It’s no longer the one arm bandit of old –we’re developing  the new age of Internet slots with familiar brands to give players games they can enjoy and trust.

BEJEWELED dazzles players

We applied the same “brand” strategy with Bejeweled – combine a well –recognized name with our innovations for immediate player appeal.  Players gravitate towards games and brands they know.  And we did just that with this year’s release of a real-money, 10-line slot variation of this globally renowned, fast-paced gem-matching game to the Internet.
      More than 50 million people have played Bejeweled for fun on Yahoo! AOL and MSN.  Our money game version is as dazzling as its play-for –fun cousin.  It features all the sounds, animations and Bejeweled symbols players know and love.
      The broad appeal of the Bejeweled brand has quickly translated into one of the most popular, revenue-generating gems in CryptoLogic’s expanding casino software portfolio.

CRYPTOLOGIC Branded Innovations

 CryptoLogic is also branding its own innovations.  We just received our first game patent in the UK for one of our own big hits, Millionaires Cluby – a hugely popular progressive Internet slot that one lucky player just won over US $ 0.90 Betfair’s!
      The patent for this game and its distinctive three-wheel bonus concept is pending in other major markets and will apply to both online and land-based gaming.  The patenting of our own branded innovation creates promising revenue opportunities and a competitive difference for CrypltoLogic.

MARVEL,  The X-Men, The Hulk, Blade, Daredevil.  The Punisher, and all related Marvel characters are © and trademarks of Marvel  Characters, Inc., and are used with permission.  © 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

How Do You Identify Potential Acquisition Targets

Several ways to approach answering this question, but ultimately, you could say we look for certainty.  Completing acquisitions is time intensive and very expensive- we need to be confident that the vendors are committed to working through the process, with the right resources and granularity – unfortunately many transactions in the Industry have failed because of this.

      At  L & G we have completed four acquisitions this year – we’ve done this with parties that have properly invested in what is undoubtedly a comprehensive process in the public market.  In each case the transactions were completed without chipping at the price or shifting the timetable.
      From a strategic perspective, the first thing we look for is how a target compliments and fits our strategy.  In the instances where the potential acquisition involves a further management team joining our group, we obviously look very carefully at the expectations and the opportunities for these individuals, and to make sure there is the right cultural fit.
      In terms of our specific strategic focus, we have three key areas of acquisition interest:

• Companies operating in the same market to our current activity – US facing online sports and casino sites.
• Companies offering us access to new geographic  market places.
• Companies with additional product offering to complement our existing portfolio.

The targets we have identified, and completed transactions with in 2005 have all met the above criteria.  In each case there has been mutual appreciation of the obstacles, and roadblocks, and a commitment to resolving them. 

      In each case we faced competition from other potential purchasers within the industry, and were pleased to note that the vendors saw the value in our proposition and  in the future prospects of our, thus, enlarged group.