SOURCE: Empire Online

Empire Online Ltd., an online poker company that directs users to Web sites such as PartyPoker.com, said first-half profit almost tripled as more people started playing games such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha on the Internet.

Net income jumped to $21.2 million from $8.6 million a year earlier as gaming sales advanced to $42 million from $17.3 million, the Tortola, British Virgin Islands-based company said today in a statement. The number of active players -- those who played for real money in the last 90 days, according to Empire Online -- rose to 126,507 from 51,367.

Empire Online, whose shares have risen 32 percent since the company sold stock in an initial public offering last month, is benefiting as more people play poker on line. The size of the online poker market has increased from $90 million in 2002 to $1 billion in 2004, according to Christensen Capital Advisors.

``Empire Online has experienced a strong half-year and remains focused on rapid growth while containing costs,'' Chief Executive Officer Noam Lanir said in the statement. `` 2005 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the company.''

Shares of Empire Online were unchanged at 231 pence in London July 29, giving the company a market value of about 676 million pounds. The stock's advance since the IPO compares with a 50 percent gain in the share price of PartyGaming Plc, owner of the PartyPoker web site, since it sold stock last month.

Empire Online, which advertises on the Internet and in other media to direct players to Internet sites such as empirepoker.com, raised $222 million in last month's share sale on London's Alternative Investment Market. The company started spending some of the proceeds today with the acquisitions of the Club Dice and Noble Poker gaming platforms for $40 million.

Club Dice comprises three casino brands and one bingo brand and has more than 70,000 registered customers. Empire will acquire the database, brand and intellectual property of Noble Poker, the largest poker operator on Playtech Ltd.'s iPoker network.

Other expansion planned by Empire includes the introduction of an online multiplayer backgammon platform, the company said.