It was a first for Ladbrokes as their new touch-screen roulette machines passed the earnings of traditional horse racing bets. This is the first time any product has earned more than the horse racing bets in the one hundred and twenty two years that Ladbrokes has been in business. It was just seven years ago that the takings at Ladbrokes betting shops was mainly based on horse race wagers. Almost two thirds of the takings were from horse racing. Now, in 2008, the roulette machines and football wagering have brought in new generation of cliental causing the pass in earnings.

The weekly average earned from horse racing is under half of £251.8m while other sports bets took the other half, football receiving the most. A rise of 9 percent was seen in over the counter takings but a larger percentage was seen in roulette takings. The average weekly earnings for the roulette machines rose by 18.2 percent in just the first six months of this year earning £142.5m. These earnings are from the 8,100 machines that Ladbrokes has in place. Ladbrokes believes the roulette machines benefited from advertising on television and being allowed open for evening trading due to recent deregulation.

Finance director, Brian Wallace, expects the machine takings to rise 11 percent during the second half of the year. Others believe the machine growth will slow. The roulette machines and football betting has attracted a new group of betters under the age of 35. There is a large difference in the betting style of those under 35 and those over. The roulette machines have been in betting shops since the mid 90s but really did not become popular until 2001. Tax changes were made that year making low-margin games more profitable.



- 2008-08-08