by Frank Angst

In his first teleconference with investors and analysts as chief executive officer of Youbet.com, Michael Brodsky said the company has shifted marketing dollars from print, television, and radio to Internet advertising.

The board of directors of the Woodland Hills, California, advance deposit wagering company, which also owns United Tote Company, appointed Brodsky president and CEO on April 24 after asking interim CEO Gary Sproule to step down. Sproule will leave the company.

Brodsky said Internet advertising allows Youbet to effectively target customers, explaining that the company needs to work to add profitable customers and not waste marketing dollars on customers of little value.

While Brodsky took over after the completion of the first quarter, he did relay some good news as Youbet registered net income of $774,000 in the quarter, even though handle for the company’s Youbet Express ADW was down 16.4% to $95,467,000. In the quarter, the company cut continuing operations expenses and sales and marketing expenses.

“We continue to focus on our restructuring and we began to realize benefits in the first quarter,” said Brodsky, 40, who has served as a director since 2007. Brodsky, who owns 9% of Youbet’s outstanding shares, had served from 1999-2005 as chief financial officer of The Away Network, an online travel media company that was sold to Orbitz and Cendant Corporation, where Brodsky continued to work in 2005.

“The board has placed their faith in my ability to reorganize the company and to get it on the road to scalability and profitability,” Brodsky said. “I will work hard to meet their expectations.”

Brodsky, who in February was named Chairman of the Board, has been working with company officials to develop specific strategies which he plans to unveil after his first full quarter at the helm.

“As we continue in our traditional phase, we believe Michael is the right person and has the requisite experience to lead us through this period and leverage our ADW platform and United Tote,” director Jack Liebau said.

According to company filings, Youbet will pay Sproule up to $885,998 in cash and benefits as part of his termination without cause agreement. Sproule served as chief financial officer or chief operating officer at Youbet from May 2002 until November 2007, when he was appointed interim chief executive officer, replacing Chuck Champion who at that time entered into a separation agreement with the company.

Frank Angst is senior writer of Thoroughbred Times