Only 18 months after the popular online casino, 32 Red bought the sportsbook company, Bet Direct from its previous owner, Sportech, for $25-million, it has been announced that the company may be sold again. 32 Red, in a written statement to the London Stock Exchange, said that was confirming that negotiations were indeed taking place over a potential sale, although it could not – and would not – disclose the interested party involved. 

With a customer base of over 46,000 active players (11,000 of them from last year alone), Bet Direct is considered a strong industry player, although – due to poor operating conditions – the company has been trading at a loss for some time now. When still owned by Sportech, Bet Direct traded with an annual turnover of $286-million but still recorded a $9.6 million loss at the end of 2005. It remains to be seen which company takes over Bet Direct, with rumors having it that Boyle Sports may be the next proud owner.