Tag: gambling.com

Categories
News

KAX Media issues press release about gambling.com purchase; “It was an easy decision given the price”

Poker Chips

Nearly two weeks after being revealed as the buyer of gambling.com by eGaming Review, KAX Media issued a press release briefly describing its $2.5MM purchase of gambling.com.

The company stated it had plans to aggressively grow gambling.com through improvements in conversion rates and more targeted traffic acquisition, and that gambling.com would continue to operate exclusively as a portal for online gambling and only within regulated markets.

Comments on the price

Charles H Gillespie, the KAX chief executive, was quoted in the press release as saying: “Gambling.com ticked all the right boxes and provided an immense amount of intrinsic value. Due to our previous experience looking at similar transactions we realized that it instantly made sense for us and were able to act quickly. 

“It was an easy decision given the price. KAX has a conversion tracking software platform that was purpose built to run this exact kind of site, allowing for an easy transition to our current business and technology platform. We felt that KAX was the perfect organization to maximize the value of Gambling.com,” said Gillespie.

Because the deal involved more than just a domain name changing hands, it doesn’t look like the sale will be topping any domain sales charts in 2011. 

2011 Gambling domain sales

Publicly reported sales of gambling related domains in 2011 have been somewhat slow compared to 2010.  Though the $5.5MM sale of slots.com didn’t take place until June, by this time last year, sales of poker.org for $1MM and poker.com.au for $100,000 had already occurred several months earlier.

Information provided by DN Journal shows a limited number of sales in 2011 in the four figure range and higher. 

To date some of the higher dollar sales include casinos.biz for $19,000, 카지노.kr (IDN) casino in korean for $11,500, onlinebet.gr for $24,167, onlinecasinos.ca for $28,000, sportsbetting.in for $42,300, and a handful of other sales.

If you want to check out the full press release on gambling.com, you can visit the businesswire website.

Categories
News

Gambling.com’s mystery buyer revealed as KAX Media

KAX Media

The mystery buyer behind the highly coveted domain name gambling.com which was purchased in late April 2011 from Media Corp for $2.5 million is no longer a mystery. 

Now, just a week after the news was announced, eGaming Review has identified the buyer.  According to eGR, KAX Media is the new owner.

Chief Executive of KAX Media, Charles Gillespie, was quoted in the story saying: “It’s a classic private equity buyout where new management comes in and implements an aggressive growth strategy. KAX has an affiliate software platform that was purpose built to run this exact kind of site so the overlap with our current business and technology platform is nearly one to one.”

It doesn’t look like the sale of gambling.com, which sold for a fraction of the $20 million price tag that Media Corp acquired it for, is going to be make any domain sales charts in 2011, since the sale involved more than just the domain name.

As eGR writes, “Gillespie said KAX would now look to grow the portal business sold by Media Corp last week…”

[Hat tip goes to Eric Bianci of CalvinAyre.com]

Categories
News

Biggest domain sale of 2011 nearing completion – Media Corp announces year-end results, Gambling.com update

gambling.com

Perhaps the biggest domain name sale of 2011, Media Corp’s gambling.com, is getting ready to make headlines. 

Just hours ago, Media Corp announced its final results for the year ended 2010 through a press release. 

While the company showed a better overall performance for its business than the previous year, and gross profit increased by 456%, what’s on the minds of many in the domain name and gaming industries, is what’s going on with the auction of gambling.com?

According to the press release, here’s what Media Corp had to say about gambling.com.

  • 2010 Business highlights– Removal of the Gambling.com Google penalty, Re-launch of Gambling.com website
  • Online Publishing–The business of the publishing division has continued to be challenging during the year. As announced post year end we are undertaking an auction for the sale of Gambling.com. There have been a number of bidders and the Directors anticipate the auction process to be nearing completion at which point an announcement will be made. The Board is also considering the sale of other underperforming publishing assets and this review will continue through 2011.
  • Current trading and prospects– The Directors are hopeful of a successful conclusion to the auction process for gambling.com which should strengthen the cash position and balance sheet of the Company and provide capital for further expansions.

Gambling.com, the auction process

Though it’s not 100% official, the sale of gambling.com will almost certainly be more than a pure domain sale.  A website has been established on the domain since 1997.  Gambling.com has even sold before in 2005, when Sedo brokered the blockbuster deal for $20MM. 

Media Corp put the domain gambling.com up for sale in November 2010, as it says, to fund acquisition opportunities following approaches from a number of online gaming companies.  In hopes of getting the best sales outcome, the company appointed Sedo, the World’s leading domain marketplace, to handle the sale.

Media Corp announced its first quarter 2011 results at the end of January, and indicated that a sale for gambling.com would complete during the second quarter of the financial year (which, it didn’t). 

However, expect a lot more news on an impending blockbuster deal in the very near future. 

One potential buyer, who had been rumored to be interested, is billionaire Calvin Ayre who acquired the domain name slots.com in 2010 for $5.5.

Categories
News

The latest updates on New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill, gambling domains, sales, and more

Governor Chris Christie

There’s been a number of headlines this past month about internet gambling and gambling domains.  Here’s a roundup of news and gossip from around the web, with stories ranging from the New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill and ongoing negotiations for the sale of gambling.com, to 2011 domain sales and predictions. 

New Jersey Internet Gambling

I wrote earlier in the week how The New York Post was predicting New Jersey Governor Christie would veto the state’s Internet Gambling Bill.  Though it was thought Gov. Christie had until Feb. 24 to sign the bill, veto the bill, or veto the bill with conditions, otherwise it would become law if no action was taken – it appears he has longer. 

According to PokerNews, “Christie has decided that he actually has until March 3 to make the decision.  The governor’s office claims a legislative recess in New Jersey gives him the extra time, according to Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association chairman Joe Brennan Jr.” 

Another issue that was brought to light in the PokerNews article, is that the NY Post story that claimed the Governor might veto the bill, appears to be false.  PokerNews quotes Brennan: “I’ve heard people say they heard the governor is going to veto the bill,” Brennan said. “Our people are as close to the governor as anybody and they don’t know what he’s going to do because the governor hasn’t indicated to any party of this what he’s going to do. Anyone saying they know, they’re not involved in anything but rumors and prognostication.”

And while New Jersey could be the first state to legalize internet gambling, California could follow shortly thereafter.  Steven Stradbrooke of CalvinAyre.com has more on California legislation.

Gambling Domains 2011 Sales
 
The gambling domain industry had a fantastic year in 2010 in which two gambling domains sold for seven-figures:  slots.com for $5.5 million and Poker.org for $1 million.  While 2011 is just getting started, Sedo Broker Ryan J. Colby who recently brokered the top-selling domain name in 2011 so far to date with Gamesforgirls.com for $500,000, has predicted this year will be one of the best on record. 
 
“I’m making an early prediction that 2011 will see the highest number of seven figure domain name sales on record”, Ryan tweeted last week.
 
Though there haven’t been many big gambling domain sales in 2011 to date, OnlineCasinos.ca sold for $28,000 earlier this month.  And there’s a good shot Ryan’s prediction will become true, with gambling domain names like tournament.com and gambling.com on the market.   The sale of gambling.com is being brokered by Sedo, which brings me to my next headline.
 
The Sale of Gambling.com will complete during the Second Quarter
 
Speculation grew that billionaire Calvin Ayre might purchase gambling.com to add to his growing Bodog empire.  A story that appeared on BlackJack Champ even speculated he would own the name by the end of January.  Well, Media Corp Plc still owns the domain according to registrant records, but the company’s 2011 first quarter trading highlights published last month shed some light on what’s going on with gambling.com.
 
“Strong year on year growth has continued at Purple Lounge Limited, the Group’s online poker and casino business and at Eyeconomy, the Group’s wholly owned advertising network. In addition the Group is in ongoing negotiations with a number of parties for the sale of gambling.com. It is anticipated that the sale should complete during the second quarter of the financial year.”
 
Kentucky internet domain name case dragging on
 
There haven’t been many new developments in the Kentucky domain name case that has dragged on for years.  In January, lawyers representing both sides of the case filed briefs in Franklin County Circuit Court, in Frankfurt, KY, iMEGA reported.
 
“Lawyers representing iMEGA asserted the association’s right to contest the Commonwealth’s attempts to seize their members’ Web site addresses, while Kentucky’s lawyers ignored previous court rulings on standing, insisting that iMEGA and other trade associations lacked the right to appear.”
 
As iMEGA points out, “The matter now lies in the hands of Franklin County circuit court Judge Thomas Wingate, who issued the original seizure orders on the behalf of Kentucky.”
 
Have a gambling domain rumor or story tip I should know about?  Contact us or leave it in the comments. 
 
Image Credit: (Governor Photos)
 
 
Categories
News

Calvin Ayre has no comment on whether he’ll bid on Gambling.com

Gambling.com

Calvin Ayre had no comment on whether he’ll bid on the domain name Gambling.com, which sold for nearly $20 million in 2005. 

That’s according to a story published by Steven Stradbrooke on CalvinAyre.com on Wednesday, after a BlackJack Champ story speculated that the billionaire who purchased Slots.com for $5.5 Million in 2010 would own the domain by the end of the month.

It’s not big news that Calvin Ayre could be a potential buyer of Gambling.com  as many could have guessed.  But this is the first time since Gambling.com went up for sale that Calvin Ayre has made some type of public comment on whether he’ll bid.

Here’s what Steven Stradbrooke had to say about the possibility of Bodog Brand buying the name.

The domain’s owners, MediaCorp, have set a reserve bid of $9m. Is L’Atelier about to witness another multi-million deal done with mobile phones in one hand and beers in the other?

Sadly for L’Atelier staff hoping that the Bodog Brand bigwigs would make it rain again, the odds are against it. While Calvin will tell anyone who’ll listen that the Slots.com purchase was the best deal he’d ever made, the best we could get out of him about these gambling.com rumors was ‘no comment’.

Bottom line, none of us here at CalvinAyre.com has, as of yet, received any invitation to L’Atelier on the day of the auction. So, as far as we’re concerned, the whole ‘Bodog Brand to bid for gambling.com domain’ thing just isn’t happening.

Steven injects a bit of humor into the story and sacrcasm saying that when Calvin Ayre said no comment, “at the time he was still hung over from his New Year’s excesses, so while we’re sure we said ‘domain sales,’ he may have thought we said ‘no grain ales’ and he was trying to be ironic or something.”

Yes, Bodog Brand seems like a pretty good bet to be the new owner of Gambling.com.