PartyGaming announced a 9% increase in revenues despite stagnant poker room earnings. The company also announced their merger with Bwin is on schedule and will be completed in March 2011.
Bingo and Sports Betting operations are have skyrocketed since 2009. The number of Bingo players has increased by almost a third. Average daily revenue from Bingo operations have increased even more, 36%. CEO Jim Ryan attributes an 86% increase in Sports Betting revenues to turnover from the World Cup and a lucky streak for the group that took place in August across all the premier football leagues. Ryan also cites internal improvements that mitigated risk as a reason for the revenue increase. Currently, the gross margin, the ratio of bets placed to gross win is holding steady at 8.6%, which is above the industry average.
The Party Casino branch is also showing growth, outperforming all other sectors. Casino income amounted to almost $35 million for the year, up 2% from 2009. It appears the average player is spending more at the casino. Yield per active players has increased by 12%. Casino returns remained strong even though an income stream from France was dammed by the actions of French parliament in Q3.
On the the other hand, Party Poker revenues were down 5%. Once the largest poker room in the world, the passage of the UIGEA toppled Party Poker from the top spot. Still, the room is the fourth largest in the world and boasts income of nearly $30 million through the third quarter of 2010. Ryan hopes the group’s French Poker room and average yield per player continue to grow as the year comes to a close.
The future of the Party Gaming appears promising, especially when the upcoming merger with bwin is taken into consideration. When the companies combine, they will be the largest publicly traded online gaming entity. Additionally, all facets of the business will grow (poker, casino, and sports betting), and the two groups will gain a stranglehold on the bingo market.