Ladbrokes Anticipates Italian, Spanish Ops

Published: Thursday, November 16, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

LADBROKES LOOKS FORWARD TO ITALIAN, SPANISH OPERATIONS SOON

Telephone and internet betting licenses in Italy "only a matter of process" and e-gaming is to grow

Releasing its latest trading update in a press tele-conference this week, UK gambling group Ladbrokes appeared bullish on its imminent entry to the Italian and Spanish markets.

Chief Executive Chris Bell told reporters that his company hopes to have an operation up-and-running in Italy within weeks and expects to announce its entry into the Spanish market early in the new year.

Bell said that telephone and internet betting licenses in Italy were "only a matter of process".

"The good news about Italy is that we are on the road and it will be on the map for Ladbrokes from next summer" Bell predicted. The betting group expects to profit from more liberal legislation in Spain, he said adding that Ladbrokes had "stepped up our interest" and expected to make a detailed announcement early in 2007 on Spanish developments.

The trading updates showed disappointing results for October in both Champions League football and UK horseracing where a bad run had hit the company's gross margins.

Bell remained confident, saying: "While a number of football and racing results went against us in October, early trading in November has been in line with expectations. Ladbrokes continues to focus upon international expansion and growing its eGaming business, while continuing to prepare itself for future opportunities in UK and Irish shop estates."

Total gross win for the 10 months to the end of October stood at 8 percent while profit from continuing operations, before interest and tax, increased 5 percent.

Bell said poker remained steady. He added the company had not seen the European market become any more difficult since events in the US. "From a trading point of view, not a lot has changed. In terms of competition, we have seen no new aggression."

In e-gaming, gross win increased 17 percent with a 10 percent rise in operating costs for the four months since the end of June, compared to 27 percent in the first six months of the year.

The first half cost increase reflected the investment in customer recruitment campaigns around the World Cup and other sporting events earlier in the year.

Bell said the company had seen a 30 percent renewal rate on the new customer sign-up figure from the World Cup of over 220 000.

Total gross win in Telephone Betting rose by 47 percent, with growth of 10 percent excluding high rollers and an increase in total operating costs of 8 percent.