Acquisition of TMG boosts 500.com quarterly
News on 30 Jul 2018
News on 30 Jul 2018
Asia online lottery company 500.com has posted its Q2-2018 results, noting that revenue soared thanks to the early July acquisition of TMG Group, an online lottery betting and online casino platform provider operated out of Malta.
* Net revenues were RMB30.4 million (US$4.6 million) compared with RMB4.6 million in the first quarter of last year;
* Net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB52.9 million, almost equivalent to the RMB52.6 million loss reported in Q2-2017;
* TMG delivered 89.1 percent of the rise in revenue.
Our readers will recall that 500.com has been struggling since the Chinese government imposed a “temporary” ban on online lottery sales in 2015 amid allegations of official corruption.
CEO Zhengming Pan acknowledged in his report that the acquisition of TMG has significantly increased 500.com revenues. He revealed that 500.com entered an agreement with the China Sports Lottery Administration in March this year through which both parties plan to cooperate to develop physical channels to sell sports lottery tickets.
“In that regard, we have entered into framework agreements with Tianjin, Hunan and several other provinces and cities in China, to assist them in developing physical sales channels of sports lottery tickets. In addition, we have started a trial operation in Tianjin Municipality. We will continue to look for opportunities to enhance shareholders’ value,” he said.
