LONDON: PartyGaming PLC reported a pickup in revenue Thursday, as the online gaming operator recovers from the U.S. crackdown on Internet gaming.
The company said that daily poker revenues averaged US$721,000 (about €546,500) in the past four weeks. That was up from a low of US$637,000 (about €482,900) in October when the U.S. tightened anti-gambling laws, effectively making it illegal for companies to collect money in the most lucrative gaming market in the world.
PartyGaming, which used to generate three-quarters of its earnings in the United States, was forced — along with several other gaming companies — to pull out of the region.
The company said it had been hit by the defection of some of its bigger gamblers outside the United States to privately owned poker Web sites that were ignoring the ban.
The company said that overall yield per active player per day has been affected by the loss of higher-raking players, but this has been partially mitigated by strong levels of new player sign-ups that have averaged over 1,400 per day since the law was passed, PartyGaming said.
PartyGaming cut 945 jobs across the group, or 41 percent of its work force, as a result of its withdrawal from the United States. It also lost its place in London's FTSE 100 index as its shares plunged in the wake of the clampdown.
It now relies on Europe, the Middle East and Africa for two-thirds of its gross daily revenues and 80 percent of new player sign-ups. It last month launched a German version of PartyPoker.com, the first of several planned multilingual versions.
PartyGaming shares closed 2.7 percent higher at 29 pence (57 U.S. cents; 43 euro cents) on the London Stock Exchange.
PartyGaming reports revenue pickup after U.S. gambling crackdown - Business - International Herald Tribune
The company said that daily poker revenues averaged US$721,000 (about €546,500) in the past four weeks. That was up from a low of US$637,000 (about €482,900) in October when the U.S. tightened anti-gambling laws, effectively making it illegal for companies to collect money in the most lucrative gaming market in the world.
PartyGaming, which used to generate three-quarters of its earnings in the United States, was forced — along with several other gaming companies — to pull out of the region.
The company said it had been hit by the defection of some of its bigger gamblers outside the United States to privately owned poker Web sites that were ignoring the ban.
The company said that overall yield per active player per day has been affected by the loss of higher-raking players, but this has been partially mitigated by strong levels of new player sign-ups that have averaged over 1,400 per day since the law was passed, PartyGaming said.
PartyGaming cut 945 jobs across the group, or 41 percent of its work force, as a result of its withdrawal from the United States. It also lost its place in London's FTSE 100 index as its shares plunged in the wake of the clampdown.
It now relies on Europe, the Middle East and Africa for two-thirds of its gross daily revenues and 80 percent of new player sign-ups. It last month launched a German version of PartyPoker.com, the first of several planned multilingual versions.
PartyGaming shares closed 2.7 percent higher at 29 pence (57 U.S. cents; 43 euro cents) on the London Stock Exchange.
PartyGaming reports revenue pickup after U.S. gambling crackdown - Business - International Herald Tribune