The Numbers are Good

It will be a smart thing, then, to check the current numbers and movements in the online gambling related financial markets so far this month. Let's start with Neteller, one of the leading electronic money services, which has been operating from the UK since 1999. As a result of their downsizing plans, due to the shaky US gambling market, the company has decided to cut its workforce by 220 people in Calgary, Canada.

Another online gambling related company who is not that ecstatic about recent events is Cryptologic, one of the biggest software suppliers. Although Cryptologic showed an optimistic 2006 report, it has been known recently that the company's profit in the last quarter of last year dropped by more than 70%, with earnings equaling 12 cents per share, down from 43 cents per share for the same period of last year. Nevertheless, not everything is bad news for this online gambling company, as it has lately signed an exclusive 3-year contract with the Dutch government to provide the software for their national site.

Another company feeling the repercussions of the US ban is the Canadian-based ESI, which operates the online gambling check processor Citadel. The company has recently fired 35% of it workforce, while the ESI stock price on the Toronto stock has fallen from an initial offering of 3$ to 50 cents. There's no doubt that these days are not easy for many operation and for the whole online gambling industry, but as the popular phrase says, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going", and nothing stands still in this business.