Since the beginning of 2009, it seems like just about everyone I have talked to has been quite hopeful about this new year.  As you should already know, last year was an extremely hard time in terms of the economy of not only the United States, but also the entire world.  However, even though most people are still feeling the pains from last year, that doesn't mean that they aren't hopeful about what 2009 has in store for them.

From getting a new President of the United States to the simple fact that it is a new year, it seems like the majority of people feel very strongly that the economy is going to make a strong recovery over the course of the twelve months of 2009.  While there is no way to know this for sure, there are certain signs that point to this being a very strong possibility.

As anyone who has read this blog before knows, the majority of my reports in 2008 were negative in terms of gambling companies who announced their earnings.  It seemed like an almost endless string of company after company that announced poor financial performances.  Fortunately, Playtech already managed to break that trend in the first month of 2009.

Instead of announcing a major loss, Playtech had good news to announce.  In their fourth quarter report, they stated that their earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008 were actually up fifty-two percent over their fourth quarter earnings from 2007!

So, how exactly did Playtech manage to pull off this feat when so many other gambling companies are struggling?  To begin with, not only did Playtech have a strong performance in their existing European market, but they also expanded into the Italian market.  Another major boost for Playtech was the growth that they experienced in their Asian Pacific market.

Finally, to top things off, Playtech made a deal with the online bookmarker William Hill.  Not only did they receive a major stake in this new subsidiary, but Playtech will also be providing William Hill with the necessary casino and poker software for at least five years.

Obviously, we won't know if Playtech's hot streak is still going on until they release their first quarter earnings for 2009, but I think it's safe to say that this batch of good news has provided at least some sense of reassurance to many of the people within the gambling industry.