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Casinos> 2009
- Real Casinos News Archive> Launch of INTRALOT Poker
Pre-close Trading Update
As part of the Group’s agreement signed just three months
ago with INTRALOT S.A. (‘INTRALOT’), we are pleased
to announce the launch of the www.intralot.it poker site. Following
the receipt of certification from the Italian regulator, AAMS, the
INTRALOT poker service is now being rolled out and will join the
Group’s Italian poker network.
While the Group’s Italian poker network has only been operating
a few weeks, with the expected introduction of poker cash games
before the end of the year, the Board is hopeful that Italy will
prove to be a profitable and exciting regulated online gaming market
in the medium to long-term.
Pre-Close Trading Update
Since 6 April 2009, Group revenue has remained robust and despite
the impact of seasonality, is in line with that achieved in the
first quarter of 2009.
Casino revenue has shown a significant increase from the first
quarter despite a fall in casino active player days due to seasonality
and lower levels of cross-sell from poker. This revenue growth has
been driven by the Group’s main casino site, PartyCasino,
which accounts for over 70% of the Group’s casino revenue,
and continues to perform strongly on the back of a substantial increase
in the number of games offered as well as the launch of a dedicated
affiliate programme and major international marketing campaign,
both of which commenced last month.
As expected, poker has seen a marginal reduction in active player
days versus the first quarter due to seasonality and continued strong
competition from US-facing sites. However, an enhanced player loyalty
programme, improved player promotions and a new offline marketing
campaign saw each of these metrics improve last month. As a result
of these initiatives, poker yields have been softer than in the
first quarter due to increased bonus and player loyalty costs, resulting
in a reduction in poker revenue versus the first quarter.
Sports betting revenue was down on the previous quarter reflecting
a reduction in betting volume due to the end of the season for European
football, that remains the single most popular sport for betting
customers.
Whilst bingo is currently small in the context of the Group, we
believe it represents a significant opportunity with the global
online bingo market estimated at $1.5 billion per annum. The B2B
deals signed over the past few months with CIRSA, DM plc and Channel
5 are expected to benefit bingo revenues during the fourth quarter
of 2009.
In an effort to capitalise upon the recent seizures of player funds
from US-facing sites by the United States Attorney’s Office
of the Southern District of New York, the Group has chosen to increase
its marketing spend in certain territories and, whilst this has
already had a positive impact on player numbers, it is also expected
to lead to distribution costs being slightly higher than our previous
full year guidance of 38-40% of net revenue. However, continued
cost savings and favourable currency movements have meant that lower
staff and overhead costs have mitigated the increase in marketing
costs and consequently, Clean EBITDA1 margins for both the half
year and the full year results are still expected to be in line
with that achieved for the full year in 2008.
The Group’s interim results will be announced on 28 August
2009.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Ryan CEO said:
“The Group’s strategy remains on-track and I am pleased
that many of the seeds we have sown over the past year are now beginning
to bear fruit. The improvements to our poker product and loyalty
programme, the addition of INTRALOT to our Italian poker network
and the launch this week of bingo and casino for DM plc are clear
examples of this. PartyCasino, the world’s largest online
casino, continues to go from strength to strength, with strong double
digit growth quarter-on-quarter despite difficult economic conditions.
We look forward to the rest of the year with confidence.”
1 EBITDA before payments associated with the Group’s Non-Prosecution
Agreement, reorganisation costs and non-cash charges relating to
share-based payments.
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