Stratetgic Update
October 16 2006 - 3:02AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:4930K
Betcorp Limited
16 October 2006
BETCORP LIMITED
("Betcorp" or "the Company")
STRATEGIC UPDATE
On Friday 13 October 2006, the Group announced that it had suspended the
accounts of United States residents with immediate effect, in response to the
enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (the "Act")
in the USA. The Group continues to trade with residents of 87 other countries in
which it has customers.
The Company was unable to sell its US operations prior to the Act coming into
force, given that both the ASX Listing Rules and the AIM Rules required any such
transaction to be conditional upon shareholder approval. Having taken legal and
regulatory advice, the Company's Board were unanimously of the view that the
Company should comply with this requirement.
The Board is continuing discussions with a number of unconnected parties who
have expressed interest in the acquisition of the Group's gaming operations and
infrastructure. There is no certainty that such discussions will lead to a sale,
or on what financial terms such a sale might take place. Any such sale will be
subject to the approval of shareholders and the consent of the Financial
Services Regulatory Commission in Antigua. It will also be conditional upon the
purchaser assuming full liability for all customer deposits and staff contracts.
Pending the conclusion of the sale discussions and the receipt of funds from
payment processing intermediaries, the Group has deemed it prudent to
temporarily freeze withdrawals by United States residents in order to ensure an
orderly return of funds to them. The Board accepts that this will cause some
short-term inconvenience to clients but believes that, in these unique
circumstances, it is in the best interests of all stakeholders.
The Group has already implemented a number of actions to reduce the Group's cost
base in line with the reduced scale of operations. These include staff
reductions of approximately one third of the Group's workforce and the cessation
of US facing marketing activity.
The Company expects to make a further announcement within the next 10 days.
Monday 16 October 2006
Enquiries:
CPR Communications, Sydney (Investor Relations/Media - Australia)
Martin Cole m.cole@cprcomm.com.au
Tel: +61 2 8213 3082
College Hill Associates, London (Investor Relations/Media - UK)
Matthew Smallwood/Jamie Ramsay matthew.smallwood@collegehill.com
Tel: + 44 20 7457 2020
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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