Ladbrokes suffers worst Cheltenham Festival in memory

21 April 2016

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has actually said this promotion code year's Cheltenham Festival was its "worst in living memory".

All bookies were struck by a string of favourites winning at the festival, but Ladbrokes also argued that competitors were using bets at levels that did not make service sense.

Ladbrokes likewise validated that it has a ₤ 3m liability if Leicester City win the Premier League.

Despite this, the company said it had seen an encouraging start to the year.

Revenue was more than 10% greater.

Chief executive Jim Mullen said: "At Cheltenham we were advised of the intense competition with offers and pricing at levels which, in our view, abandoned bookmaking concepts.

"We completed hard but declined to pursue unsustainable techniques."

He told the BBC betting was for his clients, not his business: "I have actually always stated we're in the betting business, we don't gamble ... I believed Cheltenham was a race to the bottom."

The company stated the yohaig code Grand National winner, Rule The World, which was a 33/1 shot, provided a bet9ja's welcome offer contrast to Cheltenham.

Ladbrokes stated it was "confident" that its outcomes would remain in line with expectations.

'Recreational punter'

In 2015 Ladbrokes revealed strategies to merge with its smaller rival, Coral.

UK competition authorities are presently taking a look at the deal.

Steve Clayton, expert at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers, said the current trading statement from Ladbrokes was encouraging, however the real problem was whether the merger with Coral would be allowed: "A merged Ladbrokes and Coral will have a dominant retail position, even if lots of stores have to be offered off.

"We expect significant expense conserving will be possible because there will be vast locations of overlap and unnecessary duplication of functions throughout the combined service."

Ladbrokes is pursuing a different technique to that of its rivals by focussing on customer care and the periodic punter, who will not necessarily hunt for the very best odds.

Mr Clayton stated: "The bookmaker's method is to concentrate on the 'recreational punter', in other words the still soft and malleable, unhardened gamblers out there.

"These people do not know what the best chances should be, so it is simpler to develop a fat win margin into the bookmaker's terms."