UNSETTLED LEGAL CLIMATE PROMPTS CHANGE OF ONLINE CASINO STRATEGY FOR EMPIRE ONLINE

(527) (26-September-2006)

There may be new plans for that $260 million cash pile

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.