Betfair wants to broaden its addressable market

Betfair overall revenue declined by 6% in H1, reflecting the recently lapped FY13 market exits. Its sustainable revenues that went up 11% in Q2 now represent 77% of total revenues.

“Betfair has continued to make progress against the strategic objectives we set out in December 2012 and has delivered a good first half performance.Our focus on regulated jurisdictions and Sportsbook-led acquisition continues to be successful. In the 12 months since we implemented this approach, the number of new customers acquired in the UK and Ireland is up 77%, said Breon Corcoran, Betfair’s CEO. We continue to see evidence that our Exchange and Sportsbook products are complementary, with 38% of sports betting customers using both products. This overlap is set to increase in the coming months following innovative developments to our bet matching technology, bringing the benefits of Exchange-based pricing to Sportsbook customers”.

Following cost reductions in the past twelve months, Betfair now operates as a leaner and fitter business, which means the company can reinvest to generate revenue growth. “Our sales and marketing budget is over £100m this year. This enables a top tier presence on Sky Sports, major investment in our online marketing capability and an exciting new partnership with Channel 4 Racing for 2014, he added. We are also investing in international opportunities. Our online casino launched in New Jersey on 21st November and, while regulatory processes are always uncertain, we have made good progress towards launching an Exchange in Italy. Notwithstanding this incremental investment, the progress we have made in the first six months means we expect underlying EBITDA for the full year to be between £82m and £87m”.