Gambling Shares - London Stockmarket

[vinylweatherman]

The London stock exchange opened around half an hour ago, and most online gaming shares were mauled. Up to 80% was wiped off the value of some, with around 50% being the norm. Neteller was clobbered too.
Many investors in these shares were in denial about this bill ever making it in time, and did not bank on resourceful polititians using a common shortcut, tagging the measures onto another bill (port securities).
The markets now take the view that Bush signing it into law is a mere formality that will happen in the next couple of weeks.

 

[The Dude]

The London stock exchange opened around half an hour ago, and most online gaming shares were mauled. Up to 80% was wiped off the value of some, with around 50% being the norm. Neteller was clobbered too.
Many investors in these shares were in denial about this bill ever making it in time, and did not bank on resourceful polititians using a common shortcut, tagging the measures onto another bill (port securities).
The markets now take the view that Bush signing it into law is a mere formality that will happen in the next couple of weeks.

Actually, this may a good time to buy. Most of us who have been in the industry for a long time understand that even though it may be volatile - it is extremely resilient. You may find some of the companies that are getting seriously pounded diversifying in the next year or two, or finding other options that comply with US law yet cater to American players. Should be interesting.

 

[Simmo!]

Actually, this may a good time to buy.

Totally agree

 

[vinylweatherman]

Brave

Indeed, many investors see such panic selling as a buying opportunity, but the trick is to spot which of the companies are going to be able to brush this off and which are going to be seriously affected.
Companies with least exposure to US players, and a policy of expanding into Asia and Europe (especially places like Japan and China (illegal, but very popular in China) are most likely to come out on top.
Companies who have pandered to the US market and insulted the rest of the world by labelling large market countries as "full of abusers" are going to suffer the most. I certainly would be suspicious if the likes of Grand Privvy suddenly told me it was OK for us Brits to sink our teeth into their bonuses, I would suspect they were setting us up for a shafting to make up for lost US revenue.

 

[thelawnet]

Actually, this may a good time to buy. Most of us who have been in the industry for a long time understand that even though it may be volatile - it is extremely resilient. You may find some of the companies that are getting seriously pounded diversifying in the next year or two, or finding other options that comply with US law yet cater to American players. Should be interesting.

that depends.

some companies are in huge difficulties.

without USplayers, party is worthless. Don't buy at any price imo. A multiplayer game needs players.

neteller is also still high risk - there's little need for neteller outside the US

some companies like cryptologic have a sounder basis though

 

[The Dude]

that depends.

some companies are in huge difficulties.

Yeah sure, but I would look at companies that have not relied primarily on US players. Some of these groups like 888.com have had massive campaigns in the UK. 32Red has mostly Brit players...I believe Playtech has a number of successful Japanese casinos.

without neteller is also still high risk - there's little need for neteller outside the US.

I think Neteller is used pretty much used all over. I'm in Europe and this is what I normally use. Many people in Europe - especially on the continent, don't like using CCs or only have debit cards. Don't know what it's like in the UK.

 

[universexf6]

Wow... I read this news now.

Party Gaming Falling by 60%?

Just can't utter any word.

I would've hung myself if I were the holder of the share...

 

[vinylweatherman]

Neteller

I find Neteller, or other webwallets for that matter, just as useful here in the UK because there are changes afoot with credit cards that are making it harder to use them for online gambling. No UK credit card from an American bank will work for gambling, even for non-US holders. This is a case of the US dictating to us Brits what we are allowed to use our cards for. Cards from UK banks will work provided they are VISA rather than Mastercard, there is still one drawback, the 2 to 3 extra day's delay when receiving a withdrawal from even the fastest paying casino. Many VISA cards have now issued new terms that treat gambling transactions as a cash advance rather than a purchase, the most obvious disadvantage is the fact that we will pay 27% interest on the deposit till we pay off the card or receive winnings from the casino.
In short, webwallets still have the edge for UK players, even though we can find casinos that take our cards, and even refund to them.

 

[royalworld]

i read this in the news today "Shares of PartyGaming Plc, Sportingbet Plc and 888 Holdings Plc plummeted, wiping out $7 billion of market value, after Congress passed laws to shut down Internet gambling in the U.S. "

 

[The Watchdog]

Honestly...

I have seen the first negative consecuence to the industry in my country.

Today Nine.com, a major operator in the gambling operator closed their office in Costa Rica. They have not closed operations, but it seems that their business has been affected and some customers might have left due to current news from the senate.

Nine.com its a publicly traded company, which helps understand why they took this decision.

A nice article to relax the masses has been written here. Check it out, I really liked it and its very positive.

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

 

[jetset]

The closure of Nine.com's office in Costa Rica is probably more coincidental than consequential.

This company is a member of the Leisure and Gaming group, whose CEO Alistair Assheton noted some weeks ago that the overhead on Nine.com was too rich and something would have to be done about it before the end of the year.

My understanding is that Nine.com is being merged into another L&G group, VIP Management Services, and it will be administered from Curacao. The company has indicated that account holders will not be affected by the move and their account balances are safe.

 

[vinylweatherman]

World Gaming

World Gaming has announced it may be in default of it's loan agreements. It has 95% of it's business from the USA, and by looking at a website list of all their properties it seems they are heavily into sports betting too!!!

Oh Dear, this could be the first company to fail, or need rescue takeover.

It looks like another ingredient should be looked at, those companies that have borrowed in anticipation of a continuing and/or expanding US player base. These loans will be a millstone at a time when they are seeing a severe contraction of turnover.
Players, even those outside the USA, should think about how much money they are prepared to leave in their accounts at sites run by world gaming, as it is possible that, as a PLC, should there be a need to freeze their listing if they default on loan stock, this MAY make it harder for them to conduct business normally, such as paying out to players as quickly as normal.

 

[thelawnet]

The closure of Nine.com's office in Costa Rica is probably more coincidental than consequential.

This company is a member of the Leisure and Gaming group, whose CEO Alistair Assheton noted some weeks ago that the overhead on Nine.com was too rich and something would have to be done about it before the end of the year.

My understanding is that Nine.com is being merged into another L&G group, VIP Management Services, and it will be administered from Curacao. The company has indicated that account holders will not be affected by the move and their account balances are safe.

they were all related anyway - when you ask for support at nine.com, the popup asks which site you're coming from - nine.com, vip.com, etc.

totally unrelated

 

[Macgyver]

Having faith (call it naivete if you want) that the online gambling world will persevere and claw back from this, I have a question ...

If I'm interested in buying stocks through the London Stock Exchange, as a U.S. citizen, how would I go about it?

Or is it even possible?

Sites / suggestions / comments welcome ...

 

[tennis_balls]

yes.....you should be able to buy them via most brokerages (but not online).....the transaction fees will be higher

find the trading symbols via yahoo before you call in case you get a rookie agent.....for example 32Red is TTR.L on yahoo, but maybe it's just TTR in England

 

[Macgyver]

I checked Ameritrade.com (first one that popped into my head) and they showed NETeller, will check for 32 Red and some others.

Any other comments or suggestions are still greatly appreciated.

 

[spearmaster]

Last time I checked, I could not buy any foreign stocks through Ameritrade. I had wanted in on the boom but no luck there.

If you see anything interesting, MacGyver, I would be very appreciative if you would let us know!

 

[Mousey]

World Gaming has announced it may be in default of it's loan agreements. It has 95% of it's business from the USA, and by looking at a website list of all their properties it seems they are heavily into sports betting too!!!

Oh Dear, this could be the first company to fail, or need rescue takeover.

....... Players, even those outside the USA, should think about how much money they are prepared to leave in their accounts at sites run by world gaming, as it is possible that, as a PLC, should there be a need to freeze their listing if they default on loan stock, this MAY make it harder for them to conduct business normally, such as paying out to players as quickly as normal.

Ok... I'll heed the advice. But who or what is World Gaming? Which casinos?