Tales of Success
Arena Leisure, a U.K. gaming company with plans of launching an online race betting service, continues to enjoy good fortune on the London Exchange. The company cracked the FTSE 250 leader board a few weeks back when its stock jumped 23 1/2 p to 189p, following rumors that Ladbrokes is looking into buying a stake. The stock has since broken the 200p barrier, closing Friday over 204p.
ENIC plc saw its shares jump from 165p to 175p on Friday. According to the Daily Mail, the group is rumored to be planning to sell its football club investments and focus solely on its Internet and gaming operations.
Shares of Toronto software supplier CryptoLogic closed over $20 today for the first time since May 18. The stock rose steadily last week and closed today at 20.375.
Bargain of the Day?
Gocorp, despite high expectations for its IPO, which were lifted even higher last week when the company launched its long awaited online casino, floated today rather inauspiciously. Shares were issued at $A0.50 each, but opened at $A0.232, sunk as low as $0.19 and closed at $0.22. Gocorp CEO Paul Appleby blamed the poor showing on the scare imposed by federal government's proposed moratorium on the issuing of new online gaming licenses.
Coral Insists It's Still on Track
According to an article at ITN Online, Britain's third-largest bookmaker, Coral, is denying rumors that the company's planned floatation has been postponed or canceled as a result of the recent fall of Internet stocks. The company says that the float will not occur in July 2000, as many have speculated, but that it in deed still plans to go public. "This is not a delay. There were a number of timetables and it is going ahead as planned early in the second half of 2000," a Coral spokesperson explained. "Coral Eurobet is not an Internet company; it is a racing, betting and leisure company which uses the Internet as a platform."
And the Moratorium Nabs Another
Australia's Consolidated Gaming Corporation didn't fare well on the market following news last week that Gaming Internet plc of the U.K. had pulled out of its bid to purchase the company. The company closed May 31 down nine cents to 26 cents, only weeks after experiencing a record high of around $1.27 a share in April.
I crystal, Inc. Returns
I crystal, Inc., a designer, developer and licenser of Internet-based games and casino gaming software, announced that the SEC has completed its review of the company's registration statement on Form 10-SB and has indicated that it has no further comments. The Company is now coordinating with the NASD to recommence the trading of its stock on the OTC Bulletin Board. The company became a fully reporting company under in April 2000.
Another Sign of the Times
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week began letting U.S. companies submit their SEC filings using the EDGAR system over the Internet for the first time, using public key infrastructure (PKI) technology. Previously, such filings were filed only over low-speed modem links. The SEC is using digital certificates to validate the identity of the person filing the form.
Personal Financial Advice through the Click of a Mouse
E*Trade and Ernst & Young are forming a joint venture that will provide a service for E*Trade customers seeking personal financial advice on matters like such as purchasing a home, tax and estate planning, education funding and retirement planning. The service will enable customers to meet face-to-face electronically with Ernst & Young financial planners. The two companies are each investing $25 million into the new company, which will be based in Seattle. The new company will be 50.1 percent owned by E*Trade and 49.9 percent owned by Ernst & Young.