According to the Ottawa Sun, Liberal MPP Jeff Leal has introduced a private member\’s bill that would ban advertising internet gambling website addresses in Ontario, after that Public Infrastructure Minister David Caplan said competition from internet gaming, such as online poker, is cutting into the market share of Ontario\’s more traditional gambling outlets.
In separate news, racetrack operator Magna Entertainment announced the launch of PariMax, a new wholly owned subsidiary that includes television channels HRTV and RaceONTV in North America, Racing World in Britain, along with the XpressBet and MagnaBet phone and online betting platforms, and Magna\’s 30 per cent stake in betting systems company AmTote International.
PariMax will be headed by Joe De Francis, currently CEO of Magna Entertainment\’s Maryland Jockey Club. De Francis said that PariMax would focus on delivering Magna\’s North American racing content to foreign betting markets.
Magna Entertainment CEO Thomas Hodgson said until now the electronic assets have not been managed in an integrated, focused, strategic manner, but the business represents substantial unrecognized shareholder value.
“The business units that comprise PariMax right now, collectively, lose a small amount of money on an annual basis. We anticipate in the next 18 to 36 months turning that small loss into a profit,” added De Francis.
Ryan Worst, an analyst at a New York-based investment bank, said the internet will be the key to making the plan work.
“In the future, [televised and live races] are going to be less and less viable,” Worst said. “Television coverage is improving over the Internet. With all the gambling sites on the Internet already, if you can get cross-play with poker you could bypass television distribution to get new fans.”
Magna Entertainment also reported it lost $39.7 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $41 million, as revenue declined to $126.9 million from $131.6 million.
The full-year loss of $105.3 million compared with a 2004 loss of $95.6 million. Revenue declined to $624.7 million from the prior year\’s $702.5 million, which included $64 million from assets sold during 2005.
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