Ladbrokes Plc, the owner of Ladbrokes Poker, today said online poker net revenue dropped 24.3 percent to £5.6 million in the first half of 2012 compared to £7.4 million in the same period last year.
The company, which sacked Product Director Richard Ames earlier this week over the disappointing performance of its digital strategy, said the £1.8 million decrease in poker revenue in the first six months of the year were due to “particularly tough marketplace.”
The decline mirrors a series of successive drops in online poker revenue – in full year 2011 Ladbrokes poker revenue fell 25 percent.
Overall digital net revenue was up three percent to £88.3 million in the first half of 2012 driven by sports book growth of 10.7 percent but dragged lower by poker and, to a much lesser extent, bingo.
Richard Glynn, chief executive of the company said, “At a Group level Ladbrokes has performed strongly. We have grown revenue by 8.4% and operating profit by 11.0%, with strong cash generation continuing and a further strengthening of our balance sheet.
“We remain committed to our Digital strategy of building a more competitive offer through a combination of ongoing investments to enhance our marketing, product and technology.”
