Chariot Woes -- Plagued by financial woes since May, U.K lottery operator Chariot is considering its options. The charity lottery company, which operates the "monday" lottery, must decide whether to call in administrators as a result of steadily declining ticket sales and failure to attract a suitable buyer. In a trading update on Tuesday, the company said sales increases had not been sustained; ticket sales were running at below levels required to break even. For the time being, the company will continue to operate the monday lottery; all monies pledged by players and registered users will be held in trust. "Whilst we are under no immediate threat, looking to the future we are coming into a period when we have to cover all immediate eventualities," Chairman Peter Jones said. "The board is currently taking appropriate advice and is continuing to investigate all possible options, ranging from a possible fundraising to the appointment, by the company, of an administrator."
Absolute Intentions -- Privately held Canada-based online poker room Absolute Poker said on Monday that it will continue taking U.S. play, in spite of the signing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. "It is the belief of our legal and executive team that online poker is a game of skill and the prohibitions signed into law on Oct. 13, 2006 by the President of the United States neither applies to online poker nor our business," the company stated. Business will continue as usual for the site and all existing and new customers are being assured by the company that their funds are safe and secure.
Still Standing -- After performing liquidity tests on the total number of active cash game players, the spread of active cash games by blind structure and an overview of peak active player numbers, PartyGaming house broker Dresdner Kleinwort (DKW) has issued a "buy" note for the operator. DKW revealed on Monday that Party had "maintained a strong position in Europe alongside PokerStars as the second most liquid poker site in peak playing time." The brokerage firm said Party's liquidity levels suffered once the U.S. players entered the market and started playing, but its strong liquidity in the fast-growing European market provided it with a substantial base from which it could cross-sell and acquire customers.
Safe Harbor -- British bookmaker Ladbrokes is stepping up its online poker presence in Europe in an attempt to position itself as a leading performer in the market. The company said it believes that poker players, as well as investors and advisers, will view Ladbrokes as a safe harbor, given the legal climate in the United States. John O'Reilly, the company's e-gaming managing director, said Ladbrokes has increased its poker tournament prize guarantees to $250,000 and there were opportunities to move into the offline poker territory. "The market will consolidate and there have to be opportunities in there for us," O'Reilly predicted. "There are consolidation opportunities where the synergy benefits are huge."
Tote Talk -- British gaming group Gala, valued at more that £4 billion, is ready to bid for state-owned bookmaker the Tote as soon as it becomes available, but will not be targeting any of Britain's listed Internet gambling firms, its CEO Neil Goulden told Reuters today. The British government is considering its options after last month rejecting an offer of around £320 million for the Tote from a consortium of U.K. horse racing industry players. The government now values the Tote at £400 million and invited the industry to bid. Meanwhile, Gala said it would not buy any of the Internet gambling firms currently suffering from historically low market shares brought on by the United States I-gambling prohibition.
Net Ent's Next Cycle -- I-gaming software developer Net Entertainment announced today the release of CasinoModule 3.5, enabling licensees to receive six new games and further enhanced casino management capabilities. CasinoModule is developed in 12-week cycles, giving the licensees a new complementary software upgrade four times per year. CasinoModule is used by over 40 online operators worldwide, including Unibet, Gamebookers, Betsson, PokerRoom and Bahsedeger.