Monday, October 16, 2006

Gaming group Empire Online said on Friday it will terminate its business in
the United States immediately ahead of a ban on Internet gambling which will
have a "material" adverse impact on its future earnings. The group added
that around 65 percent of its revenue is currently generated from U.S.-based
customers, and it was one of a number of UK gaming groups such as
PartyGaming Plc to end their gaming activities in the U.S. The moves came as
U.S. President George W. Bush prepared to sign into law legislation to
enforce the prohibition of Internet gaming. "The company's margins will also
be affected by the loss of this revenue due to operational gearing and the
higher gross margin generated from the USA business," the group said in a
statement. The gaming group added it was confident it will continue to
generate positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation for 2007, and it reaffirmed its intention to pay an interim
dividend of 1.7 cents per share.