Noam Lanir's Empire Online group is reportedly re-thinking its online
acquisitions strategy as a result of the growing legal uncertainties
currently being experienced in world markets.
The internet gambling firm has a $260 million cash pile, but today
indicated that it had put its acquisitions strategy on hold in the
light of the increased legal problems sweeping through the online
gambling industry.
Listed in London, Empire Online was seen as a potential consolidator
of smaller online rivals, but it may now be returning some of that
surplus cash pile to investors instead.
The apparent freezing of its expansion plans came as first-half profits
before tax and exceptionals at Empire Online slumped 36.9 percent
to just $15.7 million, as revenues from online poker slumped but the
casino playing take surged.
Net gaming revenues for the six months to the end of June fell to
$38.2 million, compared with $49.7 million for the same period last
year.
A slide in poker revenues to just $8 million following last year's
high-profile fight over its previously shared platform with Party
Gaming was in part offset by improved revenues from its online casinos,
where revenues rose almost threefold to $30.2 million from $10.7 million
last year.
Although Empire Online has declared a $5 million dividend, it warned
investors that the traditional trading slowdown in the second quarter
had been harsher than it had expected and new player sign-ups were
running at a disappointing 250 a day.
"While the board expects the outcome for the current year
to be broadly in line with market expectations, if there is no improvement
in this rate of sign ups, earnings growth for 2007 will be challenging,"
it said.