Issue N34, 2009
September 9, 2009
Net Entertainment Does Well in First Half Report
Net Entertainment, one of Europe’s leading online gaming groups, released its first half financial report to show satisfactory figures for the first six months of 2009. The company revealed excellent increases in revenues and profits, showing that it has weathered the global recession well. Profits increase by 65.4% to just under $7.6 million, while year on year revenues increased to $19.35 million – a jump of 52.6%.
In the report, Net Entertainment noted that it had signed five new license deals with online gambling sites, including the Finnish PAF and SportingBet, for its industry leading Casino Module brand.
“Overall, we have a good momentum and the performance in the second quarter is in line with our expectations,” said Johan Ohman, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Net Ent. “The revenue growth in the second quarter was lower than in the first quarter of 2009 due to a somewhat negative currency development combined with seasonal effects and few new casinos being commissioned.”
Ohman believes that the addition of Expekt.com also strengthens the group’s future revenue base. “We see a continued positive development for the business,” he said.
Great Freeroll Tournament Running at VIP Casino
Players looking to combine their favorite game of blackjack without investing too much money should take a look to see the great promotion being offered by VIP Casino this month. The online gambling site is running a blackjack freeroll tournament throughout the month of September, and the competition is open to any player who is a real money customer at this Cryptologic powered casino.
The blackjack freeroll is extremely easy to enter, allowing players to choose this option from the tournament link and then immediately having their online casino accounts credited for $500 (which may not be withdrawn).
The blackjack freeroll essentially gives players the chance to make as much money as possible within 10 minutes. Top players will have their names displayed on the leaderboard so that everybody can see how they are doing in the competition in comparison to the other players.
The competition comes to an end on September 30th, and winners will win great cash prizes according to their position on the leader board. The first prize is $600, and the second place win sees the player taking home $400. The rest of the total $6000 prize pool is then distributed between the other top twenty players.
Other bonuses and regular changing promotions abound at this site.
New Online Casino Launched
This month marked the launch of a new GTech powered online casino that is sure to add some flavor to the industry. Chance Room provides players with a casino haven where they can play exciting casino games, sports book products and poker, all under one virtual roof and using one single ewallet. The site has been launched in both French and English to meet a wider global audience.
One of the ways to introduce players to the new site is through the excellent promotions currently on offer. “We've come up with some great ways to reward our best players,” said a spokesperson for Chance Room Casino. “Every month we'll award bonus cash to the winners of our Points Race, the top point scorers in each casino game that month.”
Incentives will also include a lucrative VIP club and reward points.
“We've assembled a management team with many years of experience in iGaming,” said Louis Harang, Director of LGH Ltd, the group responsible for the launching of the new site. “We've designed unique incentives for regular players and we've chosen one of the most innovative and reputable providers to make sure our players enjoy the best experience possible.”
Problem Gambling Not Caused by Online Gambling, Says Expert
The Executive Director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, Carol O’Hare said this week that, according to her, problem gambling was not exacerbated by the availability of online casinos. Ms. O’Hare said that removing online gambling from the landscape would do nothing to solve the issue of online gambling and that education and treatment were the most effective tools to deal with the matter.
“Problem gambling is not going away because somebody puts it in a corner or puts the casino too far out of town so that we don't drive there or take it off the internet,” said O'Hare. “We tried Prohibition in this country once. It didn't work.”
Another interesting fact noted by O’Hare is that the rate of problem gamblers has remained constant through the years, despite the growth in online gambling sites and the meteoric rise of the popularity of the internet. It was this that led O’Hare to back recent studies that there is a physical link between the gene D2 and compulsive gambling.
“I think recognizing that there is some kind of physical link to what happens to these individuals helps to put it into a framework,” she said. “We're no longer talking about a moral judgment. We're no longer talking about right or wrong.”
“We have to continually be focusing on how do we mitigate the circumstances for these individuals, not how do we regulate the problem out of existence,” added O’Hare.