Gaming software provider, Net Entertainment “saw good development during Q3/2010 with a 21% growth in revenue (35% in local currency) which should be compared with the 14% market growth predicted by H2 Gaming Capital for the full year of 2010″, commented Johan Öhman , president and CEO.

Third Quarter Highlights included:

• Revenues for the third quarter increased by 20.8% to SEK 91.6 (Q3/2009: 75.8) million
• Operating profit increased by 13.8% to SEK 34.1 (Q3/2009:30.0) million
• Operating margin was 37.2 (Q3/2009:39.5) percent
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 30.0 (Q3/2009:20.8) million
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.76 (Q3/2009:0.53) before and after dilution
• Two new license agreements were signed

First Nine Months 2010:

• Revenues for first nine months increased 25.2% to SEK 268.7 (214.6) million
• Operating profit increased by 21.0% to SEK 102.7 (84.8) million
• Operating margin was 38.2 (39.5) percent
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 91.4 (75.3) million
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.31 (1.90) before and after dilution
• Eight new license agreements were signed, including Gioco Digitale/bwin, Interwetten, Intralot and Stan James, and eight new customers’ casinos were launched

Important Events in Q3/2010:

Revenue growth for the third quarter was 35.1% in local currency compared to the Q3/2009 and 6.0% compared to the previous quarter. The strengthened Swedish currency has held back revenue growth in SEK.

The regulation of casino games online in Italy continued during the quarter. The market is still expected to open at year-end. The integration has continued during the quarter.

Agreements were signed with an operator in South America, which is a region expected to become an important market for online gaming in the future. The integration of Stan James has progressed well and launch is still planned for the fourth quarter.

Net Entertainment has received a license to offer its casino solution to gaming operators who are licensed by the Alderney gaming authority or other reputable gaming authorities. In addition, this gives an opportunity to further strengthen the customer offering by providing alternative hosting if serious disturbances occur, so called disaster recovery.

Comments from Johan Öhman, President and CEO:

We saw good development during the third quarter with a 21% revenue growth (35% in local currency) which should be compared with the 14% market growth predicted by H2 Gaming Capital for the full year of 2010.

The announced agreement with Universal will allow us to develop games based on well recognized brands where the first release will be made during the first half of 2011.

The regulatory development in Italy is progressing well and the first casino licenses are expected to be awarded around year end. Operators holding an existing license in Italy will be first out which will benefit Net Entertainment as several of the licensed operators are existing customers to us.

Significant efforts have gone into setting up a hosting facility in Alderney which will be commissioned during the fourth quarter. The Alderney Gaming Commission issued license which was received during the fourth quarter will enable us to better address certain markets such as the UK but equally to provide disaster recovery services to our existing licensees.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have today reported that most of this week’s X Factor bets have been for Simon Cowell’s Bieber inspired boy-band One Direction.

The fivesome’s odds have been slashed to 11/4 from as big as 4/1 over the last few days after Simon branded them “the most exciting pop-band in the country today”. They are now just a hair‘s breadth away from taking the favourite position off painter and decorator Matt Cardle at betting odds of 5/2.

Sharon McHugh, spokesperson for the bookmaker, said: “One Direction are the one’s to watch at the moment. A group have never won the X Factor before but it looks like 2010 could be the year that changes if the boys keep performing the way they are.”

Meanwhile, Belle Amie are in the danger zone again it seems. Paddy Power make the girls, which includes Tallaght local Rebecca Creighton, their 2/1 betting favourites to get the chop on Sunday.

Latest Betting Odds – X Factor Outright Winner

5/2 Matt Cardle, 11/4 One Direction, 6/1 Mary Byrne, 6/1 Rebecca Ferguson, 9/1 Aiden Grimshaw, 10/1 Cher Lloyd, 16/1 TreyC Cohen, 33/1 Katie Waissel. Continue..

This year’s X Factor show is wide open according to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. Unlike previous years there is little separating the acts and it is proving impossible to separate three of the top five in the betting.

At the moment Matt Cardle remains the 7/2 betting favourite, but only by a hair. Hot on his heels is Blackpool lad Aiden Grimshaw, Liverpool lass Rebecca Ferguson and pop wannabes’ 1 Direction all at odds of 9/2.

Sharon McHugh, spokesperson for the bookmaker, said: “There are at least six acts who could win the X Factor this year. The standard is very high meaning the competition is going to be fiercer than ever this year!”

Cheryl Cole’s mini-me Cher Lloyd follows at betting odds of 6/1 with Mary Byrne a steady 7/1.

Strictly Come Dancing on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish altogether! Matt Baker has stomped his way into pole position at odds of 15/8 to be crowned this year’s king of the dance floor, while former goalkeeper Peter Shilton looks likely to drop the ball this week with Paddy Power quoting just odds of 6/4 that he will be eliminated.

Latest Betting Odds – X Factor Outright Winner

7/2 Matt Cardle, 9/2 Aiden Grimshaw, 9/2 Rebecca Ferguson, 9/2 1 Direction, 6/1 Cher Lloyd, 7/1 Mary Byrne. Continue..

The discussions on internet sports betting at the SportelMonaco conference in Monte Carlo proved interesting this week, with urgent calls for control of international sports betting to be harmonised, perhaps under the supervision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Citing the “internet gambling explosion”, Denis Masseglia, president of the French national Olympic committee, stressed the need for such an initiative during a round table debate at the conference, which is an international sports convention for television and new media.

“All sides mostly agree on the need for international harmonisation (of sports betting controls) because the internet knows no borders; if the rules are different in one country compared with another, then sport’s credibility will be affected,” Masseglia said.

He went on to suggest that the lessons learned in creating the World Anti-Doping Agency and turning it into an effective force of international control could be valuable.

Masseglia said such a project could not expect overnight success. “It will take time to analyse the legal frameworks in different countries. It’s extremely important to harmonise the different types of sports betting. If you can do one type of betting in one country and not in another there is a contradiction: this is why the anti-doping experience can be of benefit in the sports betting field.”

Jean-Francois Vilotte, president of the French regulatory authority for online gaming ARJEL, reviewed the significance of new French legislation aimed at freeing up the market while simultaneously protecting the credibility of sport and preventing money laundering, addiction, and other undesirable elements.

The chief executive of the formerly monopolistic Francaise des Jeux, Christophe Blanchard-Dignac, defended the sports betting industry against suggestions that it should shoulder much of the cost of regulation, stressing that while the betting industry used sport it did not exist to serve sport.

“The regulatory authorities, police, Interpol and sport itself must all play their role as well as the betting operators,” he said. “The operators don’t want sport brought into question because that would kill the objectives of their activity. The right to bet depends on maintenance of an event’s credibility.”

The head of the International Tennis Federation, Francesco Ricci Bitti supported the call for harmonisation, saying: “With the internet you can bet on everything: for example, the first time in a tennis match when a girl starts grunting. We want to limit this and give the sports organiser – the property owner, if you like – a right to say: ‘We can accept this form of betting but not that form of betting because it will be more open to fraud.’

“Public interest needs laws which carry criminal sanctions – and we need harmonisation in Europe because professional sport is an international activity.these are messages from the IOC, maybe a bit late but very clear.”

Bitti was in agreement that the success of the anti-doping initiatives provided a good foundation for the development of a betting harmonisation model, but he opined that the betting companies, rather than the IOC, should provide the funding as a commitment to the integrity of sport.

The Nevada Gaming Board has released statistics for August 2010 which at last show some signs of recovery among land operations in the gambling state. The Board reports that the latest numbers broke the downward trend that has prevailed for much of the year by achieving an overall 11.5% increase in revenues, collecting $944.5 million from the punters.

The Las Vegas Strip produced the best results, with revenues up 21.1% over August last year.

Tax officials will be pleased with the improvement, which generated a 24.4% boost to taxes compared to August 2009.