02-02-2006 888 is looking to buy a sportsbetting operation

John Anderson, Chief Executive of the online casino and poker group, told Reuters that the company needs to buy a sportsbook operation for customer retention and for organic growth.

Anderson said to be open minded about the focus of the potential acquisition, but he wants to avoid taking bets from the United States.

"In terms of sportsbook, the one thing I will not be doing is taking bets from American citizens in America, because that's illegal under the Wire Act in the States," he said.

Finance Director Avian Kobrine said to have a shortlist.

"We would like to buy something that's an established business. We are not going to start from scratch. That would be suicidal with competitors like Ladbrokes and William Hil," he said.

The parent company of Casino-on-Net and Pacific Poker, which also operates Betmate, a betting exchange powered by Betdaq, released a trading update for the fourth quarter of 2005 and cumulative results for the year ended 31 December 2005.

In the fourth quarter, total net gaming revenues rose to $77 million, an increase of 56% above the same period a year before. Poker provided the strongest growth with revenues up 138% to $36 million, while casino revenues rose "only" 19% to $41 million.

Number of active members increased 75% to 330,962. In particular, casino active members increased 48% to 97,661 and poker active members increased 89% to 233,301.

Quarterly net gaming revenue per active casino member fell to $419 (compared to $458 in the previous quarter) as a result of promotion efforts aimed at reviving dormant members. While quarterly net gaming revenue per active poker member were up 21% to $156.

As at 31 December 2005, 888 had 23.2 million registered member accounts, out of which 5.5 million are real money registered member accounts, representing an increase of 49% compared to the end of 2004.

Key cumulative financials for the 12 months ended 31 December 2005 showed a 52% rise in total net gaming revenues up to $271 million. Casino revenues rose 16% to $161 million, while poker revenues rose to $110 million, an increase of 179% above 2004.

The company said the new financial year has started well and trading in January 2006 has been strong in both the casino and poker businesses with a continued increase in new real money member sign-ups, first time depositors and deposit levels. The Board is encouraged by the positive start to the new financial year and is confident of the company's prospects for 2006.

In January 2006, 888 launched the latest version of its casino offering, while Pacific Poker was released in three new languages, German, Italian and Swedish. 888 also introduced a new e-wallet focusing on Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and France, thereby expanding further its geographical presence in non-US markets.

Chief Executive John Anderson shrugged off comments from online poker leader PartyGaming that it would soon dominate the casino marketplace too.

"I don't go around saying mine's the biggest," said Anderson, adding that he expected a boost from 888's sponsorship of the World Snooker Championship.