PartyGaming launches marketing push on back of US asset freeze

PartyGaming has ramped up its marketing spend to capitalise on the US authorities’ squeeze on the payment channels of US-facing poker sites PokerStars and Full Tilt.

The company made the announcement in a second-quarter trading update which revealed group revenue since April 6 remains in line with that achieved in the first quarter, despite the onset of the regular summer downswing in online gaming activity.

The marketing push on the back of US authorities’ seizure of player winnings from US-facing poker sites including Poker Stars and Full Tilt has already positively impacted player numbers in several territories, said the company.

PartyGaming said increased distribution costs associated with the initiative would be offset by continued cost savings and favourable currency movements, with full-year results expected to be in line with those achieved for the full year in 2008.

PartyGaming chief Jim Ryan said: “The Group’s strategy remains on track and I am pleased that many of the seeds we have sown over the past year are now beginning to bear fruit.”

PartyCasino was the group’s strongest performing vertical over the quarter, turning in double-digit revenue growth, on the back of a substantial increase in games offered on the platform and the launch last month of a dedicated affiliate programme and international marketing campaign.

PartyPoker revenues however dipped below first-quarter levels due to a reduction in active player days due to seasonality, continued competition from US-facing poker sites, and lower yields due to increased bonus and player loyalty costs.

The company’s online poker tournament service in Italy for land-based lottery services provider Intralot has also gone live. Party said it expects to be offering poker cash games on its newly launched Italian poker network by the end of 2009.

NETELLER.com Sponsors Leading Manx Rally Co-Driver, Leveraging Social Networking

Thursday, 9 July 2009 – NETELLER.com, the e-wallet business of NEOVIA Financial Plc (LSE: NEO), the independent online payments business, today announced that it is a proud sponsor of leading Manx rally co-driver Robert Fagg, who this weekend will be seeking to maintain his lead in the Kick Energy Fiesta Sport Trophy on his home turf as he contests the Isle of Man Challenge Rally. In promoting the rally series sponsorship, NETELLER.com has been leveraging extensive use of social networking media, including blogs and Twitter feeds.

Robert remains in top spot in the standings having finished 5th in the most recent round of the series, the RSAC Scottish Rally in Dumfries. Robert has his own website at www.robertfagg.com which is updated with the latest news pre and post event. Rally Isle of Man, which the Challenge event forms part of, takes place on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th July and is the first of two tarmac rounds in the eight round championship. More information is available about the Isle of Man Challenge Rally at www.mir.co.im from which Robert’s progress may also be followed.

In early 2009 NEOVIA launched a wide range of social media approaches to engage with its customers, including blogs, business and consumer Twitter feeds and the ability to use the ShareThis™ feature to syndicate content from its blogs and websites to dozens of social networking sites, including Facebook, Linkedin, WindowsLive, and MySpace.

NETELLER.com’s sponsorship of Robert Fagg features on the NETELLER blog at blog.neteller.com/neteller-sponsors-rally-racer-robert-fagg, with interviews and rally-by-rally updates being provided on the blog and via the site’s Twitter feed. The NETELLER Twitter feed also provides relevant news, promotions and updates regarding the NETELLER.com e-wallet and the Net+ Card. The NETELLER Twitter feed is at www.twitter.com/neteller.

Additionally NEOVIA also provides business/corporate RSS and Twitter feeds that focus on payment industry news, as well as relevant press releases from NEOVIA. These can be found at www.twitter.com/neovia and www.neovia.com/rss.xml.

Dan Starr, Executive Vice President of NEOVIA, commented “We’re proud to be sponsoring Rob and to promote his endeavours to our customers. We are keen to ensure our customers are kept up to speed with developments in our business, product offering and good news. The latest social networking developments, such as Twitter and blogging, provide an excellent way to link with our customers in the way we know best – online.”

About NEOVIA Financial Plc

Trusted by consumers and merchants in over 160 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, NEOVIA Financial Plc operates the world's leading independent online payments business. Through its Payment Suite, featuring NETELLER®, NETBANX®, Net+™ and 1-PAY™ brands, NEOVIA specialises in providing innovative and instant payment services where money transfer is difficult or risky due to identity, trust, currency exchange, or distance. Being independent has allowed NEOVIA to support thousands of retailers and merchants in many geographies and across multiple industries.
Subsidiary company NETELLER (UK) Limited is authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to operate as a regulated e-money issuer. For more information about NEOVIA Financial visit www.neovia.com.

Net+ Card Wins Top Accolade at Cards & Payments Europe 2009 Awards

Monday, 22 June 2009 – NEOVIA Financial Plc (NEO.L), the independent online payments business, and Conister Trust are pleased to announce that their Net+ Prepaid MasterCard has won the Best New Prepaid Card Product Launch.

The Net+ Prepaid MasterCard has been voted the best new prepaid card at the prestigious Cards & Payments Europe 2009 Awards, organised by Cards International and Electronic Payments International, against tough competition from the PayPal Top-Up Card and the M-Cube/Ryanair co-branded prepaid card programme.

The Cards & Payments Europe Awards, which are open to UK and international payment card issuers and acquirers, recognise best practice in the card payment industry. The Card & Payments Europe Awards are part of Europe’s leading cards and payments conference and expo held in Prague on 18/19 June 2009.

To qualify, the card had to have significant features, marketing strategies or programmes, be new to the issuer, market or both, and have acquired a significant number of new accounts in the six months following its launch. The winners are chosen by an independent judging panel, which comprises representatives from the payment card organisations and industry commentators and experts from across the globe.

The Net+ Prepaid MasterCard, issued by Conister Trust Limited and launched in October 2008, incorporates chip and PIN technology, allows cardholders to instantly access funds from a NETELLER e-wallet account at over 26 million retail point of sale locations and 1 million ATMs worldwide. The virtual version of the card offers a secure way to shop and pay online with one-time usage card numbers.

The award was made to NEOVIA and Conister Trust Limited, the issuer of the Net+ Card, at The Cards & Payments Europe 2009 Awards ceremony in Prague on 18 June 2009.

Simon Hull, Managing Director of Conister Trust Limited, said “This award recognises the leading capabilities of the Net+ Card, and we are delighted to be working with NEOVIA to bring such an innovative product to the market. The Net+ Card is the first time an e-wallet has been used to load both virtual and physical cards.”

Dan Starr, Executive President of NEOVIA, commented “We are delighted that the Net+ Card has been recognised as the best new prepaid card by industry experts at The Card Awards. The Card has been a success for our existing e-wallet customers, giving them flexibility and security over payouts, and to our merchants, the cards have demonstrated they can add to customer lifetime value as part of the NEOVIA Payment Suite.”