Cryptologic Share Discussion Threads

[wiganer] 12/9/2005 16:45

And back up again. makes the bulls vs bears battle on PRTY look tame.

[wiganer] 12/9/2005 16:09

And down again. Ho hum.

[wiganer] 12/9/2005 15:20

Nice spike up on TSE opening takes offer back above 1000p.

[wiganer] 12/9/2005 11:59

Went long today. Share price seems to have bottomed out, and management seem to be recognising the need to turn things a bit. Have 1500p as a medium-term target.

[scribbler] 10/8/2005 13:54

Does anyone with Level II know if those two recent deals today on the London Exchange of 38,000 shares each (ie 76k in total) were buys or sells?

[wiganer] 10/8/2005 11:59

Yes- high speed broadband, and I'm often playing crypto at same time as other poker sites, so can say with some confidence that the problems are with crypto, not my connection/wider internet.

[scribbler] 10/8/2005 11:57

Wiganer - thanks for that. Do you use a broadband connection to play?

[wiganer] 10/8/2005 11:51

Scribbler, to be fair, haven't personally had problems for a couple of weeks, but I believe there were problems again last week, which led to the £15k MTT being halted with 13 players left.

The worst problems I've encountered in the past have been that the network totally crashes, so you get frozen out/booted out. You then get a network problems screen from crypto, saying try to log in again in 15 minutes. Sometimes you can get back in a few minutes later, but sometimes it takes longer. One night it took me an hour to get back in, by which time of course I hade been "blinded and ante'd" out. Imagine how you'd feel if such crashes meant the difference between winning or losing a few hundred/thousand £... In my case I hadn't reached the money places at the time, but was well placed to do so, so instead of a fighting chance of £3500 or so, I got my buy-in of £33 back!

I've also encountered such problems elsewhere, notably one night at ladbrokes, but Crypto has been the worst. Some sites I have never encountered problems (e.g. Pokerstars- though admittedly I play there a little less often than on Crypto, so may just have been lucky).

There are also pretty frequent problems with the Lobby pages, where you can see the number of players left in a tourney etc. That doesn't affect the play as such, but is an annoyance, as players use the lobby pages to track their relative positions/upcoming blind increases etc. I've never encountered lobby problems on any other network.

Less frequently there are also "lag problems" where every so often hands will be frozen then played so fast you can't act. Again, unique to Crypto in my experience.

[scribbler] 10/8/2005 11:43

Wiganer- thanks for your insight above,as "an avid online poker player".

Could you tell me what exactly are the problems you experience when using the crypto system and roughly how often they occur? Any other "avid online poker players" out there who can shed some light on this?

[wjccghcc] 10/8/2005 08:22

You're completely right about the casino element which is why I said the pricedrop was an overreaction.

However, crypto do have problems with their network - any negative reaction on the betfair poker forum is more questioning whether there'll be enough choice of tournaments if betfair go it alone rather than any fondness for crypto.

[skyfella1] 09/8/2005 19:16

Coming back nicely now..

I very much doubt that Bfair have anywhere near 30% of the players, read the forum, and, quite frankly, it was a mixed reception. Bill Hill must be the largest userbase, and I recon Inter is probably the fastest growing with there casino client base.

Another big point is that casino revenue is still by far the main contributor to the bottom line.

[wjccghcc] 09/8/2005 16:03

skyfella, the front end is betfair poker. You log on through them and your funds available are your betfair funds. You also get betfair points which lower your commisson for the exchange betting side. Yes, you play against other players in the network but it's the betfair loyalty that counts.

Having said that, the drop does seem a bit excessive although some numbers would be nice. Betfair have a lot of inhouse software expertise so I'd guess they'll take the next six months to develop their own site plus decide if they need to be part of a network or not given their current player numbers.

But very few of the current betfair poker players will miss crypto. Take a look at the poker forum on www.betfair.com and you'll see widespread rejoicing at the announcement.

EDIT - The word on the betfair forum is that betfair provide about 30% of Crypto poker players.

[wiganer] 09/8/2005 16:01

brownie
I play at W Hill who use crypto, and also at:
Pokerstars, Paradise, Ladbrokes, Pacific, Stan James/Prima Network, Pacific, Ultimate, Pokerchamps, London Poker Club.
The latter two are small operators and haven't played there enough to form a reasonable basis for reliability assessment.
Of the others I'd say Pokerstars, Paradise and Prima are the most reliable, with Crypto at the bottom, and the others inbetween.
I do play a lot at W Hill, but that is because I find it easiest to win there given their tourney formats/type of player.
I think other punters for whom those aren't an overriding factor would just up sticks if reliability didn't improve.

[skyfella1] 09/8/2005 15:56

I find Crypto a very reliable platform, and have not had any problems in a very, very long time. Until today I have never had any interest in CRP so this is not a bias opinion.

[skyfella1] 09/8/2005 15:53

Duss,

That chart is not very accurate, I have just opened a small long bet on IG index, which is c$ based, and is currently 1905.

Paddy,

I dont think YOU understand how it works, the platform Betfair use is "shared" by all the licencees, ie, at on table you could have players from Betfair, Will Hill, Littlwoods, Interpoker, Ritz Club,sand, ukbetting and totalbet. Betfair must make up less than 20% of the players, therfore my point above.

You now stand corrected...

BTW my long is already nicely in profit!

[brownie69] 09/8/2005 15:47

Thankfully didnt get involved, but worrying for holders that market had wind of this over last couple of days before this announcement.
Would need to know how much of their poker revs are Betfair before judging whether current valuation is attractive.

Wiganer comment on reliability another worry. Wiganer do you play at Paradise? If so how does that compare? (Its just that i'm a Sportingbet holder)

[dusseldorf] 09/8/2005 15:30

skyfella1 - I'm new to this thread, am I correct in assuming the Canadian dollar chart reflects the listing on the Canadian exchange has only gone down less than 10% since yesterday $24 -> $22

[wiganer] 09/8/2005 15:29

I am an avid online poker player and play a lot on crypto software/network via W Hill. It is BY FAR the least reliable software/network that I have played on in recent months. Crypto need to get their fingers out ASAP and address the basic reliability/connectivity issues, otherwise Betfair won't be the only operators to show them the door.

Today's RNS only crystallises what's been evident for some time, that crytpo have taken their eye off the ball, and have a big task ahead to repair damage done. If they do so then this might be a decent bounce play, but I wouldn't rule out further drift in the meantime.

[paddyp1672] 09/8/2005 15:28

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick skyfella. Cryptologic run the underlying software.
If customers play poker at betfair, they will have loyalty to that brand - not the software vendors.

I would imagine very few poker players online know the name of the underlying software provider.

[skyfella1] 09/8/2005 15:14

If betfair go it alone I think it will be to thier detriment. Crypto is a good reliable proven platform. The only way they can do it IMO is to just transfer to another skin like party or boss. Poker is about crytical mass, and a stand alone platform will find it increadibly difficult to attract new members, let alone persuade existing members to transfer to a site with around 20% or less of the current players playing.

[dusseldorf] 09/8/2005 15:04

Drop seems overcooked to me due to the lack of trading volume...the eventual decision isn't a known certainty and the price although continuing a general down trend should rebound to 1250 - 1300 in the short term IMO.

Decision will not be known until early 2006 i.e. not for 6 months

[wjccghcc] 09/8/2005 14:44

Well that was always coming. Betfair's poker site has been growing leaps and bounds but with pretty lousy reliability because of problems with connectivity etc. I'm surprised they couldn't get out of their contract earlier.

[skyfella1] 09/8/2005 14:36

I think this is the cause, but I think it is well overdone IMO:

Considering In-House Poker

RNS Number:9038P
CryptoLogic Inc.
09 August 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALL DOLLAR AMOUNTS IN US$
Symbol: TSX: CRY; NASDAQ: CRYP; LSE: CRP

CRYPTOLOGIC ANNOUNCES BETFAIR IS CONSIDERING
IN-HOUSE POKER STRATEGY FOR 2006

August 9, 2005 (London, UK) - CryptoLogic Inc., a leading software developer to
the global Internet gaming market, announced that Betfair, one of the company's
poker licensees, has advised CryptoLogic of its long term intent to bring its
core products in-house eventually rather than outsourcing third-party
technology. Discussions continue between the companies and no definitive
decision has been made on the status of Betfair's Internet poker site.

While Betfair has launched a successful, profitable site using
CryptoLogic-developed software, Betfair's long term strategy and practices in
its core business has been built on technology solutions designed and developed
internally. Decisions consistent with this strategy could result in Betfair
establishing its own poker room and the termination of its contract with
WagerLogic Limited, the licensing subsidiary of CryptoLogic, in early 2006.

WagerLogic's central poker room, shared by all of its poker licensees, is
experiencing record growth - 180% over a year ago, well ahead of the industry.
CryptoLogic's strategy would be to offset the potential departure of Betfair
with continued strong growth from poker, healthy results from its core casino
business, and the potential signing of new licensees.

If Betfair were to leave the central poker room, it is not expected to affect
CryptoLogic's 2005 results, but could have a material affect on 2006 earnings if
this revenue is not replicated with growth from other existing and potential new
licensees. While Internet poker is growing and accounts for 30% of CryptoLogic's
Q2 2005 revenue, CryptoLogic's core business remains its casino software. This
segment continues to deliver excellent performance and is the company's largest
cash contributor at approximately 60% of total revenue.

Once a definitive decision has been made, CryptoLogic will update shareholders
and provide interim guidance as appropriate. CryptoLogic's earnings guidance for
the third quarter of 2005 remains on target.

WagerLogic's central poker room has consistently ranked among the top five poker
rooms on the Internet. CryptoLogic's strategy of aggregating its licensees'
brands, large player bases and marketing resources, into a common poker room,
has translated into one of the fastest-growing poker rooms on the Internet.
CryptoLogic will continue to build on this strong market position and capitalize
on the growth momentum in Internet poker.

About CryptoLogic (www.cryptologic.com)
Focused on integrity and innovation, CryptoLogic Inc. is the world's leading,
blue-chip public developer and supplier of Internet gaming software.
CryptoLogic's leadership in regulatory compliance makes it one of the very few
companies with gaming software that is certified to strict standards similar to
land-based gaming. WagerLogic Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CryptoLogic,
is responsible for the licensing of the company's gaming software and services
to a blue-chip customer base worldwide. For information on WagerLogic, visit
www.wagerlogic.com.

CryptoLogic's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol: CRY),
on the Nasdaq National Market (symbol: CRYP), and on the Main Market of the
London Stock Exchange (symbol: CRP).

For more information, please contact:

CryptoLogic, [phone] Argyle RowlandCommunications,
[phone] (media only)

Nancy Chan-Palmateer, Director of Communications Daniel Tisch, ext. 223/
[e-mail]
Karen Passmore,ext. 228/
[e-mail]

CRYPTOLOGIC FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT DISCLAIMER:
Statements in this press release which are not historical are forward-looking
statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks
associated with the Company's financial condition and prospects, legal risks
associated with Internet gaming and risks of governmental legislation and
regulation, risks associated with market acceptance and technological changes,
risks associated with dependence on licensees and key licensees, risks relating
to international operations, risks associated with competition and other risks
detailed in the Company's filings with securities regulatory authorities. These
risks may cause results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements.



This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCPKCKPNBKDFFK

[hgiderek] 09/8/2005 13:31

Todays announcement of a new CFO may be one clue - certainly should restore any confidence in that area, if it were needed. Otherwise, I'm stumped - good Q2 results & positive management team. C'est la vie ! Sticking with 'em.