For those who may be wondering if the online betting community is making any money, the answer is yes. Yes, if you are talking about Betfair which is the largest online gambling community to date. Revenues are up, even though its customer base is down by more than two percent. In a management statement that was recently released for fiscal year 2013, first quarter, the revenues were impressive.
It was reported in the statement that revenues had increased by some 13 percent which represents over 91.5 pounds. It was also reported that most of this growth had come from the company’s sports betting which had its own increase of 21 percent. Growth in the UK alone was up by 23 percent. In addition, the growth in mobile betting for the UK and Ireland was up in volume by a whooping 114 percent and resulted in a 98 percent rise in revenues.
It was not all good news, though. Changes in regulatory rules in Spain, Cyprus, and Italy caused revenues to fall by 4 to 7 percent. Suspicions that Germany may soon follow with tougher regulations is also a concern.
In related news it was reported that the chief financial officer for Betfair, Stephen Morana, plans to step down as soon as a suitable replacement can be found for his job. Back in August, a new CEO, Breon Corcoran, came onboard. His main goal it appears is to get the stock price of Betfair back up to where it once was. With revenues being generated as reported recently this may not take too long.
Of concern, however, to all European online gaming establishments are those new regulations that may be taking effect in several countries. As specific details are lacking in this area, caution is the current watchword. Even so, there is a lot of interest and buzz going around concerning some new casino deals that may be taking shape in Madrid, Spain. Also, it has been reported that certain international regions, such as Macau, are doing just fine in terms of growth and revenues. How this all shakes out will depend on large part to how the EU handles its current debt problems in both the short term and the long term.
It may be of interest to some to know that Sands Casinos Corp has already decided to build its massive new EuroVegas complex in Madrid, Spain. Barcelona was also a top pick for the location of the new casino, but lost out to Madrid as was recently announced by the Sands CEO.
For now, however, it seems as if mobile betting is being used as a good hedge for many of the better known companies. That trend is expected to continue for at least the time being. Another well known company that is moving toward the booming mobile gaming market is Playtech which is said to be aggressively pursuing new innovations for its move into the mobile gaming industry. A recent license to do business in Gibraltar is being seen as a huge step forward as the company plans to move into European markets at some time in the future.