In February, the online poker software developer successfully completed an IPO on the London Stock Exchange (AIM), with gross proceeds of £26.1 million for the company.
“That was the whole reason for us going public – to put ourselves in the position of a longterm player, as opposed to somebody who would perhaps be an ideal acquisition candidate,” commented Jim Ryan, the company\’s President and Chief Executive.
“Today we\’re a pure poker play… so the opportunity for us is to bring casino-style games into the equation and games of skill,” he added.
“What we\’re looking at right now would be casino software developer-operators… to have the Excapsa network be more of a one-stop shop.”
Excapsa also announced its maiden results for the year ended 31 December 2005, showing a 97% increase in proforma basis net revenue, up to $87.6 million, and a net income of $23.3 million, up 104%. The results include the acquisition of poker software licensed to eWorld, operator of UltimateBet.com.
The company increased the number of active real money players by 76% up to 242,246. While the average daily gross revenue was up 86% to $302,574 and the total number of licensee customer accounts was 1,694,576, up 85%.
“Excapsa Software has seen tremendous growth in 2005 while building a foundation for future success. Our plan is to continue to take advantage of the growth opportunities that exist in the online poker market and supplement our gaming network with new products in 2006 and beyond with a view to realizing the cross selling opportunities that exist with the networks real money customer database of over 317,000,” said Ryan.
In separate news, online poker operator Getminted.com called the recent Royal Bank of Scotland and Eggs’ plans to begin treating consumer transactions on gaming sites as cash advances, rather than as purchases of traditional goods and services, “blatant profiteering.”
The effect is that consumers will have to pay interest on the deposits immediately and also will have to pay a cash advance fee in addition to the fees levied on the site operators any time a customer deposits or withdraws winnings.
“This profiteering by credit card providers is discriminating against honest gamers choosing to deposit funds for goods and services. The question is where will this end as many online sites across sectors now provide \’wallet-type\’ facilities for consumers to deposit funds before purchasing goods or services. Consumers should be careful in the card provider they choose,” commented Geoff Read, Finance Director for Getminted.
The online poker operator plans to review the market and put together a section on its site to advise customers as to where they can obtain the best credit deals for online payments.
According to Getminted, as a result of the higher credit card processing rates, a significant chunk of business could move away from companies like Egg and RBS into less traditional VISA and Mastercard brands.
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