Terrorism Affects Sportingbet's Bottom Line
With the release of its second quarter report, Sportingbet.com plc (SBT.L) said Monday that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reduced its operating profits by £1.2 million.
The cancellation of U.S. sports events for nine days following the attacks caused the profit loss, but Sportingbet said that business has since returned to normal levels. The company's customer base increased to 432,000 from 90,000 in the last six months, and the company said the economic downturn has so far not affected its activities. Sportingbet purchased U.S. online bookmaker Sportsbook in July for £36 million.
Magna Stock Offering
Racetrack operator Magna Entertainment (MIEC) said Friday that it will issue 20 million class A subordinate voting shares in Canada and the United States.
Magna did not state an offering price for the shares. The offering will include an over allotment option of 3 million shares; proceeds will pay off debt and fund additional racetracks.
The company's stock closed at CA $9.40 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down 25 Canadian cents.
PlayandWin Purchases Food Company, Consolidates Gaming Business
PlayandWin Inc. (PWNI: OTC BB) on Friday announced it has finalized plans for a purchase of all the shares of food company D'Angelo Brands Ltd. and will spin off its racing activities.
D'Angelo Brands has been in the food industry for about 20 years and sells more than 70 kinds of food including juices, canned vegetables and dry pasta. The company has offices and a warehouse on 3.5 acres of land in Brampton, Ontario that is valued at CA $4 million.
As per the agreement, PlayandWin and its wholly owned subsidiary, D'Angelo Acquisitions Inc. entered into a share exchange with D'Angelo Brands and its shareholders. D'Angelo Acquisitions will acquire all the shares of D'Angelo Brands in exchange for 36 million of its own shares. Each exchangeable share may be traded for one common share of PWNI at the option of the holder.
Steve Garner, the president of PlayandWin, will resign his position and Frank D'Angelo, president of D'Angelo Brands, will the be new president of PlayandWin, which will change its name to D'Angelo Brands Inc.
As part of the share exchange, PlayandWin will give its wholly owned subsidiary, PlayandWin Canada Inc., its licenses and rights to the wagering game Racingo. PlayandWin Canada will continue the Racingo business.
Leisure and Gaming Prepares for November Listing
Australia's Leisure and Gaming Corp. is set for its November stock market listing. Formerly called Australian Online Casino, the company hopes it can grab a part of the growing online gambling industry.
LGC has distribution and joint development rights for the Internet Casino Extension gaming platform, which was created by U.S.-based software company Online Gaming Systems. OGS was issued five million shares of LGC in exchange for licensing and distribution rights in the Asian Pacific region.
LGC has an online casino and bookmaking license from Norfolk Island and an Internet gambling license from Vanuatu, but Australia's recent law against Internet gambling prevents the company from taking Australian bets.
Reports Released
Internet gambling software creator dot com Entertainment Group Inc. (DCEG: OTC BB) released its third quarter report, which represents the company's 12th successive quarter of growth. Reflecting the expanding market for dot com's services as well as its increased number of licensees, the company's revenue in Q3 rose 108 percent to $1,103,513. Net income grew 368 percent to $228,333, or by 2 cents per share, compared to $48,751 with no increase in share price in the third quarter of last year.
Scientific Games Corp. (SGM), a provider of lottery services and a pari-mutuel operator in Connecticut and the Netherlands, showed greater growth than expected in the third quarter. Revenue and EBITDA increased to $107.2 million and $27.1 million respectively, compared with $63.4 million and $10.6 million for Q3 of 2000. Loss per diluted share was 1 cent for this quarter compared with 70 cents per share in the corresponding quarter last year.
A second quarter report was released from British firm Sportingbet.com plc (SBT.L) this week. For the period ending Sept. 30, turnover for the company was £293.2 million, compared with £114.1 million for the same period in 2000.
Lasseters Corp. Ltd. (LAS.AX), which made the highlights of its annual report for 2001 known in September, released its yearend report in its entirety this week. The company was formed on June 29 when Gocorp Ltd. merged with Lasseters Casino Pty Ltd; it reported a revenue of AU $469,000 for 2001. Its operating losses were AU $12.9 million.