At a glance
Ladbrokes' international presence
eGaming Global Reach
over 725,000 customersmore than 30 countries13 language options
18 currenciesservers based in the UK and Gibraltaremploys 475 people in three different countries.
The Group
Year in figures
Gross win
excluding High Rollers
11.1%
£1,143.9m (2007: £1,029.4m)
UK Retail gross win
4.7%
£773.9m (2007: £739.3m)
eGaming net gaming revenue
20.0%
£172.2m (2007: £143.5m)
Operating profit (1)
excluding High Rollers
0.9%
£243.8m (2007: £241.7m)
High Rollers operating profit (1)
£80.1m (2007: £179.0m)
Cash generated
by operations
£414.7m (2007: £421.1m)
(1) Profit before tax, finance costs and non-trading items for continuing operations.
Group net debt at year end
of £987.1m
Undrawn committed bank
facilities at year end
total £510.4m
Final dividend
of 9.05p
Effective tax rate (2)
15.4%
(2) Before non-trading items for continuing operations.
Group gross win -
Continuing operations (£m)
Excluding High Rollers 
High Rollers
*2005 High Rollers gross win
£(9.5) million.
EPS* (pence per share)
* Basic EPS before non-trading items.
The shape of Ladbrokes has changed over its 123 year history - strengthening its core UK Retail operation, moving into other channels with eGaming and telephone and expanding its retail presence in other countries.
Group gross win* (£m)
UK - OTC 
UK - Machines 
Other European Retail eGaming 
Core Telephone
*Excludes High Rollers gross win
UK Retail
With more than 2,100 premises, we are the second largest betting shop operator in Great Britain and enjoy the highest brand awareness in the sector. Our shops incorporate the latest betting shop design and technology while seeking to offer the widest range of content.
UK
Responsible: Richard Ames
2,091 shops + 52 on-site locations
£773.9 million gross win
£187.9 million profit (1)
Gross win
OTC 63% 
Machines 37%
Horses remain the most popular Over The Counter ("OTC") product, accounting for more than 50% of the OTC gross win, followed by greyhounds, numbers/virtual, football and then other sports. We offer our shop customers the opportunity to bet on almost 1.5 million different markets in 70 different sports.
In addition we have more than 8,000 machines across the estate, which allow the player to select from more than 14 games. The most popular remains roulette, although since September 2007 we have been able to introduce £500 jackpot slot games.
This year Ladbrokes became the first in the industry to introduce a loyalty card scheme - OddsOn!
Other European Retail
Ireland
Responsible: Richard Ames
286 shops
£91.5 million gross win
£24.4 million profit (1)
We have operated in Ireland since 1986 although our scale in Northern Ireland has grown significantly this year with the acquisition of Eastwood and McCartan Bookmakers. We are now the market leader in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with 286 shops.
Our shops in Northern Ireland offer similar content to Great Britain, whereas the Republic of Ireland does not have machines and is more heavily focused on Irish horseracing.
Belgium
Responsible: Brian Wallace
308 shops
£39.7 million gross win
£3.1 million profit (1)
We are currently the largest operator in Belgium with 308 shops. French horseracing accounts for more than 70% of the business mix, with the remainder on foreign horseracing, football and British greyhound racing.
Italy
Responsible: Brian Wallace
86 shops + 51 corners
£20.9 million gross win
£6.9 million loss (1)
We now have 86 shops and 51 corners in Italy. We offer our customers a variety of markets including fixed odds horse bets, Italian Tote horse bets, in excess of 2,500 football markets across 36 leagues and additional markets in minor sports such as basketball and volleyball. These markets are approved by AAMS, the Italian regulatory authority.
eGaming
Ladbrokes.com is one of the world's leading betting and gaming websites with over 725,000 active customers betting in 13 languages and 18 currencies.
Our eGaming business employs 475 people in three different countries.
Responsible: John O'Reilly
£172.2 million net gaming revenue
£55.1 million profit (1)
Sportsbook
£61.7 million net gaming revenue
On our Ladbrokes.com website customers can bet on over 70 sports and almost 1.5 million different markets, with football and horseracing being the most popular. The number of markets we offer our customers has increased 30% over the last 12 months.
This year we have been implementing our strategy of market localisation and product innovation to drive new customer acquisition. Our new Sportsbook includes tailored Nordic content offering to include popular sports such as trotting and handball, and expanding our betting-in-play offering.
Casino
£53.1 million net gaming revenue
Ladbrokescasino.com offers customers in excess of 375 casino games including roulette, blackjack, three-card casino poker, baccarat, craps and more than 200 slots.
This year, as part of our growth strategy, Ladbrokescasino.com broadcast an award-winning television advertising campaign entitled "Quench your thrill buds".
Poker
£29.0 million net gaming revenue
At its busiest time Ladbrokespoker.com has over 5,000 customers playing on 800 tables. In total it has had in excess of 145,000 customers. In Q1 2009 Ladbrokespoker.com joined the Microgaming network to improve liquidity.
Games
£28.4 million net gaming revenue
As part of our growth strategy we have, during 2008, broadcast a number of waves of television advertising for Ladbrokesbingo.com. In addition our Games sites offers more than 100 gaming products including slots, virtual scratchcards and quizzes such as "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "Deal or No Deal."
Telephone
Core Telephone
Responsible: John O'Reilly
£27.3 million net revenue
£3.1 million profit
As the leading UK bookmaker, Ladbrokes provides the broadest channel offering and this includes taking bets over the telephone. During 2008 the business received 6.4 million calls from over 108,000 customers. We employ 581 people and have call centres in Liverpool and Harrow together with a multilingual offering in Kuala Lumpur.
High Rollers
Responsible: John O'Reilly
£80.1 million profit
The High Rollers business provides a highly personal betting service to high net worth individuals.
Other
Spain
Following the award of a licence in Madrid in April 2008, we set up a joint venture, Sportium, which now has 45 outlets operating.
International
Our international team explore opportunities abroad. We have for more than four years been developing relationships outside of the UK including in countries such as China, Vietnam and India.
(1) Before tax, finance costs and non-trading items for continuing operations.
Ladbrokes PLC 2009