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Financier Michael Spencer’s private IPGL company has paid £1.7 million for 15.8 per cent of mobile phone gambling venture Probability.

IPGL director Matthew Wreford is set to become a director of Probability, which claims to be the UK’s market leader in mobile phone gambling services and technology, operating casino, bingo and ‘slots’ entertainment with an Alderney licence. IPGL, which holds 20.8 per cent of Spencer’s ICAP inter-dealer broking group and 38 per cent of horse race betting innovator and recent AIM float Turftrax, paid 50p a share for its stake in Probability, which itself floated on AIM in 2006 at 76p and now stands at 59p.

According to Probability, the money raised will help accelerate the growth of the company’s proprietary mobile gambling services. Spencer comments, ‘I am confident that Probability can be a major player in the gaming arena over the next decade.’

In the six months to last September, London-based Probability reduced its interim loss from £2.1 million to £599,000 on net gaming revenues doubled to £1.2 million. The company says it reached operational breakeven in September.

Turftrax, meanwhile, which lost £924,000 in the six months to September and joined AIM in January with a £3.2 million placing at 40p, has seen its shares drop to 22.5p. Its board recently issued a statement saying that there had been no change in the company’s financial position and expressing directors’ confidence in its future.

More developments are probable.

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