WA-linked My Casino bets on Europe, Asia
By Yonnene Pearce
AN OLD French proverb says there are two great pleasures in gambling: winning and losing. But Michael Miller likes the odds for success in West Perth Internet gaming group, My Casino.
Mr Miller's appointment to general manager of sports betting operations will see him establish Sportsbook Australasia and develop the online casino.
My Casino, formerly miner Abador Gold, relisted as an Internet company on the Australian Stock Exchange in April after buying Vanuatu-based online casino operator My Casino.
The company, which is also listed on the Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges, is licensed and operated out of Vanuatu.
It has a 10-year gaming licence on two gaming sites with a further 10-year option on each.
My Casino has not actively marketed the
www.my-casino.com.au site in Australia, instead aggressively marketing to Asia's cyber gamers and now implementing a similar strategy in northern Europe.
My Casino managing director Gordon McIntosh said its online casino had the margins over Australia's land-based casinos to help capture a new and huge Asian gamer base directly.
This market has proved very lucrative, resulting in gaming turnovers of about $22 million in May, $36 million in June and $50 million in July.
And Mr McIntosh and Mr Miller are now looking to replicate these successes in Europe.
Mr Miller has been business development manager at Centrebet Sports Betting, Australia's biggest sports bookmaker, for the past three years, when it entered five European markets and quintupled its client base and turnover.
He cited many reasons why Europe was a plum online sports betting market.
"A huge percentage of the population are already online, soccer is the most bet-on sport in the world and they can afford to win or lose regularly as a leisurely activity, and they are familiar with betting on sports," Mr Miller said.
But competition from the likes of Ladbrokes, the world's biggest sports betting company, would mean My Casino would have to work hard at developing tailored services, including a choice of foreign languages and currencies. Mr McIntosh said My Casino's sportsbook software would provide sports wagering on all sports being played in the world, and complement its existing casino product.
Currently, Barclays Bank handles the security of the financial transactions on My Casino's gaming sites. An upgrade of My Casino's financial procedures and security, expected to be operational within days, will add the ability to charge back funds to the originating card and virtually eliminate card fraud.
Mr McIntosh said these upgrades, together with an Asian and European presence, would help open markets for its future plans to develop e-commerce banking services.
My Casino shares closed yesterday at 66¢ with a market value of $79.6 million.
Quelle:
http://www.thewest.com.au/20000812/business/...ness-home-sto3622.html