TELEPHONE WAGERS DECLINE AT LADBROKES

25 May 2007

10 percent decline in wagers over the 'phone

London-listed Ladbrokes, which claims to be the world's largest publicly traded gaming company, has announced that profit fell 10 percent in the first four months of 2007 due to fewer telephone wagers.

The telephone betting arm of the UK company revealed that winnings plunged 47 percent at its phone-betting unit. Earnings were in line with the prior year excluding high rollers. Gross win, or the amount won from gamblers, rose 5 percent without high rollers and gained 2 percent when they are included.

"These are people who have a relatively high net worth,'' CEO Christopher Bell said of the big spenders in a telephone interview with Bloomsbergs business news. "They have the ability to have high stakes. They were quite active in the same period last year.''

Ladbrokes is looking to online gaming and new markets for expansion as growth slows at its betting shops. The bookmaker agreed in January to buy its Nordic Web-gambling partner for up to GBP40 million ($79 million) and last year budgeted Euros 100 million ($135 million) to move into Italy, where it won new licenses in December.

This year's profit from continuing operations before interest and tax appears likely to meet the market's expectations, Ladbrokes said in a statement prior to its annual shareholder meeting. Analysts have estimated operating profit at about the same as last year, according to Bell.

Winnings climbed 11 percent at Ladbrokes' online unit, which the bookmaker had sought to bulk up by acquiring 888 Holdings Plc. The companies broke off talks in April after almost six months, a decision analysts said at the time stemmed from concern about legal risks after a U.S. crackdown on Web gambling last year.

"We were disappointed,'' Bell said. "Both sides had put a lot of work in. The U.S. position was just too complex to give us comfort.''

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