Betfred Reports Second Consecutive Annual Loss

By Simon Wright, Last updated Jun 30, 2023

Privately owned Betfred filed their annual accounts with Companies House yesterday ( Tuesday 11th June 2019 ) and despite a solid growth in revenue on the previous year, the bookie synonymous with Fred Done has made a loss, for the second year running.

A quick glance over the 44 pages of accounts filed with Companies House and it shows that the bookmaker, which has a strong high street presence as well as online, made a loss of some £40.7m after taxation. This compares to a trading loss after taxation of £28.7m for 2017,

Betfred who recently reaffirmed their commitment to World Snooker by extending their sponsorship of the World Snooker Championships, reported an increase of revenues by 15%, to the tune of £728m.

Betfred cite the reduction in the maximum stake limit on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2, which came into force on 1st April this year as being one of the main reasons for the loss incurred. As the bookmaker set aside nearly £120m in exceptional costs in dealing with the expected reduced revenue from this particular income stream.

Another point of interest in Betfred’s accounts, is that the bookmaker has reduced the amount it contributes to the Horse Racing industry. With £8.7m contributed in 2018, down from £11.7m in 2017.

Despite the reported loss for the second year running, the company paid a dividend to shareholders totalling £10.2m, the same amount as the previous year.

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