Bwin’s Poker Revenue Soars 22% to €38.1 Million In Q1 2010

Europe’s biggest online betting site Bwin has released its latest financial results for Q1 2010, showing a 1.2% increase in gross gaming revenue to €133.2m compared to the same period in 2009 of €117.6m.
The Austrian company currently operates across 25 major markets and offers sports betting, poker, casino games and soft games to its more than 20 million customers worldwide.
In Q1, its sports betting business saw an impressive increase in revenue of 13%, while the company’s other verticals posted impressive gains with casino revenue up 10% and games revenue increasing by 82%. 
Bwin’s poker revenue also grew a solid 22.4% from €31.1 million in the first quarter of 2010 to €38.1 million in Q1 2010. However, the company’s acquisition of Gioco Digitale in September was largely responsible for Bwin’s impressive poker figures, without which poker revenue would have fallen 17%.
Commenting on the situation, head of investor relations at Bwin, Konrad Sveceny, said: “Competition is still being distorted by poker providers offering real money games for US customers, who due to the high number of US poker players, enjoy economies of scale in terms of player liquidity and financial advantage.”
European gaming company’s have been suffering recently from a drop in their poker revenues, primarily due to increased competition and marketing by Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, who continue to accept US players at their sites.
Looking ahead, Bwin are now anticipating benefiting from the upcoming football world cup, as well as recent opportunities presented by the opening up of the French and Italian gaming markets.
The company’s share price is currently trading at €37.49, down 11% on the year so far as investors’  initial merger and acquisition expectations have yet to be realised.