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Having been virtually ejected from the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange online casino stocks have had a hard ride these past two years. Most land-based and online gambling stocks are now traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The reasons for this are historical and result from the witch hunt conducted by the US Senate against online gambling companies in 2006. An act of Senate prohibited any US financial institution from transferring funds to online casino and other gambling companies. A secondary market where these gambling stocks are also traded is the Alternative Investments Market (AIM). Only a very few gambling stocks are listed in the USA, and none of these accepts American players. Current state As with all stock trading, markets go up and down. The dramatic volatility that affected all markets in September 2008 has also hit gambling stocks. Following the dramatic casino stock price falls in 2006, and the global stock market collapse in the third quarter of 2008, gambling stocks have now been left at historically low levels. Stocks of land-based casinos have held up fairly well, but online casino stocks have dumped significantly. One high profile example of an online casino stock that plummeted to new lows was PartyGaming. This company was the golden child of the Internet gambling market prior to 2006, but the US legislation resulted in the stock losing over one billion US dollars in value. The company's annual profits in 2006 fell from 293 million US dollars to 165 million US dollars, a drop of over 50%. Lobby groups are pushing for the 2006 law to be repealed, but the future of online gambling stocks remains uncertain.
One thing that looks plenty hot right now is the Wynn Resorts Macau establishment. The popular chain of resorts based in Las Vegas Nevada has reported an overall growth of 14% owing largely to a 37% rise in revenues at Wynn Macau. The economic slowdown has its fair share of victims along the way - not Wynn Macau however. These positive results have allowed for Wynn to report earnings of 49 cents per share in the 3rd quarter this year. This increases Wynn's impressive performance by $6.4 million from 2007 to an overall $51.1 million this year. Analysts confirm Analysts were correct in EPS expectations of 59 cents on revenues approaching $750 million. But it was the strength of Wynn Macau's performance in China that surprised everyone. The Macau operation helped boost Wynn Resorts Ltd overall revenue stream to $769.2million. What's equally impressive is that the gains in Macau compensated handsomely for the dip in revenues in Las Vegas. Figures in Las Vegas casino revenues slumped by $7-m year on from the 3rd quarter in 2007 with an equally disappointing 1.1% dip in non-gambling revenues. Sparks confidence A brand-new establishment - the Encore is set to open this December. The 2000-room mega establishment has investors in a frenzy. The hefty little price tag on the venture - some $2.3 billion - will have a few folks focused on ensuring the smooth running of what promises to be another win-Wynn operation.
International investors are looking carefully at online casino stocks as a new and potentially rewarding market sector. The current global capitalization of the online gambling market sector is around $10 billion. Conservative estimates have provided a projection of $100 billion for this sector within the next ten years. These companies normally trade at around 15 to 20 times their earnings. This suggests that this market sector, excluding others that will come to the market in that time, could end up valued at around $2 trillion. This represents a 200 times increase in market share compared to today's levels. Going down, then up again Stocks of online gambling companies and their associated businesses such as online gambling software companies fell dramatically at the end of 2006. This market decline saw most companies drop to around 50% of their original pre-2006 capitalized values. This collapse was specifically due to an American witch hunt against companies and in particular against online payment systems that were associated with Internet gambling. Since 2006, the stocks in all online gambling companies have recovered and continue to climb even during the dramatic stock market declines seen in 2008. This suggests that online gambling stocks should be considered as an investment oasis, and a sector that will continue to benefit those looking for long-term visionary investment. With the double blow to the economy of a housing crisis and credit crunch, wily investors should at least consider the online gambling sector as an optional investment for their cash.
Online gambling just went upscale with loads of fantastic new games and more than an ample serving of extremely happy winners. Here's the latest scoop from the exciting world of great games and big winners: New games Two brand-new slots games recently went live and they've got online gamblers buzzing with excitement. Geisha Story and Ocean Odyssey are the latest additions. Titan Casino is due for an imminent English release, to add to the Titan Poker brand, and the Beach Life progressive jackpot is set to top a massive $1,000,000. Big winners Jesus M of Spain won a whopping €1,005,000 at Casino Tropez on one spin on the slots - Global Traveler - on October 31. October winners Europa: Gabriella M of Italy won €331,175 playing Wild Spirit - November 1 Cameo: Higinio S of Spain won €49,525 playing Dr Lovemore - October 27 Santo F of Italy won €46,700 playing Silent Samurai - October 30 Craps: Franck L of France won €22,035 playing Captains Treasure - October 29 Vegas Red: Diego A of France won €20,887 playing Jacks or Better - October 30 Bellini: Jens F of Finland won €18,598 playing Bonus Bears - October 31 Del Rio: Rogerio B of Portugal won €14,915 playing Jacks or Better - October 30 Great end-of-year promos You can rest assured that the festive season will bring joy to all. Europa will sport a calendar with exciting offers for each day leading up to a giant Christmas prize. The recently ended Vegas Red Oktoberfest offer promoted ‘Free Beer for a Year' and was a resounding success. Stay tuned as the season heats up for a thrilling gambling finale to 2008.
Viva Macau has just announced an enhancement to its online gambling website. A new sports betting guide to go with its sports book. With investors the world over looking for investment alternatives to the stock, debt, and money markets, Viva Macau is accumulating new business from those disillusioned by traditional financial markets. The company's sports book provides a forum where punters can take a view on anything from the next Super Bowl result to the outcome of political races. It's legal, or is it? The interesting twist in this tale is that Viva Macau denies any infringement of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that would deny US citizens access to the site. The company claims that sports betting is not a game of chance like slots or roulette. They maintain that bets on their sports book are affected by a range of quantifiable statistics, and as such are no different from betting in the stock market, which is not affected by the UIGEA. Viva Macau offers their online sports book to investors looking for a further way to diversify their investment risk exposure. The guide The sports book guide explains the intricacies of spread betting, money-line wagers, and various handicap strategies. These techniques are demystified providing greater transparency through the jargon that has largely deterred those players without backgrounds in the financial markets. One strategy is called a teaser, which enables players to combine multiple events into one bet, thus reducing the risk from an outright play. It is clear that Viva Macau is well placed to deal with any impending global recession.
The odds of Chicago winning its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games have improved since the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency, finance news network Bloomberg has reported. At UK bookmaker William Hill, Chicago has shortened from pre-election odds of 6/4 to odds of 11/10 following the Illinois senator's victory. Chicago already held favoritism before the US election, in its four-horse race with Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to host the summer games. Other bookmakers, including Betfair and Ladbrokes, have also reported a correlation between betting on Obama to win the election and betting on Chicago's bid to win the Olympics. Early stage But William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said the fact that UK bookmakers such as his cannot take bets from US citizens has meant there isn't as much of an interest as there could be in the 2016 contest. "We've had bits and pieces of interest," Sharpe said. "But people here are more interested in the 2012 London Olympics." Because there are fewer bets placed, the odds can change more rapidly than in events where more bets are being placed. 1964 host city Tokyo is William Hill's second-favorite to host the 2016 Olympics at 9/4. Rio is 7/2 to host the first ever Olympics in South America, while Madrid is 12/1 to follow in the footsteps of another Spanish city, Barcelona, which held the Olympics in 1992.
Termed "the most powerful firm in global egaming" by eGaming Review Magazine, Sportingbet has exhibited mixed results on the stock market wheel of fortune. Rising to the giddy heights of 400p from an initial launch at a quarter of that value, the share plummeted to trade around 30p in September 2008. Banking crises and credit crunch concerns aside, this is a poor performance for a company with such a high profile. Sportingbet's woes really began after the passing of the UIGEA under the US Safe Port Act. The new law essentially banned the transfer of any funds from US financial institutions to Internet gambling sites, with a few exceptions such as horse racing and fantasy gaming sites. This caused the stock price of Sportingbet and a number of other similar companies to collapse. Sportingbet's share price drop should be viewed in light of the fact that the company made 14 million GBP with a staff of 200 in 2003, while in 2008 its revenue was over 100 million GBP with a staff of 1,000. Sometimes, the stock market really does have a mind detached from financial reality. Sportingbet also runs other online gambling businesses including bingo, casino games, and a string of sport book brands. Following the passing of the Safe Port Act, Sportingbet canceled all business dealing with American players. This resulted in the closure of Sportingbet's major poker platform, Paradise Poker, leaving Sportingbet Poker run on the Boss software network as its only poker platform.
Record gambling bets and payouts are being made on online casino websites, with many of the big gamblers working on Wall Street. Long considered by many as just another big casino, Wall Street contains thousands of hardened online gamblers. Compatiblepoker, an Internet resource for online gambling aficionados, recently stated that thousands of Wall Street brokers are using online gambling websites to give them an added 'high', and the stakes they play are huge. Huge sums Online casino websites are raking it in, and sometimes paying it out, in a big way. They report that sites have seen many US players winning and losing six-figure sums overnight, and on a regular basis. Many of the players are Wall Street stock brokers and millionaires looking for a little bit of high thrills excitement. Gambling in the US after all In spite of the 2006 Congress bill banning the transfer of funds from US financial institutions to online casinos, many online casinos are still taking US bets two years after the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed. It will be interesting to see what the eventual effect will be if legislation will once again allow for such activity. While many online casino sites do still operate on US territory, anyone wishing to engage in this activity should check with legal authorities to determine the legal situation in their own region.
One final push. The outgoing administration is attempting to finalize the UIGEA by setting up regulations to take effect in its waning days. The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) effectively banning Internet gambling by outlawing the transfer of funds from a financial institution to Internet gambling sites, was passed hastily by Senate Republicans when it was attached to an unrelated port security bill during year-end legislation. The law has gone through teething problems since then because of its lack of a clear definition of what constitutes Internet gambling. The move to finalize the law has been met by fresh criticism from opposition legislators and pro-gambling advocates, led by Congressman Barney Frank (D - MA). Midnight rulemaking "This midnight rulemaking will tie the hands of the new administration, burden the financial services industry at a time of economic crisis and contradict the stated intent of the Financial Services Committee," Frank wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Frank asked Paulson to postpone the regulation, which was reviewed by the White House budget office last week, usually the final step before it is published in the Federal Register. In response, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "No regulations are being rushed. They are all going through the process and getting the full due diligence required." She said she couldn't comment specifically on the Internet gambling rule because it was not yet final. Frank's committee passed legislation in September to block the regulation and instead require rulemaking to define the term "unlawful Internet gambling."
This week's online gambling news headlines brought to you by OCR Live! Leaving Las Vegas Two years since the UIGEA was passed, the US administration is about to pass regulations that would put the ban in effect. Giant software company Microgaming was quick to respond with an announcement that it was pulling out of the US market immediately. New exciting video slot games Casino Tropez has launched two new video slot machines - Geisha Story and Greatest Odyssey, bringing the total of online slot machines at the Casino to 54. Here we review both games' features. Affilicon and CAP events November and the months ahead have several conferences and events for us to fly to and report from. They include Affilicon, an international conference for affiliates to be held in Israel on November 24-25; CAP Down Under, held in Australia for the first time; and CAP Euro London in late January, including the second annual CAP Awards Ceremony.
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