Net Bet Blog

Sportingbet.com today announced that it's non-executive director Sean O'Connor purchased 100,000 shares at a price of 34 pence per share. He now holds 347,848 Shares.

It is generally seen as a positive signal that the share price is considered a bargain and the academic literature tends to find a positive correlation between director buys and subsequent share price performance (interestingly such a relationship is not found when looking at director sells).

Following on from Sportingbet.com's Q3 update come the raft of newspaper and broker updates.

These are worth reading as they place Sportingbet.com's results in context.

There is also no doubting SBT's ability to generate column inches. The news that it has no plans to pullout of Turkey is excellent news for shareholders as this is a growing and important market for SBT.

From the Times:

Sportingbet

Yesterday’s third-quarter numbers provide an excellent picture of just how far Sportingbet has come since the American internet gambling ban robbed it of two thirds of its business. In the three months to the end of April, it made almost as much profit as it did in the whole of last year.

Sports betting, which accounts for 63 per cent of profits, was the strongest performer, with volumes in Europe and Australia both up by more than a quarter. Its online casino unit also grew strongly, but poker was down quite sharply as the loss of the biggest poker market in the world continued to have an impact. It seems clear that, unless the US ban is reversed, poker will continue to mark time – although as it accounts for only about 14 per cent of its business, the downside should be subdued.

The main attraction of today’s Sportingbet is that it has learnt the lesson of the US ban and has created a more broadly based business geographically. It aims to have no single country generating more than 20 per cent of net gaming revenues. The arrest of two Turkish employees last week shows the benefits of such a policy. Although the company insists that it will not withdraw from Turkey, it clearly cannot place too much reliance on a country where internet gambling remains a grey area in legal terms.

Financially, Sportingbet, which at 37¼p trades at an enticing seven times next year’s earnings, is doing all the right things, but with so many jurisdictions retaining, at best, an equivocal attitude to internet gambling and with the poker boom having lost its fizz, this stock is only for the brave.

From the Telegraph. I disagree with the analyst who prefers not to be named (as is often the case).

Internet gambling group Sportingbet said it had no immediate plans to pull out of Turkey, its third biggest market, despite struggling to discover why two employees had been thrown into an Istanbul jail.

Andrew McIver, chief executive, admitted he was still in the dark as to why the junior staff, both Turkish nationals, had been arrested and imprisoned last week when they returned from holiday. They were detained alongside around 30 individuals associated with Maslin Properties, Sportingbet's former marketing partner.

Mr McIver said the Sportingbet staff, who he refused to name, had "been moved from a police station to a prison but they haven't been charged with anything yet". They have been allowed a visit from their families.

Reports in the Turkish press claim the police are investigating allegations of organised crime, money laundering and tax evasion - rather than any crackdown on internet gambling - though Mr McIver stressed that such reports focused on Maslin.

"I think those allegations are unfounded against our employees," Mr McIver said. "What we really need to do is collar the right judge and tell him the police's version of this is a load of old tosh."

He said he was "relying on Turkish lawyers whom we have appointed to represent them" for information, but admitted: "I am vague on this because information is not readily available. It's not the way the Turkish legal system works. This is not England."

He added: "We have decided as a board that no director should go to Turkey."

Despite the setback, Mr McIver said he had no immediate plans to pull out of Turkey - as rival Bwin has done - despite the detentions overshadowing yesterday's third-quarter results, which showed underlying operating profits jumped from £3m to £7.3m. "Although it's terribly unfortunate for them, for the business there is no change," he said. The shares rose ½ to 37¼p.

Turkey accounted for 13.9pc of net gaming revenues, down from 25.8pc in the second quarter, and Mr McIver reiterated his view that Sportingbet was breaking no laws taking bets from Turkish nationals as it had "no physical operations" there.

One analyst, who declined to be named, said: "They should pull out of Turkey. It taints the business and pulling out would add a lot to the valuation."

Mr McIver admitted: "I would imagine most analysts are discounting earnings from Turkey to some degree. It's certainly not helpful for the share price."

Pre-tax profits of £4.2m reversed last time's £62.2m losses, when Sportingbet was hit by the US ban on internet gambling. Amounts wagered rose 25.4pc to £365m.

In terms of broker upgrades:

Daniel Stewart - BUY - 74p target
Numis - BUY - 67p target
Dresdner Kleinwort - BUY - 74p target

All good news for possible investors at sub-40p.



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Sportingbet.com shares were up 6% in early trades on the back of an upbeat outlook after the Q3 results that were out today.

Sportingbet.com is one of the companies we track closely as a bellwhether of the industry. It also has a professional and well run affiliate programme under the SBEurope that I can recommend - certainly in comparison with many others.

In terms of the headline figures, Q3 underlying operating profit increased 143.3% to £7.3 million with operating margins up at 17.9 % from 8.9 % in the previous year.
This is an impressive performance.

With EURO 2008 about to kick off revenues are likely to improve. The £150 free bet is likely to bring in new punters keen to experiment with football betting.

For EURO 2008 special SBT promotions see Euro 2008 Betting. The sheer number of betting possibilities gives SBT the edge over Ladbrokes and others especially given the competitive odds.



The elephant in the corner though remains the Turkish blood bath that Sportingbet.com have got themselves into. Their defence is that Turkey only represents 20% of revenues. I for one was surprised that it was this high and I am sure most investors would not have expected such a large percentage of revenues to come from one country with such a hazardous regulatory outlook.

Here are the highlights:

Financial Highlights

* Amounts wagered up 25.4% to £364.6m (2007: £290.8m)
* Group operating profit* up 143.3% to £7.3m (2007: £3.0m) in the quarter; £19.0m year to date (2007: £7.0m)
* Operating profit* at 17.9% of net gaming revenue (2007: 8.9%) versus stated target for the year of 13%
* Cash on the balance sheet, net of customer liabilities, of £34.9m (2007: £38.1m)
* Diluted earnings per share* of 1.2p (2007: 0.7p)

(* stated before charging exceptional items, fair value restatements and amortisation)

Business Highlights

* Continued strong growth in gaming revenue across both Europe and Australia
* Significantly improved operational profit margin - 17.9% vs. 8.9% Q3 07
* Broader geographical diversification - no single market representing over 20% of net gaming revenue
* Year to date operating profit £19.0m (2007: £7.0m)

I remain a fan of Sportingbet.com and believe it to be a well run and competitive company. The recent poor share price performance should be temporary and more importantly, SBT remain an attractive purchase for BWIN or one of the larger players. US settlement would also help to bring SBT to the attention of the large US players when the dust eventually settles.

With shares up 6% already I expect further gains.


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How many years will it take for governments to realise that regulation just doesn't work.

GamingLawEU do a good job of summarising the economic disaster that is the last 4 years of regulation in Germany. What is interesting are the economic losses you might not first expect - those to the actual monopoly that the regulations were intended to protect.

With Germany facing GVC up over 7% today I wonder if the publication of this article was partially to blame (for this good news for GVC holders). BWIN holders and other EU betting sites such as SBT and PRTY will find this summary of interest.

The writing style is odd to say the least and as always with posts on this site make little sense on first reading. I suspect law is something that does not translate well.

Germany: A turbulent regulatory framework [GamingLawEU]

../

Less than four months later, a report on the State Treaty on Gambling in the newspaper Kieler Nachrichten was fittingly titled “Gambling: Is the State the loser?”. This is because even now a massive reduction in gambling turnover for the first quarter of 2008 must be recorded for the state-run providers. The news met with a divided response among the members of the parliamentary parties in government. “What we feared would happen is now actually happening”, declared the member of parliament for the CDU, Hans-Jörn Arp, who had been fighting vehemently against the State Treaty. For the Chairman of the State’s FDP parliamentary party, Wolfgang Kubicki, it is a “financial catastrophe”.

On the figures:

Gross earnings of the gambling houses are down 10 per cent, Oddset’s turnover collapsed by up to 50 per cent. For the KENO-bet, the reduction amounted to 30 per cent, Lotto on Wednesday and on Saturday each had to record losses of approx. 11 per cent of their turnover. Thus, altogether about 8 million Euro of turnover have been lost since January”, said Mr. Kubicki after inspecting the parliamentary query (Drucksache 16/2007) at the end of April 2008.

The insanity of having to block internet access to local products because of addiction problems is laughable as Germany are continuing to play happily on Maltese and other sites meaning the state lotteries are losing even more. Sheer stupidity.

As the internet offers up until recently were blocked in Bavaria and most of the other Federal States in 2007, the lottery administration calculates that turnover will be down by approx. 50 million Euro for the last year. According to the Court of Auditor’s estimate, this alone would lead to reduced income (net proceeds and lottery tax) for the State of Bavaria amounting to 20 million Euro. A few days ago, Lotto Bayern resumed its offers through the internet. The justification provided in this context of the alleged fight against addiction will not be very credible against this background.

The article concludes:

Conclusion

The first 100 days of the State Treaty on Gambling have been disillusioning for the advocates of the gambling monopoly. This is because in reality we are rather seeing the beginning of the end of this short-lived law. We may even see BWin banners in the Allianz Arena during the next Bundesliga season, instead of lottery “information” provided by the state.

This eventuality was entirely predictable. Where were the economists when this law was passed?

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Sportingbet.com(SBT) released a trading statement yesterday.

Sportingbet is one of the best known European online betting companies and is quoted on AIM. It is one of the sites that this blog supports and uses (see side banners). Sportingbet.com pride themselves on giving punters the best odds and a wide selection of bets which they certainly do.

It is no surprise therefore they they have issued an upbeat trading statement. What is more impressive however is the managements desire and ability to cut jobs to improve profitability. Internet gaming is scalable and after a company is well positioned it is probably correct to cut some of the high salaries but usually difficult to implement. Sportingbet.com are to be congratulated.

Q3 Trading Update [ADVFN]

Sportingbet Plc will, on 4 June 2008, announce its third quarter results for the
three months ending on 30 April 2008. The results for the period will report an
operating profit (before exceptional items, fair value adjustment and
amortisation) of not less than #7.0m (2007: #3.0m). This equates to an operating
profit for the nine months year to date of #18.7m (2007: #6.4m from continuing
operations). The Board is pleased with the trading results of the business
through both the third quarter and year to date, in particular, with the Group's
core sports betting business.

Following a successful period of "bedding-in" of the Group's operational moves
to Guernsey and Dublin, the Board has now entered the last phase of its proposed
strategic downsizing exercise, concentrating on its PLC head office function in
London.

As such, it is currently proposed that a number of redundancies may occur in the
head office function. This proposal will be the subject of consultation with
potentially affected staff over the coming weeks.

As part of a senior management review connected to this exercise, it has been
decided that there is no longer a requirement for a Chief Operating Officer
within the senior executive structure, and that the role will therefore become
redundant. The duties associated with the role will be absorbed by the remaining
senior executives of the Company and the role will not be replaced.
Consequently, it has been agreed that Dave Hobday, Chief Operating Officer, will
leave Sportingbet Plc shortly on a date to be agreed, and at the Company's
request, Dave Hobday has resigned from the Board with immediate effect.

An impressive statement all round. I still think that Sportingbet.com is a potential takeover target from BWIN meaning that SBT is cheap on fundamentals and should include a possible bid premium.

These are examples are sportingbet brands. The poker brand was one of the big boys before the US regulations that slaughtered SBT's share price. There is a slow and steady recovery underway.







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The more I research BWIN the more I am convinced that it is going to be a major player in European consolidation. The management and competent and aggressive with an eye for a marketing opportunity.

Clearly Sportingbet (SBT) are in their sites but I would imagine smaller players such as GVC (Spain/Germany/Italy) and LNG (Italy) would be possible targets that could be snapped up for loose change.

SOLID Q4 AND FULL YEAR RESULTS FROM BWIN [Online Casinos]

Record gross gaming revenues were up 24.9 percent to Euro 102.3 million (Q4 2006: Euro 81.9 million) and sports betting gross gaming revenue soared 30.2 percent to Euro 59.5 million (Q4 2006: Euro 45.7 million) with a sports betting margin of 9.6 percent.

Poker revenue was also well up by 26.7 percent to Euro 21.8 million (Q4 2006: Euro 17.2 million) and record net gaming revenues were recorded - up 28.3 percent to Euro 89.4 million (Q4 2006: Euro 69.7 million)

The company reported that its European growth in members was a record for the industry, with 894 000 active and 234 000 new active real-money customers in fiscal 2007.

Full year numbers showed a similar success story, with gross gaming revenues of Euro 350.5 million: up 21.4 percent (FY 2006: Euro 288.6 million) and record sports betting gross gaming revenue: up 19.0 percent to Euro 191.9 million (FY 2006: Euro 161.2 million) with sports betting margins of 8.7 percent.

Full year Poker revenue rose 38.6 percent to Euro 82.3 million (FY 2006: Euro 59.4 million) and Net gaming revenues were 25.9 percent to Euro 309.7 million (FY 2006: Euro 246.0 million) Over the full year membership figures were 1,6 million active and 798 000 new active real-money customers.

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It is good to see that London quoted companies are fighting back and entering into the Canadian market (the home of so many US based licenced companies).

With a US sports based book this means SBT will be very well placed to re-enter the US as and when.

SPORTINGBET OPENS CANADIAN WEBSITE [Online Casinos]

Sportsbetting fans in Canada will be pleased to see the new Sportingbet Canadian-facing website launched this week by the well established and London-listed online gambling company.

The professionally presented and Alderney licensed site comes in a variety of language versions and links to associated poker, casino and backgammon websites, with a $50 new player freebie and a matchplay SUB maxed at $500.

Unfortunately, due to the US government's hostile posture on Internet gambling US residents cannot be accepted. Sportingbet was one of several major listed UK companies that were forced out of the US market by the advent of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October 2006.

The manager responsible for Canadian operations, Gary Lewis says that the Canadian activity is a part of a major initiative to grow markets outside Europe. “We are very excited about entering the Canadian sports betting market [and we are] committed to offering Canadian customers more of what they want to see: more sports, more products and more promotions,” he said this week.

Sportingbet accepts wagering on 22 worldwide sports, and its facilities include In-Play wagering whilst games are in progress. Major League Baseball and the Canadian Football League will be added at the end of March and June respectively.

“With over four million clients, we’ve more than shown that SportingBet has the sports betting and gaming products for anyone’s taste,” says Lewis.

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Sportingbet.com today released their Q2 results.

These were a good set of results and Sportingbet.com are one of the companies we track closely. Their affilate scheme is well run and efficient. Paradise Poker appears to be doing very well as does its Sportingbet Casino business. Sportingbet.com are now well set for continued growth and its Bulgarian purchase seems to be good value - a model that they look set to successfully follow across other EU states.

Click here for Q2 results.

Highlights:

Financial Highlights

* Amounts wagered up 29.5% to £364.7m (2007: £281.6m)

* Group operating profit* up 275% to £7.5m (2007: £2.0m) in the quarter -
£11.7m year to date (2007: £4.0m)

* Operating profit* at 18.2% of net gaming revenue (2007: 5.8%) versus
stated target of 13%

* Cash on the balance sheet, net of customer liabilities, of £32.0m (2007:
£35.5m)

* Statutory Group operating profit of £3.6m (2007: loss of £0.1m)

* Diluted earnings per share* of 1.4p (2007: 0.5p)

(* stated before charging exceptional items, fair value restatements and
amortisation)

Business Highlights

* Strong growth in net gaming revenue across the portfolio
o Sports up 29.6% year on year
o Casino up 29.1% year on year
o Poker up 34.1% quarter on quarter

* Growth delivered through both incremental betting volumes (amounts
wagered on sports in Europe up 35.3% year on year) and yields per player

* Restructuring benefits demonstrated by significantly enhanced operating
profit margins

* Acquisition of Bulgarian marketing partner for an initial consideration
of £4.0m and deferred consideration of up to £7.2m

* Management team strengthened - all key positions now filled

Commenting on the results, Andrew McIver, Chief Executive, said:

"We are pleased with the performance and continued development of the business
in the second quarter of this financial year. With six months of the year
completed we have achieved an operating profit of £11.7m versus £4.0m last year.
This has not been achieved by especially favourable outcomes to sports events -
the margin percentage is actually slightly lower than last year - but rather
from strong growth in turnover from our core sports offering and careful cost
control.

Whilst these results are ahead of where we expected to be at this stage, with a
fourth quarter dominated by one major event this year, Euro 2008, we are happy
to bank the strong performance in these results against the second half and
remain confident for the full year's out-turn."

Sportingbet remains a stock to keep an eye on. Interestingly there was no mention of takeover speculation and I suspect any attention from BWIN is unwanted. SBT want to grow organically and through strategic purchases. However, SBT remain a tasty albeit expensive purchase for BWIN and would give them considerable European presence. If I were BWIN I would encourage them to act sooner rather than later before they are snapped up by someone else. Such opportunities are rare.

Now the results are out of the way we may see some corporate action.

As part of our new "rumour mill" series we report that Sportingbet.com (SBT) rose today on a possible bid approach. This is not the first time SBT has been in the takeover spotlight and it will not be the last.

There is no doubt that the word on the street is that consolidation in the sector is beginning to heat up with the big boys jockying for position. Cyptologic also announced today that they are looking to make aquisitions.

There will only be a small number of big winners. Sportingbet.com will soon be swallowed up but at what price. 70p should be enough unless it flushes out those with deeper pockets.

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Shares in Sportingbet.com PLC pushed higher in midafternoon trade bolstered by rumours the online betting firm could be the recipient of a 70 pence a share bid as early as next week. At 3.00 pm, Sportinbet shares were 4-14 pence higher at 45-3/4, while the FTSE Small Cap index was down 1.6 points at 3,227.4. Traders said no names had been mentioned regarding a potential bidder for the UK firm but suggested that Austrian gaming firm Bwin Interactive Entertainmnet AG could be looking to revive its takeover interest. Last July, Sportingbet said discussions with Bwin Interactive regarding a possible acquisition of the UK group had been "mutually and amicably discontinued".

Konrad Sveceny, head of Investor Relations at BWIN said at the time: "As a result of regulatory and legal changes in a number of markets in which both BWIN and Sportingbet operate, and not just ones with European Union borders, we have not been able to agree on terms".

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It does not seem so long ago that Sportingbet.com (SBT) paid tens of millions to buy US facing Poker site Paradise Poker. It what seemed like an excellent deal all was going well until the US regualtions hit and SBT's share price crashed along with the players on Paradise Poker.

We are Sportingbet affiliates (see banners on the side and bottom) and have the Paradise brand clearly shown. This is because SBT run a good scheme and Paradise Poker is an excellent brand and place to play poker. It is still however a shadow of it pre-regulation days.



The solution is that Sportingbet.com have hired Ed Luck from Orange to give the SBT products mass market appeal. They have also appointed Darrell Greenwood as European VIP sales director hired from Remington. It is good to see SBT taking marketing seriously.

Sportingbet appoints Euro marketing head [madnews]

Sportingbet.com has appointed Orange marketer Ed Luck as European marketing director. The move comes as the online gaming company seeks to develop its existing mass-market proposition by segmenting its marketing approach.

Luck, who has already joined the company, will focus on increasing customers for SportBet and its leisure-based casino and gaming products under the Paradise brand.

He also has a brief to promote loyalty among its existing customers and improve cross-portfolios spending.
Banner Ad

He will work closely with Lida, the M&C Saatchi- owned below-the-line agency, which was appointed to handle Sportingbet's £20m pan-European direct marketing account in November last year.

Darrell Greenwood has joined the company as European VIP sales director. He joins from Remington, where he was commercial director, but has also worked at companies such as Mars.

Luck, who was previously marketing proposition director at Orange, will focus on the recreational gaming market, while Greenwood will develop the company's VIP customer offering to high net-worth individuals.

Greenwood and Luck will report to Sportingbet chief operating officer Dave Hobday.

The appointments come as Sportingbet continues its recovery from the virtual overnight loss of 95% of its profits in November 2006, following a US clampdown on internet gambling.

It forced a number of UK online gaming companies to withdraw from the US.

The CEO of Sportingbet has clearly seen SBT's share price fall far enough and has stepped in to buy 100,000 shares at41p taking his total holding to 1.18m.

Will this be enough to stop recent falls? The problem is outstanding US regulatory costs and how much SBT might have to pay in any agreement. Why is this taking so long?

This buying spree suggests that no news will be coming any time soon. SBT is looking more attractive at these levels and still have a very strong brand presence.

Sportingbet says CEO McIver buys 100,000 shrs at 41p/shr [ADVFN]

Whilst the stockmarket enters a potentially severe bear market with stockmarkets round the world experiencing record falls it is time to give a little thought to the position of online gaming stocks as part of a balanced portfolio.

In recent weeks gaming stocks have held up remarkably well. Why might that be?

The classic argument is that in market turmoil that there is run to safety (usually gold or bonds). However, within equities money tends to head to the so-called "defensive stocks". These might include utilities and cigarette manufacturers.

Many are now proposing that online gaming stocks now represent a good defensive stock. The argument being that:

1. Gambling is addictive (like fags) and therefore this is one of the last things consumers will cut back on.

2. If consumers are not going out to the pub or for so many meals that they are more likely to stay in and play the occasional hand of poker for entertainment. This is arguably very cheap entertainment.

3. In a recession people feel low and want to at least experience the thrill of potentially winning a large amount of money.

The counter arguments to the above and fairly straight-forward. Arguably, gambling is something consumers use extra disposable income on. When times are tough it is this sort of discretionary spending that is the first to be cut back on fairly easily. Food and heating comes first after all.

Overall, I believe shares such as 888, PRTY, SBT, 32RED should provide at least some element of safety in today's choppy markets.

For those that like risk, some of the smaller AIM stocks can still provide all the excitement you could want from owning a potential multi-bagger share. For example, LNG, BETB, GVC and others.

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Even in the midst of market turmoil it is good to see that Sportingbet.com continues to improve the management structures and it is also pleasing that SBT remain on track to meet expectations with encouraging trading.

SBT's share price has taken a recent hammering which is a little surprising given its consistent good performance even in light of the US hammering. The impending "deal" with US regulators adds some uncertainty that SBT could do without at this time. Looking attractive and some strong brands under its management.

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22 January 2008

Sportingbet plc ("Sportingbet" or "the Company")

Board Appointments

Sportingbet is delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Dicks as
Non-Executive Chairman and James Wilkinson as Group Finance Director of the
Company with effect from 1st February 2008.

Peter Dicks (65) has in-depth knowledge of Sportingbet and the online gaming
sector having previously been Non-Executive Chairman of the Company from January
2000 to 14 September 2006.

James Wilkinson (41) brings extensive listed company and finance experience to
Sportingbet having previously been Group Finance Director of Johnson Service
Group plc from 2004 - 2007. Prior to that he worked at Informa Group plc for ten
years in a variety of roles culminating in the position of Group Finance
Director from 1998 - 2004. James started his career at Touche Ross where he
qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991.

Andrew McIver, CEO of Sportingbet, commented: "I am delighted to welcome both
Peter and Jim to the Group. Subsequent to our complete exit from the US market
following the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in October
2006 we embarked on a significant restructuring of the business. This is now
largely finished and with these two appointments we complete the personnel
changes we wished to make as part of that restructuring. The restructuring and
other initiatives we have undertaken since October 2006 provide the Group with a
solid foundation from which to deliver future growth. Current trading is
encouraging and we are confident we are on track to meet full year
expectations."

These are the Sportingbet.com products that we link to. As far as affiliate management SBEurope goes I believe SBT to be one of the best. They could improve their banner link presentation so that it is easier for the affiliate to see what they want but the traffic recording systems are best of breed in my opinion.
















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A 888 director today informed the market that he has sold over 3/4 of his shares 144,000 at £1.44 each bringing Mr John Anderson a cool £2,016,000.

The share price has been performing well recently against falls across the sector especially for the high street bookies but also for others such as Sportingbet and PartyGaming.

Is this sale for personal reasons or is it the beginning of a fall for 888 shares. Tempting to take out a short on this news although there is the possibility of some corporate action in the background. Who knows - the buyer of Mr Anderson's shares might be stake building.

888 Director/PDMR Shareholding [ADVFN]

888 Holdings plc (the "Company") has been notified by Mr John Anderson that on 8
January 2008 he sold 1,400,000 ordinary shares of 0.005 pence each of the
Company ("Shares") at 144p per Share.

Following the sale, Mr Anderson has interests in 588,869 Shares.

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As part of our sector overview we bring you news that Dynamic Gaming Systems may be in trouble and about to fold.

What is interesting about this news is that it is beginning to show that barriers to entry are eventually increasing to such a level that new entrants will find it harder to get sufficient liquidity when up against the big boys with their huge marketing budgets.

Some background from an article on Flop Turn River.com written last year:

Dynamic Gaming Systems Network [Flop Turn River.com]

The Dynamic Gaming Systems poker network is one of the newer less popular networks you will find in 2007. The only reason they are less popular is because they are relatively new, not because of bad software or reviews. In fact, they have some of the best software features I have seen and are constantly updating to make them better.

They have some real nice features such as button click table resizes, and things to get into other players heads such as showing when you fold, or even showing just one card. Their support desk is also spectacular and I rank them up near the top.

Although they might have some nice software and support, they need to get the word out. On average they will have 600 or so players connected, and only about 15 tables max with active players. This is much too small for the online world today, so hopefully people will start to catch on.

More and more rooms are popping out that use the DGS software, and they have at least 18 rooms on the network. With this kind of growth you should expect to see some serious player number increases. Dynamic Gaming Systems are one of the networks that still allow US players to play from all locations.

News of closure comes from SBR and Online Casinos.

BigJuicyOdds (SBR rating D+) poker network, Dynamic Gaming Solutions (DGS) folds

and

Dynamic Gaming Solutions reported to be in trouble

This is another indication that there will be a shake up in the sector and that consolidation is inevitable. Barriers to entry will increase and only the large will survive in the very long run as costs increase and margins become under pressure.

The counter argument is that there are enough punters to go around and that these numbers will continue to grow. This is by no means certain and it is also likely that any new punters will be swayed by TV adverts and the larger most trustworthy brands such as PRTY, 888, Paradise Poker.

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We all know what a total mess the US government has made of the sneaky UIGEA regulations.

It was obvious that one by-product of the exit from the US market of the established players such as PartyGaming, 888.com and Paradise Poker would let in the weaker less reputable casino operators.

Oggs.com put is like this in the 2007 Casino awards.

A number of significant casinos withdrew from the US market completely given the uncertainty over handling banking for US players. While stopping short of outlawing online casino gambling, the Act had the perverse effect of enabling weaker operations back into a market in which previously it had been harder to compete against the well-funded and properly licensed casinos.

The result - US citizens losing legitimately and illegitimately.

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The Financial Times report on SBT's results. This is a decent write up. Even so, SBTs share price remains out of favour falling again in early morning trading.

European gamble pays off for Sportingbet [FT]

Sports betting in Europe helped Sportingbet to put in a strong first quarter, offsetting the online gambling company’s static performances in poker and casino.

Turkey, Greece, Spain and Italy gave Sportingbet strong betting flows in sports such as football, tennis and basketball, producing a net gaming revenue of £14.9m ($30.3m, €20.7m) from Europe, compared with £12.6m ($25.6m) for the same period last year.

Sports betting customer numbers in Europe rose 7 per cent and the amount of bets were up 16 per cent.

Sportingbet (SBT) are down 5% in early trading despite a decent set of Q1 results. On the surface the results are impressive - group operating profits up 110% but less spectacular as one reads down.

Sportingbet Q1 Results [ADVFN]

Financial Highlights - Three months ended 31 October 2007

* Group operating profit* up 110% to #4.2m (2006 restated: #2.0m)

* Operating profit* 13.8% of net gaming revenue (2006: 6.2%)

* Cash on the balance sheet, net of customer liabilities, of #25.6m (2006:
#52.0m)

* Statutory Group loss of #1.7m (2006: loss of #240.9m)

* Pre-exceptional profit before tax of #1.5m (2006: #1.1m)

* Diluted earnings per share* of 0.8p (2006: 0.3p)

(* stated before charging exceptional items, fair value restatements and
amortisation)

Business Highlights - Three months ended 31 October 2007

* Continued strong growth in European sports betting - gaming revenue up
27%

* Benefits of cost restructuring coming through in enhanced operating
margins

* Operational reorganisation post UIGEA now substantially complete

* Australian betting volumes up despite Equine Influenza

* Channel Islands office now fully operational and performing well

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As part of our "eye" on the activities of UK traded betting companies it is interesting to note Sportingbets (SBT) well managed affiliate scheme. This is their current Hatton v Mayweather promotion.

They begin with the stardard FREE £100 bet. http://www.sportingbet.com/t/promos/100tuesday.aspx

Sportingbet are offering all new customers £100 worth of free bets. Simply Join Sportingbet in 2 quick and easy steps then stake £25 each week and receiving a matching bonus up to a maximum of £25 per week every Tuesday for four weeks!

On top of this they are offering a Hatton v Mayfield prize draw.

It's the fight of the decade this Saturday as the 'Undefeated' duo of Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather go head to head in Vegas.

Can the flamboyant American back up his cocky pre-fight antics with a display to match? Or can our very own 'Hitman' stun Mayweather with his powerful body shots and tireless work ethic?

With 81 wins and 55 knockouts between them there's little doubt this fight will live up to its billing... but will it be Hatton or Mayweather who can call themselves the best pound for pound boxer around?

Either way someones '0' has got to go!

Here at Sportingbet we like to give you a little bit more when you bet with us, so to celebrate this era-ending fight we've got loads of prizes to give away including Champions League tickets and iPod's.

To give yourself a chance to walk away with one of these great prizes simply place a bet of £20 or more on the Hatton v Mayweather fight!

Hatton v Mayweather - Prize Draw

1. For every £20 bet you place on the fight your name will be entered into our draw (enter as many times as you want).
e.g £100 bet will count as 5 x entries into prize draw.

What can I win?

1. 1st Prize - 2 x Champions League Tickets.
2. 2nd Prize - 2 x Champions League Tickets.
3. 3rd Prize - iPod.
4. 4th Prize - iPod.
5. 5th Prize - iPod.
6. 6th-10th - Prizes ParadisePoker Jackets.

Click here to join. Sportingbet Promotions



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Sportingbet today released the following press comment.

As you can see, England's abject failure caused more than a few problems and anyone who bet on this game (perhaps via the banner on the right-hand side) will be quids in.

More importantly, it shows that many UK online bookies will be crying into their coffess this morning as all those lovely England bets for next summer go down the pan.

ENGLAND v CROATIA
HEARTBREAK FOR ENGLAND, AGONY FOR SPORTINGBET

After Israel handed England a massive lifeline on Saturday online company Sportingbet were pretty certain England were on their way to Austria and Switzerland next summer. So in a bid to drum up some business on this tie they decided to offer all their customers full refunds on all single bets of up to £200 on the England v Croatia match if England somehow failed to qualify.

We’ll we all know what happened next…

Chris Graham, Sportsbook Promotions Manager explains all:

I'm afraid we failed to realise how bad England and Steve McClaren really were and have caught a massive cold here as we shovel back most of our turnover to our eager customers. Thanks to Croatia winning 3-2 we have refunded almost £100,000 on this promotion and the office is like a morgue as we all contemplate England not playing in Euro 2008 next summer and the nightmare scenario of this payout. Steve McClaren you have a lot to answer for!

If you think you are valid for the refund e-mail winners@sportingbet with details of your losing bet.