Best of PRO This Week: bwin.party, Australia and Ultimate Poker Traffic

Key Takeaways

Feature: What Australia’s Election Means for Online Gaming Regulation.
Feature: bwin.party Reports Dismal H1 Results, Looks to New Software, New Markets for Growth.

Lead Features

Feature: What Australia’s Election Means for Online Gaming Regulation

The results of Australia’s elections will not resolve the doubts over whether new legislation to legalize online gaming will be introduced. Australia’s general election is only a few days away, and the overwhelming favorite to win is the center right Liberal Party under its leader Tony Abbott. There are conflicting views as to what impact the election will have on the prospects for regulated online poker.

Feature: bwin.party Reports Dismal H1 Results, Looks to New Software, New Markets for Growth

New software and a US launch in New Jersey provide investors with grounds for optimism as short term performance fails to meet low expectations. bwin.party has published another set of dismal figures in its half year report. In a year of “transition” for the company, the revenue fall of 16% overall and 35% in poker is worse than CEO Norbert Teufelberger expected.

Exclusive News Articles

Australian Internet Filtering: Yes We Will, No We Won’t

An embarrassing pre-election blunder as the Liberal Party produces a policy that would create an opt-in internet filter for adult content, before removing it hours later. A little farce briefly entered the Australian general election campaign after the Liberal Party produced a manifesto promise to use internet filtering to block out adult content by default.

EU Parliament to Vote on IMCO Gambling Report

The Internal Markets Committee report on gambling supports anti-free market national regulatory regimes, in opposition to the EU Commission’s ambitions for an EU wide framework. On Tuesday, September 10, the new plenary session of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg will have its first formal vote on the gambling report produced by the parliament’s Internal Market & Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO).

Betfair Results Show 13% Decline With a Poor Performance From Poker

Betfair’s new strategy of focusing on regulated markets is taking time to pay off. Betfair published disappointing quarterly results Thursday, which showed a 13% fall in revenues ascribed to its “focus on sustainable markets, the impact of regulation and absence of a major football tournament in the period.”

PartyPoker Offline for Upgrade, Simultaneous Desktop, Web, Mobile Launch Imminent

“Profound” changes to user experience to launch across multiple platforms today. The PartyPoker server went offline late on Wednesday in preparation for PartyPoker’s major software upgrade, which will see its “all new” poker client roll out across all major platforms.

Belgium Can Only Find Four More Sites for Its Blacklist

At 84 domains, the Belgian blacklist is one of the shortest of the EU nationally regulated markets. The Belgian Gambling Commission (KSC) has added four new sites to its blacklist bringing the total up to 84.

ARJEL Repeals Partouche License

Following the closure of Partouche.FR in June, ARJEL has completed the administration necessary to bring the Group’s online regulatory approval to a close. Partouche.FR closed its online poker room in June, and this week French regulator ARJEL made the statutory announcement that its license has been repealed.

William Hill Builds Spanish Presence with Miapuesta Acquisition

William Hill has exercised an option to buy the Spanish regulated business formerly owned by Sportingbet plc. With the exercise of a contractual option, William Hill has become the owner of Spanish operator Miapuesta.es.

Despite Bugs, Ultimate Poker v2 Boosts Traffic 30%

Better multi-tabling software and new VIP system propels Ultimate Poker off a three month low. Ultimate Poker’s (UP) release of an upgraded software client and VIP benefits program has helped cash game activity jump over 30% (see graph below).

Denmark Sees 3% Gambling Market Growth but Poker Declines

Danish online poker has produced a lower share of gaming revenue every quarter since the beginning of 2012. Denmark’s regulator SKAT has produced figures showing growth estimates of 3% for gross gaming revenue between 2012 and 2013.

Financial Woes Could Induce Sale of New Jersey Golden Nugget

Tilman Fertita’s $200m investment in the casino may be “open to offers.” Atlantic City Casino, the Golden Nugget, will “listen to any proposal” with regard to a sale, according to a statement issued by General Manager Tom Pohlman on Friday.

888 Looks to Expand to More US States

Along with Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, 888 tells investors that its eyeing nine other states. Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888 Holdings told investors last week that the US market for online gaming is slowly becoming a reality.

Greek OPAP Report Justifies State Monopoly

OPAP profits collapse but the re-establishment of its monopoly position will aid recovery in the second half of the year. Net profits at Greek gaming monopoly OPAP fell 73.9% compared to the first half of last year, according to its latest financial report. The collapse is attributed to the economic crisis in Greece and to a 30% tax rate introduced in January this year.

Bulgaria Adds Redbet, Nine More Domains to Blacklist

Redbet.com heads a list of poker, casino and bingo domains which will now be blocked by Bulgarian ISPs. Another ten domains have been blacklisted by the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission (SGC). The SGC’s enthusiasm for expanding the list has not been diminished by the appointment of a new Chairman early last month.