Rich in Paradise

Sportingbet Plc, the owners of Paradise Poker have announced figures to the City that will keep their investors and shareholders very happy indeed.

It’s good news for players too, as it means prize funds are up and customer service can only improve to meet increased demand.

There are some quite staggering numbers. For instance the average daily rake on the site is $575,339, up 90% on last year.

Across the whole of Sportingbet’s operations in the three months ended 30 April 2006, the number of registered customers rose by 0.5m (2005: 0.3m) increasing the Group’s database of registered customers from 3.9m to 4.4m. Of these new registrations, 170,580 customers funded accounts in the quarter (2005:108,136), an increase of 58% over last year, at an average cost of £142 (12 months 2005: £137).

This increase in customer numbers, combined with further development of the Group’s product range meant a record level of betting.

The number of sports and gaming bets placed rose by 39% to 149.3m (2005: 107.5m). The average number of games played per day (including free to play games) on Paradise Poker rose 84% to 2.2m per day (2005: 1.2m per day).

In the third quarter, the number of active customers who have contributed to rake at Paradise Poker rose by 71% to 187,522 (2005: 109,511). The number of games of poker played per day rose by 84% to 2.2m (2005: 1.2m), generating an average daily rake of $575,339, an increase of 90% (2005: $302,555). The cost of acquiring new active customers to Paradise Poker in the quarter was $204 (12 months 2005: $139), yielding a payback period of less than two months.

Since the introduction of the Group’s shared purse technology, their has been all round growth from allowing poker customers to bet on sports. During this seasonally quieter US sports quarter, 22,685 (13.8%) active real money poker customers also bet on the Group’s US-facing sports or casino websites, generating $2.6m of incremental margin.

Big numbers indeed.

Commenting on the results, Peter Dicks, Chairman, said: “We are delighted with the performance of the Group this quarter. Our strategy of providing customers with multi-product, safe, online gambling opportunities via localised websites under one virtual roof has yielded yet another record performance for us.”

“In the three months ended 30 April 2006, we have recruited more new customers, taken more bets, played more games of poker and made more profit than in any previous third quarter.”

“The Board is confident with regard to the prospects of the Group for the current financial year and looks forward to the future with confidence.”