Youbet.com Inc. said Thursday its fourth quarter loss narrowed as active clients of the online gambling service placed more bets.

The Woodland Hills company reported a net loss of $9.9 million (-24 cents per share), compared with a $29.7 million (-71 cents) loss a year ago. Revenue fell more than 4 percent to $26 million.

The company took an impairment charge for the entire $11.2 million purchase price of United Tote, which was acquired last year. Excluding one-time charges, the company’s net loss was 2 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected adjusted net income of 1 cent per share on revenue of $22 million.

“Going forward in 2009, we will continue to focus on growing our handle by adding more content and capabilities to our Youbet Express platform to broaden and enhance our overall client experience,” said Chief Executive Michael Brodsky in a statement. He noted that wagers per customer grew by 6.7 percent in the last quarter and that trend has continued in the current year.

Shares closed down 5 cents, or 4 percent, to $1.20 on the Nasdaq