Ladbrokes has a long since had a presence in the worldwide gambling market, seemingly making the transition from traditional bricks and mortar betting shops to online gaming with ease. However, new figures released this month show that things are not well in the company’s digital division.
Profits in the digital sector dropped by 12.3% in December after a poor performance in poker and some unfavourable sporting results led to a disappointing drop of 3.5% in net revenue.
Ladbrokes boss Richard Glynn blamed results from events such as the King George VI chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, where five of the six favourites won, for masking the real progress of the digital business.
This comes as no surprise to industry pundits who predicted that Ladbrokes would struggle in the digital sector after deciding to turn down take-over bids from online companies such as 888 and Sportingbet and instead try to go it alone. Despite investing £25 million in its online offering, the digital strategy has yet to hit the mark.
Glynn however remains optimistic that the digital arm will see significant profit growth in 2012 as they spend a further £25 million on digital improvement including the launch of a new online sportsbook.
There was positive news for the company from the mobile gaming sector, which saw a 174% increase in income. It is widely believed that people who are using the mobile gaming tools from their smartphones will still use other forms of betting, making brand loyalty a key factor in 2012’s strategy.
Ladbrokes opened 29 new betting shops in 2010 and plans to roll out 40 new format stores later this year.
Ladbrokes offers video slot games, table and card games, scratch cards, arcade betting games and even live dealer games. The slot games are mostly branded with names like Marvel or popular movies like The Mummy and Rocky. The Marvel slots are connected to 4 progressive jackpots and are very popular among slot fans.
The live dealer games on Ladbrokes allow players to interact with a real casino dealer. The live dealer games are filmed in a casino studio, added a touch of reality to the betting. Scratch cards are popular with new gamblers and older players who are used to scratching lottery cards.
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