Betfair revenues short of 2010 World Cup high
Betting group Betfair brought in £80.8m revenues in the three months to June but said it could not beat the same period last year when the World Cup lifted its performance.
Overall Betfair revenues were seven per cent lower than a year ago, while its Betting Exchange turned the same level of sales as last summer, it said in its latest trading update.
But trading since the end of June had been encouraging, the company said, with revenues up 12 per cent year on year.
Outgoing chief executive David Yu said Exchange revenues had still grown by almost a fifth in the past two years and added he was “pleased” with the group’s performance.
“Overall Sports revenue was impacted, however, by lower revenue from our risk products due to adverse sporting results in May as previously reported. Since May, margins in risk products have returned to historical levels,” he said.
Betfair said mobile gaming was growing fast, with a 94 per cent increase in bets placed by phone, to 7.4m in the quarter.
“Our mobile products have seen particularly strong customer traction in the quarter, with around one third of Sports customers using a mobile device to place a bet,” Yu said.
Betfair is currently buying back £11m of its shares and said it had repurchased 1.7m to date.