If you play a hand of online poker, it’s an illegal game of chance.
But if you wager a small bet on a game of solitaire against another computer player, and the event is timed, with each player getting the same cards, dealt in the same order, it’s a legal game of skill, said Lorne Abony, chief executive of Fun Technologies in Toronto.
The differences between what’s legal and what’s illegal may seem small, but they helped Fun post fourth-quarter revenues Wednesday of $12 million – 33 percent more than fourth-quarter revenues of $9 million in 2004, said Abony. At the same time, the company posted losses of $11 million, according a company statement.
Fun is selling 51 percent of its business to Douglas County-based Liberty Media in a $195 million deal expected to be approved by shareholders later this month.
“There’s a clear line between skill and chance, and we stay away from anything that’s even close to not legal,” Abony said.
Fun charges players about $1 to play games in which they can win about $4, Abony said. It also hosts tournaments for up to $1 million.
Cable behemoth Liberty Media believes Fun has found a niche where Internet and TV viewing intersect, based on its Lingo word game that viewers can also watch on cable’s Game Show Network, said Michael Zeisser, a Liberty senior vice president.
Liberty is betting it can make money on Fun, based partly on the $7 billion it gets per year from the QVC home shopping network – another interactive TV experience, Zeisser said.
“It’s all about creating content that customers will want to interact with,” Zeisser said. “There’s a big spike in playing after dinner, after the kids are in bed.”
Fun is making strides toward profitability but still has a long way to go, said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Douglas County-based Janco Partners, who follows the company.
In recent months, Fun has bought fantasy sports companies FanBall Sports and Don Best Interactive. It also recently bought Octopi, a company that offers games for cellphones.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
