The week that was in the world of British gaming financials began with reports of PartyGaming looking to purchase Austrian Internet betting company BWIN. Sources say PartyGaming’s previous purchase of Gamebookers back in August had exceeded expectations, with the company continuing to look elsewhere for possible acquisitions (including smaller online casino/bingo operators). For their part, a BWIN spokesman would only admit that while consolidation is the buzz of the entire British gaming industry in the wake of the United States effectively banning online gaming, a sale to PartyGaming is not imminent. PartyGaming continues to trim fat within the organization, with a spokesman noting that – in India alone – they dismissed 800 of 1,750 staff in an effort to reduce its cost base. PartyGaming closed at 28.75p Friday on the London Stock Exchange, with BWIN down to 15.24 Euros on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

One of PartyGaming’s rumored targets – 888 Holdings – has lost the eye of the company, however, with reports surfacing later in the week that Ladbrokes has now entered into preliminary discussions for a £470 million takeover. Ladbrokes‘ chief executive has already had discussions with 888’s chief executive (and former Ladbrokes executive director) along with other high-ranking officials. While no decision in terms of a proposal has of yet been made, Ladbrokes has confirmed their interest. Meanwhile, 888 would only add that they are holding discussions with a number of third-parties. Ladbrokes closed up Friday at 421.25p on the LSE, while 888 Holdings was down at 122p.

Elsewhere, William Hill announced this week that chief operating officer and executive director Tom Singer has stepped down from the company’s board following a review of the outfit’s key executive roles. Singer was at the helm of William Hill for six years in total. The group closed out a strong week on the LSE by closing up 9.50p at 645p per share.

Finally, BetOnSports has sold back its Asian-facing online sportsbook Hooball to the original vendors for a reported $2.25 million. Terms of the deal also included the purchaser agreeing to cancel $5 million of outstanding payment considerations as well as a return of four million BetOnSports shares that were issued as part of the original purchase. Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in July against BetOnSports, the company had yet to even assume full control of the Hooball operation. It was originally bought by BetOnSports in May, doubling the company’s Eastern market presence. The company has said its other Asian-facing brands are continuing to trade as-per-normal.

- Rex Harris

Everybody’s looking for a big payoff from Britain’s first super casino, with investors in Blackpool targetting the city’s hotels as a way to tap into what could amount to a billion-dollar industry - provided their city is chosen as England’s first super casino site - according to a leading international hotel consulting firm.

The medium to large hotels are even attracting the interest of people who have not previously run hotels, according to Christie + Co., with the 50-room Stretton Hotel recently-purchased by a gas station owner. Blackpool, a seaside town in north-western England with a population of about 140,000 heavily dependent on tourism, is aiming to become a gambling resort town along the lines of Las Vegas or Atlantic City of the U.S. Changes last year to Britain’s Gambling Act allow for the creation of such a site. “Due to the increase in speculation and interest within this popular resort, purchasers are now looking for medium- to large-sized hotels with scope to develop over the next five to 10 years,” real estate agent Alistair Greenhalgh told the Blackpool Citizen this week.

He called the area a competitive market and noted the outgoing owners had been steadily improving their facilities. “This meant that the hotel proved to be an attractive proposition to existing operators and the lucrative first time buyers market,” he said. “which has exploded as people expectantly await Blackpool’s unveiling as the UK’s new Las Vegas of the North.”

- Rex Harris

The week that was in the world of British gaming financials saw bruised and battered online gaming stocks begin a slow rebound, with Sportingbet – whose arrest of since-resigned chairman Peter Dicks began the latest tumble – trading as high as 184p during the week before closing at 179.75p Friday. Meanwhile, BetOnSports (whose arrest of BetOnSportsand others in July began the sector’s initial pratfall) said this week that they are seeking to settle the series of civil and criminal indictments levied against them by U.S. federal prosecutors. Tuesday marked the first time a legal representative appeared in court to answer the charges against BetOnSports, with defense and prosecuting attorneys agreeing to a temporary restraining order through Oct. 16 in order to negotiate a settlement in the high-profile case. In related news, other companies caught-up in the recent turmoil continued to struggle, with 888 Holdings trading as high as 142p before closing at 139.25p per share Friday. World Gaming, a rumored takeover target of Sportingbet prior to the arrest of Dicks, went as high as 63p before dropping to 58p Friday.

Elsewhere, Party Gaming closed the week down at 101.25p per share (a drop of 2.17 percent) amid analysts’ contentions that the poker operator’s business model is “flawedâ€? in the long term, with revenues likely to decline in the future. Julian Easthope based his feelings around a belief that a small number of skilled players – or “sharksâ€? that make their living off the game – generate the majority of cash for Party Gaming, with only 10 percent of the players generating as much as 77 percent of all revenue. Further, these “sharks’ do so at the expense of “fishâ€? or inexperienced players who, after losing their money, then become bored with the game and stop playing. Long-term, according to Easthope, this could spell a decline in new players with “sharksâ€? left to find other waters in which to feed.

Finally, in other British gaming stock news, Ladbrokes closed-out the week down at 377p per share, Betcorp Ltd. closed at 76p from 81.25p earlier in the week, with Stanley Leisure Plc. – fresh off their recent acceptance of an offer from Malaysia’s Genting International, closing up 4p per share to end the week at 865p.

- Rex Harris

The week that was in the financial world of U.K. gambling begins with more bad news: The crackdown against online gambling is apparently spreading to Europe as well, as French officials arrested two executives with Austrian online company BWIN Friday. The two are reported to be appearing before a judge Saturday for allegedly violating French gaming laws, according to police, and were held overnight in the French city of Nice.

BWIN’s Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger were arrested before a throng of shocked sports journalists as the two were preparing to announce a sponsorship deal with AS Monaco Football Club. According to an announcement released in the aftermath by BWIN, the duo, “were detained for questioning by French  authorities because of alleged violation of French gaming laws.â€? Both men may be charged with allegedly violating French laws meant to protect both the Francaise des Jeux (FdJ), the conductor of the national lottery, and the PMU, which controls wagering for horse races. A spokesman for the FdJ was clear in the intention of the move, stating, “It is reasonable to assume that any other executive from an online bookmaker who came to France would also be arrested. We are doing exactly the same as the authorities in the US who arrested the British executives.â€?

BWIN spokeswoman Karin Klein said Saturday that the two mean are viewing the arrest as “mental and physical tortureâ€? and warned that the company plans to take “vehement action against these human rights violations.â€? The company has reportedly already contacted both legal and human rights representatives to aid in the case. “The arrest was initiated by the French monopolist ‘Francaise des Jeux’ with the goal of causing fear,” said Klein, according to the Austrian News Agency.

Shares in the major online gaming companies took another hit following the news of the latest arrests, especially following in the wake of the recent Sportingbet and BetOnSports arrests in the United States. PartyGaming appears to have been the biggest casualty, as they dipped 9-1/2p to close at 100.75p. Elsewhere, 888 Holdings continued its descent as well, closing at 141.75 at Friday close, down from 143.50 earlier in the week. Of note, beleaguered Sportingbet rebounded from a two-year low earlier in the period to close at 172p Friday, up from a low of 139.64p following the resumption of its trading on Monday. Rumored takeover target World Gaming was not as fortunate, however, as they plummeted further to close at 59p Friday. Finally, Stanley Leisure was up 2 percent to 876p after its acceptance of an offer from from Malaysia’s Genting International.

- Rex Harris

A return to the trading floor this week has brought nothing but a sea of red for beleaguered online gambling company Sportingbet, as many investors have taken full advantage of the opportunity to unload their shares. Monday brought a first-day drop of nearly 40 percent in the stock following the resumption of sales suspended in the wake of chair Peter Dicks’ arrest in New York last week, falling 95p to 144p per share in relation to the pre-suspension price. The figure is a two-year low for Sportingbet that rings-in at 70 percent less than the company’s all-time high of 445p in May of 2006. Tuesday was a tad brighter, however, as the stock managed to rebound slightly, trading between 139.64p and 154p.

Sportingbet representatives were reportedly anxious to resume the “back to business� appearance of its company, despite the arrest, if nothing else than to attempt to differentiate itself from BetOnSports (claiming the cases are not related in that Dicks’ charge is a state, not federal, charge) while similarly announcing that day-to-day business is currently being handled by Andy McIver, Sportingbet’s finance director. At this time, unlike BetOnSports David Carruthers, there is no plan to remove Dicks from his position.

Further, the latest development looks to have effectively killed merger talks with rival World Gaming, plans of which were originally released just prior to Dicks’ arrest on Thursday. At the time, a rumored 104p per share value for World Gaming by Sportingbet was considered a good deal for the company; however, many now believe the talks will now amount to nothing more than a footnote in online gaming history, as World Gaming shares similarly closed down yesterday at nearly 40 percent below what would have been a £56.6m offer value at 62.5p.

The ripple affect of the latest U.S. government crackdown on online gambling has cast a pall over related industry stocks as well, particularly fellow online gambling group 888 Holdings. Despite soon to-be-released results that many expect to exceed market forecasts, it stock has dipped as well, albeit slightly by 3.5p to close at 142p Monday, with a slight rebound of 143.50 in Tuesday trading.

- Rex Harris