Unibet joins Euro poker slump

Listed gaming firm Unibet was the latest firm to post disappointing numbers for Q2 in poker, with revenues down 12.7% with it still inactive in the crucial French market.

Unibet was forced to close its .com site to French residents during Q2 and is still waiting to be awarded a licence by the French authorities for its poker and sports betting sites in what is a key territory for the firm.

Total poker revenues for the quarter were £4.7 million down from £5.4 million in the previous year and down from £7.1 million in the first quarter of the year.

Total pre-tax profit for the group was up significantly to £10 million from £5.9 million in the previous year and revenues were up to £39.2 million from £30 milion.

But growth was driven by sports betting revenue and consistent performance from its casino and games division, with poker the only major black mark.

It's a similar story to several other European-focused gaming operators in the first half of 2010, with falling poker revenues at 888, Ladbrokes, Rank and PartyGaming.

Henrik Tjarnstrom, Unibet's new CEO, said that poker continued to face 'competitive pressure' and along with other firms it paints a bleak picture of the current European poker scene.

Sadly for Unibet the growth in European poker at the moment is coming from the regulated French market where they are still inactive, despite signing a deal with Ongame to join its French poker network.

Tjarnstrom said the firm would not get involved in the initial marketing wars in France from a sportsbook perspective, and instead was trying to forge partnership deals in the region.

'Unibet has applied for a French licence but considers that, under the restrictive terms of the licence, it will be hard for any operator to make a reasonable return,' Tjarnstrom said.

'Unibet is therefore continuing to develop partnerships to leverage both its brand assets and reputation, as well as its expertise in Sportsbook, into the French market,' he added.