Ladbrokes, the UK bookmaker and casino group with online and offline exposure, saw profits fall by 30 percent in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. The reduction was a result of a fall in phone betting activity and an unusually high win ratio by favourites at the recent Royal Ascot horse racing event. But what does the future hold?
The fact that the fall was due in part to more favourite winners than normal takes some of the doom and gloom off the figures, but times are still tough. However, the fact that the gross win figure rose by 6 percent to £648 million (i.e. the money lost by Ladbrokes customers) bodes well for the future.
Like so many other players in the UK gambling market the raft of extra cost layers introduced by the UK authorities has started to hit home, pushing costs higher. We have also seen the battle for live racing coverage in the UK take an unexpected turn and introduce much need competition into the sector, at the expense of the likes of Ladbrokes – part of a consortium which affectively monopolised horse racing coverage in UK betting shops.
