The online gambling software developer Playtech plc has issued a trading update predicting that it expects to deliver a generally positive third quarter 2009 for online casinos, with a 12 percent rise in gross income to Euro 31.9 million.

The revenues were down from the Euro 33.1 million reported in the previous three months, which Playtech attributed to a run of “unusual sport results” reducing the sport betting margins of online gambling partner William Hill Online.

The firm said the fourth quarter trading period has started well, however.

Analysts opined that the firm’s third-quarter earnings were ahead of expectations, as a strong margin offset revenue which was slightly behind expectations.

“Overall, this is a solid set of figures, with margin outperformance and strong current trading firmly underpinning our estimates,” brokers Daniel Stewart told clients in a note this morning.

Revenue was broadly flat on the year at Euro 27.7 million with a 10 percent drop in online casino sales to Euro 18.5 million and poker revenues declining around 3 percent to Euro 8.2 million.

A company spokesman said activity improved toward the end of the third quarter and initial trading in October is strong, with daily average royalty revenue more than 5 percent ahead of the third quarter.

Over the course of the nine months to September 30, gross income rose 24 percent on the same period in 2008 to Euro 98.8 million from Euro 80 million. Gross income is income from royalties plus profits generated from Playtech’s share in William Hill Online.

William Hill Online contributed Euro 4.2 million of the Euro 31.9 million gross income for Q3, a decline from the Euro 5.3 million in the prior quarter.

Commenting on the numbers, Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said: “The is a solid set of numbers. Playtech has delivered and the underlying performance has been strong, with an uplift at the end of September which is continuing this month.

“For the first time we are exposed to sports and that is more volatile than gaming, but there are many upsides. The joint venture is going very well, and we are already seeing a much higher number of new accounts and the gaming activity is in line with expectations.”

Weizer struck a positive note on the Internet poker sector, which he opined still has good potential for growth as countries like France, Italy and Serbia develop regulatory systems in which Playtech stands to prosper.

EBITDA for the nine months to September is expected to come in at no less than Euro 66 million.

Dragonfish, the independent B2B division of 888 Holdings plc, has launched its X-Factor branded Quickplay casino game.

This new 5 reel 20 pay-line video slot operates within the company’s new integration platform and has three types of bonus round - Judges Bonus, Boot Camp and Live Final.

The timing of the X-Factor branded online slot launch is positioned to take advantage of the Saturday and Sunday night scheduling of ITV1’s hit television show, the exciting knockout stages of the competition, and the show’s continued success at the top of prime time ratings.

Side games are a popular ingredient for successful bingo sites.

Gabi Campos, managing director of Dragonfish, commented: “Dragonfish continues to supply a range of highly attractive Quickplay games for our bingo clients, enabling them to increase player retention and drive increased lifetime customer values. X-Factor is one of a number of leading branded games such as Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Cluedo, Monopoly and Cleopatra that will be coming to our bingo partners soon.”

A week on from it’s launch earlier this (October) month, online gambling and offline betting firm William Hill plc’s in-house television channel is proving to be a popular casino portal service to punters visiting the group’s 2 450 betting offices.

The service provides internet gamblers with relevant breaking news, the latest odds, pundit insights and features across numerous sporting events, all broadcast from William Hill’s operations HQ in Leeds, UK. Presenters include Carla Hilton and Ross Brierley, both of whom have graduated from William Hill radio to the in-vision studio.

A spokesman for the company said: “We don’t expect to be Sky Sports News just yet but we take some pride in being the first bookmaker to launch its own dedicated TV service, independent of the industries suppliers SIS (Satellite Information Services) and Turf TV.

The online gambling group Betfair, and trade body the Remote Gaming Association are among the supporters of Right2Bet.net, an initiative that is inviting punters across Europe to register their vote and fight for their right to bet freely by going online casinos and signing a virtual ‘naked petition’, uploading their own content and sharing viral videos with friends.

Why naked? No, it’s not an exotic form of petition, but rather the funky way in which the organisers have presented the initiative, with upbeat music, an entertaining website and an attractive model called Katie-Marie whose ample curves visitors are invited to explore in signing up for the petition.

The website also gives punters the chance to write to their MEP, using the right2bet template to urge them to raise the matter in the EU Parliament as well as letting supporters submit their own photos depicting how they have been supporting the online gambling campaign.

And webmasters are being encouraged to carry the naked petition widget.

The campaign is aimed at the many short-sighted national government obstacles to online gambling across Europe, where protectionism has become common among nations trying to shield state monopolies from fair and open competition despite the tenets of the European Union treaty.

The goal of Right2bet is to encourage the European Union to implement its own cross-boundary laws and encourage individual governments to strip away such restrictions. The campaign target is one million signatures with its ‘naked petition’, the aim to persuade the EU that state monopolies are illegal, unfair, and ultimately curtail consumer freedom of choice.

This is serious stuff, and there will be divided opinions about whether the rather light-hearted approach to presenting the petition will carry the right sort of gravitas with Brussels bureaucrats, but it’s fresh and different and certainly interesting.

Thanks to a generally progressive government attitude when it comes to properly regulated gambling, UK punters have the freedom to bet where and with whom they like, but Right2Bet is nevertheless encouraging them to sign up to the petition as an act of solidarity and to demand freedom of choice in Europe….and the right of British companies’ to offer their services across the EU.

Michael Robb, spokesperson for the right2bet campaign, says: “This is a sexy and fun campaign, but there is also a serious side too. Betting fans in Europe are fed up of being told by politicians how and where they can bet. It’s not fair that they should be restricted to one or two operators based in their own country, when there are so many other opportunities in the EU.

“So we decided it was time to make the politicians sit up and take notice - and the naked petition, supported by Katie-Marie, is the perfect way to do that! We want to lay bare the hypocrisy of the EU in allowing state monopolies and denying consumers the freedom to choose any online betting service they like.”