Two of the world’s largest gambling companies have recorded serious drops in profit for the third quarter of 2015.  In recently released trading updates to the London Stock Exchange, UK bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes (both of which have popular online poker sites) have admitted to investors that they have suffered significant dips in their profits this year so far.

Ladbrokes, which runs the Ladbrokes Poker website, have experienced plummeting earnings in the three months before the end of September 2015, down 56.7% to £14.3 million (before interest and taxes) when compared to the same period in 2014. The have blamed the disappointing figures on unfortunate external circumstances, primarily the effects of higher taxes on betting and gambling. Ladbrokes management have pointed out that the increased duty on gaming machines and the new Point of Consumption Tax which is imposed on all online bets, introduced in December last year. This new tax has been devised by the government to raise £300m a year for the Treasury. It also requires gambling companies offering their services in the UK to pay the same amount of tax, regardless of where they are based.

William Hill have announced similar decreases in profits levels, with a 39% drop in the same quarter. The company, which have an online William Hill Poker site, have had a series of weak trading periods this year, caused by unfavourable sporting results and the similar detrimental effects of higher taxation. William Hill has 2,360 betting shops in the UK, making it the country’s biggest bookmaker, but its leading position is being threatened by the ongoing mergers of Gala Coral with Ladbrokes and Paddy Power with Betfair.

The serious drop in profits for top UK gambling companies is a concern for all gambling companies, from casino and poker sites to high-street betting shops.  The companies in question are confident they can bounce back, with Ladbrokes’ proposed merger with Coral still on track (although still waiting approval from the Competition and Markets Authority) and should hopefully gives their profits a boost. Financial commentators however have predicted a less than rosy forecast for gambling companies, as they reckon profits will remain low for the near future.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2015 at 11:25 am and is filed under UK Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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