Sportingbet Not Affected by Economic Woes: Revenues Up 23 Percent
Online gambling firm, Sportingbet, has witnessed revenues increasing up to 23 percent to the end of July, up to £147 million, driven by its performance in Europe and Australia in particular.
The chief executive, Andrew McIver, said he is "cautiously optimistic" going forward.
McIver said that the completion of the group's restructuring had resulted in a more than three-fold increase in adjusted operating profit which left it well positioned to capitalise on the strong position it had made in its markets.
He added: 'The new financial year has started well with net gaming revenue growth in excess of 30% in the first two months. As such the board remains cautiously optimistic of the outcome for the current financial year.'
By 08:42am, shares in Sportingbet were up 9.3% or 2.5p, to 29.5p, while peers were also enjoying some upside. Partygaming initially rose 6.5% on the news, before settling up 2.5% at 154p.
Online gambling shares - most of which trade on the London Stock Exchange - could become hot over the next several months as the industry is widely perceived as recession proof, though declines in customer acquisitions, primarily within the online poker sector, have been evident during the month of October.
Sportingbet is also building a presence in Canada. Sportingbet is a popular sponsor of the Gambling911.com website.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
