Probability NGR grows after Italy movement
Subsidiary Playyoo launches football betting app for Snai ahead of Italian Serie A season.
Probability has recorded a 35% year-on-year net gaming revenue increase as it makes progress in Italy, the operator has revealed in a trading update for the three months ended 30 September.
The company’s Italian-facing subsidiary Playyoo, acquired in July for an initial consideration of £1.8m, launched a mobile football betting app for local operator Snai “ which holds a sports betting market share of 9.57% according to this month’s AAMS figures “ a month after the beginning of the 2012-13 Serie A season.
This, along with the strong take-up of the LadyLuck’s iPhone app, (40,000 downloads in the UK since it was introduced to the iTunes app store in June) has helped the AIM-listed business record NGR of £2.3m compared to £1.7m in the corresponding period in 2011.
Probability explained in a statement that “Betting volumes have been higher than expected in this new market,” where Playyoo had a pre-existing relationship with Snai.
Chief executive Charles Cohen said: “A small amount of revenue from Playyoo is included in these results for the first time, and we expect this contribution to grow significantly over time.”
Ivor Jones, analyst at Numis, described Probability’s growth in the quarter from its core UK business as “very strong” showing that its investment in television marketing is “paying off as expected” and that the launch of the Italian mobile slot game market is a “potential game-changer” for the business. The operator’s share price has risen by almost 25% in the last 12 months, however it has stalled on between 74p and 78p since the beginning of 2012 with Jones adding, “we believe that it is time for the share price to wake up and smell the espresso”.
“Preparations are on track for our slots games to be introduced into Italy later this year and we hope to begin the certification process very soon”, added Cohen. AAMS has revealed that the first online slots licences will be issued on 3 December with further licences to be issued on the 17th of the same month.
Operators will be permitted to go live the first working day after receiving approval from the regulator, most likely in January 2013, and Cohen revealed to eGaming Review in November 2011 that “Italy would be a fantastic market for us as it is the same size as the UK, and with much higher smartphone penetration.”
These second-quarter results do not incorporate activity stemming from Probability’s strategic relationship with Nasdaq-listed developer Glu Mobile, with whom an agreement was signed earlier this month.
“Probability is in a sweet spot which keeps getting bigger as smartphones increase their share of the phone market, tablets replace desktops and 4G prepares to replace wired and Wifi connections. With the UK business growing rapidly and the Italian poised to leap forward we reiterate our buy recommendation and 150p target price,” Jones added.