Austrian Internet bookmaker bwin Interactive Entertainment (BWIN.VI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it took a 2.25 million euro ($3.22 million) hit after a project to obtain a sports betting licence in Turkey failed.

The company tried to acquire the licence in mid-2007 but had not given details of the financial impact until now, following a report in Austrian magazine Profil.

bwin operates under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, the Amerindian reserve of Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Croatia, Austria and the United Kingdom. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games and soft games with most revenue coming from poker and sportsbetting. Competence centres are located in Vienna, Austria, Stockholm, Sweden and Gibraltar.

The parent company, bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000. The Company provides services for its subsidiaries such as marketing, finance and administration, corporate communications, controlling and IT services. All operational activities are managed by licensed subsidiaries.

On the 15 September 2006, Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner were surprisingly arrested at a press conference in La Turbie, France, due to offenses against the French gambling laws. After an investigation the judge released them on the evening of September 18, 2006.