Webis Regulatory News (WEB)

7 Jun 2007 16:10

betinternet.com PLC07 June 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE7 June 2007 BETINTERNET.COM PLC ('the Company' or 'betinternet.com') Trading Update The Board of betinternet.com plc ("betinternet.com"), the global on-line gaminggroup, is pleased to provide a trading update in relation to the Company'sunaudited results for its financial year ended 27 May 2007. The Company has achieved profitability at an EBITDA level for the full year.This represents an overall improvement in performance and shows a considerableadvance on the previous year. The Company's pari-mutuel operation, European Wagering Services (EWS) hascontinued to progress well and has a growing customer base utilising varioustechnologies to place wagers through its Isle of Man based hub, directly intorace-track betting pools. The withdrawal of Neteller's services from the UnitedStates gaming market had an adverse impact on the operation in January andFebruary of this year, whilst alternative payment solutions were sought. Inlight of this, the board is keen to discover the United States Treasury'sproposals for the enforcement of the United States Unlawful Internet GamingEnforcement Act (UIGEA) and how it intends to protect legal operations, such asEWS, from being disadvantaged. The sportsbook continues to benefit from the new website portal, launched inJune 2006, which has been regularly updated to reflect the specific requirementsof betinternet's customer base, the majority of which remains based in the FarEast. As a result of a number of enhancements to internal management systems,the amount of football leagues and markets that are offered, especially AsianHandicaps, has greatly increased and the Company's traders are now considerablybetter-placed to manage the risk of this increased offering. The two casinos and fixed-odds games remain very popular and account for justover half of the sportsbook's overall Gross Margin. The second half of the year has presented some challenges as the Company hasdealt with issues following the introduction of the UIGEA. Although the boardbelieves that the Company remains fully compliant with this Act, the banks andother service providers have taken a risk-averse stance and this has had agreater effect on our business than previously anticipated. As part of the sportsbook enhancement process and to widen its appeal within theBritish Isles, the Company intends to offer betting on UK horseracing within thenext two months. Initially, this will be a soft-launch, but it is expected thata full service will be offered shortly thereafter and that marketing activitywill increase at this time. The Company intends to further develop its pari-mutuel website,www.link2bet.com, to provide for a much improved user experience with enhancedfeatures to take advantage of the restrictions on fixed-odds betting broughtabout by the UIGEA. This will be in addition to seeking more content for boththoroughbred and greyhound racing. Due to legislative changes in the proposed launch country (Russia), we have beenunable to advance our white-label service, although this offering is now fullydeveloped and we will continue to seek appropriate business partners. As previously announced, the Company will continue to seek complementaryacquisitions and is currently pursuing potential opportunities. Managing Director, Garry Knowles, said "I am pleased that we have been able toachieve an EBITDA profit for the full year, despite it being a challenging timefor the gaming industry. We continue to make good progress and I fully expectthat the changes that the Company has introduced during this period, combinedwith the continual customer-focused development of both the sportsbook andpari-mutuel websites, will see the Company make further improvement in theforthcoming year." For further information: betinternet.com PlcGarry Knowles, Managing Director Telephone: 01624 698141 Evolution Securities PlcJoanne Lake Telephone: 0113 243 1619 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange