internationalcasinoreview Business NEWS
Online gaming growing strongly but not wildly
The steady roll-out of European regulation is ensuring consistent growth in the eGaming sector, says industry analyst H2 Gambling Capital, but the US$30bn mark was not quite breached as poker underperformed.
growthcontained EGAMING MARKET
Gaming industry analysts H2 Gam- bling Capital has reduced its fore- cast of the gross gaming win in the online sector in 2010. In April it said it would reach above US$30bn (E23.1bn) but now, although close, it has said that milestone will not be reached this year. The company said: “After nine months of additional data and analy- sis H2’s provisional actual assess- ment of the value of the sector in 2010 is $29.95bn (E23.06bn), which is 12.5 per cent ahead of the 2009 level - a strong performance in the light of current economic times. In the absence of a soccer World Cup 2009 growth was 11.4 per cent.” According to H2’s data, the year
closed with just over 2,400 real money internet gambling sites in operation, around 160 fewer than 12
Good growth at revitalised Saint-Vincent
newstart CASINO DE LA VALLÉE
The year closed positively for Casino de la Vallée in Saint-Vincent, one of Italy’s four casinos, and located in Alps near the French and Swiss borders. The municipally owned venue recorded gross gaming rev- enues (GGR) for the year of E98.4m, up 4.1 per cent on the previous year. The result has come as a pleasant surprise to the town authorities, exceeding the estimation made in the local budget.
Renovations and refurbishments have helped the Casino de la Vallée in Saint-Vincent to spectacular results
According to figures released by the casino, revenue growth came from all parts of the operation includ- ing a 4.3 per cent increase from the gaming tables, which contributed E2.2m to the total. The most tradi- tional of games saw an amazing resurgence in popularity with French
months earlier. The average number of sites in operation during 2010 was still over 2,500, however, offered by approximately 650 operators. There- fore, the average gross win per oper- ator in 2010 was $46m (E35.4m). Although H2’s valuation of the
overall sector has changed little in the past year, three of the seven product verticals it tracks did not perform in line with expectations. Both the casino sector (up 13.3 per cent at $6.24bn/E4.80bn) and the bingo sector (up 28.4 per cent at $2.67bn/E2.05bn) outperformed expectations, but poker came in at $5.06bn (E3.90bn) in 2010 just 7.1 per cent ahead of the prior year. The company added: “In fact,
poker’s net revenue growth is expected to have been between two per cent and four per cent as once again 2010 saw upward pressure on bonuses. Without the development of the French and Italian dot country
markets the value of the dotcom internet poker market actually fell in 2010.” Sports betting, including horserac-
ing, remained by far the largest sector with a gross win of $12.06bn (E9.29bn), up 10.8 per cent on 2009, with strong activity around the FIFA World Cup more than offsetting flat interactive business around the Japanese Racing Club. State lotteries also had a solid year with the interac- tive gross win from their core prod- ucts (non-sportsbetting and gaming) growing 13.4 per cent to $2.60bn (E2bn). Director Simon Holliday said: “We will announce our final eGaming numbers for 2010 after the prelimi- nary results season in March and at that time publish our expectations for the market in 2011 to 2015.” He continued: “At this point, we
expect low double digit growth to be possible over the coming years, if
roulette revenues growing 31.2 per cent to E2.8m, and chemin de fer up 42.2 per cent to E1.1m. Punto banco was up 5.9 per cent to just under E630,000 and blackjack up 2.1 per cent to E101,000. Shuffle Master’s Ultimate Texas Hold’em, which had one table installed in March, brought in revenues of E672,200 - a second table was added in December. Finally, revenues from Texas Hold’em tour- naments rose a huge 76.2 per cent to E282,000.
The poker tables are located off the spectacular new Evolution Room, which opened in July 2010 with more than 200 of the latest generation of slot machines. The machines gener- ated E1.7m, up four per cent on 2009 as a direct result.
The number of visits to the casino rose by 4.6 per cent in 2010 to
Bonuses kept growth in online poker restrained
markets such as Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Spain fulfil their promise under onshore regulated regimes and if established land-based compa- nies continue to enter the market. Mobile devices have been key drivers of growth in 2010 and we expect this trend to continue in the coming years.”
Despite the efforts of Senator
Harry Reid to introduce internet poker legislation in the United States in late 2010, H2 has never included any internet gaming data for the US in its core numbers. Holliday said: “This continues to be our position though it is possible that one or more states could move toward regulation over the next couple of years.” For more information visit
www.h2gc.com 610,000.
The adjacent Grand Hotel Billia saw an increase in registrations of 43.5 per cent, with guests coming both for conferences and for tourism. The number of meals served in the restaurants rose more than 19 per cent to 47,950. The renovations that have been ongoing in the last two years will con- tinue into 2011 with modernisation work to start in the gaming rooms and the in the casino brasserie early in the year. A new central heating system for both the casino and the hotel will also be installed by the end of year before renovations on the “modern wing” of the hotel trans- forms it into four-star accommoda- tion followed by the development of the “traditional wing” into a five-star luxury hotel.
Acquisition boosts Nevada Gold revenues and costs
biggercake NEVADA GOLD
Nevada Gold, which operates casinos in Colorado and Washington states in the US, has reported a 141 per cent increase in revenues in its second quarter to $13.8m (E10.6m), after taking over the a chain of mini-casinos in Washington. It also took on increased costs, up to $14.1m (E13.3m), which resulted in the company posting a quarterly loss of $0.4m (E0.3m), no change from the prior year period. The company said that
excluding certain significant items from the comparisons, it would have shortened the quarterly loss to $0.2m (E0.15m).
CEO Robert Sturges
said: “The synergies among our Washington properties have allowed us to operate with greater efficiency, provide a high level guest service and streamline promotional incentives. We [are] on track to hit our goal of generating approximately $55m - $60m [E42m-E46m] in pro-forma run-rate revenue subsequent to the addition of the six recently acquired Washington mini- casinos.”
Ameristar not for sale The directors of US operator Ameristar have stated clearly for the record that a sale of the company is no longer under consideration as it ponders the future. Apart from that statement, the company’s Transaction Committee, which is evaluating a range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, had nothing to add save that continued execution of its existing business plan will provide “meaningful opportunities”. Its share-price fell seven per cent on the announcement.
http://www.wms.com
http://www.wms.com 86 February 2011 • businessnews
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