GVC announces betting shop closures

GVC who own Ladbrokes has stated that they will be closing around 1,000 betting shops despite announcing a rise in revenue. They have said that the closures are because of the new FOBT’s, which will come into force in April this year and this means that the FOBT limit will be reduced from £100 down to £2.

Revenue grew at the rate of 19% due to the good performance of the online brands of Ladbrokes Coral UK.

Hoping to expand

GVC is hoping to expand into America where deregulation of sports betting has been passed, allowing each state to decide for themselves.

Boss Kenneth Alexander said its acquisition of MGM and Ladbrokes will help the group ‘absorb the impact’ of stricter regulation in the UK and expects stronger profits in the years to come.

He added: ‘2018 was a transformational year for the group with the completion of the Ladbrokes Coral acquisition in March making the group the largest online-led sports-betting and gaming operator in the world.

‘Excellent operational execution, effective marketing and a good World Cup helped both the legacy GVC and the acquired Ladbrokes Coral businesses perform ahead of expectations and materially ahead of the market, delivering market share gains in all our major territories.’