Ladbrokes results affected by a single gambler

In the Irish gambling news last week was Ladbrokes reporting last year’s results and although it seems unlikely, Richard Glynn the new Chief Executive said that the fall in pre tax profits was due to a single player. Apparently Ladbrokes reports separately on what they call high rollers, although it is not clear to us here at gambling.ie what a high roller is, and profits from these high rollers dropped from nearly £67 million the previous year to a mere £5million last year and it is all being blamed on the absence from the gambling arena of one individual who is believed to be a member of a Royal family probably from one of the Middle Eastern countries. Despite this set back Mr Glynn suggested that Ladbrokes was lagging behind some its rivals in the area of digital development and promised to set aside £50 million over the next two years for investment in technology. We already reported in the general gambling news a few days ago about the possible deal between Ladbrokes and 888 and Ladbrokes and Playtech but the Chief Executive would not be drawn on the subjects but simply said “I will talk to everyone. I will examine every opportunity if it drives us down that value chain”. Over the counter bets, which is betting shop business also decreased in value and nothing was said specifically about online gambling but we believe that is holding up well. The full year dividend rose but the share price dropped on the gambling news.