Market Briefs (April 28 - May 2, 2003)

betinternet.com Buys Oddsalive

Online gaming company betinternet.com announced last week that it is acquiring all of the issued share capital of Oddsalive Ltd. for $1.

Oddsalive, an online bookmaker based in Malta, specializes in soccer betting in Scandinavian markets. Betinternet.com will honor all customer deposits and trade creditors as well as arrangements with vendors, the company said. Betinternet.com said in a press release that agreements with its vendors will assure that costs to the company do not exceed $700,000.

Agreements with vendors are governed by an "earn out" arrangement, meaning that gross profits, minus marketing costs, will be split 80-20 with the lion's share going to betinternet during the first two years of its ownership of Oddsalive. The earn-out is limited to $1 million during the two years and is payable once betinternet.com recovers the $500,000 cash injection that it will give Oddsalive once the sale is completed.

Betinternet.com said it would fund the acquisition with its cash resources. Oddsalive has 14,000 registered customers, 4,500 of whom have places bets in the last three months. The company states that in the last year it generated revenue of $10.9 million.

Paul Doona, managing director of betinternet.com, said the move would broaden the group's interests.

"As one of the strategic initiatives alluded to at the time of our interim results, the acquisition of Oddsalive is an excellent first step in our aim of broadening our geographical reach and increasing our customer base," he said.

Sportingbet Comments on Buyout Rumors

Sportingbet.com issued a statement last week about the media buzz regarding a possible purchase of the company.

"The company has been in discussion with a number of parties with a view to securing additional funding in order to meet its earn-out obligations which are due in September 2003. These discussions are ongoing and no conclusions have as yet been reached," the company said.

Sportingbet also said that one of the groups it is in discussions with is considering making a bid for all of Sportingbet's issued share capital.

"As yet no formal proposal relating to a possible offer has been received," the company said. "The board understands that should an approach from this party be received, it will be conditional and may be at a price less than current levels. The conditions are likely to include due diligence, board recommendation and the support of the company's significant shareholders. Accordingly, it is uncertain whether these discussions will lead to an approach or an offer in due course."

Venetian Owner Reports Increased Revenue

Las Vegas Sands Inc., the owner of the Venetian hotel-casino in Las Vegas, is reporting net income for its first quarter ended March 31 of $13 million, up considerably from last year's Q1 revenue of $5.1 million.

The company, which was recently given an online gambling license from Alderney, had revenue of $158.7 million, up 16.3 percent from the $136.4 million during the same quarter last year. Las Vegas Sands says the increase is based on increased casino revenue and occupancy rates.

"We believe that our group room business strategy again has proven resilient during difficult economic times, as evidenced by the company's record average daily room rates of $217, along with average room occupancy of 97.4 percent in the first quarter of 2003," said William Weidner, the president and CEO of the company.

Casino revenue was $73.3 million during the first quarter, versus $50.5 million last year.

AngelCiti Stock Split

AngelCiti Entertainment Inc. (OTC BB: AGLC) said May 1 that it would embark on a 6-for-1 stock split at the beginning of trading on May 9. The split will affect all shareholders on record as of May 7.

George Gutierrez, president, said the stock split would allow for a capital structure that is more suited for a growing company.

"We are working on some strategic deals we feel will have a material impact on the company and strongly believe that this new structure will be more advantageous to increasing shareholder value," he said.

Reports

Lottery Services company Scientific Games Corp. (SGMS) is reporting a 15 percent increase in revenue to $123.3 million from $107 million for the first quarter of 2003 ended March 31. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter were 13 cents versus 10 cents in the first quarter of 2002.