Paddy Power had online to thank as mobile continued its rise as the company’s shining star. Sportsbook stakes rose by 31% on PaddyPower.com in the UK and Ireland with gaming/B2B revenues increasing by 33%. As of October, mobile accounts for 44% of sportsbook stakes with Australia seeing mobile account for as much as 32% of stakes. Turnover for their Aussie online business showed an increase of 23%. If there was a part the green-clad warriors weren’t so happy with, it was retail performance in their homeland. Amounts staked (down 6%) and gross win (down 11%) both decreased compared with last year. UK retail continued to perform well with sportsbook stakes and machine revenue up by 8% and it comes off the back of 40 shop openings this year. It comes after Betfair poached one of their best men to become the exchange’s next CEO and with these results it’s no surprise.
They weren’t just going to leave us hanging with one piece of news though. Paddy’s second piece of news was that a takeover of Cayetano was completed. The Bulgarian games developer has created a number of games for online and mobile gaming markets and has an HQ on the Isle of Man. The amount being paid for the firm was not revealed, though Patrick Kennedy, chief executive at Paddy Power, did add: “Cayetano is one of the best developers of its kind in the egaming sector and its acquisition will provide Paddy Power with a compelling range of online gaming products as well as a new internal source of gaming development expertise.”
Ladbrokes have been busy after announcing customers will now be able to stream AtTheRaces live coverage from mobile devices. iPhone users are the first to benefit from the service that is available to any customers to have bet £1. It means mobile punters (or should we called them munters?) can watch all live British and Irish races following a similar deal with Racing UK earlier in the year. Richard Ames, Ladbrokes Managing Director, Products commented: “Mobile betting is growing rapidly and Ladbrokes customers have a leading range of services. We continue to develop it and aim to make it the first choice for mobile betting and gaming customers.”
