32Red FY performance recovers after 32Vegas withdrawal
32Red has recovered from its poor performance in the first half of 2009 to post full-year gross win of £12.8m, 1.6% down on 2008's figure of £13.0m.
32RED HAS recovered from its poor performance in the first half of 2009 to post full-year gross win of £12.8m, 1.6% down on 2008’s figure of £13.0m.
The online casino specialist’s gross win for the second half of 2009 was 18% up on the gross win figure posted in the first half of last year, which as reported on EGRMagazine.com, fell 11% down year-on-year to £5.8m, from £6.4m at the same point in 2008.
Chief executive Ed Ware (pictured) said he believed the withdrawal of the 32Vegas casino on 4 August 2009 by William Hill Online (WHO), after 32Red sued them for alleged copyright infringement, had been “a significant factor in the improvement in 32Red’s performance over the second half of the year.”
The group’s flagship 32Red online casino generated gross win of £11.5m for the year, 1.7% down on the £11.7m recorded in 2008. The casino led the company’s second half recovery in 2009, with revenues from the vertical 21% up on the first half.
Ware said the company would look to increase marketing investment in 2010, including around recently launched sports betting service 32Red Bet, running on Global Betting Exchange’s iBroker platform.
The 32Vegas casino was established in 2006 as a Playtech licensee that was transferred over to WHO as part of the deal that saw the establishment of WHO in October 2008. WHO transferred all players on the 32Vegas platform across to a new brand called 21Nova on 3 August 2009.