For all of its troubled past, Youbet.com received some great news in August.
Less than four months after retaking the helm as CEO, David Marshall had the honor on Monday of informing analysts and Youbet.com investors that a record-breaking month in wagering was reached in August.
The news that more than $16.7 million in handle was brought through the site in August comes just a month after Marshall told analysts that his company was hoping to become profitable by the end of this year or early next year.
Marshall said the record-setting month will go a long way in that process, especially considering that the company was able to reach the new high with very little expansion of its current customer base.
Marshall said the focus of management and employees since a new team of executives arrived with him in April has been on running the company more efficiently.
"We have steadily been working on cutting down on the amount of time customers are on hold when they call our lines and we are trying to make the site more user friendly," he said. "Those efforts are a direct results of the handle we were able to produce in August."
Analysts were pleasantly surprised by the news, considering that there was no major race or high-profile event like a Triple Crown to draw casual bettors to the Youbet.com system.
Marshall said the lack of a major race to propel record numbers was a good indication that his crew is headed in the right direction. He said he believes that contrary to popular belief, the site can sustain itself year round and can flourish in months that don't have major races in them.
Part of the boom in business, according to Marshall, was the increase in use of Youbet.com's Express Cash system. The system allows users to fund their betting through the site and makes it easier for withdrawals and deposits.
For the first time ever, in August deposits generated through the Express Cash system surpassed those from credit cards.
"We're pleased to see our members embrace Express Cash as an alternate means of funding their wagering accounts, with no fees to the customer," said
Marshall.