betandwin.com Reports Sharp Increases in Turnover, Net Winnings
Austrian betting site betandwin.com is showing a threefold increase in turnover to EUR 51.1 million in its preliminary third-quarter financials.
The increase in turnover compares to turnover of EUR 14.6 million in the same quarter last year. In the second quarter of this year, turnover from casino and sports betting operations was EUR 59.4 million. The company attributes the decrease from the second and third quarter this year to seasonal differences in the betting business, including the World Cup, which took place in the second quarter.
Net winnings in the third quarter amounted to EUR 5.2 million, a 333 percent increase compared to the net winnings of EUR 1.2 million in the same quarter last year. In the second quarter of this year, net winnings totaled EUR 3.4 million.
The margin on net winnings was 18.7 percent on betting operations and 2.5 percent on casino operations. That compares with 8.3 percent for sports betting margins in the same period last year. There are no comparable figures for casino operations in the same quarter last year since turnover from casino operations was not generated until December of 2001.
The online gaming company reports that by the end of September 2002, it had more than 390,000 registrations in total. Twenty-two thousand of those were initiated in the third quarter of this year. Of those registered, 100,000 people are active customers in the first three quarters of this year.
Gaming Index Tops FTSE, Dow
U.K. company Global Betting and Gaming Consultants has tracked an index of the top 50 gaming companies in the world for the past year. The consulting group has found that the group of 50 companies performed better than the FTSE by 57 percent. The group outperformed by the Dow by 48 percent.
The founder of the consultancy, Warwick Bartlett, said he is going to shop the list of 50 gaming companies around to see if any financial groups would like to base an investment fund on it.
"We are going to write to all the leading financial institutions to see if they would like to set up an investment trust or unit trust because the performance is pretty impressive," he said.
The group of companies includes International Game Technology (IGT), MGM Mirage (MGG), Harrah's Entertainment (HET), Rank Group (RANKY), William Hill (WMH) and Stanley Leisure (SLY).
Jupiters Lowers Profit Forecast
Jupiters Ltd. (JUP), the Queensland-based gaming company, this week adjusted its profit expectations downward for the first half. The company is lowering its profit forecast by 10 percent.
In response to the adjustment, shares in the company dropped 12.5 percent. Jupiters said its casinos in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast are still feeling the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Magna Entertainment Conference Call Nov. 1
Magna Entertainment Corp. (MIEC) will hold a conference call on Nov. 1 to discuss its third-quarter results. The call will take place at 11 a.m. EST. To participate, call at least 10 minutes before the conference starts. U.S. callers should dial 1-888-793-1751 and international callers should dial 416-641-6652. The conference will be Web cast at www.magnaentertainment.com. A reply of the call will be available until Nov. 8 at 1-800-558-5253.