tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90833807767544501012009-11-09T11:34:57.343ZNews, views and analysis of online gaming, stock prices and discussion of the current global regulatory framework. PartyGaming, Neteller, 32Red, 888.com, Sportingbet, William Hill, Ladbrokes will be carefully monitoredEconomistnoreply@blogger.comBlogger814125NetBetBloghttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-31775658112426286592009-10-31T09:33:00.004Z2009-10-31T09:46:53.994Z2009-10-31T09:46:53.994Z

Yesterday saw the continued effects of winning results for punters and the slow down in high roller play. Both Webis holdings and 32Red saw share price falls after trading updates.These results are not unexpected. I have not invested in either company but keep a close eye on both of them. The problem of course is that both companies are simply too small to survive a run of bad luck. Leisure and

Economistnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-64363699146169269452009-10-30T05:49:00.003Z2009-10-30T05:54:27.436Z2009-10-30T05:54:27.436Z

The news that a German state intends to regulate online gaming and will break away from the frankly pathetic attempt at monopoly protection is potentially big news for companies such as GVC and BWIN.The lack of share price movement is somewhat of a surprise although today may change that as the implications become clearer.Apologies for a shortage of posts recently. I am in the far east at a

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-10496719321769702322009-10-16T00:04:00.003+01:002009-10-16T00:11:00.761+01:002009-10-16T00:11:00.761+01:00

Regular netbetblog readers will be aware that Cryptologic is one of those companies that I think is ultimately doomed. A quick glance at the 1 year share price will reveal that I have not been far off. Now we get an unsurprising warning. Why anyone expected anything else is beyond me.These losses are unacceptable. There is a history of management turmoil and revolution. These legacy issues

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-77275091105551825882009-10-14T21:10:00.005+01:002009-10-14T21:17:33.486+01:002009-10-14T21:17:33.486+01:00

Leisure and Gaming (LNG) are an odd company and hence a netbetblog favourite.They have risen from the ashes when they were priced to fail. Many investors bought in early (in the teens) and watched the price collapse to below 4p. It was doomed. The margins on the sportsbetting were not good enough, costs too high and some rather strange management decisions.So what saved LNG? Not what people

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-78549127593288125292009-10-14T20:47:00.004+01:002009-10-16T00:15:55.074+01:002009-10-16T00:15:55.074+01:00

Not a day goes by without the big boys launching new slot machine offerings. Companies such as Cryptologic and Playtech have signed up all the marvel characters and movie ties ins. These are very popular with punters. If you are going to lose money - amusement with prizes - then why not enjoy the process with your favorite characters.So how to the smaller private company hope to survive? They

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-87587777881661941522009-10-14T20:37:00.005+01:002009-10-14T20:46:58.137+01:002009-10-14T20:46:58.137+01:00

Excellent news from France. The decision to regulate the gaming market is a landmark decision. With the UK, Italy and now France seeing the light it will not be long before others follow. The RGA is right to be critical - it will not provide the most conducive of business environments but it is a move in the right direction.This is great news for the likes of Partygaming and PTEC (and others).

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-62527699155994774712009-10-10T11:36:00.003+01:002009-10-10T11:43:59.269+01:002009-10-10T11:43:59.269+01:00

Yesterday was a good day for the online sector. Whilst Ladbrokes was being crushed by the market Sportingbet and others rallied. One reason might be the decision by Barclays Capital to cover the sector.This is long overdue but with this coverage comes additional credibility, greater exposure to institutions and large private investors.The online gaming sector is coming of age. Every regulatory

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-3356555607145788852009-10-09T17:17:00.002+01:002009-10-09T17:24:51.868+01:002009-10-09T17:24:51.868+01:00

One cannot say this blog has not warned on Ladbrokes troubles. Click to Ladbrokes label to see how its current predicament and been foretold.The 15% fall today is to be expected. I would not be surprised to see sub-£1. High debt and a weak UK market and a poor and sluggish internet strategy all add to Ladbroke's woes. William Hill saw the writing on the wall and jumped to into bed with

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-34864512718807010422009-10-08T09:24:00.002+01:002009-10-08T09:28:40.953+01:002009-10-08T09:28:40.953+01:00

You will notice that I have never reported on the Ladbrokes to takeover 888 rumour.That is because I think it is rubbish. There are two very obvious reasons. First, Ladbrokes has a whole pile of debt and no cash. Second, Ladbrokes paper is not something that I would be desperate to hold.The UK business is stalling, their EU expansion is faltering and they have a high debt level. They are

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-67360946514668617542009-10-07T20:59:00.003+01:002009-10-07T21:12:54.740+01:002009-10-07T21:12:54.740+01:00

The Sportingbet results enable us to look closely at the current EU regulatory situation.It is worth posting in full to give us a good idea of how quickly the sector could grow and what nasties lie around the next corner.Sportingbet Final Results [ADVFN]REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS The supply of betting and gaming services continues to be subject to a complex, inconsistent and often protectionist

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-18036779028552665952009-10-07T20:39:00.002+01:002009-10-07T20:51:33.842+01:002009-10-07T20:51:33.842+01:00

Sportingbet (SBT) surprised the market today with the news of a dividend, move to the main market and a good set of figures.There is also progress on the US front with news to come sooner rather than later I would estimate.So what is going on here? My guess - the move from AIM to the main market smells like a company positioning itself to be taken over or to start using its paper to buy others.

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-15639445712974107782009-10-05T19:00:00.003+01:002009-10-05T19:12:21.102+01:002009-10-05T19:12:21.102+01:00

There are a lot of column inches wasted on UIGEA commentary. UIGEAs introduction was very bad for a lot of quoted online gaming companies in the EU such as Partygaming, 888, Neteller, Sportingbet and some others. Billions were wiped off stockmarket values through this backdoor sneaky bill.December 1st is the date when UIGEA is finally put into action it all its glory. Given the pain has

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-42114577639816088382009-10-05T08:51:00.004+01:002009-10-05T09:01:08.064+01:002009-10-05T09:01:08.064+01:00

Fulltilt, where I undertake a great deal of my poker research, is currently embroiled in a bot scandal (among other things).A series of law suits make for very interesting reading and it very bad publicity for fulltilt (made worse of course by blog posts such as this one).If there is in any truth that the red professionals are using house money or that Fulltilt uses bots to create liquidity there

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-426264086365973022009-10-03T22:27:00.003+01:002009-10-03T22:43:00.082+01:002009-10-03T22:43:00.082+01:00

I have often pondered on this blog how so many poker and gaming sites can survive.For a link farm or affiliate site to actually make money is tough. There must be many out there that are losing money (assuming all staff are paid minimum wage per hour worked). All the US facing sites must have taken a real hammering after 2006 - no US punters signing up through their affiliate links.This site is

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-82212140459054074242009-10-03T22:05:00.003+01:002009-10-03T22:16:07.339+01:002009-10-03T22:16:07.339+01:00

UK land based bookies have been a little off colour of late. One reason is the poor run of results in the premiership football in the UK. Bookies like draws not winners.The FT have picked up on the story and run with it. This could lead to a nice shorting opportunity early Monday morning. William Hill, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes are the obvious targets. Buying back on an overshoot on the

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-28664584304619972852009-10-01T08:54:00.001+01:002009-10-01T08:58:47.384+01:002009-10-01T08:58:47.384+01:00

So why has David Carruthers changed his plea from guilty to not guilty and what are the implications for him and for the sector more generally. It appears that his partners in alleged crime have not changed their pleas.If found guilty DC may face even longer in jail. His lawyers must be confident that they have a strong case but based on what?Betonsports chief David Carruthers changes guilty

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-11118921888866303372009-09-30T16:37:00.003+01:002009-09-30T16:40:56.314+01:002009-09-30T16:40:56.314+01:00

German regulations are a mess and the inter-state anti-gaming legislation is a farce.The true cost is now being felt by those it was meant to protect. The Portugal stuff is old news but the German material is still relevant for holders of BWIN or GVC to name but two examples.High Stakes, Maximum Damage [GamingLaw.EU]Berlin – Christian Kipper is usually a calm, level-headed man. However, when he

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-47197972011587612832009-09-29T13:02:00.003+01:002009-09-29T13:09:44.850+01:002009-09-29T13:09:44.850+01:00

Tony Cabot (online gaming legal expert) is absolutely correct when he points out that the current market leaders in online poker - Fulltilt and Pokerstars - will make every effort to maintain the status quo.They currently illegally accept US players and are making millions and millions of pounds of US (and worldwide punters).IF the regulates poker the winners will be current land based casinos

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-91494935215291605792009-09-28T08:44:00.003+01:002009-09-28T09:03:34.986+01:002009-09-28T09:03:34.986+01:00

Whilst all the big gaming companies have been reporting falling revenues there is one corner of the gaming sector where the light still shines. Gaming VC (GVC) who are big in Germany reported increased revenues, increased profits and have maintained their high yielding dividend.Today's interim results are impressive. They are making all the right moves.Interim Highlights [ADVFN]+---+-----------

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-24370135521715600662009-09-25T12:53:00.002+01:002009-09-25T12:58:47.718+01:002009-09-25T12:58:47.718+01:00

The story emerging from Tipp24 is a warning tale for all online gaming investors. One big win from a punter can leave a share price in tatters. Hedging saved them from an even worse disaster.As Leisure and Gaming discovered to their peril a couple of years ago when Milan won the Champions League - poor risk management systems can be devastating.Tipp24 Cuts Earnings Estimate, Shares Fall on

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-53407575862261416052009-09-24T22:35:00.003+01:002009-09-24T22:42:35.511+01:002009-09-24T22:42:35.511+01:00

Those readers that are following the US health care debate will not be surprised to hear that an attempt to tag on a "regulate online gaming tax" onto the back of the health care bill has been withdrawn.Obama has enough controversy on his plate without throwing the legalisation of gambling into the mix.There is no reason to sell off the sector but every reason to see this as a starter for 10.

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-69037438530450164672009-09-23T20:05:00.003+01:002009-09-23T20:08:40.004+01:002009-09-23T20:08:40.004+01:00

Although I have been banging on about these issues for a while - that the US will never beat Pokerstars and Fulltilt - the Department of Justice keeps on trying.They will never succeed.PokerNews go into detail. I have highlighted only the interesting bit - regular readers of netbetblog will know the rest.Online Poker is Prepared For a Fight [Pokernews]../The window for the DOJ to bully the

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-3978623719134856632009-09-23T09:52:00.003+01:002009-09-23T09:59:11.834+01:002009-09-23T09:59:11.834+01:00

Sportingbet is in play. The vultures are circling. One of SBT's top assets is Turkey. It is also one of its liabilities.The liability may be putting off some buyers. This may not be a bad thing for shareholders in the short run.The fact that SBT has got two software providers is also good news. Boss Media software is very poor anyway. They should look to change for good if the new software

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-54753080431054193172009-09-23T09:44:00.003+01:002009-09-23T09:50:57.328+01:002009-09-23T09:50:57.328+01:00

It is always worth reporting when the big news agencies jump on a story. The opening up of France to all comers provides a huge opportunity for the "legal" gambling companies. 888, PTEC and PRTY and others all stand to gain.What this article really tells us is the extent of illegal gambling and the utter pointlessness of trying to keep online gambling illegal. It cannot be stopped so why not

Economistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083380776754450101.post-33864420289907166932009-09-21T20:20:00.004+01:002009-09-21T20:31:19.725+01:002009-09-21T20:31:19.725+01:00

A new study by Psychologists at Nottingham Trent University suggests that problem gambling is ten times greater for online rather than offline players.I need to read the report but I find those results remarkable. It all depends on the sample size and the analysis they employed. 9003 adults with 5% or around 45 saying they had a problem with only 4 or 5 saying they had an "offline" problem.The

Economistnoreply@blogger.com0