With the Australian federal government considering a ban on Internet gambling, Net betting businesses Down Under haven't had much encouraging news to report. Lasseters online casino presented an exception to the trend of gloominess this week, however, when it reported news of a successful year.
Yahoo! reports that the online casino was profitable enough to contribute A$5.4 million (24 percent of its fiscal 2000 revenues) to parent company Lasseters Holdings. Lasseters Online finished with a loss of A$3.5 million only because of initial operating and technology costs.
Lasseters Online was Australia's first land-based casino to go virtual, launching on April 19, 1999 and quickly earning a solid reputation among players around the world. Within its first three months of operation Lasseters attracted over 3,000 players from more than 76 countries and averaged more than 20,000 hits per day. During the first two months of the current financial year, Lasseters earned more than a third of the total revenues reported last year, bringing in an astonishing A$2.1 million.
The site currently boasts more than 85,000 players from 210 countries, although marketing tends to be focused on 10 countries that account for 85 percent of the casino's players and 94 percent of its revenue. Managing Director Peter Bridge attributed the casino's overwhelming success to its strict registration policy and financial safeguards. The casino is licensed by the Northern Territory government.