by Anton Johan
Bwin.Party Digital, the recently merged entity that comprises the Austrian Bwin and the London listed Party Gaming, released its results for the first quarter of 2011.
The group showed that its total net revenue increased by 2% to €217.8 million in the first three months of the year.
A lot of movement was felt in the last two weeks of April, after the US government moved to crack down on online poker sites in the country.
Bwin.party saw a 33% increase in average daily new member sign ups at its poker sites in the last two weeks of April, as a direct result of the strict clampdowns in the United States.
"Following steps taken by the US government to enforce its laws, we have seen an uplift in new player sign ups on our poker sites despite the impact of seasonality," said the Chief Executive of Bwin.Party, Jim Ryan.
"While this represents only a short trading period, it is nonetheless encouraging," he added.
Nonetheless, poker revenue slid 14% to €54.0 million.
Bwin.Party Digital's brands include Party Casino, Party Poker, Bwin.com and Foxy Bingo.
Since the middle of April, when the US Department of Justice closed down Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker and charged their heads with illegal gambling, shares in Bwin.Party have risen by nearly a quarter.
Sports betting revenue for the group was up by 11% to €71.6 million, while casino rose 8% to €64.8 million.
From March this year, Bwin.Party saw 40% of the value of its shares wiped out as one of its top markets, Germany, announced that it was introducing significant changes to its tax laws that could see the group pay a 16% levy on turnover from sports betting.
Shares values have since recovered to a 27% devaluation.
