Exchange provider Betfair saw Q3 core revenue increase 11% for the three months ending Jan. 31, with mobile having a strong influence. Bets taken by mobile were up 127% to 11 million. Sports revenue on the same medium swelled 100% to £5.8 million with new iPhone and iPad apps the main reason. Interim CEO Stephen Morana added: “In the last few months we have further improved our mobile offering, introducing new iPad and iPhone apps and launching mobile casino games. Our results show the benefit of our early investment in the channel. We doubled mobile revenue in the quarter and the 11 million bets placed represents significantly greater mobile usage than any of our competitors.”
Games were the only vertical to see a small drop off with revenue down 5%. The big surprise was the resurgence of tennis as a major betting sport and the effect In Play has had. It culminated in £50 million worth of bets placed on the Australian Open final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Growth has continued into the final quarter of the financial year with Morana stating: “Exchange revenue continues to exhibit double-digit growth rates and overall Core Betfair revenue up 10% in the quarter to date. This leaves us confident that we will meet our expectations for the full year.”
It was also confirmed Ed Wray has stepped down as chairman to be replaced by Gerald Corbett with immediate effect.
Profits took a hit at bet-at-home after the introduction of new taxes in Austria. Net gaming revenue saw a marginal increase of 0.7% to €66.12 million. At the same time earnings decreased by 56% to €5.5 million; the number includes the expense from the tax application in Austria. Gross gaming revenue was a bright spark for the European-facing company taking in €72.81 million, an increase of 10.1% for the Betclic Everest owned brand.
