Owner Of Ladbrokes

The owner of the Ladbrokes and Coral betting brands has raised its profit forecast for the second time this year on the back of a surge in online gaming.

GVC said it now expected core profits to come in between £670m to £680m for 2019.

It had raised the range from £650m to £670m in August.

The company, which also has the Gala operations in its stable, credited a 12% surge in online gaming revenue during the third quarter for the latest upgrade.

Gambling firms have placed an emphasis on their digital operations and cracking the rapidly-growing US market since a crackdown on controversial UK shop-based fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) cut maximum stakes from £100 to £2 in April.

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The Ladbrokes Trophy is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (3 miles, 1 furlong and 214 yards, or 5,225 metres), and during its running there are twenty-one. Owner of Ladbrokes Mile winner Captain Cat, Barry Hurley recaps oh his horse's win at Lingfield.

They have responded by closing hundreds of stores, with the loss of thousands of jobs, on the grounds they are no longer profitable.

In GVC's case, the company said it was on track with its plans to shut 900 sites over the next two years with 198 closed to date.

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It pointed to an 18% decline in revenue taken at its stores in the three months to September compared to the same period last year.

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GVC said it had seen an 'encouraging start' to its joint venture with hotel and casino operator MGM Resorts that has resulted in the launch of a mobile betting app in New Jersey.

Shares rose 5% on the update.

The company has been looking to mend fences with investors since a bitter row over awards earlier this year that saw chief executive Kenny Alexander offer to cut his basic pay and signalled an early departure for its chairman.

Mr Alexander said of the company's results: 'I am delighted that the group's financial performance has allowed us to upgrade our full year EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) expectations again.

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'Online momentum remains strong across all major territories, with NGR (net gaming revenue) up 12% in the quarter despite the prior period containing part of the World Cup.

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'This performance continues to be driven by our industry-leading technology, products, brands, marketing capability, and people.

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'The launch in September of the BetMGM app in New Jersey, powered by the GVC technology platform, is a key milestone, and our US sports-betting joint venture with MGM Resorts remains very well-placed to capitalise on the US sports-betting opportunity.

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'The integration of the Ladbrokes Coral businesses is progressing well with the migration of the Ladbrokes, Coral and Gala online brands due to commence in Q4 (quarter four) and complete by the end of H1 2020.'