Unibet Lists in Sweden, Challenges Monopoly
British-based Unibet Group (UNIB.ST) listed today on Sweden's Stock Exchange, and its shares rose from the initial price of £9.9 to close at £12.9. Even though a listing in Britain would have been cheaper, Chief Executive Pontus Lesse said the company isted in Sweden because its ownership was primarily Swedish. Sweden Finance Minister Bosse Ringholm in late May expressed disapproval with the Stockholm Exchange, which is partly owned by the government, for allowing Unibet to list because its operations compete with Sweden's gambling monopoly. Lesse said Unibet will benefit from competition with the monopoly because it will generate interest from both gamblers and investors. Unibet focuses mainly on the Nordic market and receives 40 percent of its turnover from Sweden. In 2003, the company earned pre-tax profit of £2.9 million on turnover of £144 million.
Rising Profits for Sportingbet Investors
An article depicting two businessmen who have invested heavily in Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L) appeared in the British media over the weekend. The two men, Stephen Whittaker and Tim Steer, are AA and A-rated fund managers for New Star. According to the report, Whittaker began buying Sportingbet stock in February and now owns about 2.6 million shares. Whittaker began investing in May and has acquired 1.34 million shares. Sportingbet has doubled its share price in the last year (closing at 83.75p this week) and now has a market capitalization of £179 million. The company raked in over £1 billion in turnover in 2003.
AngelCiti Management Acquires Controlling Stake
AngelCiti Entertainment, Inc. (OTC:AGEL) announced that its management has obtained a controlling stake in the company that was previously owned by an investment group. To complete the transaction, AngelCiti's management paid cash and gave up equity that it owned in the investment group. The company's subsidiary, Worldwide Management, recently reported taking a gross win of $673,996 on net handle of $15.77 million in the first four months of 2004.
BetonSports Will Float in the UK
Costa Rican online gaming company BetonSports hopes to raise up to $100 million through a shares placing on the London Exchange by the end of the summer. The company intends to use the funds to expand into Latin America and Asia and to acquire other Internet gaming businesses.
Youbet.com's Numbers Continue to Grow
Customers of Youbet.com Inc. (UBET), a California-based provider of online horse racing content and wagering, wagered more in May 2004 than they had in any other month in company history. Handle for the month of May rose 16 percent higher than the same period last year. During the month, customers wagered $32 million, which is $4.4 million higher than the previous record of $27.6 million last May. The company obtained such high numbers even though it did not carry the Preakness, although it did during last year's record setting month.
Betfair's Numbers, One Year Later
Betting exchange Betfair recently reported its figures for the year ending March 31, 2003. In the year April 2002 to 2003, the company increased its profits eightfold, from £1.07 million over the previous year to £8.45 million. Revenue increased from £6.09 million to £32.3 million. It is noteworthy that these numbers only represent Betfair's success up until April 2003. The company has since gained much larger amounts of exposure to the public.