A quiet month for online casino news

June is a quiet month for online casino news, so it may be time to look back to the first quarter results from two of our biggest online casino and sports betting operators. William Hill and Ladbrokes are two of the biggest names in the gambling sector, and the competition between them has always been fierce. Recently however William Hill seems to have raced away from their rivals, particularly in the online gambling market where their heavy investment in the first quarter has included acquiring a majority stake in Sportingbet and the buy out of their joint venture with the online casino and casino games software company Playtech, a total investment of more than £880 million. First quarter results showed an 8% rise in profits resulting from a 15% rise in revenues over the period, with apparently more online sporting bets than over the counter bets in their retail betting shops for the first time. Ladbrokes on the other hand have been forced to issue a profits warning, following a massive reported slump in profits at the Cheltenham Festival which lends credence to the fact that Ladbrokes’ continued reliance on one off events indicates that they still have some way to go in the online gambling market. There is no doubt that Richard Glynn has been able to modernise Ladbrokes chain of betting shops, but his attempts bolster their presence online have been less successful to date. After failing to acquire either 888 Holdings or Sportingbet he has invested £50 million in building their own improved online casino and online sports gambling platform. The recently confirmed tie up with Playtech should drive the plans forward. Meanwhile yesterday’s newspaper advertisements from Paddy Power featuring the second coming of Jose Mourinho prove they have lost none of their imagination when it comes to marketing.