form of online gaming, while 2.3% said sports betting, 1.4% played poker, while only 1% of those questioned noted that they played online casino games and bingo. The use of the internet from computers and laptops to access gambling sites rose slightly from 6.9% of respondents to 7.1%, while 2.4% said that they preferred mobile gaming. The rate of players using interactive TV for their gaming entertainment remained unchanged at 1.8% from the previous year’s figures.
Record Q1 Revenues for Playtech
Playtech Limited, the industry leading online gaming software producer, has announced record revenue figures for the first quarter of 2008. According to the company, it managed to rake in revenues of $39 million – up 19% from the previous quarter and a stunning 97% more than the same quarter from the previous year.
A number of factors contributed to Playtech’s resounding success. It managed to sign on nine new licensees this year, and has started licensing processes in a number of regulated jurisdictions around the globe. In addition, the launching of Playtech’s Asian P2P games has meant strong growth for the company. All in all, casino revenues totaled $27.2-million (up 79% from the previous year), and poker revenues rose an impressive 161%, or $11 million.
Playtech's Chief Executive Officer, Mor Weizer said: "This has been an outstanding quarter for the Group, registering impressive month on month revenue growth. The addition of new licensees during the period and the anticipated full roll out of the new Asian P2P games and Flash Poker mean the Group is well positioned to grow in Q2 and beyond. The Group continues to pursue significant business opportunities across all the regulated markets and the Board is highly confident regarding the Group's trading performance for 2008 and beyond.”
Stan James Joins Game Account
Always keen to offer its ever growing customer base additional sources of fun, the Gibraltar-based wagering operator, Stan James Limited, has joined forces with skill-games developer GameAccount. As a result, Stan James players will be able to enjoy exciting skill games such as gin rummy, multiplayer blackjack and backgammon.
Kevin Dale, Chief Executive Officer of GameAccount said after the signing of the multi-year agreement: “We are delighted to welcome Stan James into our fast-growing Network, which has experienced explosive growth in player numbers and staking activity. Our blue-chip corporate customers benefit from unique skill gaming software in attracting new players - reducing the dreaded churn and driving meaningful revenues comparable to poker. Gin Rummy, Backgammon and our unique Multiplayer Blackjack form a compelling suite of person-to-person games super-charged by the presence of new instant win side games to fill idle minutes."
In response, Russell Young, Head of eGaming at Stan James, said: “Skill games broaden the demographic appeal of our online sportsbook offering, particularly relevant for southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries where Backgammon is a cultural phenomenon. GameAccount was chosen after an exhaustive process investigating the potential for these emerging games, the experience of potential suppliers and the technical capabilities of their respective platforms."
Macau Tycoon Welcomes Macau Casino Restrictions
Stanley Ho, one of the strongest players in the Macau casino market, has told a local news company that he is satisfied with the Chinese government’s decision to place tough restrictions on the construction of new casinos in the former Portuguese colony, which has now become the world’s number one gambling destination. Ho said that he was convinced that the restrictions would lead to a lull in the tough competition that was felt between the six casino operators in the peninsula.
“I am fully in favor of such an action and I think, not only that, we must all agree that in Macau now we have far too many casinos,” said Ho. “There is no point of opening up more casinos, we have more than enough, more than rice shops, so that is something we don’t want to encourage.”
“It is high time to take care of the gaming sections problems,” he added. “It is no good with all the six operators always fighting together using cut-throat measures of getting customers into their casino. This is not correct because there is enough room for all six of us. There is no need to do this monkey business, cutting throats, it’s the worst thing possible.”