by Mario Alfonsi | Published on May 18, 2012 | Updated on May 18, 2012After a turbulent year for the newly formed company, bwin.party announced this week that revenues were up slightly in the first quarter of 2012. Overall, the company brought in €215.9 million in revenue over the first three months of the year, a 1% increase over the same period last year.However, poker wasn’t an area of growth for the company. In fact, it was reported that poker revenue was down 3% to €52.2 million. Of more concern was the loss of about 15% of daily poker traffic, though a company statement attributed this to a change in their player marketing system. They also noted that the decline appeared to be stabilizing, as traffic was down just 1% quarter-over-quarter when compared to Q4 2011.After European sportsbook giant bwin merged with Party Gaming last year, it became clear that poker was going to be one of the major areas where merging the two companies would not be simple. While bwin was currently a member – and the owner – of the Ongame Network, Party Gaming controlled one of the biggest names in online poker: Party Poker.However, that conflict was resolved earlier this year, when bwin.party agreed to sell the Ongame Network to Shuffle Master – the American gambling manufacturer that was looking to prepare for entry into regulated US markets. That deal has allowed the company to focus on a single poker property going forward, which should help streamline their operations.The report noted that casino games and sports betting wagers had increased in 2012, while bingo revenues were down 15% for the company. Bwin.party expressed optimism for the rest of the year, in large part due to the fact that they would be obtaining a German online gambling license. It’s likely that a Spanish online poker license would also improve the company’s year, though it’s uncertain how bwin.party plans to respond to the recent demands by the Spanish government that all licensees pay back taxes on previous activities in Spain.
