| EmpireOnline and PartyGaming move to consolidate their bases |
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LONDON - Online gaming stocks came in under fresh scrutiny today as EmpireOnline announced a 71 percent increase in revenues in the third quarter to $31.4 million as compared to $18.3 million at the same time last year and PartyGaming moved towards barring players from Empire Online and Coral Eurobet from gambling on the same tables as it's Partypoker players.
But the main talking point today was Empire chief executive Noam Lanir's comments that hinted that the online gaming market was flat and there was little growth in the sector during the third quarter. Investors were not too impressed with these comments and EmpireOnline shares plummeted by more than 24 percent to 139 pence during the day. However Lanir did try to assuage investor worries by saying, "In a period where there has been much uncertainty over potential growth rates in the online gaming industry as a whole we believe our results demonstrate the strength of our core marketing skills."
Meanwhile, PartyGaming's move to bar customers from rivals' sites is something that may have been a forced move because of the tough conditions for the online gaming companies, "It's not news there's a lot of competition out there," said PartyGaming’s John Shepherd, reacting to his counterpart's assertion that the market was flat. "But we're still supportive of our 'skins'.
We've improved their platform as well as our own." But analysts say that the company's move to cut its reliance on third parties for new customers will have to be carefully assessed before arriving on any verdict. Today's announcement means that PartyGaming's nine million customers will have their own private table with a shared purse when indulging in their favorite plays.
Posted
on : Mon, 10 Oct 2005 18:15 GMT | Business News
By : Chris Rowe
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