SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Greek Government internet access block on selected igaming verticals will hit revenue and profit at bwin.party this year. A corporate statement published by the London Stock exchange listed company, issued a Q4 2013 profit warning to shareholders.
The operator is currently undertaking new corporate strategy to focus on fewer markets and with better clarified regulations, for the company to promote igaming verticals in. The new direction and strategy was underlined early this year by bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger, and has thus far seen the operator pull out all igaming operations from several Eastern European markets.
bwin.party’s issues with the Greek gaming market, began in early 2013,as the Greek government began to black list and IP block unlicensed igaming operators. Reports state that ver 400 gaming sites since July 2013 have been blocked of access from Greek regional IP’s, making transactions and game play impossible for Greek online gamblers.
bwin.party prior to the measures taken by the Greek Government were market leaders in the region for sports betting and casino igaming. The operator has had frequent clashes with the Greek licensed sports betting and lottery operator – OPAP.
A bwin.party statement on company performance for Q3/Q4 stated B”win said third-quarter revenue fell by 21 percent to 146 million euros ($196 million), reflecting moves to shrink its business in pursuit of better margins”. “full-year 2013 cost savings were likely to exceed a target of 70 million euros, helping to offset the impact of the Greek dispute at Bwin, formed by the 2011 merger of PartyGaming and Bwin Interactive Entertainment”.
The issue of a profit warning has seen shares fall in the igaming operator by 2% to 121.8 pence following the trading update, which follows a warning in August that revenue could fall by up to 17 percent.
