28th Dec 2006 12:48
Ladbrokes PLC28 December 2006 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 asfollows: • 33 dedicated horseracing licences (betting centres) • 58 dedicated sports betting licences (betting centres) • 51 non-dedicated sports betting licences (betting points) The 51 non-dedicated licences or betting points refer to outlets such asnewsagents, bars or cafes where franchisees will offer a Ladbrokes bettingservice as an additional product to their core business. Ladbrokes expects thefirst 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 licencesfor horseracing and sport, which were issued on a non-competitive basis tocompanies that complied with regulatory standards. Ladbrokes' strategy is to establish an Italian retail estate through both newlicences awarded in the tender process and acquisition of existing centres.During November, Ladbrokes acquired three betting centres in Turin, representingits first steps into the Italian market. These centres started trading underLadbrokes ownership in early December 2006. Ladbrokes continues to be indiscussions to acquire further betting centres. Ladbrokes announced earlier this year that it had established a joint venturepartnership with the Italian odds provider Pianeta Scommesse. The JVestablished Ladbrokes as a Government-accredited provider to betting centres inthe Italian market, where all betting centres are required to work with aprovider to connect to Government computers, as well as receive odds andliability management services. It is estimated that the Italian sports betting market is currently worth around€2 billion and the horseracing betting market €2.1 billion. The total bettingand gaming market is estimated to be worth €28 billion. In the UK, the bettingsector alone was worth £45.08 billion in stakes in 2005 (Keynote 2006). Christopher Bell, Chief Executive of Ladbrokes plc said: "We are very pleasedwith the outcome of the tender which represents a major step forward for us inItaly. We have appointed an Italian Chief Executive who brings extensive localknowledge of the industry to our operations and we will continue to expand ourItalian business through acquiring further existing licences." -ends- For further information: Ciaran O'BrienHead of Public RelationsMobile: +44 (0) 7976 180 173 Paul BagstaffInvestor RelationsMobile: +44 (0) 7976 348 922 Notes to Editors: The Chief Executive of Ladbrokes Italy is Mattia Nicelli, who has over 13 yearsexperience working in senior roles in the gambling industry. Ladbrokes plcemploys 14,000 people in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Jersey and Gibraltar. Thecompany is comprised of Ladbrokes, the world's biggest bookmaker and operator ofone of Europe's leading telephone betting operations; Ladbrokes.com the leadingbetting and gaming website; Vernons, the football pools company and LadbrokesCasinos which opened the Ladbrokes Casino and Sports Bar in Paddington in July2006. Ladbrokes.com has customers in 200 countries around the world. Ladbrokeshas a strategy for international expansion that includes a consultancypartnership in China, and a planned investment of over 100 million Euro toestablish a business in Italy. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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