Acquisition and Trading etc

RNS Number:0619G
Betcorp Limited
12 July 2006





BETCORP LIMITED



US$9.8 MILLION ACQUISITION OF OASIS SPORTSBOOK AND CASINO



TRADING UPDATE / ASX DE-LISTING





Betcorp Limited ("Betcorp" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the
completion of the acquisition of Oasis, a Curacao based US facing online sports
betting and gaming operator, and provide an update on trading for the first six
months of 2006.



The Company is also using this opportunity to announce that the Company has
received the consent of the Australian Stock Exchange to de-list from the ASX
with effect from 31 October 2006. From this date, the Company's shares will be
traded only on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. The Board
considers that this will be in the long term interests of all shareholders to
whom full details will be mailed shortly.



ACQUISITION OF OASIS



On 11 July 2006, the Company completed the acquisition of the business and
certain assets of Oasis. The consideration payable is US$9.76 million, payable
partly in cash and partly by the assumption of Oasis customer balances at the
date of completion of approximately US$470,000.



The consideration is being funded entirely from the Group's internal cash
resources. US$2 million of the consideration is deferred, payable 90 days after
completion. The Board expects the acquisition to be immediately earnings
enhancing.



Established in 1997 in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Oasis offers telephone and
internet sports betting and internet casino to a recreational client base. It
has approximately 56,000 registered customers, of whom over 5,500 were active in
the 12 months ended 30 June 2006.



For the year ended 30 June 2006, Oasis recorded (unaudited) gross revenue from
players of US$7.4 million (sports US$3.6 million, casino US$3.8 million) on
turnover of US$278 million (sports US$61 million, casino US$217 million) and net
income of US$1.3 million.



Following the migration of Oasis onto the Betcorp operating infrastructure, the
Group expects to make annual net operating cost savings of over US$1 million by
fully integrating its bookmaking, customer service, IT, finance and marketing
resources.



The Board expects that the net contribution to the Group's earnings will
represent an acquisition multiple of approximately four times.




The www.oasiscasino.com website has already been successfully migrated to
Betcorp's servers in Antigua to ensure that any potentially detrimental
migration risk be eliminated prior to completion. The acquisition is consistent
with Betcorp's preferred acquisition strategy of fully integrating new
businesses to minimise cost duplication and maximise shareholder return.



The existing offices of Oasis in Curacao have been left with the vendors of the
acquired business so that Betcorp will not incur any costs in closing down these
facilities. Only two of Oasis's employees have been retained, to fill vacant
positions in the combined Group.



TRADING UPDATE



Overall gross revenue from players in the first half of 2006 was 75% up on the
first half of 2005 at $22 million. The Group expects to report earnings for the
first half 2006 slightly ahead of market expectations on 15 August 2006.



HIGHLIGHTS - SIX MONTHS ENDED 1 JULY 2006



*         Total gross revenue from players up 75% to US$22.0m (H1 2005:
          US$12.6m)



*         Active customers during the period up 25% to 21,518 (H1 2005 17,200)



*         New funded players up 28% to 8,337 (H1 2005 6,486)



*         Sports betting margin of 6.72% (H1 2005: 4.13%)



*         Sports betting revenues up 42% to US$13.4m (H1 2005: US$9.4m)



*         Casino revenues up 100% to US$5.0m (H1 2005: US$2.5m)



*         Poker rake up 483% to US$3.5m (H1 2005: US$0.6m)



ASX DE-LISTING



The London financial market has continued to reinforce its position as the
global centre of institutional interest in the online gaming sector. Betcorp was
admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 17 March 2006. Since
Company was admitted to AIM, however, it has become clear that there is
insufficient liquidity in the Company's shares to support two stock exchange
listings and the cost of doing so is excessive for a company of this size.



Currently, circa 47% of the total issued share capital is held outside Australia
and the Board believes that the that the interests of all shareholders will be
better served by de-listing from the Australian Stock Exchange and moving the
Company's primary listing from Australia to the UK.



The Company has received the consent of the ASX to the de-listing and will
shortly be writing to all shareholders to confirm details of the straightforward
arrangements that are being introduced to enable holders of ASX listed stock to
continue to buy and sell their shares on AIM. The intended date of the ASX
de-listing is 31 October 2006. The Company has appointed Patersons Securities
Limited, Australian stockbrokers, to oversee and manage this process in an
orderly manner.  Contact details for Patersons are shown at the foot of this
announcement.



Betcorp's shares will continue to trade on AIM uninterrupted. AIM market prices
are available from a number of financial websites, including
www.londonstockexchange.com.



There will be no change to the corporate structure of the Group as a result of
the ASX de-listing. The holding company will continue to be an Australian public
company and shareholder meetings, including Annual General Meetings, will
continue to be held in Australia.



OUTLOOK



The acquisition and integration of Oasis is a further step, following the
acquisition of Sinsational Intertainment in 2005, in the Company's stated policy
to acquire compatible businesses at attractive valuations and rapidly migrate
acquired businesses onto an integrated operating platform.



In anticipation of Oasis and future integration projects, the Group has
strengthened management in a number of areas over recent months including
project management, IT development and marketing. This has led to a modest
increase in the Group's operating cost base but is a expected to be more than
rewarded by future revenue growth.



The Company expects to report audited results for the first six months of 2006
on 15 August 2006. As a result of the change in the Company's financial year
end, the next audited reporting period will be the year ending 1 July 2007.



Commenting on the acquisition, Colin Walker, Chief Executive Officer said:



"Oasis represents an excellent acquisition at an attractive valuation. Betcorp's
ability to integrate acquired companies quickly and reliably means that they are
immediately earnings accretive. Oasis clients will benefit from day one from
Betcorp's poker room and its wider range of casino games and sports betting
opportunities."

12 July 2006


For further information please contact:


Betcorp Limited
Colin Walker, Chief Executive Officer                                                    colin@betcorpplc.com
Charles Moore, Group Finance Director                                                 charlesm@betcorpplc.com

KBC Peel Hunt Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                                        Tel: +44 20 7418 8900
Matt Goode                                                                         matt.goode@kbcpeelhunt.com

CPR Communications, Sydney                                                               Tel: +61 2 8213 3082
(Investor Relations/Media - Australia)
Martin Cole                                                                             m.cole@cprcomm.com.au

College Hill Associates, London                                             matthew.smallwood@collegehill.com
(Investor Relations/Media - UK)
Matthew Smallwood                                                                      Tel: + 44 20 7457 2020



For information about the proposed ASX de-listing please contact:


Patersons Securities Limited                                                               Tel: +61 8 9263 1111
Sandra Burton                                                                                sburton@psl.com.au



About Betcorp



Betcorp is an online gaming group offering customers a comprehensive range of
betting and gaming products. Customers can move seamlessly between Betcorp's
choice of casinos, sports betting and poker room. The Group's trading operation
is headquartered in Antigua, West Indies and its IT and marketing divisions are
based in Toronto, Canada. Betcorp is incorporated in Australia and holds a
gaming licence in Antigua and a bookmaker's permit in the UK. The Company's
shares are listed on both the Australian Stock Exchange and on the AIM market
of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "BCL". Further details can be
found at the Company's website www.betcorp.com.au or www.betcorpplc.com.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

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