bet365 profits soar to £179m

Operator posts egaming profits rise of 54% as amounts wagered on website nears £20bn

Bet365 egaming operating profits soared to £179m and amounts wagered grew 57% to almost £20bn for the year ending 31 March 2013.

Figures seen by eGaming Review reveal that profits from egaming operations rose 54% to £179m, aided by 150% growth in the firm’s mobile channels and expansion into regulated markets including Spain, Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein.

Overall group profits rose by 35% to £148m as the operator was hit with a loss of £31m from its controlling interest in Stoke City football club.

CEO Denise Coates said the firm would look to reduce the club’s reliance on the group and, over the medium term, to “make it self-sufficient”.

Amounts wagered via mobile channels increased by 150% during the period, with net revenues growing by 158%.

The £20bn in amounts wagered is larger than those of William Hill and Ladbrokes, two of its largest competitors, combined, and almost four times Paddy Power’s total amounts wagered for 2012, which reached £5.69bn.

Overall, active users exceeded two million in the period with the number of sign-ups and new depositors over 2.7m and 1.3m respectively. Bet365’s own headcount also rose during the period, up 19% year-on-year to 2,596.

All four verticals posted growth in the period with poker and bingo net revenue growing by 10% and 25% respectively, while a strong casino performance saw gaming revenues in total grow by 35%.

The company paid out dividends of £15m to its shareholders with over half going to chief executive Denise Coates, and the rest shared mainly between her brother and co-CEO John Coates, and chairman Peter Coates.

Denise Coates, who was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honour List last year, also received £5.3m in pay and bonuses last year.

Coates said in the report: “The Group continued to experience significant growth during the period, with overall revenues from the Group’s gambling activities increasing by 44%, and was pleased to secure top spot in eGaming Review’s Annual Power 50 for the third consecutive year.”

She added that the group has continued to “invest heavily” in IT infrastructures and technology, to ensure it has both the” flexibility and scalability” to evolve with internal and external developments.

bet365 Denise Coates Denmark Denmark Europe John Coates Ladbrokes News Paddy Power Peter Coates Schleswig-holstein Spain Sports betting The Guardian William Hill

bet365 profits soar to £179m

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