GameAccount makes Australia play as revenues drop 54%
Platform and content provider signs deal with Australian casino consortium after recording a H1 2014 loss of £0.4m
GameAccount Network said this morning it will ramp up its simulated gaming offering including a launch in Australia after a poorly perfoming US real-money gambling market led to a 54% fall in revenues during H1 2014.
The company posted net revenues of just £4.2m for the six months ended 30 June 2014, down from £9.1m in 2013, and an EBITDA loss of £0.4m for the period.
Chief executive Dermot Smurfit (pictured) said the company would now increase its focus on the simulated gaming market in the US as well as launching a new simulated gaming venture in Australia.
The company has struck a deal with a group of land-based Australian community clubs to launch simulated gaming entertainment in the first quarter of next year.
Simulated gaming will be launched nationwide throughout Australia which GameAccount said would provide a platform for the eventual launch of real-money online gambling in the future.
“Initial performance metrics for simulated gaming are significantly ahead of expectations and the prospects for this business are exciting,” he said.
“For 2015 we believe that the opportunity for GameAccount Network with simulated gaming will substantially compensate for the slower than expected pace of the development of real-money gaming in the US,” Smurfit added.
In July eGaming Review revealed that GameAccount had decided to go it alone with plans to expand its US-facing simulated platform business after terminating its partnership with Foxwoods Interactive.
The partnership first began in April 2013 to launch B2B and B2C online gaming services in the US market, with Foxwoods launching a free-to-play casino on its website and the pair working together to promote the product to other land-based casinos across the US.
The firm also entered the New Jersey egaming market through its partnership with Betfair and land-based partner Trump Plaza in November last year which has so far failed to lead to a substantial uptake in revenues.
“Real-money gaming in New Jersey and the pace of regulation in the US market has been slower than expected but we are confident in the long-term prospects for real-money gaming in the years ahead,” Smurfit said.
The firm’s balance sheet strengthened significantly over the period, with cash and cash equivalents rising year-on-year from £2.2m to £14.0m.