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Sojern Acquires VenueLytics to Bolster its Platform for the Hospitality Industry

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Sojern, the leading travel marketing platform, today announced the acquisition of VenueLytics, the hospitality industry’s most integrated guest experience platform serving independent hotels, resorts, chains and casinos. Sojern will incorporate VenueLytics’ capabilities as an extension of the Sojern Travel Marketing Platform.

Logo, no tagline
Logo, no tagline

Sojern has long been a direct bookings driver for hotels—providing comprehensive digital advertising solutions that help travel marketers find, attract and convert new travelers, re-activate existing guests to build loyalty, and maximize net revenue per available room (RevPAR). This acquisition expands Sojern’s Travel Marketing Platform to engage across the entire guest journey with VenueLytics’ cutting-edge technology that includes an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered virtual concierge, real-time guest feedback and digital reputation management tools, and a guest marketing suite for email and text promotions. VenueLytics’ solutions help marketing, operations, and front-desk teams better serve their guests with less resources required, drive incremental revenue, and maximize profit. With these additional features, Sojern can now help marketers find, attract, convert and engage travelers throughout their journey.

“This is an exciting step forward for our customers as we can empower hoteliers beyond advertising alone, expanding our offerings to be a true end-to-end marketing platform,” said Mark Rabe, CEO of Sojern. “We are dedicated to providing the travel industry with innovative solutions that leverage data, AI and technology to drive results. VenueLytics’ expertise in analyzing, unifying and activating data from various hotel management and marketing systems will allow Sojern to deepen our relationships in hospitality. This addition helps us to advance toward becoming the travel marketing platform.”

One of VenueLytics key customers is Grupo Posadas, the largest hotel company in Mexico with over 180 resorts and hotels. Posadas Director of Quality, Standards and Innovation, Leslie Gomez, commented, “By using VenueLytics AI Concierge throughout the guest journey, Posadas has increased Ancillary Revenue with more than 53K requests over the last 9 months. Our guests satisfaction improved more than 19 percentage points (pp) in NPS (Net Promoter Score) from the guests who had contact with our digital concierge experience.”

By extending its platform with VenueLytics, Sojern can now support hotel marketers with an all-in-one platform that drives guests directly to a property, enables upsell mid-stay, remarketing post-stay, and builds long term loyalty. In addition to the multichannel offerings of Sojern, VenueLytics provides the ability to engage customers in an expanded multichannel network that includes SMS, Email, WiFi, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, ChatBot, Alexa, Google Home and other social media and third party apps. This allows Sojern to expand into generative AI with cutting edge tools to drive and optimize booking value for hotels.

VenueLytics Co-Founder and CEO Baskar Manivannan commented, “We have partnered with Sojern for more than a year, and joining forces will strengthen our customer base and reputation while enabling us to offer the hospitality and travel industry a wider and timely range of solutions. With AI, data analytics and personalized multichannel guest engagement at the backbone of what we do, we have a shared vision to empower hotels around the world to drive profitability, and truly elevate guest experience and satisfaction.”

Last month, Sojern announced the latest version of its Sojern Travel Marketing Platform with enhanced AI powered audiences. With this acquisition, it further demonstrates the company’s rigor and success at integrating new technology and scaling it globally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sojern has reported previously that it is profitable, has driven more than $10 billion in global travel bookings, and serves over 10,000 customers annually around the world leveraging its long-standing AI capabilities.

The acquisition will deepen Sojern’s hotel expertise in North America where VenueLytics has been focused. VenueLytics will now be able to support the global hospitality industry as an extension of the Sojern Travel Marketing Platform. To learn more about how this acquisition can benefit your travel marketing campaigns, please visit Sojern’s website.

About Sojern
Sojern is a leading digital marketing platform built for travel marketers. Powered by artificial intelligence and traveler intent data, Sojern provides multichannel marketing solutions to drive direct demand. More than 10,000 hotels, attractions, tourism boards, and travel marketers rely on Sojern annually to engage and convert travelers around the world.

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500.com Limited to Report Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results on February 8, 2021

SHENZHEN, China, Feb. 3, 2021 — 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) ("500.com" or the "Company"), today announced that it plans to release its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020 after the close of U.S. markets on Monday, February 8, 2021.

About 500.com Limited

500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) is an online sports lottery service provider in China. The Company offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of online lottery services, information, user tools and virtual community venues to its users. Most recently, 500.com is actively developing its blockchain-related business.

Safe Harbor Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

Related Links :

http://ir.500.com/

Entain Marks Its First Day With Measures To Deliver On Its New Strategy

– U.S. growth accelerates as BetMGM plans to double its footprint in three months

– Entain to seek licence in Canada and becomes the first global sports betting and gaming operator to gain a licence in Latin America

LONDON, Dec. 10, 2020 — The global sports betting and gaming group previously known as GVC Holdings plc, marked the first day of trading under its new name with a range of measures to deliver on the vision and direction recently outlined by its CEO Shay Segev. The new measures extend across all the countries in which it operates with brands including bwin, PartyPoker, Ladbrokes, Coral, FoxyBingo and BetMGM.

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Last month Entain announced a new strategy to deliver significant growth, driven by expansion in the U.S., growth across its core business, entry into new markets, and to new audiences. Entain, which has a very strong track record of 19 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in its online business, also committed to lead responsible gaming with a new Sustainability Charter. Under this charter, the business pledged to focus only on regulated markets and use its proprietary technology to raise levels of player protection. 

As part of these plans to deliver growth and sustainability, Entain today confirmed strong momentum and market share gains in the U.S. for BetMGM, its joint venture with MGM Resorts. Between October and January BetMGM is adding five new states, doubling its population reach in three months to around 75 million across 12 states. Entain also disclosed that BetMGM’s most recent state launch in Tennessee has been its most successful go-live yet with revenues already ahead of those in more established states. Powered by Entain technology, BetMGM expects to be in over 20 states by the end of 2021.  

"We are firmly on track to take further leadership in the U.S. as well as in many other newly regulated markets that are now opening around the world." said Segev. "At the heart of our growth strategy is a determination to bring the best player experiences and protections to our industry as technology moves sport and interactive entertainment into a new era. In the U.S., we invested in building the right building blocks for the BetMGM platform to grow and become a long-term leader in the U.S., with superior technology and capabilities, and this is now paying off."

Entain also fleshed out its new Sustainability Charter, allocating money to new projects which will be delivered through its international Foundation around the world. It also gave further detail on its new Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) initiative, seeking to revolutionise player experiences and protection through world-leading research, data science and technology. Other new measures include:

Focus on new regulated markets: In line with its stated intention to focus on fully regulated markets, Entain today announced it has become the first global sports betting and gaming operator to gain a licence in Latin America and expects to go live in Colombia over the next month. Colombia is one of the first countries to issue licences in Latin America with others, such as Brazil preparing to follow. Elsewhere in the Americas, Canada is also moving ahead with regulation and Entain confirmed it will be applying for licencing in Canada.

  • Investing in people and communities: Entain has pledged to invest £100 million over five years in the Entain Foundation to fund responsible gaming initiatives and to support people and communities around the world where it operates. Today, it announced a series of international commitments: 

    UK: Entain and the three Trident Leagues (The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues) are to launch the Trident Community Foundation to help fund community-based projects. Grants will be open for the 228 football clubs that participate in the leagues.
    "Pitching In", Entain’s recently launched grassroots sport investment programme, is the founding partner of the Trident Community Foundation (TCF) and has donated £150,000 to establish the TCF fund, for distribution over the rest of the 2020/21 season.

    US: The Entain Foundation is rolling out an extensive state-by-state program with EPIC, a charitable organisation which works with former athletes and people who have overcome gambling addiction to help educate people on how to play safely.

    The U.S. project announced today with EPIC extends the program to a total of 15 Pro Sports teams and over 20 colleges across the country, including Harvard University, University of Oregon, and the Mid-American Conference. Entain and EPIC plan to work together to add additional professional sports leagues and colleges across the US during 2021. 

    Germany: The Entain Foundation will continue existing sports integrity projects in Germany and receive early funds to initiate further activities around responsible gaming.

    Australia:  The Foundation has announced initial new projects to advance responsible gaming with Relationships Australia, a community-based not for profit organisation which provides a range of counselling and support services to problem gamblers and their families. The new funding will be used to support a social media campaign to reach vulnerable audiences and to raise awareness of the signs of gambling addiction.

  • Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC): Under this recently announced programme, Entain will combine its technology with research and insight from leading psychologists and Harvard to develop innovative experiences and safeguards for a new era in interactive sport and entertainment. To this end, Entain today announced that:

    Dr. Michael Auer,
    a leading academic and member of the scientific community at the University of Hohenheim in Germany, specialising in behavioural psychology and addiction, will join Entain alongside Professor Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Addiction and Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. They will evaluate and advise on improvements to Entain’s guidelines and processes in relation to responsible gaming.

For more information see the Group’s website: www.entaingroup.com

Video – https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/1372389/Entain.mp4?p=medium600

500.com Limited Announces Unaudited Financial Results For the Third Quarter ended September 30, 2020

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 21, 2020 — 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) ("500.com," "the Company," "we," "us," "our company," or "our"), an online sports lottery service provider in China, today reported its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Resumption of Operations in Sweden

The Multi Group ("TMG"), a Malta-based subsidiary of the Company, has temporarily suspended its operations in Sweden in early 2020 as TMG did not complete the renewal of its e-Gaming license before it expired. The Company promptly issued a Current Report on Form 6-K dated January 13, 2020 regarding this situation, and provided an update through another Current Report on Form 6-K dated February 20, 2020. After submitting all the application materials and maintaining close communication with Sweden’s e-Gaming regulatory authority, TMG completed the renewal process and resumed its operations in Sweden in September 2020. The Company’s revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 have been, and for the fiscal year of 2020 are expected to be, materially and adversely impacted by the temporary suspension of TMG’s operations in Sweden. Revenue generated by TMG accounted for approximately 89.7% of the Company’s total net revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, of which approximately 61.3% was generated from Sweden.

Completion of Internal Investigation

On December 31, 2019, the Company announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") had formed a Special Investigation Committee (the "SIC") to internally investigate alleged illegal money transfers and the role played by consultants following the arrest of one consultant (also a former director of the Company’s subsidiary in Japan) and two former consultants by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. On January 16, 2020, the Company announced that the SIC had retained King & Wood Mallesons LLP ("KWM") as its legal advisor to assist with its internal investigation.

On October 7, 2020, the Company announced that the SIC of the Company’s Board completed its internal investigation. 

KWM presented its investigation review to SIC on October 7, 2020. Based on the findings and analyses in KWM’s review, the SIC has concluded that it did not find a sufficient basis to establish a violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 in connection with the Company’s prior activities in Japan. The SIC has also reviewed the Company’s compliance policies, procedures and internal controls in light of the suggestions from KWM. The Company has updated such policies, procedures and internal controls based on recommendations from the SIC, and will continue to enhance its internal controls as appropriate.

Annual Report on Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2019

The Company previously filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC on June 15, 2020 for late filing of its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 (the "2019 Annual Report"), pursuant to which the 2019 Annual Report was due to be filed by June 30, 2020. The Company expects to file the 2019 Annual Report (i) upon completion of the previously announced internal investigation being conducted by the SIC of the Company’s Board, with the assistance of KWM, (ii) once the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 are finalized, (iii) once the Company has completed the assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, and (iv) once the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm has completed its audit of financial statements and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019.

The Company also reports that on July 1, 2020, the Company received an expected notice from New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") Regulation stating that the Company is not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing requirements under the timely filing criteria pursuant to Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of the Company’s failure to timely file the 2019 Annual Report with the SEC. As required by the notice, (a) a representative of the Company contacted the NYSE on July 1, 2020 to discuss the status of the 2019 Annual Report, and (b) the Company is issuing this press release, disclosing the status of the 2019 Annual Report, noting the delay and the reason for the delay, as mentioned above. The anticipated filing date of the 2019 Annual Report is not known at this time.

NYSE Regulation notified the Company that the NYSE will closely monitor the status of the Company’s late filing and related public disclosures for up to a six-month period from the due date of the 2019 Annual Report. If the Company fails to file its annual report and any subsequent delayed filings within six months from the filing due date, the NYSE may, in its sole discretion, allow the Company’s securities to trade for up to an additional six months depending on specific circumstances, as outlined in Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.

The Company intends to meet the filing deadline of six months from the filing due date of the 2019 Annual Report, or December 31, 2020.

Suspension of Online Sports Lottery Sales in China

All provincial sports lottery administration centers to which the Company provided sports lottery sales services have suspended accepting online purchase orders for lottery products in response to the Notice related to Self-Inspection and Self-Remedy of Unauthorized Online Lottery Sales (the "Self-Inspection Notice"), which was jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Administration of Sports of the People’s Republic of China on January 15, 2015. In response to the Self-Inspection Notice, on April 4, 2015, the Company decided to voluntarily suspend all online lottery sales services. As a result of the provincial sport lottery administration centers’ decision to suspend accepting online lottery orders and the Company’s voluntary suspension of all online sports lottery sales services in China, the Company has not generated any revenue from these services since April 2015.

Third Quarter 2020 Highlights

  • Net revenues were RMB6.1 million (US$0.9 million), compared with net revenues of RMB3.6 million for the second quarter of 2020, and net revenues of RMB9.8 million for the third quarter of 2019.
  • Operating loss was RMB50.2 million (US$7.4 million), compared with operating loss of RMB52.3 million for the second quarter of 2020, and operating loss of RMB98.4 million for the third quarter of 2019.
  • Non-GAAP[1] operating loss was RMB37.6 million (US$5.5 million), compared with non-GAAP operating loss of RMB33.7 million for the second quarter of 2020, and non-GAAP operating loss of RMB52.3 million for the third quarter of 2019.
  • Net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB44.0 million (US$6.5 million), compared with net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB86.3 million for the second quarter of 2020, and net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB95.8 million for the third quarter of 2019.
  • Non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB31.6 million (US$4.7 million), compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB34.0 million for the second quarter of 2020, and non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB49.7 million for the third quarter of 2019.
  • Basic and diluted losses per ADS were RMB1.02 (US$0.15).
  • Non-GAAP basic and diluted losses per ADS were RMB0.73 (US$0.11).

Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenues

Net revenues were RMB6.1 million (US$0.9 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB3.7 million or 37.8% from RMB9.8 million for the third quarter of 2019 and an increase of RMB2.5 million or 69.4% from RMB3.6 million for the second quarter of 2020. Net revenues during the third quarter of 2020 primarily consisted of RMB3.3 million (EUR0.4 million) in revenue contribution from the Company’s online lottery betting and online casino in Europe through TMG, which accounted for 54.1% of total net revenues. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB6.0 million resulting from the temporary suspension of operations in Sweden in 2020, which was partially offset by an increase of RMB2.8 million in sports information services in China started in early 2020.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were RMB56.2 million (US$8.3 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB23.0 million or 29.0% from RMB79.2 million for the third quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB1.1 million or 2.0% from RMB55.1 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB19.0 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen and the termination of office leases in Hong Kong and Japan due to closure of subsidiaries’ local offices , a decrease of RMB10.3 million in expenses for employees as a result of decrease in headcount, a decrease of RMB6.8 million mainly in amortization associated with full impairment of acquired intangible assets in 2019, a decrease of RMB2.6 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, a decrease of RMB2.2 million in travelling expenses, a decrease of RMB1.3 million in marketing and promotional expenses relating to a change in TMG’s marketing strategy, a decrease of RMB1.2 million in office expenses, a decrease of RMB2.2 million in lottery insurance costs for TMG associated with the temporary suspension of its online lottery and online casino operations in Sweden, and a decrease of RMB1.7 million in platform service costs, which were partially offset by an increase of RMB18.8 million mainly in depreciation associated with leasehold improvements for the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen, an increase of RMB4.4 million in consulting expenses, and an increase of RMB1.6 million for bad debt provision of receivables. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB17.8 million mainly in depreciation associated with leasehold improvements for the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen, an increase of RMB3.3 million in consulting expenses, and an increase of RMB1.8 million for bad debt provision of receivables, which were partially offset by a decrease of RMB14.7 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen, a decrease of RMB6.0 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, and a decrease of RMB0.6 million in lottery insurance costs for TMG.

Cost of services was RMB3.8 million (US$0.6 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB12.3 million or 76.4% from RMB16.1 million for the third quarter of 2019, and a slight decrease of RMB0.8 million or 17.4% from RMB4.6 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB6.8 million in amortization mainly associated with full impairment of acquired intangible assets in 2019, a decrease of RMB2.2 million in lottery insurance costs for TMG associated with the temporary suspension of its online lottery and online casino operations in Sweden, a decrease of RMB1.7 million in platform service costs, and a decrease of RMB0.7 million in office expenses. The sequential decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB0.6 million in lottery insurance costs for TMG.

Sales and marketing expenses were RMB4.2 million (US$0.6 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB4.8 million or 53.3% from RMB9.0 million for the third quarter of 2019, and a slight decrease of RMB0.8 million or 16.0% from RMB5.0 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB2.8 million in expenses for employees, a decrease of RMB1.3 million in marketing and promotional expenses relating to a change in TMG’s marketing strategy, and a decrease of RMB0.5 million in travelling expenses, which were partially offset by an increase of RMB0.4 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees. The sequential decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB0.3 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

General and administrative expenses were RMB46.4 million (US$6.8 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing an increase of RMB3.3 million or 7.7% from RMB43.1 million for the third quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB11.0 million or 31.1% from RMB35.4 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB19.1 million mainly in depreciation associated with leasehold improvements for the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen, an increase of RMB4.6 million in consulting expenses, and an increase of RMB1.6 million for bad debt provision of receivables, which were partially offset by a decrease of RMB10.3 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen and the termination of office leases in Hong Kong and Japan due to closure of the subsidiaries’ local offices , a decrease of RMB6.3 million in expenses for employees, a decrease of RMB3.5 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, and a decrease of RMB1.7 million in travelling expenses. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB18.2 million mainly in depreciation associated with leasehold improvements for the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen, an increase of RMB3.4 million in consulting expenses, and an increase of RMB1.8 million for bad debt provision of receivables, which were partially offset by a decrease of RMB7.4 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen and a decrease of RMB4.6 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

Service development expenses were RMB1.8 million (US$0.3 million) for the third quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB9.3 million or 83.8% from RMB11.1 million for the third quarter of 2019, and a decrease of RMB8.3 million or 82.2% from RMB10.1 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB8.5 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen and a decrease of RMB1.2 million in expenses for employees, which were partially offset by an increase of RMB0.5 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees. The sequential decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB7.2 million in rental expenses mainly resulting from the partial termination of office lease in Shenzhen and a decrease of RMB1.1 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

Impairments of Goodwill and Acquired Intangible assets

The impairments of goodwill and acquired intangible assets were related to the Company’s acquisition of TMG, which were triggered by TMG’s temporary suspension of its operations in Sweden.

Impairment of goodwill was RMB30.9 million for the third quarter of 2019. There was no additional impairment of goodwill for the second and third quarters of 2020 as the related goodwill and intangible assets were fully impaired as of December 31, 2019.

Operating Loss

Operating loss was RMB50.2 million (US$7.4 million) for the third quarter of 2020, compared with operating loss of RMB98.4 million for the third quarter of 2019, and operating loss of RMB52.3 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB30.9 million provided for goodwill during the third quarter of 2019, there was no such impairment during the third quarter of 2020, and (ii) a decrease of RMB23.0 million in operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB3.7 million in revenue.

Non-GAAP operating loss was RMB37.6 million (US$5.5 million) for the third quarter of 2020, compared with non-GAAP operating loss of RMB52.3 million for the third quarter of 2019, and non-GAAP operating loss of RMB33.7 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB20.4 million in Non-GAAP operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB3.7 million in revenue.

Net Loss Attributable to 500.com

Net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB44.0 million (US$6.5 million) for the third quarter of 2020, compared with net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB95.8 million for the third quarter of 2019, and net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB86.3 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB30.9 million provided for goodwill during the third quarter of 2019, there was no such impairment for the third quarter of 2020, and (ii) a decrease of RMB23.0 million in operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which were partially offset by a decrease of RMB3.7 million in revenue. The sequential decrease was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB33.7 million provided for long-term investment in Loto Interactive Limited during the second quarter of 2020, which was calculated based on the last reported sale price on June 30, 2020, there was no such impairment for the third quarter of 2020, (ii) a decrease of RMB6.0 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, and (iii) an increase of RMB2.5 million in revenue.

Non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB31.6 million (US$4.7 million) for the third quarter of 2020, compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB49.7 million for the third quarter of 2019, and non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB34.0 million for the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB20.4 million in Non-GAAP operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB3.7 million in revenue. The sequential decrease was mainly attributable to an increase of RMB2.5 million in revenue.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, Time Deposits and Short-term Investments

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB278.4 million (US$41.0 million), restricted cash[2] of RMB2.4 million (US$0.4 million), time deposit[3] of RMB0.2 million and short-term investment[4] of RMB50.0 million (US$7.4 million), compared with cash and cash equivalents of RMB295.5 million, restricted cash of RMB4.6 million, time deposits of RMB0.2 million and short-term investments of RMB50.0 million as of June 30, 2020.

Prepayments and Other Current Assets

As of September 30, 2020, the balance of prepayment and other current assets was RMB23.5 million (US$3.5 million), compared with RMB24.9 million as of June 30, 2020. The balance as of September 30, 2020 mainly included: (i) the current portion of deferred expenses of RMB3.1 million (US$0.5 million); (ii) receivables from third party payment providers of RMB1.5 million (US$0.2 million); (iii) deposit receivables of RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million); (iv) receivables of consideration from disposal of subsidiaries of RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million); (v) deductible value added input tax of RMB11.7 million (US$1.7 million); and (vi) other receivables of RMB6.2 million (US$0.9 million).

Business Outlook

The Company does not expect to issue any earnings forecast until it receives clear instructions as to the resumption date of online sports lottery sales from the Ministry of Finance.

Currency Convenience Translation

This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at the exchange rate of RMB6.7896 to US$1.00, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on September 30, 2020, and all translations from Renminbi to Euros were made at the exchange rate of RMB7.9038 to EUR1.00, which was the average of the month-end exchange rates as set forth in the statistical release of State Administration of Foreign Exchange at the end of each month in 2020.

About 500.com Limited

500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) is an online sports lottery service provider in China. The Company offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of online lottery services, information, user tools and virtual community venues to its users. 500.com was among the first companies to provide online lottery services in China, and is one of two entities that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance to provide online lottery sales services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center, which is the government authority that is in charge of the issuance and sale of sports lottery products in China.

Safe Harbor Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted from results based on U.S. GAAP to exclude share-based compensation expenses in the Company’s consolidated affiliated entities. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in table at the end of this release, which provide more details on the non-GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP financial information is provided as additional information to help investors compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of the historical and current financial performance of the Company’s continuing operations and prospects for the future. Non-GAAP financial information should not be considered a substitute for or superior to U.S. GAAP results. In addition, calculations of this non-GAAP financial information may be different from calculations used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited.

[1] Non-GAAP financial measures exclude the impact of share-based compensation expenses, impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of long-term investments and deferred tax benefit relating to valuation allowance. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in the table at the end of this release.

[2] Restricted cash represents: (i) government grants received but pending final clearance; and (ii) deposits in merchant banks yet to be withdrawn.

[3] Time deposit represents deposits in commercial banks with original maturities of greater than three months but less than a year.

[4] Short-term investment represents investments in structured financial products provided by financial institutions in the PRC with an initial maturity of six months.

For more information, please contact:

500.com Limited

ir@500wan.com

Christensen
In China
Mr. Eric Yuan Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: Eyuan@christensenir.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"), except for number of shares)

December 31,
2019

September 30,
2020

September 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

US$

Unaudited

Unaudited

Unaudited

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

361,220

278,391

41,003

Restricted cash

4,576

2,437

359

Time deposits

23,849

200

29

Short-term investments

50,000

7,364

 Amounts due from related parties

10,401

560

82

Prepayments and other current assets

30,280

23,467

3,456

Total current assets

430,326

355,055

52,293

Non-current assets:

Property and equipment, net

64,112

22,828

3,362

Intangible assets, net

4,505

2,765

407

Deposits

5,388

1,516

223

Long-term investments

152,954

110,336

16,251

Right-of-use assets

36,607

6,327

932

Other non-current assets

1,887

1,664

245

Total non-current assets

265,453

145,436

21,420

TOTAL ASSETS

695,779

500,491

73,713

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY 

Current liabilities:

 Accrued payroll and welfare payable

6,879

21

3

 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

51,398

57,157

8,418

 Income tax payable

2,213

547

81

 Operating lease liabilities – current

16,672

3,802

560

Total current liabilities

77,162

61,527

9,062

Non-current liabilities:

 Long-term payables

2,965

604

89

 Deferred tax liabilities

59

 Operating lease liabilities – non-current

31,675

2,989

440

Total non-current liabilities

34,699

3,593

529

TOTAL LIABILITIES

111,861

65,120

9,591

Redeemable noncontrolling interest 

14,849

Shareholders’ Equity:

Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005 per share,
700,000,000 shares authorized as of  December 31, 2019
and September 30, 2020; 420,001,792 and 430,014,792
shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019
and September 30, 2020, respectively

145

148

22

Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005 per share;
300,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2019
and September 30, 2020; 10,000,099 and 99 shares issued
and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and September
30, 2020, respectively

6

3

Additional paid-in capital

2,547,293

2,583,689

380,536

Treasury shares

(143,780)

(143,780)

(21,177)

Accumulated deficit

(1,960,692)

(2,127,811)

(313,393)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

141,484

136,278

20,072

Total 500.com Limited shareholders’ equity

584,456

448,527

66,060

Noncontrolling interests

(15,387)

(13,156)

(1,938)

Total shareholders’ equity

569,069

435,371

64,122

TOTAL LIABILITIES, NONCONTROLLING INTEREST AND
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

695,779

500,491

73,713

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"),
 except for number of shares, per share (or ADS) data)

 Three Months Ended 

September 30,
2019

June 30,
2020

September 30,
2020

September 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

Net Revenues

9,763

3,648

6,145

905

Operating costs and expenses:

    Cost of services

(16,096)

(4,616)

(3,824)

(563)

    Sales and marketing expenses

(8,980)

(4,998)

(4,158)

(612)

    General and administrative expenses

(43,080)

(35,373)

(46,401)

(6,834)

    Service development expenses

(11,072)

(10,070)

(1,840)

(271)

Total operating expenses

(79,228)

(55,057)

(56,223)

(8,280)

    Other operating income 

1,233

453

487

72

    Government grant

264

172

246

36

    Other operating expenses

465

(1,553)

(892)

(131)

    Impairment of goodwill

(30,916)

Operating loss from continuing operations

(98,419)

(52,337)

(50,237)

(7,398)

    Other expenses (income), net

(1)

1,116

(2)

    Interest income

3,289

2,554

2,225

328

    (Loss) income from equity method investments

(699)

(2,769)

4,338

639

    Impairment of long-term investments

(33,706)

249

37

Loss before income tax

(95,830)

(85,142)

(43,427)

(6,394)

    Income tax benefit

230

60

Net loss from continuing operations

(95,600)

(85,082)

(43,427)

(6,394)

    Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests

189

1,236

546

80

Net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(95,789)

(86,318)

(43,973)

(6,474)

Other comprehensive loss

    Changes in unrealized gain

436

739

109

    Foreign currency translation gain (loss)

10,195

(415)

(7,661)

(1,128)

Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax

10,195

21

(6,922)

(1,019)

Comprehensive loss

(85,405)

(85,061)

(50,349)

(7,413)

    Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests and Redeemable
noncontrolling interest

189

1,236

546

80

Comprehensive loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(85,594)

(86,297)

(50,895)

(7,493)

Weighted average number of  Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding:

Basic

429,912,365

430,009,704

430,014,891

430,014,891

Diluted

429,912,365

430,009,704

430,014,891

430,014,891

Losses per share attributable to 500.com Limited-Basic and Diluted

    Net loss 

(0.22)

(0.20)

(0.10)

(0.02)

Losses per ADS* attributable to 500.com Limited-Basic and Diluted

    Net loss 

(2.23)

(2.01)

(1.02)

(0.15)

* American Depositary Shares, which are traded on the NYSE. Each ADS represents ten
Class A ordinary shares of the Company.

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Reconciliation of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"),
except for number of shares, per share (or ADS) data)

 Three Months Ended 

September 30,
2019

June 30,
2020

September 30,
2020

September 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

Operating loss from continuing operations

(98,419)

(52,337)

(50,237)

(7,398)

    Adjustment for share-based compensation expenses

15,175

18,649

12,626

1,860

    Adjustment for impairment of goodwill

30,916

Adjusted operating loss from continuing operations (non-GAAP)

(52,328)

(33,688)

(37,611)

(5,538)

Net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(95,789)

(86,318)

(43,973)

(6,474)

    Adjustment for share-based compensation expenses

15,175

18,649

12,626

1,860

    Adjustment for impairment of goodwill

30,916

    Adjustment for Impairment of long-term investments

33,706

(249)

(37)

    Adjustment for deferred tax benefit relating to valuation allowance

(60)

Adjusted net loss attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP) 

(49,698)

(34,023)

(31,596)

(4,651)

Weighted average number of  Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding:

Basic

429,912,365

430,009,704

430,014,891

430,014,891

Diluted

429,912,365

430,009,704

430,014,891

430,014,891

Losses per share attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP)-Basic and diluted

    Net loss (non-GAAP)

(0.12)

(0.08)

(0.07)

(0.01)

Losses per  ADS* attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP)-Basic and diluted

    Net loss (non-GAAP)

(1.16)

(0.79)

(0.73)

(0.11)

* American Depositary Shares, which are traded on the NYSE. Each ADS represents ten Class A ordinary shares of the Company.

 

Related Links :

http://ir.500.com/

500.com Limited to Report Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results on November 20, 2020

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 16, 2020 — 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) ("500.com" or the "Company"), an online sports lottery service provider in China, today announced that it plans to release its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 after the close of U.S. markets on Friday, November 20, 2020.

About 500.com Limited

500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) is an online sports lottery service provider in China. The Company offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of online lottery services, information, user tools and virtual community venues to its users. 500.com was among the first companies to provide online lottery services in China, and is one of two entities that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance to provide online lottery sales services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center, which is the government authority that is in charge of the issuance and sale of sports lottery products in China.

Safe Harbor Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

For more information, please contact:

500.com Limited
ir@500wan.com

Christensen

In China
Mr. Eric Yuan
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: Eyuan@christensenir.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com

Related Links :

http://ir.500.com/

500.com Limited Announces Unaudited Financial Results For the Second Quarter ended June 30, 2020

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 29, 2020 — 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) ("500.com," "the Company," "we," "us," "our company," or "our"), an online sports lottery service provider in China, today reported its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Suspension of Online Sports Lottery Sales in China

All provincial sports lottery administration centers to which the Company provided sports lottery sales services have suspended accepting online purchase orders for lottery products in response to the Notice related to Self-Inspection and Self-Remedy of Unauthorized Online Lottery Sales (the "Self-Inspection Notice"), which was jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Administration of Sports of the People’s Republic of China on January 15, 2015. In response to the Self-Inspection Notice, on April 4, 2015, the Company decided to voluntarily suspend all online lottery sales services. As a result of the provincial sport lottery administration centers’ decision to suspend accepting online lottery orders and the Company’s voluntary suspension of all online sports lottery sales services in China, the Company has not generated any revenue from these services since April 2015.

Temporary Suspension of Operations in Sweden 

The Multi Group ("TMG"), a Malta-based subsidiary of the Company, has temporarily suspended its operations in Sweden as TMG did not complete the renewal of its e-Gaming license before it expired. The Company promptly issued a Current Report on Form 6-K dated January 13, 2020 regarding this situation, and provided an update through another Current Report on Form 6-K dated February 20, 2020. TMG has submitted all the application materials and is in close communication with Sweden’s e-Gaming regulatory authority to complete the renewal process. The Company’s revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 have been, and for the fiscal year of 2020 are expected to be, materially and adversely impacted by the temporary suspension of TMG’s operations in Sweden. Revenue generated by TMG accounted for approximately 89.7% of the Company’s total net revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, of which approximately 61.3% was generated from Sweden.

Internal Investigation Still in Progress

On December 31, 2019, the Company announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") had formed a Special Investigation Committee (the "SIC") to internally investigate alleged illegal money transfers and the role played by consultants following the arrest of one consultant (also a former director of the Company’s subsidiary in Japan) and two former consultants by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. On January 16, 2020, the Company announced that the SIC had retained King & Wood Mallesons LLP ("KWM") as its legal advisor to assist with its internal investigation.

As of today, we understand generally from the SIC that KWM has completed certain investigatory work and the internal investigation is still in progress. The Company currently is unable to determine with certainty what effect (if any) the result of the internal investigation may have on the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. In addition, the Company currently cannot conclude the assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 until the internal investigation is completed.

Annual Report on Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2019

The Company previously filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC on June 15, 2020 for late filing of its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 (the "2019 Annual Report"), pursuant to which the 2019 Annual Report was due to be filed by June 30, 2020. The Company expects to file the 2019 Annual Report (i) upon completion of the previously announced internal investigation being conducted by the SIC of the Company’s Board, with the assistance of KWM, (ii) once the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 are finalized, (iii) the Company has completed the assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, and (iv) Friedman LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, has completed its audit of financial statements and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019.

The Company also reports that on July 1, 2020, the Company received an expected notice from New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") Regulation stating that the Company is not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing requirements under the timely filing criteria pursuant to Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of the Company’s failure to timely file the 2019 Annual Report with the SEC. As required by the notice, (a) a representative of the Company contacted the NYSE on July 1, 2020 to discuss the status of the 2019 Annual Report, and (b) the Company is issuing this press release, disclosing the status of the 2019 Annual Report, noting the delay and the reason for the delay, as mentioned above. The anticipated filing date of the 2019 Annual Report is not known at this time.

NYSE Regulation notified the Company that the NYSE will closely monitor the status of the Company’s late filing and related public disclosures for up to a six-month period from the due date of the 2019 Annual Report. If the Company fails to file its annual report and any subsequent delayed filings within six months from the filing due date, the NYSE may, in its sole discretion, allow the Company’s securities to trade for up to an additional six months depending on specific circumstances, as outlined in Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.

The Company intends to meet the filing deadline of six months period from the filing due date of the 2019 Annual Report, or December 31, 2020.

Purchase of the Remaining 7% Equity Interest of TMG

In connection with our acquisition of a 93% equity interest in TMG in 2017, on April 10, 2020, we entered into a definitive agreement with Helmet Limited, or Helmet, which owned the remaining 7% equity interest (post-acquisition) in TMG, to purchase the remaining 7% equity interest for a consideration of EUR1.9 million. We fully paid this consideration on April 20, 2020, and received the remaining 7% equity interest in TMG on the same date. Since April 2020, we have consolidated into our financial statements the financial and operating results of TMG as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Second Quarter 2020 Highlights

  • Net revenues were RMB3.6 million (US$0.5 million), compared with net revenues of RMB3.1 million for the first quarter of 2020, and net revenues of RMB9.7 million for the second quarter of 2019.
     
  • Operating loss was RMB52.3 million (US$7.4 million), compared with operating loss of RMB36.8 million for the first quarter of 2020, and operating loss of RMB138.3 million for the second quarter of 2019.
     
  • Non-GAAP[1] operating loss was RMB33.7 million (US$4.8 million), compared with non-GAAP operating loss of RMB31.7 million for the first quarter of 2020, and non-GAAP operating loss of RMB60.9 million for the second quarter of 2019.
     
  • Net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB86.3 million (US$12.2 million), compared with net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB36.8 million for the first quarter of 2020, and net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB137.8 million for the second quarter of 2019.
     
  • Non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB34.0 million (US$4.8 million), compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB35.3 million for the first quarter of 2020, and non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB60.4 million for the second quarter of 2019.
     
  • Basic and diluted losses per ADS were RMB2.01 (US$0.28).
     
  • Non-GAAP basic and diluted losses per ADS were RMB0.79 (US$0.11).

[1] Non-GAAP financial measures exclude the impact of share-based compensation expenses, impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of long-term investments and deferred tax benefit relating to valuation allowance. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in the table at the end of this release.

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenues

Net revenues were RMB3.6 million (US$0.5 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB6.1 million or 62.9% from RMB9.7 million for the second quarter of 2019 and a slight increase of RMB0.5 million or 16.1% from RMB3.1 million for the first quarter of 2020. Net revenues during the second quarter of 2020 primarily consisted of RMB3.0 million (EUR0.4 million) in revenue contribution from the Company’s online lottery betting and online casino in Europe through TMG, which accounted for 83.3% of total net revenues. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB6.6 million resulting from the temporary suspension of operations in Sweden.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were RMB55.1 million (US$7.8 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB37.1 million or 40.2% from RMB92.2 million for the second quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB11.1 million or 25.2% from RMB44.0 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB10.9 million in expenses for employees as a result of decrease in headcount, a decrease of RMB6.8 million mainly in amortization associated with acquired intangible assets, a decrease in bad debt provision of RMB5.7 million for receivables, a decrease of RMB4.1 million in rental expenses mainly due to the termination of leases for subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Japan and Hangzhou since the local offices were closed, a decrease of RMB2.9 million in travelling expenses, a decrease of RMB2.0 million in consulting expenses, a decrease of RMB1.6 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, a decrease of RMB2.2 million in platform service costs for TMG associated with its reduction in online lottery and online casino operations, a decrease of RMB1.0 million in lottery insurance costs, and a decrease of RMB0.7 million in account handling expenses. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB13.5 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB1.9 million in consulting expenses and a decrease of RMB1.5 million in expenses for employees.

Cost of services was RMB4.6 million (US$0.7 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB10.4 million or 69.3% from RMB15.0 million for the second quarter of 2019, and a slight increase of RMB0.6 million or 15.0% from RMB4.0 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB6.8 million mainly in amortization associated with acquired intangible assets, a decrease of RMB2.2 million in platform service costs for TMG associated with its reduction in online lottery and online casino operations, a decrease of RMB1.0 million in lottery insurance costs, and a decrease of RMB0.7 million in account handling expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses were RMB5.0 million (US$0.7 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB4.6 million or 47.9% from RMB9.6 million for the second quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB2.0 million or 66.7% from RMB3.0 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to a decrease of RMB3.3 million in expenses for employees and a decrease of RMB0.5 million in travelling expenses. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB1.7 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

General and administrative expenses were RMB35.4 million (US$5.0 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB20.3 million or 36.4% from RMB55.7 million for the second quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB5.5 million or 18.4% from RMB29.9 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB6.4 million in expenses for employees, a decrease in bad debt provision of RMB5.7 million for receivables, a decrease of RMB2.8 million in rental expenses, a decrease of RMB2.4 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, a decrease of RMB2.4 million in travelling expenses, and a decrease of RMB1.8 million in consulting expenses. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB8.4 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB2.0 million in consulting expenses and a decrease of RMB1.1 million in expenses for employees.

Service development expenses were RMB10.1 million (US$1.4 million) for the second quarter of 2020, representing a decrease of RMB1.7 million or 14.4% from RMB11.8 million for the second quarter of 2019, and an increase of RMB3.0 million or 42.3% from RMB7.1 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB1.3 million in rental expenses and a decrease of RMB1.2 million in expenses for employees, which were partially offset by an increase of RMB0.7 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB3.4 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB0.3 million in expenses for employees.

Impairments of Goodwill and Acquired Intangible assets

The impairments of goodwill and acquired intangible assets were related to the Company’s acquisition of TMG, which were triggered by TMG’s temporary suspension of operations in Sweden.

Impairment of goodwill was RMB57.2 million for the second quarter of 2019. There was no additional impairment of goodwill for the first and second quarters of 2020 as the related goodwill and intangible assets were fully impaired as of December 31, 2019.

Operating Loss

Operating loss was RMB52.3 million (US$7.4 million) for the second quarter of 2020, compared with operating loss of RMB138.3 million for the second quarter of 2019, and operating loss of RMB36.8 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB57.2 million provided for goodwill during the second quarter of 2019, and there was no such impairment during the second quarter of 2020, and (ii) a decrease of RMB37.1 million in operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB6.1 million in revenue. The sequential increase was mainly due to an increase of RMB13.5 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

Non-GAAP operating loss was RMB33.7 million (US$4.8 million) for the second quarter of 2020, compared with non-GAAP operating loss of RMB60.9 million for the second quarter of 2019, and non-GAAP operating loss of RMB31.7 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB37.1 million in Non-GAAP operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB6.1 million in revenue.

Net Loss Attributable to 500.com

Net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB86.3 million (US$12.2 million) for the second quarter of 2020, compared with net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB137.8 million for the second quarter of 2019, and net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB36.8 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB57.2 million provided for goodwill during the second quarter of 2019, there was no such impairment for the second quarter of 2020, and (ii) a decrease of RMB37.1 million in operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which were partially offset by a decrease of RMB6.1 million in revenue and an impairment provision of RMB33.7 million provided for the equity method investment in Loto Interactive Limited ("Loto Interactive", HK: 08198) during the second quarter of 2020, which was calculated based on the last reported sale price on June 30, 2020. The sequential increase was mainly due to (i) an impairment provision of RMB33.7 million provided for long-term investment in Loto Interactive Limited during the second quarter of 2020,  and (ii) an increase of RMB13.5 million in share-based compensation expenses associated with share options granted to the Company’s employees.

Non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com was RMB34.0 million (US$4.8 million) for the second quarter of 2020, compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB60.4 million for the second quarter of 2019, and non-GAAP net loss attributable to 500.com of RMB35.3 million for the first quarter of 2020. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease of RMB37.1 million in Non-GAAP operating expenses due to cost reduction measures implemented by management, which was partially offset by a decrease of RMB6.1 million in revenue.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, Time Deposits and Short-term Investments

As of June 30, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB295.5 million (US$41.8 million), restricted cash[2] of RMB4.6 million (US$0.7 million), time deposit[3] of RMB0.2 million and short-term investment[4] of RMB50.0 million (US$7.1 million), compared with cash and cash equivalents of RMB332.9 million, restricted cash of RMB4.6 million, time deposits of RMB0.2 million and short-term investments of RMB30.0 million as of March 31, 2020.

[2] Restricted cash represents: (i) government grants received but pending final clearance; and (ii) deposits in merchant banks yet to be withdrawn.

[3] Time deposit represents deposits in commercial banks with original maturities of greater than three months but less than a year.

[4] Short-term investment represents investments in structured financial products provided by financial institutions in the PRC with an initial maturity of six months.

Prepayments and Other Current Assets

As of June 30, 2020, the balance of prepayment and other current assets was RMB24.9 million (US$3.5 million), compared with RMB33.4 million as of March 31, 2020. The balance as of June 30, 2020 mainly included: (i) the current portion of deferred expenses of RMB4.1 million (US$0.6 million); (ii) receivables from third party payment providers of RMB1.9 million (US$0.3 million); (iii) deposit receivables of RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million); (iv) receivables of consideration from disposal of subsidiaries of RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million); (v) deductible value added input tax of RMB12.2 million (US$1.7 million); and (vi) other receivables of RMB5.7 million (US$0.7 million).

Business Outlook

The Company does not expect to issue any earnings forecast until it receives clear instructions as to the resumption date of online sports lottery sales from the Ministry of Finance.

Currency Convenience Translation

This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at the exchange rate of RMB7.0651 to US$1.00, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on June 30, 2020, and all translations from Renminbi to Euros were made at the exchange rate of RMB7.7812 to EUR1.00, which was the average of the month-end exchange rates as set forth in the statistical release of State Administration of Foreign Exchange at the end of each month in 2020.

About 500.com Limited

500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) is an online sports lottery service provider in China. The Company offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of online lottery services, information, user tools and virtual community venues to its users. 500.com was among the first companies to provide online lottery services in China, and is one of two entities that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance to provide online lottery sales services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center, which is the government authority that is in charge of the issuance and sale of sports lottery products in China.

Safe Harbor Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted from results based on U.S. GAAP to exclude share-based compensation expenses in the Company’s consolidated affiliated entities. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in table at the end of this release, which provide more details on the non-GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP financial information is provided as additional information to help investors compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of the historical and current financial performance of the Company’s continuing operations and prospects for the future. Non-GAAP financial information should not be considered a substitute for or superior to U.S. GAAP results. In addition, calculations of this non-GAAP financial information may be different from calculations used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited.

For more information, please contact:

500.com Limited
ir@500wan.com

Christensen

In China
Mr. Eric Yuan
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
Email:
Eyuan@christensenir.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"), except for number of shares)

December 31,
2019

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

US$

Unaudited

Unaudited

Unaudited

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

361,220

295,505

41,826

Restricted cash

4,576

4,640

657

Time deposits

23,849

200

28

Short-term investments

50,000

7,077

      Amounts due from related parties

10,401

503

71

Prepayments and other current assets

30,280

24,936

3,529

Total current assets

430,326

375,784

53,188

Non-current assets:

Property and equipment, net

64,112

49,384

6,990

Intangible assets, net

4,505

3,299

467

Deposits

5,388

5,282

748

Long-term investments

152,954

109,495

15,498

Right-of-use assets

36,607

24,161

3,420

Other non-current assets

1,887

1,664

236

Total non-current assets

265,453

193,285

27,359

TOTAL ASSETS

695,779

569,069

80,547

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY 

Current liabilities:

 Accrued payroll and welfare payable

6,879

3,093

438

 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

51,398

53,684

7,599

 Income tax payable

2,213

545

77

 Operating lease liabilities – current

16,672

16,154

2,286

Total current liabilities

77,162

73,476

10,400

Non-current liabilities:

 Long-term payables

2,965

751

106

 Deferred tax liabilities

59

 Operating lease liabilities – non-current

31,675

21,747

3,078

Total non-current liabilities

34,699

22,498

3,184

TOTAL LIABILITIES

111,861

95,974

13,584

Redeemable noncontrolling interest 

14,849

Shareholders’ Equity:

Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005
per share, 700,000,000 shares authorized as of 
December 31, 2019 and June 30, 2020;
420,001,792 and 430,014,792 shares issued
and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and
June 30, 2020, respectively

145

149

22

Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005
per share; 300,000,000 shares authorized as of
December 31, 2019 and June 30, 2020;
10,000,099 and 99 shares issued

 and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and
June 30, 2020, respectively

6

2

Additional paid-in capital

2,547,293

2,571,064

363,910

Treasury shares

(143,780)

(143,780)

(20,351)

Accumulated deficit

(1,960,692)

(2,083,838)

(294,948)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

141,484

143,200

20,269

Total 500.com Limited shareholders’ equity

584,456

486,797

68,902

Noncontrolling interests

(15,387)

(13,702)

(1,939)

Total shareholders’ equity

569,069

473,095

66,963

TOTAL LIABILITIES, NONCONTROLLING
INTEREST AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

695,779

569,069

80,547

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"),
 except for number of shares, per share (or ADS) data)

 Three Months Ended 

 Six Months Ended 

June 30,
2019

March 31,
2020

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2019

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB

US$

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

Net Revenues

9,705

3,064

3,648

516

21,340

6,712

950

Operating costs and expenses:

    Cost of services

(15,032)

(3,984)

(4,616)

(653)

(31,100)

(8,600)

(1,217)

    Sales and marketing expenses

(9,567)

(3,042)

(4,998)

(707)

(24,332)

(8,040)

(1,138)

    General and administrative expenses

(55,738)

(29,876)

(35,373)

(5,007)

(121,417)

(65,249)

(9,235)

    Service development expenses

(11,825)

(7,146)

(10,070)

(1,425)

(25,612)

(17,216)

(2,437)

Total operating expenses

(92,162)

(44,048)

(55,057)

(7,792)

(202,461)

(99,105)

(14,027)

    Other operating income 

952

4,091

453

64

4,715

4,544

643

    Government grant

377

169

172

24

3,022

341

48

    Other operating income (expenses)

40

(53)

(1,553)

(220)

(6,720)

(1,606)

(227)

    Impairment of goodwill

(57,218)

(57,218)

Operating loss from continuing operations

(138,306)

(36,777)

(52,337)

(7,408)

(237,322)

(89,114)

(12,613)

    Other income (expenses), net

1

(375)

1,116

158

389

741

105

    Interest income

3,427

2,391

2,554

361

7,117

4,945

700

    Loss from equity method investments

(6,568)

(5,211)

(2,769)

(392)

(6,911)

(7,980)

(1,129)

    Impairment of long-term investments

(33,706)

(4,771)

(33,706)

(4,771)

Loss before income tax

(141,446)

(39,972)

(85,142)

(12,052)

(236,727)

(125,114)

(17,708)

    Income tax benefit

342

3,593

60

8

440

3,653

517

Net loss from continuing operations

(141,104)

(36,379)

(85,082)

(12,044)

(236,287)

(121,461)

(17,191)

Net loss

(141,104)

(36,379)

(85,082)

(12,044)

(236,287)

(121,461)

(17,191)

    Less: Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest and Redeemable noncontrollling interest
from continuing operations

(3,306)

449

1,236

175

(3,554)

1,685

238

    Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interests

(3,306)

449

1,236

175

(3,554)

1,685

238

Net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(137,798)

(36,828)

(86,318)

(12,219)

(232,733)

(123,146)

(17,429)

Other comprehensive income (loss)

    Changes in unrealized (loss) gain

(2,409)

436

62

(1,973)

(279)

    Foreign currency translation gain (loss)

7,835

4,104

(415)

(59)

(1,010)

3,689

522

Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax

7,835

1,695

21

3

(1,010)

1,716

243

Comprehensive loss

(133,269)

(34,684)

(85,061)

(12,041)

(237,297)

(119,745)

(16,948)

    Less: Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interests and Redeemable noncontrolling
interest

(3,306)

449

1,236

175

(3,554)

1,685

238

Comprehensive loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(129,963)

(35,133)

(86,297)

(12,216)

(233,743)

(121,430)

(17,186)

Weighted average number of  Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding:

Basic

428,561,237

430,002,155

430,009,704

430,009,704

427,202,484

430,005,930

430,005,930

Diluted

428,561,237

430,002,155

430,009,704

430,009,704

427,202,484

430,005,930

430,005,930

Losses per share attributable to 500.com Limited-Basic and Diluted

    Net loss 

(0.32)

(0.09)

(0.20)

(0.03)

(0.54)

(0.29)

(0.04)

Losses per ADS* attributable to 500.com Limited-Basic and Diluted

    Net loss 

(3.22)

(0.86)

(2.01)

(0.28)

(5.45)

(2.86)

(0.41)

* American Depositary Shares, which are traded on the NYSE. Each ADS represents ten Class A ordinary
shares of the Company.

Numerator adjustment for net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

 

 

 

500.com Limited
Reconciliation of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"),
except for number of shares, per share (or ADS) data)

 Three Months Ended 

 Six Months Ended 

June 30,
2019

March 31,
2020

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2019

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB

US$

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

 Unaudited 

Operating loss from continuing operations

(138,306)

(36,777)

(52,337)

(7,408)

(237,322)

(89,114)

(12,613)

    Adjustment for share-based compensation expenses

20,203

5,103

18,649

2,640

48,919

23,752

3,362

    Adjustment for impairment of goodwill

57,218

57,218

Adjusted operating loss from continuing operations (non-GAAP)

(60,885)

(31,674)

(33,688)

(4,768)

(131,185)

(65,362)

(9,251)

Net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

(137,798)

(36,828)

(86,318)

(12,219)

(232,733)

(123,146)

(17,429)

    Adjustment for share-based compensation expenses

20,203

5,103

18,649

2,640

48,919

23,752

3,362

    Adjustment for impairment of goodwill

57,218

57,218

    Adjustment for Impairment of long-term investments

33,706

4,771

33,706

4,771

    Adjustment for deferred tax benefit relating to valuation allowance

(3,599)

(60)

(8)

(3,659)

(518)

Adjusted net loss attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP) 

(60,377)

(35,324)

(34,023)

(4,816)

(126,596)

(69,347)

(9,814)

Weighted average number of  Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding:

Basic

428,561,237

430,002,155

430,009,704

430,009,704

427,202,484

430,005,930

430,005,930

Diluted

428,561,237

430,002,155

430,009,704

430,009,704

427,202,484

430,005,930

430,005,930

Losses per share attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP)-Basic and diluted

    Net loss (non-GAAP)

(0.14)

(0.08)

(0.08)

(0.01)

(0.30)

(0.16)

(0.02)

Losses per  ADS* attributable to 500.com Limited (non-GAAP)-Basic and diluted

    Net loss (non-GAAP)

(1.41)

(0.82)

(0.79)

(0.11)

(2.96)

(1.61)

(0.23)

* American Depositary Shares, which are traded on the NYSE. Each ADS represents ten Class A ordinary shares of the Company.

Numerator adjustment for net loss attributable to 500.com Limited

 

 

Related Links :

http://ir.500.com/

500.com Limited to Report Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results on August 28, 2020

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 20, 2020 — 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) ("500.com" or the "Company"), an online sports lottery service provider in China, today announced that it plans to release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 after the close of U.S. markets on Friday, August 28, 2020.

About 500.com Limited

500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) is an online sports lottery service provider in China. The Company offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of online lottery services, information, user tools and virtual community venues to its users. 500.com was among the first companies to provide online lottery services in China, and is one of two entities that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance to provide online lottery sales services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center, which is the government authority that is in charge of the issuance and sale of sports lottery products in China.

Safe Harbor Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

For more information, please contact:

500.com Limited
ir@500wan.com

Christensen

In China
Mr. Christian Arnell
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: carnell@christensenir.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com

Related Links :

http://ir.500.com/

Poker’s Most Famous Fans Unite For ‘Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars’

Hank Azaria and celebrity friends team up with PokerStars for $1 million charity extravaganza

ONCHAN, Isle of Man, , May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — On May 9 at 2pm ET, dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars, an online charity poker event raising vital funds for relief efforts during the current global crisis.

Dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action - Powered by PokerStars
Dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars

The online poker tournament will be hosted at PokerStars and broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook and YouTube. International stars will turn their cameras on as they take their seats at the virtual table, and poker lovers the world over can join hosts James Hartigan and Lex Veldhuis as they follow the action while dropping in on crowd favorites.

Viewers will also be able to contribute to the cause via a ‘Donate’ button on their platform of choice.

Conceived and brought together by actor Hank Azaria and journalist, author and screenwriter Andy Bellin, this unique event is fast building momentum.  Spaces are limited and celebrities already registered include Edward Norton, Brian Koppelman, Amy Schumer, Bryan Cranston, Don Cheadle, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Jeff Garlin, David Schwimmer, Eric Bogosian, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Michael Ian Black, Kevin Pollak, Tony Yazbeck, Max Kruse, and many more.

The top placed celebrities will direct their portions of $1 million, donated by PokerStars, to a charity of their choosing and take home exceptional bragging rights. Fifty percent of the total donation will go directly to Care International on behalf of those playing, as well as all proceeds donated via live stream. Grants to charities will be administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.

“This event is a great way to combine genuine giving where it’s needed with a way to stay home and yet still connect with people from around the world. A friendly game of poker reminds us how life used to be, which hopefully we get back to soon,” said Hank Azaria. “It’s a way for people to interact for a good cause and enjoy themselves at the same time. The response has been really great, and I’ll tell you, when PokerStars stepped up like that, I was actually kind of moved by it. We were hoping they’d put in some money, but to basically finance the whole thing to the tune of a million dollars, is pretty incredible.”

To add a little extra competition, PokerStars is surprising players and fans by giving them the opportunity to play against the stars. PokerStars Ambassadors, Streamers and Celebrities will hold community giveaways and those chosen will battle it out on May 9 to direct further donations to Care International. Two fields – celebrities and players – will then play down to their respective final tables and combine for the ultimate showdown. Celebrities who get knocked out early will be added into a side event where the winner will direct 10% of the total to charity.

“This event began as a simple conversation between our team, Hank, Andy and the Entertainment Industry Foundation as a way to create positive entertainment and raise support for critical causes during these challenging times,” said Rebecca McAdam Willetts, Associate Director of Public Relations at PokerStars. “We were thrilled that they came to us and have been blown away by the momentum it’s gained. With people increasingly using our products to connect, compete and stay social while safe at home, we are delighted to show how the game we love can be used to bring people together and do good… with the added bonus of surprising some poker fans along the way.”

“We are honored to serve as a partner to artists in our community to help raise funds – and spirits – during this time,” said Regina Miller, Chief Strategy Advisor to the Entertainment Industry Foundation. “With PokerStars setting the stage and Hank and Andy leading the charge, we are looking forward to a fun-filled night of fundraising to benefit people across the world.”

To hear more from Hank Azaria and for further information check out the PokerStars Blog.

Notes to Editors

This event is a play money event, with no real money prizes awarded to any players. Donations will be made on the behalf of top performers.

Hashtag: #StarsRaising

Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars will be streamed at:         

Facebook.com/PokerStars

YouTube.com/PokerStars

Twitch.tv/PokerStars

Play responsibly. Check here for more information on PokerStars Responsible Gaming Tools.

About Care International

Care International UK is one of the world’s leading humanitarian charities and has been the official emergency relief partner of PokerStars since 2014. Care International works in over 100 countries around the world to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

About PokerStars

PokerStars operates the world’s most popular online poker sites, serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best online security. More than 200 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.

Play Responsibly!  For more information on responsible gaming please visit our website at http://www.pokerstars.com/about/responsible-gaming/ 

Contact – press@pokerstars.com 

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), founded in 1942, is a multifaceted organization that occupies a unique place in the world of philanthropy. By mobilizing and leveraging the powerful voice and creative talents of the entertainment industry, as well as cultivating the support of organizations (public and private) and philanthropists committed to social responsibility, EIF builds awareness and raises funds, developing and enhancing campaigns on the local, national and global level that facilitate positive social change. Visit eifoundation.org or follow @eifoundation for more information.

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Logo – https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/pokers-most-famous-fans-unite-for-stars-call-for-action-powered-by-pokerstars.jpg