Webis to invest in betinternet sportsbook
Company will "invest in the future" of its sportsbook following an increase in revenues and a boost in in-play numbers.
Webis Holdings will “invest in the future” of its sportsbook Betinternet.com following an increase in revenues and a boost in in-play numbers, its board announced in a trading update to the market this morning.
The re-investment marks a turnaround for the product following the announcement of significant losses 18 months ago due largely to betinternet’s underperformance with the company blaming “tough economic conditions”.
During a preliminary announcement in October 2010 betinternet generated a turnover of £79.2m compared to £107.9m in 2009, recording a pre-tax loss of £778,000 compared to a 2009 loss of £41,000. In a statement at the time Webis said it had “suffered a number of setbacks” during the financial year, “largely related to the ongoing effects of the economic downturn”.
Today, however the Webis board said its sportsbook had achieved revenue growth during the second half of its financial year due largely to an increase in fixed-odds football and in-play content with live betting accounting for 43% of fixed-odds singles turnover for the financial year.
“In-play growth helped overall fixed-odds turnover to improve over the previous year with gross margin also increasing, although this remains volatile,” it said.
Given the improvement in trading the board today said it would begin to re-invest in the future growth of betinternet, including “the recruitment of senior industry personnel and additional product”.
“Activity driven by the recent European Football Championships has also provided a positive start to the new financial year,” it added.
Trading within its pari-mutual racing division European Wagering Services (EWS) also improved in the second half as payment processing became more stable, a company statement read. Average player numbers and volumes wagered both increased through the online platform and call centre.
“The company’s move to San Francisco, California, together with its possession of a US pari-mutuel licence, is assisting with discussions in a number of areas, particularly in establishing a long-term payment processing solution and obtaining additional racing content. It is anticipated that EWS will launch its new ‘WatchandWager.com’ website in the first half of the new financial year, which will provide for a significantly better user experience, with live-streaming of race video,” it added.