News in brief: Skrill abandons IPO plans; NetPlay TV casino player boost...
Payment processor Skrill has abandoned plans for a listing on the London Stock Exchange due to "adverse IPO market conditions."
Payment processor Skrill has abandoned plans for a listing on the London Stock Exchange after what it has called “adverse IPO market conditions,” according to various media sources. The company, formerly known as Moneybookers, is currently in the midst of a rebranding process, but failed in its quest to attract investors ahead of its planned IPO. The decision follows Perform’s difficulties since floating last Friday, with the live streaming company seeing its share price drop by around 20% from its starting price of 260p at the time of writing. Skrill’s IPO had been set to be priced this week.
Netplay TV has seen its total number of active casino players grow by 21.9% quarter-on-quarter, the interactive gaming company revealed in its trading update for the first quarter of 2011 this morning. The company now has 21,332 active casino players, while the total of 17,978 new casino players is a 14.9% improvement on the fourth quarter of 2010. There has also been progress in mobile with Netplay’s iPhone application accounting for 12% of active and 22% of new players on its Supercasino product. Today’s update is the first from Netplay since former COO Guy Templer moved to Pokerstars to become its new business development director.
Hawaii’s proposed online gambling legislation appears to be dead in the water for this year at least, after Senate Bill 755 failed to receive a hearing before last Friday’s deadline. The news comes on the same day that an amended version of Nevada’s AB258 has passed through the Assembly, and just days after the District of Columbia passed a budget including online poker measures.
Brian Mattingley, senior director at 888, will step down as the chairman of the Gibraltar-based company’s audit and remuneration committees. Mattingley, who was asked to “work closely with management on all aspects of the business” after Gigi Levy relinquished his role as CEO on Monday, will remain on the two committees in some capacity. However, the audit committee will now be chaired by Michael Constantine, and the remuneration committee by Amos Pickel, both of whom are independent non-executive directors at the firm.
The European Commission has released a questionnaire on online gambling following the launch of Michel Barnier’s Green Paper late last month. The release is part of a consultation on online gambling which is set to continue until the end of July, and invites those with a stake in the future of egaming regulation in Europe to submit their response to questions on matters such as consumer protection and problem gambling.
Paddy Power is considering offering a sponsorship deal to Manchester United and England footballer Wayne Rooney, according to magazine Marketing. Rooney’s deal with Coca Cola has recently come to a close.
188Bet has launched a viral video in partnership with Premiership rugby union club Wasps, ahead of the team’s St George’s Day match on April 23. The video features several Wasps players slaying a virtual dragon projected onto the wall of Twickenham Stadium, where the match is to take place.