PartyGaming Announces Strong Start To 2006

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

20 April 2006

Gibraltar-based PartyGaming Plc has announced that it has made a strong start to 2006, with first quarter revenues up 54% to $342.6 million.

“I am pleased to report that we have made a strong start to 2006. The first quarter has seen continued strong growth in poker on the back of a record number of poker sign-ups," stated Martin Weigold, Group Finance Director.

Real money poker sign-ups numbered 263,254 in the first quarter, 39% of which were from outside the US. In the first quarter of 2005, 16% of sign-ups were from outside the US. In March, the proportion of new real money sign-ups coming from outside the US exceeded 40% for the first time.

The company also reported a substantial increase in net casino revenue to $83.1 million, up from $12.3 million last year.

"Blackjack has remained robust with net revenue averaging $0.7 million per day whilst the introduction of PartyCasino.com two months ago, as part of the fully integrated Party-branded platform, has exceeded our expectations and lifted overall net casino revenue (including blackjack) to over $1.0 million per day," Mr Weigold added.

This year has also seen the launch of the firm's first multi-lingual websites.

"PartyPoker.com is now offered in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Russian. More foreign language versions are going to be rolled out later in the year along with our multi-currency offering," Mr Weigold revealed.

“The launch of backgmmon, the first of our two new games this year, is imminent and should provide an additional revenue stream for the Group as well as broaden the appeal of our Party-branded platform," he added.

The company also confirmed that it expects to formally appoint Mitch Garber, who succeeds Richard Segal, as Chief Executive Office. Mr Segal, who steered the online gaming firm through its most successful period, has stepped down as the company's chief executive due to his family's reluctance to move to Gibraltar on a permanent basis.

Under Mr Segal's leadership, PartyGaming saw its revenues grow to $977.7 million in 2005, up from $602 million in 2004. He was also at the helm during several significant developments in the company's history, including its highly-publicised flotation on the LSE last year - at the time the largest IPO to date on the exchange.

The Group’s Annual General Meeting will be held in Gibraltar on 4 May 2006.

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