LADBROKES AWARDED 142 NEW BETTING LICENCES IN ITALY
Ladbrokes has been awarded a total of 142 new betting licences in Italy,
following its recent tender application. The new betting licences are as
follows:
The 51 non-dedicated licences or betting points refer to outlets such as
newsagents, bars or cafes where franchisees will offer a Ladbrokes betting
service as an additional product to their core business. Ladbrokes expects the
first of its new licences to become operational within three months.
The new licences are spread geographically throughout Italy.
In addition, the company has successfully applied for remote betting licences
for horseracing and sport, which were issued on a non-competitive basis to
companies that complied with regulatory standards.
Ladbrokes' strategy is to establish an Italian retail estate through both new
licences awarded in the tender process and acquisition of existing centres.
During November, Ladbrokes acquired three betting centres in Turin, representing
its first steps into the Italian market. These centres started trading under
Ladbrokes ownership in early December 2006. Ladbrokes continues to be in
discussions to acquire further betting centres.
Ladbrokes announced earlier this year that it had established a joint venture
partnership with the Italian odds provider Pianeta Scommesse. The JV
established Ladbrokes as a Government-accredited provider to betting centres in
the Italian market, where all betting centres are required to work with a
provider to connect to Government computers, as well as receive odds and
liability management services.
It is estimated that the Italian sports betting market is currently worth around
Euro2 billion and the horseracing betting market Euro2.1 billion. The total betting
and gaming market is estimated to be worth Euro28 billion. In the UK, the betting
sector alone was worth #45.08 billion in stakes in 2005 (Keynote 2006).
Christopher Bell, Chief Executive of Ladbrokes plc said: "We are very pleased
with the outcome of the tender which represents a major step forward for us in
Italy. We have appointed an Italian Chief Executive who brings extensive local
knowledge of the industry to our operations and we will continue to expand our
Italian business through acquiring further existing licences."
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