Sportingbet says it online poker site is performing strongly

Sportingbet, which unveiled pre-tax profits of �40.8m ($71.5m) for the year to 31 July, saw its shares rise by 9.4% to 314 pence on Wednesday.

The firm's upbeat performance lifted shares in bigger rival Partygaming, which rose 9.7% to 78.5 pence.

Analysts have been concerned about a possible downturn in the sector.

Poker progress

Worries about the gaming sector were raised last month when shares in Partygaming - which listed on the London market in June and operates the Partypoker site - fell 30% after it warned that future market growth could slow.

However, Sportingbet chief executive Nigel Payne said his groups Paradise Poker site was continuing to perform strongly.

"The fastest growth period of our poker business has been in the last 10 weeks," Mr Payne said. "I talk to a lot of operators, and a lot of operators out there are very pleased about how poker has progressed."

Sportingbet reported a 71% increase in its online poker business during the first 10 weeks of its current financial year.

Shares in Empire Online were also lifted by Sportingbet's upbeat results, rising 8.8% to 111 pence.