iGB Intelligence reports iGB Market Monitor December 2017 | Page 8

Part 1: The UK market – a split screen 38%, pushing total revenues to £516m. Sky Bet William Hill was up 46% to £314m and Sky Gaming rose For all the chatter in William Hill’s first-half results 27% to £160m. Although Sky Bet differs hugely and its recent third-quarter trading statement from bet365 because it does not come with the about UK sportsbook wagering being up by ‘hinterland’ of extensive earnings from elsewhere, between 13% and 14% – and taking into account it still packs a punch in terms of profitability, with the division-wide improvements in gaming net EBITDA coming in at £146m for the year. With win, which rose 14% in the third quarter – it the added advantage of the name recognition remains difficult to substantiate the company’s among the crucial mass market of sports claims that it is growing market share in the UK. and betting fans – emphasised by the recent The overall online growth of 6% for the period is expanded sponsorship deal with the English anaemic at best and although William Hill remains Football League – the company has clout similar a turnaround situation, this is well behind the to bet365’s when it comes to marketing and is market leaders. Still, a generous way of looking at making a lot of running in the innovation stakes, it would suggest the company has demonstrated with a motivated and dedicated workforce based there is room for improvement. Certainly, in the largely in Leeds. As with its main competitor in half-year statement the welter of key performance Stoke, local status counts. indicators rolled out in the presentation might be suggestive of further growth. New accounts were Market followers Ladbrokes Coral up 5%, actives were up 7% and turnover per active The UK component of Ladbrokes Coral’s digital certainly improved is gaming, where the metrics revenues is hard to discern. Within the business are all heading in the right direction. The company sits Ladbrokes.com, Coral.co.uk, the Gala bingo said that in the first-half cross-sell from sports and casino offerings alongside the (at present) into casino had markedly improved. on sportsbook was up 19%. One area that has higher-growth Italian Eurobet and Australian operations. The third-quarter trading statement Paddy Power Betfair suggested a mixed picture with regard to the For a supposed market leader, Paddy Power component parts: Coral.co.uk enjoyed net Betfair is truly struggling to get past the revenue growth of 13% but this was likely more integration stages of its post-M&A life and than offset, in UK terms, by the 9% decline at move to the sunny uplands of augmented and Ladbrokes.com. Galabingo.com was 10% ahead growing revenues. The third-quarter figures online but a one-off £1m progressive jackpot payout for (ex-Australia) are, in truth, really quite dismal Galacasino.com meant that total growth for the regardless of the stated tough comparatives (a Gala offerings stood at 3%. With Australian net factor which affects all). Somewhat unnoticed, revenue growing at 50% and Eurobet in Italy up generally, has been the decline of the Betfair 36%, and with an unknown quantity of dotcom exchange, where revenues were down 5% for the revenues at Ladbrokes, it means it’s difficult to period. The good news is that the integration calculate either the exact scale of the UK portion of the technology platforms is, according to of the combined entity’s digital earnings or, the release, nearing completion and new Paddy perhaps more importantly, the direction of travel. Power desktop and mobile front ends are Paul Leyland, founding partner at gambling apparently already being tested with a select consultancy Regulus Partners, was pessimistic number of customers. Allied to the financial at the time of the third-quarter statement, firepower of the group – EBITDA for the full year suggesting that in the “key battleground” of UK is expected to come in at between £450m and online betting the company was almost certainly £465m – that means it should be well-positioned losing market share. to head into 2018 in a positive frame of mind. That iGaming Business Market Monitor • December 2017 5