London IPO For Online Casino Gambling Firm
Published: Friday, March 17, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
LONDON FLOAT FOR AUSSIE ONLINE CASINO, SPORTS & POKER GAMBLING COMPANY BETCORP
Betcorp augments its Australian listing with a London IPO
Shares in online gambling company Betcorp Ltd jumped nearly 8 percent
this week as the provider of Internet sports betting and online poker and
casino games became the latest gambling group to float on the London
AIM.
Betcorp is already listed in Australia but spokesmen said it was coming to the
UK partly because its shares were undervalued Downunder compared with some of
their London-listed competitors.
Betcorp is a broadly based online gaming group offering customers worldwide
a comprehensive range of betting and gaming products including sports betting,
casino games, poker and skill games, all using a shared purse facility. The
Group's betting, IT and marketing operations are based in Antigua, West Indies
and Toronto, Canada and the company holds a gaming license in Antigua and a
bookmaker's license in the UK.
Sports betting is offered to customers around the world via a number of websites,
including BetWWTS.com, CyberSportsBook.com, BetBet.com and WagerOnSports.com.
Betcorp customers are also offered a wide variety of casino games with a traditional
Vegas style 'Betcasino' brand supplemented by the 'Thunderbolt' brand, emphasising
speed of play. Casino players share a similar customer profile to sportsbook
customers and a third casino, Lucky Lady, is due to be launched soon, to appeal
to this mainly male client base.
Poker is the group's fastest growing online game. Launched in September 2004,
Betcorp's brand Betholdem.com has grown to be one of the top five members of
Microgaming's Prima Poker network. Cross-selling represents an additional major
opportunity in this area as there is a high propensity for poker players to
cross over to other products - in 2005, 48 percent of the Group's poker customers
also placed a bet in the sportsbook.
Betcorp has also introduced to all of its sports websites a suite of skill games
developed by UK operator GameAccount, specifically targeting the recreational
sports bettor. These include backgammon and gin rummy which have already proved
an effective marketing tool, particularly in North America where they are subject
to fewer advertising restrictions than sports, casino or poker.
Betcorp's strategy is to build on its expertise and established presence as
a "one-stop shop" for customers to participate in a wide range of
online gaming activities. Shared purse technology will enable revenues to be
increased through cross-selling, further reinforcing the attractions of the
multi-product model. While sports betting is currently the Group's largest business,
increases in casino and poker revenues mean that management's current expectation
is that sports betting will account for approximately half of the Group's total
gross revenue in 2006 (2005: 64 percent).
The group currently reports financial results in US dollars, as the majority
of its revenues are derived in this currency. For calendar year 2005, Betcorp
achieved gross revenues of US$29.4 million on betting turnover of US$825.0 million
and a profit after depreciation, interest and taxation of US$4.3 million.
By midday Friday, the stock was up 7.9 percent, giving it a market value of
over GBP 53 million ($93 million).
Brokerage KBC Peel Hunt is acting as nominated adviser and broker to the company.
