Fun and gaming

Apparently Stream has changed its business model. It used to provide horoscopes and psychic advice on mobile phones. Mobile content is dead, allegedly.

(Actually what I think happened is that mobile content became mature very quickly. And 'growth' management strategies can't survive on thin margins. My suspicion is that a consolidator with a ruthless concentration on costs could probably do very well indeed by buying up mobile content companies and cutting out their overheads.)

Stream is now going to change its name to NetPlay TV, and acquire Vegas247, which runs an interactive roulette channel on Sky.

What's behind the move? Internet gambling stocks have been hit hard by US legislation - but outside the US, there's still substantial growth to be had. Sportingbet, for instance, recently reported over 50% growth in bets placedby customers in its fiscal Q1. Betinternet has finally broken into profit with its pari-mutuel business.

The real key to the move is that Vegas247 has a UK gaming licence. No bets from the US so no dodgy legal position to worry about. No likelihood of executives being arrested at the airport.

And in this connection what I find extremely interesting is that one gambling stock which has done extremely well over the past few months - in contrast to the sector as a whole. Stand up William Hill. I'd love to present this as a 'revenge of the bricks' story, but it's really a story about the company's relative lack of exposure to internet gaming, and lower valuation.

None the less I do wonder whether gaming will start seeing some of the 'back to bricks' trends that have been evident in the retail sector. After all it's an excellent way to build a brand. And whereas the web is relatively unregulated and still has low barriers to entry, casinos and betting shops are tightly regulated and likely to remain so, despite the government's intention to liberalise slightly.

So, is Stream right to go into the world of television betting? I don't know. Sometimes these channels work, and sometimes they don't. The devil here can be in the detail - Sky just needs to reorganise its channel listings, and that can put the kybosh on your business, as Cellcast found out to its cost. But it certainly seems that Stream, or NetPlay TV as it will soon be, has found an interesting new direction in life.