Bought in this morning. Potential too good to ignore! (imho)

Highlights from last set of results :

- turnover increased to 8.85 million (H1 2005: 1.66 million) with an EBITDA
loss of 0.77 million

- John Heaton, former Chief Executive of the Tote, appointed as Chief
Executive Officer

- new Orbis back end software platform implementation complete

- redesigned websites launched for PremierBet and Heathorns

- PremierBet Casino launched

- over 5 million of bets taken over the World Cup with new registrations
increasing threefold, returning an 8% gross profit margin

strong current trading, Group expected to be profitable at the EBITDA level
in Q3 2006

Arbuthnot Securities appointed nominated adviser and broker to the Company
with immediate effect


Current trading and prospects

Our investment in operational infrastructure is substantially complete and we
are already seeing the positive effects of this. Key performance points since
the end of the interim period include:

- excellent World Cup taking in excess of 5 million in bets, returning a
gross profit margin of over 8%

- new registrations increased threefold over the World Cup season

- expected to be profitable at the EBITDA level in Q3



The functionality of the OpenBet system allows rapid building and integration of
new Sportsbook and Casino websites which provides IGH with a competitive
advantage when entering discussions with third parties interested in running a
white label site. This avenue for growth is of particular interest to the Group
as it represents an opportunity to access markets in other high margin
territories that IGH is currently not operating in. These opportunities can be
exploited quickly and at relatively low cost. The creation of white label deals
increases the Groups customer database and subsequently increases marketing
opportunities.

hello Skyhigh you are not alone! I bought in this morning and particularly like the agreement with betfair as well as the high profile management. Could go a long way this one. I posted this elsewhere, apologies for repetition of some of your - excellent - points.

And yes, I did hear a rumour that the sector might not be flavour of the month, -:) ..... but IGH is a different beast from the US hit stocks (and although the stock trades near a lowish and half decent looking long term chart support of 5p, it did not fall in the recent sector falluot, precisely because this company has genuinely made a point of NOT trading atall in the US market).

Of course that alone is not a reason to buy.

However just to confirm the point incase anyone is still dubious, from the interims to end May, even before the recent arrests of other CEOs and subsequent legislation:
'The policy of IGH has always been not to accept bets from the USA and
particularly given the recent developments in the USA, we will ensure that our business continues with this approach.'

Following a recent placing at 5p there are around 90 million shares in issue giving a market cap under 5 million.

So why would I be buying into this risky looking loss-maker at the interim stage? it should be said, before they are made, I accept the inevitable comments about unfortunate timing to be buying into the sector, and the fact that the balance sheet, while not actually too bad for a company this size, still needs some strengthening.

Several reasons, though, to consider a small investment imho:

1) John Heaton, former Chief Executive of the Tote, appointed as Chief Executive Officer. That's very high profile indeed for a company this size.
2) A profit, subsequent to results, of around 400k on the World Cup and expectation of being at least ebitda profitable this half.
3) Two agreements; one with Betfair today, to make available instant online access an for customers ability to bet through their own offerings (Premier Direct online and Heathorn shops) or into betfair pools;
The other intriguingly with the Maharajah Club, established (it claims anyway) to be the first to attract South Asian punters, wherever they now live, with a target market of 300 million players.
4) Since the last report establishement of an online casino operation.
5) They say: 'Our investment in operational infrastructure is substantially complete.' That should reduce costs significantly.
6) For anyone suffering in the sector - and there are plenty! - looking for a bolt on this US free company would make an obvious target.

Long, only a few at this stage, at 5.33p.

http://www.bettingmarket.com

Interactive Gaming Holdings Returns

Shares in Interactive Gaming Holdings Plc, the owner of Heathorns, the world's oldest established bookmakers, and Premier Bet, a fixed odds bookmaker based in London, were restored to trading at 11:55am on June 26. During the last financial year turnover at the company rose to 32.9 million (27.3 million in H2) up from 8.1 million the previous year. Group margins increased overall to 5.4% (5.6% in H2 2006) with Heathorns returning 9.8% on 16.2 million turnover. Gross Profit came in at 1.8 million (2005: 0.25 million).

rumour it is now a take-over target

where did that rumour come from