AIM Listing Planned by Betting Exchange

Published: Monday, February 28, 2005 Online-Casinos.com

GBP 25 MILL PUBLIC FLOAT FOR BETBUG?

AIM listing planned by betting exchange

It is not often that you see a two month old gambling company going after a public listing, but that is exactly what Betbug.com was doing this week.

The online betting firm claims to have found a way to bypass laws that limit sports gambling in the US, and is planning to float on the Alternative Investment Market with a value of more than GBP 25 million.

Last month, Betbug recorded bets of $100,000 (GBP 54,000). Bankers say the hefty valuation is likely to be seen as an echo of the dotcom bubble. BetBug collects a percentage of the bets placed between members. It claims that this allows it to bypass the US Wire Act, which prevents companies from offering online sports betting in the US, but does not prohibit gamblers from placing bets against each other.

The boom in online gambling has led a number of companies to look at a flotation. Last month PartyGaming, the world's biggest online poker company, said it was considering a GBP 2.3 billion flotation on the London Stock Exchange later this year.

BetBug is in the process of appointing brokers to handle the float, which if successful would give John O'Malia, the 35-year-old founder who owns about 30 per cent of the company, a paper profit of GBP 7.5 million.