Stocks Plummet in Online Gambling Sector

Though there was good news reported for William Hill’s online gambling growth during the first half of this year, the sector has not been immune to a recent upheaval in the financial markets.

The FTSE 100 was off nearly 3.5 percent on Thursday, making it the biggest single loss since February 2009.

The online betting exchange Betfair fell in conjunction with the overall market, losing 3 percent.  Paddy Power and Ladbrokes were each down 4 percent.  Playtech was down 2 percent.  Bwin.party witnessed a 5.7 percent drop off on Thursday.  The price has fallen from around 145.0 coming into August to 112.80.

William Hill’s positive numbers for the first half of the year were disclosed one day after their share price saw a 3.5 percent decline.

Driven by Internet growth, the UK’s biggest bookmaker reported a 23 percent year-on-year increase in online net revenues.  There was also a profit before tax of £126.9m, a 23 percent increase over the same period in 2010.

The growth was also driven by in-play wagering and mobile.  In-play betting experienced an amazing year-on-year increase in amounts staked of 95 percent

In-play betting experienced a year-on-year increase in amounts staked of 95%, while mobile revenue growth surpassed an unprecedented 600 percent, an equivalent of 7 percent the entire sportsbook revenue.

Friday had stocks up and down like a rollercoaster ride across the board following better-than-expected job numbers.  The Euro Stoxx 50 index zigzagged as well: It was down 1.54 percent.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com