M&A Chatter -- Thisismoney.co.uk reports that Ladbrokes' £470 million ($925.6 million) takeover of 888 was "thrown into further doubt" following Wednesday's Budget. The new remote gaming tax rate, set at 15 percent by Chancellor Gordon Brown, gives 888 "little incentive" to leave its Gibraltar base for a "strong parent to shelter it from massive legal problems in the United States," the site says. The companies have been in on-again, off-again negotiations since November 2006.
Reporting -- Leisure & Gaming (L&G) this morning released full year results, which show 247 percent growth in turnover to $116 million for its Betshop subsidiary. The company also reported 200 percent growth in active customers, up to 44,750, against the previous year, though it did retain a $104.5 million loss following the sale of its U.S.-facing operation in October. "Disposing of our U.S.-facing assets dramatically impacted our business, but having successfully restructured our operations we are now well-positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities throughout Europe," said L&G CEO Henry Birch.
Update -- Following Wednesday's report regarding Cantor Gaming's acquisition of Kismet Group, IGN wishes to add that Kismet founder Manu Gambhir will become managing director at Cantor. Tom Kenny has also been appointed as Cantor's biz development and sales director.
Appointed -- CyberArts has appointed Mark Simpson and Rudi Diezmann as European sales director and vice president of engineering, respectively.
Settled -- The Times says Sportingbet has paid $400,000 to the state of Louisiana to "draw a line under" the arrest of former non-executive chairman Peter Dicks in September 2006. The paper reports St. Landry Parish district attorney Eric Taylor sought a financial settlement after his office determined the likelihood of prosecuting the case was slim. Under the terms of the settlement, Louisiana state police have cancelled the warrant against Dicks, as well as sealed warrants against other Sportingbet directors, which may have included former CEO Nigel Payne and Andy McIver, his successor.
With Dismay -- The Rank Group came out firing Wednesday, noting the new casino gaming duty (50 percent) with dismay. "The Rank Group notes with dismay the changes to casino gaming duty announced in the Budget," it said. "The changes, which have been imposed without prior indication or consultation with the industry, will have a negative effect on the profit performance of Rank's casinos. It is estimated that the increase in casino gaming duty will be of the order of £8 million ($15.7 million) on an annual basis."
Sounding Off -- The Times carries an article in which reactions from several industry observers are noted. "This sounds the death knell for the Government's aspiration to be the world leader in regulated remote gaming," said Martin Dane of BDO Stoy Hayward. John Coates of the Remote Gambling Association said: "This decision means that the United Kingdom has effectively turned its back on the industry." Lady Cobham, chairman of the British Casino Association, which represents most domestic operators, said that the changes would cost operators £100 million (196.8 million) over three years. Hugo Swire, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: "The Chancellor is now set to make hundreds of millions of pounds from new casinos. If he was really concerned about gambling addiction, this revenue would be ringfenced to help the vulnerable."
Says HM Treasury -- The Financial Times reports that the Treasury has argued that I-gaming needed to take into account the reputational and regulatory benefits of being licensed in the United Kingdom. "We will not get into some sort of race to the bottom," the paper quotes one Treasury spokesman as saying. "We are looking at a rate that is right for the United Kingdom. This offers a fair and competitive environment across all types of gambling. This puts all gambling in the same treatment."
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, Rank Group is off 16.50p to 208.50, Sportingbet is up 1.75p to 65.75, PartyGaming is up 1.50p to 46.50 and Playtech is down 5.00p to 350.