Australian lottery and betting operator Tatts Group reported a significant profit plunge in its most recent fiscal year, thanks primarily to its acquisition by rival Tabcorp Holdings.

The annual report issued Monday by Tatts shows revenue rising 3.6% to AU$2.87b (US$2.1b) in the 12 months ending June 30, but net profit after tax from continuing operations tumbled 83.6% to AU$36.2m, primarily due to AU$149m in impairment charges.

Those charges stemmed from the ongoing mothballing of Tatts’ wagering brand UBET, which was deemed superfluous following Tatts’ acquisition by rival Tabcorp that took effect last December 22. Merger expenses also played a role in making Tatts look bad in its final standalone report.

Tatts’ mainstay lottery operations reported annual revenue up 4.9% year-on-year to AU$2.1b, thanks to a solid run of large jackpots and digital sales rising nearly 28%, pushing digital’s share of overall lottery sales to 16.8%.

Sweden’s locally licensed gambling operators lost more ground to international online operators in the first half of 2018, despite dramatic improvements in current betting monopoly Svenska Spel‘s online operations.

Figures released Monday by Sweden’s Lotteriinspektionen gaming regulator show the market’s total revenue hitting SEK11.2b (US$1.27b) in the first six months of 2018, a modest 1.5% rise over the same period last year.

Swedish-licensed operators’ share of that pie shrunk 1.9% year-on-year to SEK 8.2b, while ‘non-Swedish actors’ – aka internationally licensed online gambling operators – improved 12.5% to just under SEK3b. Svenska Spel’s overall revenue dipped 1.3% to just under SEK4.3b, despite its online business jumping 22.6% to nearly SEK1.3b.

The AB Trav and Galopp (ATG) horseracing monopoly reported revenue up 1.8% to just over SEK2b, with an online gain of nearly 10% to SEK1.24b offsetting an 8.8% land-based decline to just SEK784m.

An online gambling ring that handled nearly $26m in bets has been brought to heel by authorities in Vietnam.

On Tuesday, Vietnamese media reported that police in the central region of the country had arrested at least 10 individuals suspected of involvement in an online operation offering sports betting and other forms of illegal gambling to hundreds of local customers.

According to police, the gambling operation had been in business since at least July, during which time it attracted hundreds of clients across several provinces who wagered a combined VND600b (US$25.7m). These wagers were placed via several password-protected websites, including one identified as affiliated with Bóng88, before the authorities brought their hammer down.

Bóng88, which some reports identified as being based in the US but which is actually licensed by the Philippines’ First Cagayan Leisure & Resort Corporation, is a popular wagering choice with Vietnamese gamblers, having been cited in numerous Vietnamese police actions over the years.

Money is the blood of an economy. If the blood is poisoned, so is the economy, no matter how well a company does bottom line or how great its prospects are. This is why, before focusing in on any particular company, it’s usually a good idea to make an assessment of the monetary environment that it operates within. Betsson is a good running example of a company doing the best it can given an out-of-kilter monetary environment. Since 2015, it has been the victim of the equivalent of monetary and regulatory sepsis, both of which are totally out of its control.

The only job of any company is simply to make more money than before. This, Betsson has succeeded in doing with revenue up 27% since 2015, but its stock has nonetheless cratered over 50% since topping that year. If you’re making more money but your stock keeps falling, something is wrong with the system in which you’re operating. In Betsson’s case, what has done the stock in since 2015 has been regulatory conservatism, a strategic decision on its part, and unfavorable foreign exchange rates, over which it has zero control.

Adopting a conservative stance on the regulatory front can’t really be faulted. It’s a long term strategic decision that people on top have to make, period. Shareholders can throw fits about market forfeiture but exiting markets knowing that this will hurt shareholders short term is sometimes a necessary move that hopefully pays off in the end by decreasing future volatility. If it does in the end it’s called prudent bravery. If it doesn’t, it’s called cowardice in retrospect. That’s just the way the world turns.

What really killed Betsson since 2015 was a six-month period in 2016. Betsson was coming off the back of extremely optimistic growth expectations and quickly deflated that balloon by a downward revision of guidance due to the exiting from several risky European markets, worsened by declines in the Swedish Krona. But clear all that out and just look at its income statements over the years and they’re really nothing to cry over. They’re actually pretty good, challenges considered. Since the end of 2015 when shares topped, revenue is still up 27%. Gross profit is up 29%. A whole slew of important metrics such as active customers, deposits, and other gaming fundamentals have been growing healthily despite setbacks.