Any ideas why BPTY has opened some 35% up. Not complaining as I took the plunge a couple of days. Presumably there has been some press comment somewhere?

Daniel Stewart & Co has cut its target price for bwin.party Digital Entertainment but reinstated its 'buy' stance, saying that the online gambling firm is positioned for growth after a tough year. The broker, which has had the stock under review for some time, reduced its target from 173p to 146p.

Nevertheless, it said that the firm has "come through the worst of it" and that 2014 should lay the foundations for a return to growth, helped by new product launches and growth from exposure to the newly regulated online market in New Jersey.

Canaccord note:
"bwin.party produced a reassuring trading update, albeit with forecasts coming down as we reflect previously identified US start-up losses in our normalised numbers. Management confirmed that Q4 trading was in line with expectations, with some recovery in Sports gross win margin following a disappointing Q3. Revenues continued to be impacted by ISP blocking in Greece, but, encouragingly, BPTY reported a recovery in Poker revenues QonQ, where player numbers are recovering after the initial teething problems from the product relaunch. And in mobile, momentum continues, with mobile now 25% of sports betting revenues, almost double the run rate of a year ago. In the US, BPTY reported a “successful” launch in New Jersey, with some US blogs suggesting BPTY has grabbed as much as 50% of the fledgling market; Pokerscout data certainly suggests BPTY’s peak player numbers for cash poker are 80% ahead of the number two network, 888’s WSOP."

bwin Feed selected as live sports betting content provider for Fortuna Entertainment Group
bwin.party is pleased to announce that it has been chosen to provide sports betting content to Fortuna Entertainment Group, Central Europe's largest betting operator. The B2B deal integrates bwin.party's sports content - bwin Feed - into Fortuna Entertainment Group's sports betting client.

bwin Feed provides live sports betting data including odds, fixtures, results, scoreboards and events calendars in multiple languages to online and land-based B2B clients. The feed can be integrated into a client's betting point of sales via a state-of-the-art interface, enabling them to offer their customers an extensive sports book and supporting content.

Radim Haluza, CEO of Fortuna, said: "bwin's experience in the sports betting arena coupled with their reputation as pioneers in the live-betting industry made them the obvious choice for us when selecting a partner to expand our sports book product. We are proud to partner with them and expect the deal to have a positive impact on our business."

Marco Falchetto, Director Sports Betting, bwin.party, said: "We are excited to enable Fortuna to offer their customers the same innovative sports betting experience that our customers have enjoyed since 2005. Our service will contribute to the growth of Fortuna's business and we look forward to replicating this success with other B2B partners."

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party will announce its full year results on 13 March 2014.

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party digital entertainment's total revenues fell to €652.4m in the year to the end of December - down from €801.6m last time.

The group says this reflects the shift from 'volume to value', ISP blocking in Greece, migration losses and the full year impact of gaming taxes in Germany. Nationally regulated and/or taxed markets represented 53% of total revenue (2012: 43%).

Gross gaming revenue through mobile/touch grew by 77% to €76.9m.

Clean EBITDA from continuing operations fell to €108.0m (2012: €164.9m) due to lower revenue, increased gaming taxes in Germany and start-up costs in New Jersey. The group posts a continuing operating profit of €51.9m (2012: loss of €16.5m) driven by release of acquisition fair value provisions, absence of retroactive taxes and lower amortisation costs.

Chief executive Norbert Teufelberger said: "2013 was a challenging year for our business, but it also marked a turning point as we increased our focus on regulated and to-be-regulated markets, began to roll-out new and refreshed versions of our mobile and desktop products, and commenced the transformation of our technology infrastructure through the adoption of the Agile development methodology. Having streamlined the shape and size of our business we now have the foundations to return our business to sustainable growth."

Note from Canaccord today:
"bwin.party reported results in line with our expectations, after what has been a particularly challenging year. Revenues fell by 19% to €652.4 (vs our €652.6m), while EBITDA came in at €108.0m, against our €108.3m. The drivers had been well documented, a combination of the volume-to-value strategy (cutting marketing in non-core markets), ISP blocking in Greece, poor gross win margin in Q3 and weak trends in Poker. But there were some positives. Q4 revenues were +10% QonQ, with Poker +5% (a positive response to relaunch of poker platform), and mobile now up to 28% of sportsbook revenues, from 15% in FY12, and total mobile revenues up by 77% YoY. The group increased its dividend by 5% to 3.6p, a positive signal. And the group finished the year with €139.9m of net cash (CG €145m), or €63.8m net of client liabilities.
After a year of significant challenges/disappointments, there are some positive signs at BPTY. Year to date, revenues are up by 6% QonQ – this is still -11% YoY, given the impact of Volume-to-Value and Greek ISP blocking – and poker has continued to recover QonQ (+3%). The group has just relaunched its new mobile platform in Spain. And the World Cup should provide a positive kicker for trading through the summer (management estimates it is the equivalent of an extra month’s trading). There are also €20m of incremental cost savings coming through in FY14, which we expect to drive earnings growth. The launch in New Jersey has gone well from a market share perspective (BPTY still had a 40% market share in February), but market growth has been disappointing (reflecting early geolocation and payment processing problems), although trends remain encouraging. As a result, we are trimming forecasts, with EBITDA down from €126.5m to €121.5m in FY14, driving a 4% downgrade to EPS from 9.4c to 9.0c.
bwin.party is trading on a FY14F EV/EBITDA of 9.0x and PER of 16.2x (or 14.3x adjusted for net cash). We think this looks attractive, given evidence of a turnaround in the core business, and its strong positioning in the re-opening US market. We stick at BUY and retain our 145p multiples-derived target price.

StockMarketWire.com
Citigroup has downgraded its recommendation on Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (LON:BPTY) to "sell" from "neutral", believing the stock's valuation is inconsistent with the slow progress being made by the company. The broker pointed out that, in its opinion, European trading remains weak and initial revenues from New Jersey have been disappointing. Analysts have cut their price target to 95 pence per share (from 125 pence), suggesting a negative expected total return of around 21 per cent. Contrastingly, Numis reaffirmed its "buy" stock rating in a note to investors, late last week. The broker said: "bwin.party, and its shareholders, have suffered repeated bludgeonings of chance and yet today's analysts' meeting confirmed that management still has the ambition, and a plan, to master the company's fate." Numis left its price target unchanged at 200 pence a share.

StockMarketWire.com
Online gaming group bwin.party digital entertainment said average daily net revenue was up 4% in Q1 versus the previous quarter but down 9% versus the prior year, primarily reflecting the shift from 'volume to value', ISP blocking in Greece, migration losses and a challenging poker market in Europe

· Total revenue was up 1% versus the previous quarter despite two less days in the quarter but down 8% to €165.7m year-on-year (2013: €180.2m)

· Nationally regulated and/or taxed markets represented 56% of total revenue (2013: 51%)

· Mobile/touch represented 17% of total gross gaming revenue (2013: 8%)

· Additional cost savings of €20m per annum on-track to be delivered in 2014, with further savings in 2015 following platform integrations in France and Italy

· Maintained leadership position in New Jersey; pursuing opportunities in other states

· Philip Yea joins the Board and will succeed Simon Duffy as Chairman

Norbert Teufelberger, CEO said:

"The business has continued to deliver sequential growth since Q3 2013 that we predicted would be the low point in terms of revenue performance.

"Whilst we are investing in growing our share in nationally regulated markets, the €20m of additional cost savings should help to drive higher Clean EBITDA margins in 2014.

"We remain optimistic about new market opportunities in the United States with online poker bills currently being reviewed in California and New York. On the back of our early success in New Jersey, together with our partners, we are determined to secure leading positions in all eligible states that represent a significant business opportunity.

"I am delighted to welcome Philip Yea's appointment to the Board as detailed in a separate announcement today. Philip brings a wealth of experience that I am sure will prove invaluable as we continue our transition to nationally regulated markets. Whilst we are now moving into the seasonally quiet trading period, with the roll-out of new products, more mobile extensions and the FIFA World Cup to come, the Board remains confident about the Group's full year prospects."

OWL directors to sit on board or c ushon? very high credentials mst be good, bid picture forming.?

bwin.party digital entertainment plc Agreement with SpringOwl
Further to the Company's announcement on 16 May 2014, concerning planned changes to the composition of the Board, bwin.party announces that it has agreed to work closely with SpringOwl on the appointment of its new directors and confirms its agreement to consider Michael Fertik, one of SpringOwl's nominees, as a potential candidate. To support this process, SpringOwl has nominated Daniel Silvers to the Board under the terms of the Relationship Agreement. Daniel Silvers will take up his position on the Board as soon as practicable.

Accordingly, SpringOwl Gibraltar Partners B Ltd ('SpringOwl') today withdrew its four resolutions (being resolutions 19-22) that were scheduled to be put to shareholders at today's Annual General Meeting (the 'SpringOwl Resolutions').

Philip Yea, bwin.party's Chairman elect said:
"I am pleased to be able to demonstrate common ground with SpringOwl and welcome its support. There remains much work ahead and, together with the rest of the Board, I look forward to working closely with SpringOwl as a significant shareholder in bwin.party and welcome Dan Silvers to the Board as SpringOwl's appointed nominee."

Jason Ader, founder of SpringOwl said:
"bwin.party is a business with great brands and enormous potential. We welcome the planned changes to the composition of the Board announced last week and are looking forward to working with Philip Yea and the Board over the coming period to ensure that this potential is both realised and translated into long-term value for shareholders."

Kalixa substantially increases scale with acquisition of PXP Solutions
bwin.party today announces that its Kalixa payments group has acquired PXP Solutions, a private company with a 27-year track record in the card payment processing sector. Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

The acquisition represents an important step in the acceleration of the Group's three-year plan to grow Kalixa and to increase significantly the proportion of its revenue coming from outside the Group. Integrating PXP will significantly grow the size of Kalixa's payment processing volume and is expected to generate substantial revenue synergies in the areas of credit and debit card acquisition and issuance. With further strategic moves planned for later in the year, Kalixa is well on its way towards achieving the scale, breadth and customer reach that will ensure it can realise its potential.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4817772

Media speculation
The Board of bwin.party has noted the recent speculation in the media regarding a possible break-up or sale of the company.

Since his appointment as Chairman last month, Philip Yea has been working with the executive management team on ways in which the Group can increase shareholder value, however we can confirm that there are no plans to break-up or sell the company.

polker stars to list in London & take over a company, b win next, wants new
jersey business in the usa the only way t hay can get it s via b win, to sell
part of that business or full blown takeover previous papers speculation in june,
rcent b win sell off may be all part of it, time will tell all.

Pre-close trading update

Key points
· Revenue performance in the three months to 30 June was mixed with solid performance in sports, which grew year-on-year, partially offsetting a soft performance in poker and casino. Bingo remained broadly flat versus the previous year despite challenging competitive conditions in the UK and Italy

· Since the end of June, volumes and gross win margins from the FIFA World Cup have been strong and overall the tournament performance has been in-line with management's expectations

· Mobile/touch continues to grow strongly and in the three months to 30 June 2014 represented approximately 35% of sports betting gross gaming revenue (Q2 2013: 21%) and 21% of gross gaming revenue overall (Q2 2013: 9%)

· Nationally regulated and/or taxed markets represented approximately 56% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2014 (Q2 2013: 52%)

· Several new product initiatives are now live including mobile products for sports betting, poker, casino and bingo

· The Board expects to deliver additional cost savings in 2014 of €10m in addition to the €20m of cost savings that have already been announced and consequently remains confident in full year outlook

· Further potential cost savings to be delivered in 2015 have been identified by management, details of which are expected to be announced with the half year results on 29 August 2014

Norbert Teufelberger, CEO of bwin.party, said:
"Trading in the second quarter was mixed with revenue a little softer than expected but Clean EBITDA margins were slightly better than expected. While the decline in the dotcom poker market in the period also affected our casino business, the impact was mitigated by an uplift in player activity in sports betting in nationally regulated and/or taxed markets, largely driven by the FIFA World Cup. The UK bingo market has remained highly competitive ahead of the introduction of a point of consumption tax later this year, but our Foxy Bingo brand has maintained a leadership position and our new mobile offering has been well received.

"As expected, the start-up losses in New Jersey, ISP blocking in Greece and the absence of domain sales in the first half have impacted both the revenue and Clean EBITDA performance versus the prior year. However, we are taking steps to improve operating performance, simplify decision-making, reduce complexity and costs and, as a result, remain confident about the full year outlook."

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4848869

Half Year Dividend
The Board of bwin.party has today declared a half year dividend of 1.89 pence per ordinary share in respect of the six month period ended 30 June 2014.

StockMarketWire.com

bwin.party digital entertainment's total revenue fell to €317.1m in the six months to the end of June - down from €342.5m - following a mixed first half performance.

The group said the fall reflected a shift from 'volume to value', a soft international poker market and the loss of €11.9m of revenue from Greece following the closure of that market, partially mitigated by a positive FIFA World Cup; nationally regulated and/or taxed markets represented 56% of total revenue (2013: 52%).

Gross gaming revenue through mobile/touch grew by 125% to €67.4m (2013: €30.0m) with strong growth across all verticals and planned cost reductions of €30m this year remain on-track with savings of €13.8m achieved in H1.

The group said clean EBITDA of €46.4m (2013: €60.7m) has reduced primarily due to €7.3m of operating losses in New Jersey, reduced domain sales and the loss of Greece. And it says a non-cash impairment charge of €94.7m (2013: nil) against poker-related and certain other intangible assets resulted in a €94.0m loss after tax (2013: loss of €11.6m).

Chief executive Norbert Teufelberger "Trading during the first half of 2014 was mixed with a solid performance from sports betting more than offset by year-on-year declines in casino and poker, particularly in countries that were no longer a core area of focus. We are on-track with our current cost saving measures, however it is clear that a more fundamental approach is needed to turnaround our commercial and operational performance.

"This requires a major change: we are simplifying our structure to accelerate the execution of our plans to drive revenue growth, increase our focus on customers in nationally regulated and/or taxed markets, and further reduce infrastructure costs. This new approach will also allow us to consider alternative financing and corporate structures in order to create additional value.

"We are confident that the steps we are taking will underpin our financial performance and remain confident about the full year outlook."

StockMarketWire.com
Kalixa, the payments service provider wholly owned by bwin.party digital entertainment, has announced a 50:50 joint venture with Millicom, a leading international telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa.

The joint venture, which comes just three months after Kalixa acquired the PXP Solutions card payment processing business, represents a significant step in continuing to build externally generated business volume and revenue. The joint venture will develop a payments service provider for Africa and Latin America. Operations are scheduled to begin in Colombia and Brazil later this year with Kalixa and Millicom each making an initial investment of $4m and appointing two directors each to the joint venture's Board. Payment acceptance services will be offered by the joint venture for both businesses and consumers, including payment gateway and point of sale solutions for merchants as well as a one-click payment and eWallet provision for online customers. This end-to-end payment solution will offer cross-platform, multi-device services.

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party digital entertainment's third quarter revenues were up 2% at €148.7m. And the group says excluding the loss of Greece, total revenue would have increased by 4%.

bwin.party says current trading is in-line with the board's expectations.

Revenue from nationally regulated and/or taxed markets was up 10% year-on-year, representing 56% of total revenue (2013: 53%); revenue from other markets was down 6% year-on-year.

Other key points include: * Sports betting - net revenue up 11% driven by higher gross win margins, mobile growth and the World Cup, partially offset by a later start to European football leagues, 'volume to value' shift and the loss of Greece

* Casino - net revenue down 3% with higher cross-sell from sports offset by a soft poker performance and the loss of Greece

* Poker - net revenue down 25% although there has been sequential growth since the end of July

* Bingo - net revenue down 1% with solid UK performance offset by weakness in Italy

* Other revenue up 64% with strong performances by Kalixa, network services, WPT and InterTrader Chief executive Norbert Teufelberger said: "Our overall revenue performance in the third quarter was in-line with our expectations whilst Clean EBITDA margins have benefited from our previously announced cost savings. We continue to make good progress on expanding our mobile footprint and our presence in nationally regulated and/or taxed markets and we remain confident about the full year outlook.

"Our transition to a label-led organisation structure is well-advanced and we remain on course to achieve our target of €15m of incremental savings next year.

"As we enter the seasonally strong fourth quarter we are continuing to launch a number of new products including the latest version of our mobile sports product that will also include embedded casino games."

Numis comment:
"Today’s 3Q14 IMS contains some welcome good news. Sports betting delivered respectable 11% growth, casino’s decline slowed down and poker has had a couple of months of m/m growth; actual growth. Content is being upgraded and the belated shift to mobile is happening, accounting for 23% of revenue (up from 13%). These are early signs that the new business structure is starting to pay off, in our view, and should help lift sentiment in relation to the company off rock bottom.

We believe that there are three potential upward catalysts for the share price: i) delivery on the stated strategy; ii) the partial or complete break-up of the group; and, iii) leveraging the balance sheet and payment of a special dividend. Today makes it more likely that option i), delivery, is a possibility which has the potential to improve the price at which option ii), break-up, could be delivered if needed. bwin.party is a self-help story which could outperform a tough equity market in our view."

Rumours of a (Canadian) bid coming.