Bwin.party Releases Trading Update

Online gambling giant bwin.party.digital Entertainment released a trading update earlier this week and revealed that the sale of poker software developer Ongame is at an advanced stage.

Other updates listed by the company included:

• Revenue in line with management expectations since the end of September.

• Continuing Clean EBITDA margin for the 2011 fiscal year to be between 22-24%.

• 14 million shares of stock repurchased this year as part of the company's buyback program.

• Integration on track to delivering €40 million of synergies in 2012 and €65 million in 2013.

• Applied for a gaming license in Spain on November 25th.

• Applied for gaming license in Denmark and expects to be one of the first operators to be licensed to offer casino, sports betting and poker options in 2012.

The trading update also featured several comments by management regarding various topics. Among those are:

• Germany's gambling laws that may or may not comply with EU law: Whilst we welcome the move to regulate the online gaming market in Germany, this must be in a consistent and coherent manner in-line with EU law that also enables licensed operators to compete effectively with black market operators. Any other approach, if sustained, will create a commercially unviable market and result in consumers being driven outside the regulated framework."

• The United States and the attempts to legalize online poker: "Which route will reach the statute book first and when remains unclear, but we remain optimistic that regulation will take a step forward in 2012. Either way, through our agreements with MGM and Boyd, the group is well-positioned to take advantage of any such opportunity."

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