Bwin reaffirms 2009 profit forecast after sporting wagers climb

Betting turnover rose 2.2 % to 811 million euros. “Revenue will continue to come in on a dynamic basis,” Bwin co-Chief Executive Officer Norbert Teufelberger said in a conference call. “The first six weeks of the third quarter have gone as planned” and “we are slightly above the results of the year before.”

Bwin’s shares rose 65 cents, or 2.4 %, to 27.90 euros at 9:36 a.m. in Vienna, giving it a 920 million euro market value. The company reiterated it will earn over 110 million euros before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Bwin sees as much as 450 million euros in revenue.

Second-quarter gross gaming revenue fell 12 % to 77.8 million euros after gamblers won more wagers placed with the company. The “unusually high payout rate” resulted after sports team “favorites scored particularly frequent wins in the period,” the company said in a statement.

Bwin, which sponsors soccer club AC Milan, operates in more than 20 markets through two Web sites that offer sports betting, a lottery and casino games such as roulette. The company’s database of active betting customers fell 3 % to 1.06 million.

PartyGaming Plc is the world’s biggest online gaming company with a us$ 1.7 billion market value.