Ladbrokes appoints new mobile chief
Andrew Bagguley joins operator from Deutsche Telekom to lead new mobile development hub
British bookmaker Ladbrokes has appointed Andrew Bagguley as mobile and devices director to head up its new mobile development hub.
Bagguley joins from German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom and will lead Ladbrokes’ new mobile development hub, working closely with mobile development agency Chelsea App Factory.
Bagguley had led Deutsche Telekom’s mobile strategy since February 2011, having previously held similar roles at British newspaper publisher News UK and Deutsche Telekom’s mobile subsidiary T-Mobile.
Ladbrokes announced the launch of its new London hub earlier this week as part of an initiative to accelerate the development of its mobile offering, with its sportsbook team moving to Chelsea App Factory offices to work on Ladbrokes’ Mobenga mobile platform.
Mobile has been considered something of a weakness in Ladbrokes’ offering to date, with the operator’s H1 figures reporting that just 29% of its sportsbook revenues derived from mobile devices.
In comparison William Hill’s mobile sportsbook revenues was at 40% mark for the same period, and other egaming operators have reported similarly strong performances on the platform.
The news comes following a note from Patrick Coffey at Barclays Capital this morning, which predicted Ladbrokes profits would be 8% below consensus, noting online turnaround had been “far slower than the market anticipated”.
“While Playtech’s track record is exceptional, we believe the market requires further evidence that Ladbrokes’ recently revised timelines are on track,” the research note said.