eGaming Morning Snapshot - 15 February 15/02/2007

Jake Pollard

NEWS: The case against Neteller founders John Lefebvre and Steven Lawrence has been delayed. Though a date was set for 14 February for a preliminary hearing, and the clerk of the federal courthouse at Pearl Street New York confirmed the defendant’s names were on the schedule, a judge has yet to be assigned. Yusill Scribner, spokesperson for the Southern District of New York District Attorney, told eGaming Review that by close of business on yesterday the government had either to have returned an indictment, set a date for a preliminary hearing, or asked for more time, and that a delay of at least 30 days was anticipated. A deadline for an indictment to be filed has now been extended to March 16.

Egaming software firm CryptoLogic reported strong year-end results this morning. Revenues and gross profits grew by 21% to US$104m and US$24.8m respectively on the same period in 2005. The company said US legislation in October 2006 had badly affected revenues in the fourth quarter, but that new launches, strategic acquisitions and partnerships had enabled it to achieve record results for 2006. Poker and casino revenues for Q4 fell 15.8% and 35.9% to US$6.7m and US$10m, but rose 25.6% and 11.7% for the 12 month period to US$33.9m and US$59.2m.   

MGM Mirage, the second-largest casino operator in the world, saw gaming revenues rise by 13% in the fourth quarter of 2006. In the three months to the end of December, casino revenues stood at US$833m compared to US$737m in the same period 2005. Casino revenues for the year rose to US$3.1bn from US$2.7bn in 2005.

Leisure and Gaming’s Betshop Italia brand has started selling scratch cards in its land-based retail outlets. Gabriel Chaleplis, managing director of Betshop, said: “The initial take up of scratch cards has been extremely promising and indicates that our Italian customers are keen to try new and different products beyond our core sports betting offering.”

Mobile gaming firm Mobenga has signed a partnership with NordicBet to offer its full range of betting and gaming services through the Scandinavian-focused operator. Lars Soderlund, spokesperson for NordicBet, said: “In order to take full advantage of the possibilities of the future for communication, distribution and increased service to our customers we have chosen Mobenga as a partner to provide a flexible, user friendly and modern mobile platform.”

NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES: The Times this morning looks at yesterday’s news from Rank that it is to close some of its Mecca Bingo clubs. The paper says the closures are “part of a wider plan by Rank Group to mitigate the impact of the smoking ban on its Mecca chain.” It is expected that around 250 jobs will be lost. A spokesperson for Rank said that about half of Mecca’s customers were smokers, while the proportion was as high as 70% in some of the clubs being closed.

The Journal in Newcastle reports that Northeast-based bookmaker Neville Porter has announced it will be floating on the Alternative Investment Market later this month. The company owns 39 pitches at 24 racecourses in the UK, and intends to use the money raised via its float to fund its online operation and open up a call centre for its telephone betting operation.

CITY: Ladbrokes’ share price is up 2p to 455.5p, Paddy Power has fallen 0.21p to 18.3p, and Rank has dropped 1.5p to 236.75p.

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Posted: 15/02/2007