SUPERB RESULTS

REG - Optimal Payments PLC - Interim Results19 Sep 2012 - 07:01

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on the link below: http://pdf.reuters.com/Regnews/regnews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20120919:nRSS5828Ma RNS Number : 5828M Optimal Payments PLC 19 September 2012 Optimal Payments Plc Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2012 Strong first half growth, on track to exceed full year market expectations Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY) ("Optimal Payments", the "Group" or the "Company"), a leading online payments provider, today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. Highlights · EBITDA(1) up 76% to $11.2m (H1 2011: $6.4m). · Revenues up 37% to $78.9m (H1 2011: $57.4m). Fixed costs marginally down following headcount reduction in Q1. · Profit before tax $1.7m (H1 2011: loss of $4.1m). · Strong organic growth from NETBANX Straight Through Processing division ("STP"), up 68% to $61.9m (H1 2011: $36.9m) with continued strength and growth in Asia. · NETELLER Stored Value ("SV") revenues down to $16.2m (2011:$18.0m(2)) principally as a result of the fallout from Black Friday(3) in H1 2011. § Initiatives undertaken in H1 have produced improved results in second half to date. Major investment in NETELLER SV platform now complete and cost base aligned. § US online gaming opportunity taking shape. · Strong demand from existing customers and from new customers won during the first half including Ford Credit, Hockey Canada and Rona. Commercial agreement signed with Lotus F1 Team. · Strong H1 revenue exit run rate positions the Company for further growth in second half and on track to exceed the market consensus full year expectations. Financial summary (unaudited) Six months ended 30 June 2012 2011(5) US$ million US$ million Revenue Straight Through Processing (NETBANX bureau & gateway services) 61.9 36.9 Stored Value (NETELLER eWallet & Net+ cards) 16.2 18.0 Stored Value - discontinued revenues (4) - 2.1 Investment income 0.7 0.4 Total Revenue 78.9 57.4 EBITDA (1) 11.2 6.4 Profit/(loss) before tax 1.7 (4.1) Tax (charge)/recovery (6) (2012 charge relates to 2004/5 period) (2.5) 0.5 Net loss for the period (0.8) (3.6) (1) EBITDA is defined as results of operating activities before depreciation and amortisation and exceptional non-recurring items which are defined as items of income and expense of such size, nature or incidence, that in the view of management their disclosure is relevant to explain the performance of the Group. (2) Excluding discontinued revenues - see note 4. (3) "Black Friday" refers to the regulatory action taken in April 2011 against certain major poker operators which resulted in many players ceasing to play poker worldwide. (4) Discontinued revenues were derived from e-money expiry which is now subject to different rules under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. (5) 2011 comparables include only 5 months of revenues and costs from the OP Inc business acquired on 1 February 2011. (6) Tax charge in the period relates to expected reassessment of 2004/5 Canadian taxes following a review by the Canadian Revenue Agency which commenced in 2005. The Board has made a full provision for the amount it believes it is likely to be required to pay in respect of withholding taxes and interest. See note 17 in the Financial Statements for more detail. Commenting on today's results announcement, Joel Leonoff, President & CEO, said: The combination of NETELLER and OP Inc. has produced a multi-faceted payment product offering and positioned the emerged business Optimal Payments Plc to benefit from a rapidly evolving online payment market. Our efforts have resulted in a fully integrated and right-sized business with an efficient cost base. Our operationally geared business model, continued focus on product development and R&D, along with our strong presence in the internet payment market have combined to produce significant organic revenue and EBITDA growth. Our H1 results and strong foundation position the Company well for further growth in H2. The online payment industry continues to consolidate and the Group should benefit from the expected significant growth in both the online and mobile commerce markets. We see substantial opportunities to provide innovative solutions to merchants and consumers in both the NETELLER eWallet and NETBANX

I am still in there, another hairy day but not too bad.

Latest news from the US...........

Adelson and CSIG Gaining Allies in Fight Against Online Gambling
by STEVE RUDDOCK on MARCH 25, 2014
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Adelson-393x493Sheldon Adelson’s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling has added several political allies to its growing cast of characters in recent weeks, as Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are expected to introduce legislation that would call for a ban on most forms of online gambling any day now, and several other prominent politicians have decided to openly fly the CSIG banner.

The two bills set to be introduced are nearly identical, with only slight differences in the language according to Chris Grove of onlinepokerreport.com. The House Bill is a carbon copy of a proposed Wire Act Fix that was first floated by Adelson’s group in January, while the Senate bill is also extremely similar but lacks a provision that calls for an FBI report on online gambling.

Rick Perry tosses a Texas sized hat into the ring

Chaffetz and Graham may be handling the federal side of this battle, but we are also seeing a continued effort to get state lawmakers to join the fight as well, perhaps in an effort to get out in front of the state’s rights argument that is at the center of this debate?

On Monday Texas Governor Rick Perry jumped aboard the Adelson gravy train, penning a letter calling on Congress to ban online gambling.

Perry is against online gambling for three reasons:

Morality
Technology
And uh, um what’s the third one there… um… he forgot the third reason, sorry, I can’t… ooops…
On a serious note, Perry seems to be just another politician courting Adelson’s favor (if you recall Adelson spent over $100 million in the 2012 election cycle) considering the Governor’s term is up in 2016 and he is expected to at the very least explore another presidential run.

Lobbyists

At the same time, Adelson’s company, Las Vegas Sands, has also formally hired former Senator turned lobbyist Blanche Lincoln’s Lincoln Policy Group according to Kent Cooper of RollCall.com. Lincoln, a two-term senator from Arkansas along with former senate staffer Robert Holifield will lobby for “legislation that would reinstate the policy banning internet gambling (i.e. restore the Wire Act),” for Adelson and LVS according to the article.

It should be pointed out that Lincoln is listed as one of three co-chairs of the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling. Joining Lincoln as CSIG Chairpersons are former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb (a democrat) and former Republican Governor of New York George Pataki.

Adelson appears to be building a bipartisan coalition with Republican legislators introducing the bills and Lincoln (a democrat) using her connections (she served in the US senate from 1999 to 2011) in the democratic party to lobby for support of the twin anti-online gambling bills.

Does Congress have the stomach for this meal?

Adelson certainly wants to have this fight, and CSIG has been extremely active on a number of fronts, from a circulated petition calling for state Attorney Generals to call for a congressional ban of online gambling (only 15 AG’s signed off on this petition) to numerous editorials. CSIG has even created a YouTube video reminiscent of Cold War fear mongering, decrying online gambling –the only thing missing was Dana Carvey dressed up as the “Church Lady” and openly questioning if Satan is behind the whole online gambling industry.

Regulated online gambling in the US is certainly in a vulnerable position at the moment. So far we have three states with online gambling laws on the books (and even more with laws against it) and the only thing holding it together at the moment is a tenuous memo sent by the Department of Justice in 2011 that changed the agency’s interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act.

Adelson already has his gloves on and his mouthpiece in, and he has a strong team in his corner, but the arena is empty; nobody really wants to see this fight. There simply doesn’t seem to be any desire in Congress to tug on the thread of the online gambling sweater.

Sure, Adelson’s coalition has a number of big names, but as Chris Grove pointed out on the Poker Advocacy podcast on Monday night, more telling than the supporters are the names not supporting Adelson.

Adelson’s CSIG seems to have attracted a number of politicians and lobbyists who have their hands out for a paycheck or a campaign donation (Lindsey Graham just recently received the maximum donation from both Adelson and his wife, as well as a nice donation from Adelson’s Super PAC) but by and large this is such a divisive issue, a paradox for many politicians, not to mention the numerous states with competing interests that will require a number of carve outs; it’s simply not an issue most lawmakers want to touch.

There are also the motivations to consider, and most people find a casino mogul calling for a ban on one form of gambling over “moral” concerns quite contradictory. Adelson and company can continue to try to separate the two, but in most people’s eyes gambling is gambling.

Now what?

Well most on advfn seem to think theirs nothing to worry about.

Mind that what it was like back in 2006.


OPAY i should think will have to comment in their outlook statement 3m on friday.

Surely their other business should help sustain a good price, but who knows - Friday we shall see.

It should 3M but dont forget the Brokers will hve taken into account the growth of web based gambling in their SP targets.

Still not whole heartedly convinced, hope to Goodness I am not proven totally wrong.

Just read that on 25th March 2014 (London, Montreal and New York) Optimal Payments and Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa announce partnership in New Jersey to provide its new Neteller services to customers of Borgata Casino.com., Poker.com party poker.com., More of it but too much for me to type and haven't learned yet how to send the lot by copying and pasting. What would these all be doing if the laws were going to be changed? I still hope I am proved to be right by hanging in here.

Full article to be found on Yahoo Finance.

Has anybody anything to say about the article I posted above?

Obviously my question above has been dismissed. However, whatever, gl in all you invest in. Roll on Friday is all I can say personally.

3m full article here..........


Optimal Payments Partners with Borgata/Party Poker to provide NETELLER Payment Options
by SADONNA PRICE on MARCH 26, 2014
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netellerPlaying online poker in the state of New Jersey has been difficult from the beginning. Players have faced geolocation failures, log-in problems and more importantly, financial transaction issues. Players faced depositing and withdrawal issues when the online gambling sites first went live in the state as certain financial institutions did not want to work with online gambling companies in the US. Thankfully there were still resources that players could use and now NETELLER joins the list as acceptable financial options.

A new Pokerfuse article reports that Optimal Payments has partnered with Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa to provide New Jersey gamblers of both BorgataPoker, BorgataCasino and nj.partypoker with NETELLER products. NETELLER will be available for players to use to complete deposits and withdrawals while enjoying online gaming in the state.

Customers of the Borgata/Party Poker sites will now be able to use NETELLER and Net+ Card services to fund their gaming accounts.According to Optimal Payments Executive Vice-President Business Development Neil Erlick, the new payment service will provide the market leading brands with a new advanced and secure payment option that will serve to support growth in the state.

The Borgata Vice President of Finance, Hugh Turner, also commented on the new financial option by stating the service will help to increase conversions while still delivering an enhanced customer experience. The Borgata and Party Poker sites will now join WSOP.com and 888poker in the state with providing customers with NETELLER financial services. These sites partnered with Optima Payments in the beginning of March.

This is the first time that the financial company has been back in the United States since operations were stopped in 2007. The Department of Justice interrupted the services all those years ago but now the company is back in action in the states. Players in New Jersey can now feel confident when depositing or withdrawing funds via the NETELLER payment service.

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Thanks for responding gf - it just puzzles me how different stories contradict each other. I am sure that for the moment opay/neteller, 888 etc., will do well for now as these big companies cannot afford any more to sign agreements if they thought the laws were going to change dramatically once again. How is your Auntie by the way?

Hi 3m my aunt wasnt as bad as first thought. Slight stroke.
She comes out of hospital tomorrow and will have home help for the next 2 weeks.

Thanks for asking.

Just out.......

Restoration of America’s Wire Act Bill Introduced Into Legislation
by SADONNA PRICE on MARCH 27, 2014
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As we reported just a few days ago, US legislators have been working to restore the Wire Act and do away with state regulated online gambling in the United States. A bill was circulating in draft form with the title ‘Internet Gambling Control Act’ and has now been introduced formally as the Restoration of America’s Wire Act. The new bill was created by South Carolina State Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz.

It was just three years ago that the US government decided to deem the Wire Act of 1961 as applying only to sports betting. This allowed for states in the US to create legislation that would legalize and regulate online casino and poker gaming options, such as the case in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey. However, now Graham wants this decision to be reversed.

During a news conference on the subject, Graham stated that the decision by the Obama administration has ‘virtually allowed’ every cell phone and computer to become a video poker machine. Graham feels as though this is not right and wants to see the decision changed. A big problem with this bill is the fact that states that already have regulated markets that are fully operation will be affected. A carve out has not been put in place to protect what Nevada, New Jersey or Delaware have already established.

While Graham and Chaffetz have Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands, working towards banning online gambling, proponents have the Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection. The group has been tirelessly working to stop any bill that is anti-online gambling. As reported in a Card Player interview, Mary Bono, the chairwoman for the group, stated that with a ban of online gaming, black markets would take over and consumers would be less safe in the end.

So the fight continues. For gamblers the hope is that these types of bills will be stopped in their tracks so the iGaming market can continue to grow and expand in the US.

Surely the US must have lost billions in tax revenues since the ban years ago. What is the problem?

People want to gamble on Polka etc., is no worse than us gambling on the stock exchange.

People will drink, smoke, gamble, steal to feed which ever habit or addiction they may have acquired. People drink and drive knowing whatever the consequence.

Am I missing something?

Had a stressful day with hospital appointments etc., so may seem a little over the top.

What you seem to be missing 3m is that the land based casinos are controlled by the Mafia and the Mafia also own certain US politicians. Back in 2006 they werent going to allow new companys start on the web and take away some of their profits.

Since then in certain states they have manouvered and now also have their finger in the pie in online gaming.

I sold out because I remember 2006 very well and was shocked to see online gaming banned. It literally happened over night. I lost a lot of money, so Im out now because I dont want the same thing to happen.

Their seems though today a lot more pro online gamers so it might all be a storm in a tea cup like I said last week.

Dont worry.

OPAY surely have to say something in the results tomorrow and I think they will be good results.

Thanks gf, 2006 I lost a lot of money also - it has stayed dormant for all these years so not lost completely for me - as many others of my sad buys. Revenues/taxes must have lost the states billions of pounds by their ban and I do not think they can afford in this day and age to let it happen again, my views - and hope I am correct. Mafia is in control all over the world and I do understand that, one example - as in even simply buy a time share, which part does one own of a property i.e. a brick?

We shall see - not too worried at the moment. More worried about all the scans and results I am waiting for at the moment and as long as I can live to make a profit and enjoy whatever rest of my life then fine. I have made too many bad calls on gambling on the stock market, whenst I would not even put a shilling in a one arm bandit. Ah! well - it will all be revealed. Good night.

Good results didn't lift this .

Im amazed when I last looked here they were 4% plus this morning.

Whats happened more news out from US?.

Must admit they looked kind of coy the way I read the results on online operations refering to Europe and tagging US on at the end and saying the REGULATED US market.

Suppose under the circumstances they couldnt have done it any other way.

What this one needs now is the pro gaming crowd to move quick and swamp the spoilers.