PRTY.L Share News (PRTY)

Online gaming group Partygaming expects underlying earnings this year to be slightly ahead of market forecasts after solid trading since September.The company, which has been in the spotlight lately amid speculation it is in talks with Austrian peer Bwin about a merger, said revenue is expected to be in line with expectations, with all four of its product streams showing quarter-on-quarter net growth.Poker saw increased player numbers and average net daily revenues versus the previous quarter, despite continued competition from illegal US-facing sites and the difficult macroeconomic climate.The casino business has also continued to perform well, the firm said, on the back of new games launched on PartyCasino as well as higher jackpots. The most recent Mega Gold jackpot paid out close to $5m to one winner earlier this month.Bingo continues to show "substantial growth" on the back of the Cashcade acquisition in July 2009. In sports betting, our gross win margin has benefited from a good run of sporting results and the introduction of improved risk management tools."While the timing and details of new regulations to be introduced in Italy and France in 2010 have yet to be clarified, we believe these markets represent significant potential revenue opportunities for the Group in the medium to long term," Partygaming added.