888, the online gaming entertainment and solutions group, saw its shares gain nearly 3% to 43.5p on news that it had been awarded a licence by Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne (ARJEL), the French gaming regulator, to operate poker betting websites. CEO Gigi Levy, said the company believed it had the right offering to obtain a significant market share in the newly regulated French market. Elsewhere, 888 has hired David Zerah as managing director of Dragonfish, its award-winning independent B2B division.
Cryptologic Ltd (LON:CRP), the company behind the development of branded online betting games and Internet casino software, this morning warned that it expects Q2 2010 total revenue to show a slight decline over Q1 and that total costs would be greater than expected. As a result, the operating loss in Q2 will be higher than Q1 and the company's outlook for the year is much less encouraging than previously thought. Despite the FIFA World Cup, casino revenue showed a modest gain quarter on quarter but was lower than anticipated due to a substantial swing in player preferences for Blackjack and Roulette. Wagering and deposit levels held steady through most of June. Additionally, Cryptologic's full suite of casino games due to be launched at Betsafe in Q2 has been delayed until July. Branded games revenue grew by approximately 20% compared to Q1, despite some licensees experiencing a negative impact from the World Cup. Other revenue declined significantly. As a result of continuing losses and the difficulty in forecasting results, Cryptologic has hired a major consulting firm experienced in the gaming and betting industry to review its current operations. Cryptologic’s shares remained unmoved on today’s news but have slumped from 450p last October and are currently trading at 165p.
Finally, 32red (LON:TTR), the online betting and gaming operator, reported record revenues for the first six months of 2010, with a gross win of £7.8m against £5.8m in the same period of 2009. The performance was underpinned by excellent trading at the company's flagship operation, the 32Red Casino, which has continued to flourish in the first half of 2010. The company said an encouraging performance both in terms of player numbers and revenues reflected the effectiveness of marketing activities and supported its belief in the strength of the 32Red brand, reputation and operational expertise. It added that it was continuing to…
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