As most companies in the online gaming world continue to roll out their 2009 fiscal reports, many have reflected last year’s softer economy in their revenues. On Wednesday, PartyGaming PLC was the latest to announce its 2009 fiscal reports.

The gaming corporation William Hill PLC announced its 2009 Fiscal Report late last week; the online gaming sector helped to drive the company through a difficult year.

Following its acquisition of an Italian online gaming asset, the European gaming giant bwin was able to show a profit in both its fourth quarter gross revenues as well as for the Financial Year 2009.

On Wednesday Party Gaming PLC, the parent company of PartyPoker, announced the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and preliminary results for the fiscal year 2009.

Ending a relationship that dates back to the beginning of the online poker industry, PartyGaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit has divested himself of any ownership in the company with the sale of his remaining stock on Tuesday.

After what is considered in the online gaming world as a long stint as the Chief Executive Officer of an organization, Ladbrokes’ Chris Bell has announced that he will leave the company.

In a statement from Ladbrokes PLC on Tuesday, Bell announced his resignation from the lead position at the European gaming organization, although no reason was given for the departure.

Fresh off the announcement of its partial sale of Everest Poker earlier this month, GigaMedia announced its second and third quarter 2009 financial results. In addition, the company provided insight into the sale.

In a trading update released to the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, announced that its revenue was in line with Board expectations, while Clean EBITDA would likely surpass estimates.

While rumors are flying left and right about potential buyouts and mergers in the European online gaming market, news broke that Everest Poker and Mangas Gaming will join forces. Mangas plans to buy out Everest in early 2010 as part of a deal worth in excess of $100 million.

Party Gaming and Austria-based gambling group Bwin are allegedly involved in merger discussions, according to stories published in The Times and Sunday Times over the weekend. The move would potentially create a £2 billion online poker, casino, and sports betting company.

In announcing its third quarter numbers for 2009, Sportingbet PLC, the parent company of the online poker room Paradise Poker, joins a small list of gaming companies that have been able to turn a profit despite a tough financial climate.

It was recently announced that Party Gaming had entered into a three-year agreement with Fueps, one of the leading casual games operators in Italy. This agreement stated that Party Gaming would provide the online poker services for the company.

Despite a $36.5 million last-minute bid by mobile entertainment company Mandalay Media, shareholders of World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) approved a $12.3 million purchase by Party Gaming subsidiary Peerless Media on Friday.

It appears that the fight to purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) is not over. In August, a subsidiary of Party Gaming put in a bid to buy the roving tournament series for $12.3 million. Now, Mandalay Entertainment has upped the ante to $35 million.

One of the major poker headlines this week was the news that Party Gaming Cofounder Anurag Dikshit would divest himself of nearly 114 million shares of the company’s stock, which is traded in London under the symbol “PRTY.” Now, the industry has had a chance to react.

According to an article that appeared in eGamingReview (EGR) on Tuesday and filings to the London Stock Exchange, Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit will sell his 28% share in the company for at least ₤188 million.

In figures recently released by Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, revenues were off 4% in Q3 2009 compared to Q2. Company officials noted that the decrease was “in line with the normal seasonal pattern seen in previous years.”

A recent announcement from the London-based online gaming company Ladbrokes revealed that it is continuing to struggle during the global recession. The numbers in the statement indicate that overall revenue for Ladbrokes was down 15% from the same period in 2008.

Sportingbet, the parent company of online poker room Paradise Poker, saw growth in net revenue, earnings, money wagered, and profit thanks in part to a focus on emerging online gambling markets.

This week, Entraction officials announced plans to shutter CardRoom2, which makes its home on Boss Media’s International Poker Network. Entraction Network sites include Devilfish Poker and NoiQ Poker.

Party Gaming lost a member of its Board of Directors last week, when Non-Executive Directors Emilio Gomez stepped down from his post for personal reasons. The official statement from Party Gaming announcing his resignation made no mention of a future replacement.

Global payments processor NEOVIA Financial PLC reported a 9% fall in revenue for the half-year ending on June 30th, 2009. The company, which owns the popular e-wallet Neteller, posted group revenue of $32.6 million, down from $35.9 million at the same time last year.

In a surprise announcement on Friday, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the branch of the company created earlier this year for the eventual foray of the longtime land-based casino powerhouse into the online gaming world, stated that they had entered into a long term deal with Dragonfish, a private business to business enterprise under the 888 Holdings PLC banner.

The parent company of online poker room Pacific Poker, 888 Holdings, is the latest online gambling business to release the results of their mid-year financial report. Like many other businesses within the industry, 888.holdings saw significant declines in their earnings and revenues for both their online casino and poker room from 2008 to 2009.

The mid-year financial report is in at PartyGaming and while earnings are up for the company’s online casino, sports betting and bingo ventures its online poker room PartyPoker saw a 29% dip in earnings compared to this time last year.