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?

What's your take on ZNGA, skinny. I have done a little research on the company, but it does look as though they already have a commercial agreement with BPTY and it also looks as though the existing casino/gaming operators in the U.S. will have a head start over the games providers.

Harry, I haven't done an awful amount of research, but as you have alluded to, gambling is massive market and as such, I've had a small punt.

It does look like the recent news has caused some interest.

Link posted on the Talk thread.

Zynga’s Online Gaming Push Faces Hurdles From Casinos

Just an opinion, but worth a read.

http://beta.fool.com/valuemagnet/2013/03/01/why-zynga-overvalued-or-without-online-poker/25802/?logvisit=y&published=2013-03-01&source=eptcnnlnk0000001

A pretty damning article Harry and if you were an initial investor, you would be fairly p*ssed off.

I'm in @$3 and it is a small punt - one might even say an online bet!

Very interesting sector as I remember the valuations of all of the on-line gaming companies before the U.S. ban. Some of the little guys fell by the wayside but the survivors were hugely cash generative with ridiculous profit margins, but I assume that is what the IRS are interested in tapping into?
Think I will hang on to my BPTY & 888 holdings for the time being and see what the yanks decide to do.
Had a quick look at CZR & BYD in the U.S. but neither appeal just yet.

"As are result of the bill being signed into law we (Morgan Stanley) are reinstating our buy recommendation on Bwin, with a target price of 173p. However German exposure in our view is likely to cause further volatility to the share price.
Morgan Stanley was also positive on the news, raising its target price for Bwin from 160p to 200p and for rival 888 from 140p to 175p. Analyst Vaughan Lewis said:
New laws in New Jersey mean online gambling should launch in 9-12 months. We think 888 and Bwin.party will be among the winners here, and increase our 2015 earnings per share forecasts by 24% for 888 and 5% for Bwin.party. Longer-term implications are more positive, as the world's largest gambling market opens.
We expect European operators to be involved as suppliers and partners. The law restricts the online gambling market to the 8 existing casino licensees. With limited operational knowledge in the US, we expect most operators to enter into partnerships and software agreements. This should benefit industry leaders with proprietary technology, such as Bwin.party and 888.
New Jersey is small…but the longer-term impact could be significant. The US is the largest single gambling market in the world, and we see long-term potential worth up to 460p per share for 888 and 560p per share for Bwin.party."

StockMarketWire.com
Online gaming firm bwin.party digital entertainment reported that a solid performance in sports, casino & games and emerging businesses was offset by new German gaming tax and a decline in poker.

Pro forma revenue was down 2% to €801.6m in the year to end-December. Actual revenue was up 16% driven primarily by the Merger.

Pro forma Clean EBITDA from Continuing operations down 17% to €164.9m due to flat revenue, increased gaming taxes and compliance costs. Actual Clean EBITDA from Continuing operations down 2% to €164.9m.

Continuing pro forma Clean EPS of 14.7 € cents per share (2011: 18.5 € cents); actual Clean EPS of 14.7 € cents per share (2011: 17.9 € cents).

Current trading is impacted by dotcom migration and increased focus on nationally regulated markets with associated reduction in dotcom marketing spend: average gross daily revenue of €2.4m (Q412: €2.6m) but with an offsetting increase in Clean EBITDA margins.

Revenue for 2013 now expected to be slightly lower than current market estimates, but impact on Clean EBITDA to be offset by cost savings. The Board remains confident about the full year result.

Recommended final dividend up 10% to 1.72 pence per share (2011: 1.56 pence) making a total FY12 dividend of 3.44 pence per share (2011: 3.12 pence).

Norbert Teufelberger, CEO, said: "Most of last year was focused on integration. 2013 will be about completing this effort and transforming our business through innovation as we revitalise our offer with a string of product updates and extend our reach through mobile and social media channels. With most of our single technology platform in place, we are now optimising the shape and size of our business in order to maximise our operational and financial performance.

"Our strategy is unchanged, but we are not relying on innovation alone to return our business to growth. We are accelerating the pace of change by shifting our revenue mix towards nationally regulated and to-be-regulated markets. This includes gearing up for a launch in the US, which now seems to be a more likely prospect within the next twelve months following recent events at state level.

"At the same time we are changing our approach to dotcom markets with increased focus on fewer but more valuable customers. We are simplifying our business, moving from 'volume' to 'value', which we believe will allow us to further increase our operational efficiency. We expect this approach to generate significant additional cashflow to offset increased investment and taxes as additional markets regulate and also to fund growth in new business areas such as payments and social gaming.

"Our current trading in January and Februrary was impacted by some user experience issues following the dotcom migration in December 2012, the impact of which was slightly higher than expected. It was also impacted by decisions taken in January 2013 to increase our focus on nationally regulated markets and on high value customers. The result was that gross average daily revenue was down 7% versus the fourth quarter of 2012 to €2.4m (Q412: €2.6m). However, Clean EBITDA margins for the same period are running higher than expected which has fully mitigated the revenue shortfall.

"The migration problems have now stabilised and while the user experience issues coupled with the actions taken to-date mean that 2013 total revenue is expected to be lower than current market estimates, associated cost savings mean that the Board remains confident about the full year result. We are recommending a final dividend of 1.72p per share making 3.44p per share for the full year, a 10% increase over 2011."

Note from Peel Hunt today:
"These results highlight the challenges and the opportunities facing bwin.party. On the face of it, the strategy of focusing on fewer but more profitable markets/customers makes sense, but converting this to bottom-line growth has thus far proved elusive. To be fair, some of this has been beyond management’s control, but not always. At the current point, the risk/reward profile looks finely balanced.
Current trading highlights issues: Current trading highlights the challenges at bwin.party. Gross daily revenue is down 7% on Q4 (10%) net, with the performance being blamed on .com migration issues and the decision to place a greater focus on regulated markets and higher-value customers. It is perhaps unfortunate that the merger happened at a time when the group faced significant challenges in some of its key markets, causing a distraction when it could be least afforded. The question is whether bwin.party is truly playing a long game that will ultimately pay off, or whether the underlying business is just not performing as well as it should be? Some comfort can be taken from the fact that the EBITDA margin has improved sufficiently (thus far in 2013) to offset the revenue shortfall. However, we consider management still has much to prove.
US positioning: The shares have recently recovered because of developments in the US. We believe that the group has positioned itself well here, and the Party Poker brand awareness should prove a major asset should a B2C offering come to fruition (the group has yet to be granted a licence).
Bottom line delivery required: Accompanying these figures was a clear strategic message, which is effectively a greater focus on fewer but more profitable markets and customers, along with product investment/enhancement. This makes sense, but the group now needs to do something that has proved difficult over the past few years – convert the narrative into bottom line growth. On balance we consider that the rating is about right (c8x to Dec 2013E) and that there is no need to chase the shares."

Geoff Baldwin, Non Executive Director, bought 226,000 shares in the company on the 15th March 2013 at a price of 147.83p.

Geoff Baldwin, Non Executive Director, bought 47,000 shares in the company on the 18th March 2013 at a price of 148.02p. The Director now holds 400,000 shares.

Interim Management Statement and Q1 2013 Key Performance Indicators

· Clean EBITDA in the first quarter was in line with the Board's expectations due to cost savings generated on the back of our 'volume' to 'value' approach despite total revenue1 down 17% to €180.2m (2012: €215.9m)

· Revenue performance reflects the introduction of a 5% turnover tax on sports betting in Germany, a significant reduction in acquisition marketing in several dotcom countries and lower than expected player activity on poker and casino following the dotcom migration

· Total savings of €70m per annum to be delivered in 2013, with further savings in 2014 and 2015; The Board remains comfortable with previous guidance on Clean EBITDA margins

· First phase of our new poker product, new social sports betting product and new bingo product are all expected to launch as planned

· Nevada and New Jersey lead the opening of the US market with other states expected to follow

· The Board believes that the Company is very well positioned to take a market leading position as and when other states regulate

· Given the planned launch of a number of new products, the progress already made on reducing costs and the opening of the US online gaming market, the Board remains confident about the Group's prospects

Commenting on today's announcement, Norbert Teufelberger, CEO said:

"The drop in revenue in the first quarter reflects our tactical shift from 'volume' to 'value' that we announced at the time of the full year results, as well as lower than expected player activity in poker and casino following the dotcom migration in December 2012.

"As previously announced, our shift in tactics will see us optimise the shape and size of our business, a process that is expected to reduce total revenue in 2013 by up to 10% compared with 2012. However, our programme to reduce costs is on-track and we remain comfortable with our previous guidance on Clean EBITDA margins having identified total savings of approximately €70m per annum to be delivered in 2013 with more to come in 2014 and 2015.

"Whilst seasonality and the absence of a major football tournament this year mean that revenue trends are unlikely to improve until the second half of the year, a series of new product launches and the anticipated opening of poker and casino in New Jersey coupled with a detailed programme of cost savings and a greater focus on regulated markets mean we remain confident about the Group's prospects."

StockMarketWire.com
Investec has upgraded its recommendation on Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment (LON:BPTY) to "buy" from "hold" despite the company reporting soft first quarter revenue performance. The City broker pointed out that it had always expected the first half of the year to be difficult, given the difficult transformation taking place, and has increased its price target by nearly 30 per cent to 180 pence per share (up from 140 pence) based on the company's increased mid-term earnings outlook.
Separately, Deutsche Bank and Numis have reiterated "buy" ratings today, with both brokers leaving their price target unchanged at 200 pence per share.
Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity has stuck with its "hold" recommendation and increased its price target by 27 per cent to 155 pence per share (from 122 pence).

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party and Real Madrid have confirmed they are in the final stages of extending their longstanding relationship, which will see bwin become Real Madrid's official digital partner in a new multi-year deal.

The new partnership will follow the completion of bwin's six-year shirt sponsorship which concludes at the end of the 2012-13 season.

The long-term shirt sponsorship of Real Madrid has seen as fundamental in establishing bwin as Europe's leading online gaming brand.

The decision to move to a new digital partnership reflects a shift in consumer behaviour over the past few years which has led to an evolution in bwin.party's sponsorship strategy to focus on social media and social gaming, online and mobile integration, as well as exploiting the Group's extensive content and media rights catalogue.

It is in these areas that both parties are now looking to extend their relationship going forward.

The new digital partnership will position bwin at the centre of promotional activities for one of the world's most popular football clubs and includes the integration of the bwin brand into Real's website, social media and mobile apps, the creation of co-branded gaming products, match day perimeter board signage and access to players for marketing campaigns.

Commenting on the announcement, bwin.party Group CEO, Norbert Teufelberger said: "Our decision not to renew the shirt sponsorship brings to an end one chapter in our relationship with Real Madrid which has delivered six highly successful years of brand promotion for bwin on the shirts of one of the world's truly global football brands.

We now look forward to beginning the next chapter by leveraging our brand strengths to drive revenue and create premium content for our customers and Real Madrid's millions of followers. We remain committed sponsors and wish Real Madrid every success in the club's pursuit of more trophies.

StockMarketWire.com
Global online gaming company bwin.party digital entertainment will be issuing a pre-close trading update on 10 July 2013.

The interim results for the six months to the end of June will be announced on 30 August 2013.

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party digital entertainment says it remains on track to deliver €70m of cost savings in 2013.

The group said that trading in the year-to-date reflected the group's shift from volume to value, the introduction of a turnover tax in Germany in July 2012, as well as some issues it faced following the migration of bwin.com customers in December 2012, all against a challenging competitive and market backdrop.

But chief executive Norbert Teufelberger said the process to optimise the shape and size of the business, with a greater focus on regulated and to-be-regulated markets, is on-track.

He said: "While the revenue performance was down on last year, we remain on course to deliver the targeted €70m of cost savings in 2013 with more to follow in 2014. During the second half we expect to roll out our new real money and social gaming products as well as, regulations permitting, the launch of our poker and casino games in New Jersey."

bwin signs Juventus as new digital partner
bwin.party and Juventus have today announced a new strategic partnership which sees the bwin brand become the official online gaming and betting partner of the Italian footballing giant.

The partnership with the Serie A Champions, which runs for three seasons, will boost the profile of the bwin brand in Italy, Europe's third largest real money gaming market and reinforces bwin's position as Europe's leading sports betting brand in football.

The sponsorship package positions bwin at the centre of the promotional activities of Italy's most successful club and includes a series of initiatives dedicated to the fans, totally integrated in the digital and social Juventus platform along with the development of on and off-line co-branding activities, stadium branding and access to players for marketing campaigns.

With the new digital partnership, Juventus becomes the latest member of Europe's football royalty to join forces with bwin, a group of partners which already includes Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. These sponsorships offer bwin customers unparalleled football experiences, which in the past year have included the opportunity for fans to play at Old Trafford; go backstage at the Bernabeu; and fly with the Bayern Munich squad to a Champions' League fixture.

The Juventus partnership reflects an evolution in bwin.party's sponsorship strategy with an increased focus on social media and social gaming, online and mobile integration, as well as exploiting the Group's extensive content and media rights catalogue. The 2013-14 season is set to see the addition of more teams, details will be announced in the coming weeks.

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party and Olympique de Marseille (OM) have announced a new sponsorship deal.

It will see the bwin brand become OM's official online betting and gaming partner.

The hope is that the three-year partnership will boost the profile and status of the bwin brand in France and strengthen its position as Europe's leading football betting brand.

The agreement is in line with bwin.party's strategy to develop digital partnerships with iconic football clubs in European countries where online gaming is regulated. bwin has already announced similar partnerships with Real Madrid, Manchester United, FC Bayern, Juventus Turin and RSC Anderlecht.

For Olympique de Marseille, teaming up with bwin, a major player in the sport sponsorship market, will give the club a new international reach and will provide unique online content and fan experiences.

The sponsorship package includes a series of fan-based initiatives including opportunities to train with the squad and travel to Champions League fixtures; integration into OM's digital and social platforms; the development of on and off-line co-branded activities; stadium branding; and access to players for marketing campaigns.

bwin and OM also expect to develop social games and mobile applications.

Norbert Teufelberger, CEO at bwin, said: "We are proud to establish this partnership with Olympique de Marseille, one of the oldest and most successful clubs in France and Europe. Today's announcement means that we are now partnered with six of the greatest clubs in European football, enabling us to offer our customers an unparalleled range of online and real world offers."

bwin.party digital entertainment plc
Half Year report for the six months ended 30 June 2013 to be announced on Friday 30 August 2013.

Half Year Dividend
The Board of bwin.party has today declared a half year dividend of 1.80 pence per ordinary share in respect of the six month period ended 30 June 2013.

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party digital entertainment's total revenues fell to €342.5m in the six months to the end of June - down from €410.0m last time.

But the group says its sustainable revenue base now forms a solid foundation for future growth and it is on track to deliver at least €70m of cost savings in the current year versus 2012 and up to €20m of additional savings in 2014.

Clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from continuing operations of €60.7m was down 34% reflecting the impact of a turnover tax on sports betting in Germany introduced on 1 July 2012, ISP blocking in Belgium and the closure of slots in Spain.

Chief executive Norbert Teufelberger said: "The first half was always going to be a challenge as we set about optimising the shape and size of our business, with a much greater focus on nationally regulated and to-be-regulated markets.

"As predicted, this meant that revenues declined but it also meant that we could make further substantial reductions in our cost base. However, our performance and revenue is behind where we expected it to be at this point. This is partly due to external factors but also due to operational challenges associated with our dotcom migration in December 2012.

"Changing the way we work and in particular the way we develop and implement software using the 'Agile' methodology represents a key step in improving our operational performance. Having already been deployed by many of the major eCommerce companies around the world, our move to Agile is starting to produce benefits in terms of productivity, speed of development and implementation.

"Over the next 12 months we expect to double the number of software releases whilst continuing to improve product quality and platform stability. These are all important drivers for our long-term revenue performance.

"This change in our working practices has been instrumental in ensuring that our new partypoker product is ready for launch, firstly into the dotcom environment and then into our core nationally regulated markets. The launch will reposition the partypoker brand ahead of the opening of the US market and revitalise the product, ensuring that it more than meets the expectations of today's recreational digital consumer. "Our focus on product innovation has not been limited to poker. We will be launching a new version of our partybingo product before the end of the year and are continuing to press ahead with our preparations for the opening of the market in New Jersey. Also to come in 2013 is a brand new mobile interface in sports; a new social sports betting app that we have developed with Nordeus; the launch of premium.com, a new service focused on high value customers; and partypoker's next phase of development when we will introduce additional features for the casual player."

StockMarketWire.com
bwin.party digital entertainment has launched partypoker.com - a first step in the integration of social features into the real money gaming environment.

The company says the phase one release is "jam-packed with exciting new features and a fresh new look, logo and interface, mixing the best of the old with the new, in a player-friendly environment".

The first phase release of the all new partypoker.com is now available on Mac and PC in download and no download versions.