Make room for another player in Australia. Cinimagic, a film distribution company partly owned by the Waterhouse racing family, recently announced plans to pursue an interest in Internet gambling.
The company, which expects to report a bottom-line loss of about AU $14.5 million in 1998-99, including a $3.5 million operating loss and an $11 million write-off of its loss-making video distribution assets, will exit the video distribution business, but will continue to cultivate its motion simulation theater business. Its primary focus, however, will be online gambling.
Cinimagic originally planned to acquire 50 percent of internet gambling software developer Pacific Interactive, but opted instead to acquire an unnamed established sportsbook operation. The company expects the deal to go through within six months. Chairman John Rochester said the group had looked into a share placement to raise $15 million for funding gaming acquisitions.
The company also struck an alliance in May with an unnamed licensed bookmaker to operate an Internet "future doubles" business on horse racing. The Australian Financial review reports that the company is "rumored to be interested in acquiring an internet sports betting license, and that industry players said it had looked closely at ACT-based operator Canbet."
The Waterhouse racing family rescued Cinimagic in late 1997 when Bill and Rob Waterhouse (father and son, respectively) acquired a 15 percent interest in the company. Formerly known as Network
Entertainment Group Ltd, the company's stock plummeted to 11¢ in July 1997, at which time it put itself into voluntary administration. It returned to the Australian Stock Exchange in September at 10¢.