The glacial pace of online gambling regulation in the United States is being blamed for a seven-figure H1 loss at UK-listed gaming software firm GAN (formerly GameAccount Network).

Despite a modest increase in gross income to £13.4m, GAN reported a pre-tax net loss of £2.6m in the first six months of 2015, compared to a £900k loss in H1 2014. Net revenue fell 31% to £2.9m, while underlying net revenue fell a more reasonable 6% once you exclude the impact of £1.1m in system sales last year.

While GAN provides Betfair’s New Jersey-facing site with an online casino product, GAN CEO Dermot Smurfitt credited/blamed the “slower than expected pace” of real-money online gambling regulation in the US for the torrent of red ink on GAN’s H1 results, while highlighting the growth in the company’s Simulated Gaming operations.

GAN’s free-play operations reported revenue of £1.2m, up sharply from £200k in the same period last year. Smurfitt said Simulated Gaming enjoyed a 285% year-on-year increase in the number of active player days, while early figures from Q3 indicate active player days up 420%. Gross purchases from Simulated Gaming rose 330% to $2.8m in H1.