Further online casino news

Over the past few months our online casino news here at onlinecasino.ie has regularly reported on the spate of consolidation deals taking place within the online casino sector. The reasons quoted for this flurry of merger activity centred on the new gambling taxes and the stringent regulations concerning fixed odds casino games machines installed in our betting shops. The full effects of these changes is now becoming apparent with two of the biggest bookmakers, Ladbrokes and William Hill announcing their annual results for the first full year of trading under the new tax regime. Ladbrokes have apparently had to pay an extra £40 million in taxes last year, with William Hill paying even more at £87 million. As a result both companies are reporting a massive hit on their bottom line, with Ladbrokes suffering a double whammy by having to write down the value of their betting shops leading to the first statutory loss in their history. Pre-Tax Profits for William Hill were also down by 22% as a result of the increased tax burden. Many analysts are also concerned that the story regarding the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in betting shops is not yet over because there have been further attacks on these lucrative machines over recent weeks and many believe that more regulations are imminent. Meanwhile the leading online casino software supplier, Playtech is reported to be ready to embark on a series of acquisitions within the online casino and online sports betting sector with rival online software developer OpenBet a prime target. OpenBet supplies the technology necessary for online gambling companies to operate their online sportsbooks and supplies most of Britain’s biggest bookmakers. It appears that their most likely rivals for this deal will be NYX Gaming, an American company backed by William Hill.