Admission to AIM
March 17 2006 - 2:07AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:9671Z
Betcorp Limited
17 March 2006
AIM / ASX Media Announcement
Friday 17 March 2006
BETCORP FAST TRACKS TO AIM
Betcorp Limited ("Betcorp" or "the Group") is pleased to announce that its
Ordinary Shares are to be admitted to trading today on the London Stock
Exchange's Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") under the ticker symbol "BCL".
The Ordinary Shares of the Group are currently listed on the Australian Stock
Exchange ("ASX") in Australian Dollars under the symbol "BCL".
Betcorp is a broadly based online gaming group offering customers worldwide a
comprehensive range of betting and gaming products including sports betting,
casino games, poker and skill games. Customers can move seamlessly between
Betcorp's gaming products using recently introduced shared-purse technology. The
Group's betting, IT and marketing operations are based in Antigua, West Indies
and Toronto, Canada. Betcorp is incorporated in Australia and holds a gaming
license in Antigua and a bookmaker's license in the UK.
Sports betting is offered to customers around the world via a number of
websites, including BetWWTS.com, CyberSportsBook.com, BetBet.com and
WagerOnSports.com. Customers are offered competitive prices on fixtures from a
wide range of sports including basketball, American football, horse racing and
soccer.
Betcorp customers are also offered a wide variety of casino games with a
traditional Vegas style 'Betcasino' brand supplemented by the 'Thunderbolt'
brand, emphasising speed of play. Casino players share a similar customer
profile to sportsbook customers and a third casino, Lucky Lady, is due to be
launched soon, to appeal to this mainly male client base.
Poker is the Group's fastest growing online game. Launched in September 2004,
Betcorp's brand Betholdem.com has grown to be one of the top five members of
Microgaming's Prima Poker network. Cross-selling represents an additional major
opportunity in this area as there is a high propensity for poker players to
cross over to other products - in 2005, 48% of the Group's poker customers also
placed a bet in the sportsbook.
Betcorp has also introduced to all of its sports websites a suite of skill games
developed by UK operator GameAccount, specifically targeting the recreational
sports bettor. These include backgammon and gin rummy which have already proved
an effective marketing tool, particularly in North America where they are
subject to fewer advertising restrictions than sports, casino or poker.
Betcorp's strategy is to build on its expertise and established presence as a "
one-stop shop" for customers to participate in a wide range of online gaming
activities. Shared purse technology will enable revenues to be increased through
cross-selling, further reinforcing the attractions of the multi-product model.
While sports betting is currently the Group's largest business, increases in
casino and poker revenues mean that management's current expectation is that
sports betting will account for approximately half of the Group's total gross
revenue in 2006 (2005: 64%). This will increase the predictability and the
quality of Betcorp's earnings.
Betcorp has a highly scaleable business and, in addition to pursuing organic
growth, the Board is actively looking for earnings accretive acquisitions.
The Group currently reports financial results in US dollars, as the majority of
its revenues are derived in this currency. For calendar year 2005, the Group
achieved gross revenues of US$29.4m on betting turnover of US$825.0m and a
profit after depreciation, interest and taxation of US$4.3m. At the close of
trading in the ordinary shares on the ASX on Friday 17 March, Betcorp had a
market capitalisation of #49.1m.
KBC Peel Hunt is acting as Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Group.
Commenting on the announcement, David Hudd, Chairman of Betcorp said:
"We believe that Betcorp is undervalued on ASX relative to other companies in
the online gaming sector which are currently listed on AIM. Moreover, the
London market has an unrivalled understanding of online gaming businesses and we
expect it to be at the forefront of corporate activity as the industry evolves.
We have an ambitious, proven management team in place that is determined to play
a leading role in industry consolidation and we look forward to benefiting from
the advantages that an AIM listing will bring us."
For further information please contact:
Colin Walker Tom Baldock
Chief Executive Officer College Hill Associates, London
Betcorp Limited tom.baldock@collegehill.com
colinw@betcorp.com.au Tel: + 44 20 7457 2020
Tel: + 44 20 7457 2020
Matt Goode Martin Cole
KBC Peel Hunt CPR Communications, Sydney
matt.goode@kbcpeelhunt.com m.cole@cprcomm.au
Tel: + 44 20 7418 8900 Tel : + 61 2 9252 6644
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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