By Simon Collins, Director, Cashcade Ltd.
Probability, a mobile gaming specialist based in London, has claimed it has moved into profitable territory with interim first-half results showing pre-tax profits of $273,053, following a pre-tax loss of $962,152 last year.
Probability stated net gaming revenues rose 117 percent while its net cash was listed at $4.11 million, up from last year’s $1.64 million. The mobile casino, bingo and slots game operator revealed that it now has over 400,000 customers for its Lady Luck mobile gaming service. Also, the company provides white label services to partners, including Rank under the guise of Blue Square, Mecca and The Sun Newspaper and News Of The World.
The company gained prominence in 2008 when Michael Spencer made his latest foray into the gambling sector, investing £1.7m for a 15.8 per cent stake in Probability, through his holding company IPGL, by subscribing to a private placing of 3.3 million shares at 50p each. Spencer said at the time: “I am confident Probability can be a major player in one of the most exciting growth areas in the gaming arena over the next decade.” A director at IPGL said: “The vast majority of our investments are in financial services, but gaming is always of interest.” The stake joins doof.com and TurfTrax in Mr Spencer’s portfolio of gambling interests.
(Doof is a social gaming network for customers wanting to play games against each other for points rather than money. TurfTrax is hoping to provide the next generation of gambling on horse racing. The group has produced a chip put in the horses’ saddle to monitor the positions and performance during the race. The company wants to use the split-second data to allow punters to bet as the race unfolds.)
The £1.7m investment theoretically values Probability at just over £10m so the company is relatively small beer when compared with the likes of Party Gaming and 888.com. Clearly, this sector may start to show some promise in the future. However, unlike the internet with the dominance of MS Explorer, it would seem to be a complicated channel with variable handsets browsers and formats to overcome.
If developers in this sector can keep on top of their development costs it could prove to be a winner. One has to ask is mobile gaming ready to come of age?
No related posts.
