Poor First Quarter Results for Ladbrokes - 05-21-07
>>
May 21 - One of the world's leading betting and gaming companies, Ladbrokes Plc
has reported a 10 percent drop in its profits for the first quarter of 2007.
The UK-based land and online gambling firm attributed the 'dip' in its profits
to the fact that fewer of its customers placed sports bets telephonically.
Ladbrokes in fact reported a 47 percent decrease in profits in its telephone
division compared with an unusually strong first two quarters of 2006, when the
company experienced a high incidence of cash-heavy high-rollers.
Its eGaming results jumped by an impressive 11 percent as Ladbrokes reported a
positive growth across its online sportsbook, online casino and other online
gambling sectors. The company did, however, report a drop in online poker
customers which affected the company's overall profitability.
Said a Ladbrokes' spokesperson, 'We have found the online poker sector of the
online gambling market to be particularly competitive and thus more difficult to
break into. The good news though is that our active customer base grew by 12
percent during this period.'
Despite its first quarter results, the company is reportedly planning to expand
its operations further into Europe and Asia to help bridge the gap left when
online gambling was ban in the United States at the end of last year.
