Skip to main content

Ladbrokes talking to Betdaq?

Curious one this - apparently it's only about technology sharing. Ladbrokes seemingly don't want to go down the same line as numerous other bookies to come up with an identical product bar the colour scheme. There's some logic in it - exchanges need to have an exceptionally quick bet-matching system, so anything that can help speed up a sportsbook's operation will have some value.

Ladbrokes in talks with billionaire Betdaq owner Dermot Desmond over 'technology' deal

Ladbrokes has started talks with Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond, the owner of the Betdaq betting exchange, over a "technology" deal to revamp the bookmaker's faltering online business.

In the latest attempt by Ladbrokes' embattled chief executive Richard Glynn to gee up its internet betting wing, the bookie is seeking to buy in pricing and trading skills of a peer-to-peer betting exchange – long seen as a main rival to traditional bookmakers.

Mr Desmond, who has a stake of about 2pc in Ladbrokes, set up Betdaq in 2000, though it has been dwarfed by larger rival Betfair.

Mr Glynn has already walked away from four online deals since taking over as chief executive in April 2010. He made highly public takeover approaches to 888 and Sportingbet before backing out, pulled out of the auction for Australia's Centrebet and had a flirtation with Playtech.

A Ladbrokes spokesman denied the bookie might also be interested in buying Betdaq, which is valued at more than £100m. "It's only a discussion about technology supply," he said. "Exchanges have good up-to-the-minute pricing technology."

He said any deal would come from £50m already set aside for investment in online gambling.

£100m price tag for Betdaq seems a little generous in the current climate. Pie in the sky stuff for them to link up with one of the big High St bookmakers, but just imagine if they did - access to a marketing budget and client base to die for. Might get Betfair thinking a bit at least....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur

lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

What shits me about match-fixing 'journalism'.

The anti-wagering media bandwagon has dozens of new members this week, all weighing in an industry they have absolutely no idea about. I'm all for getting the betting industry into the mainstream but it shits me no end when they roll out reports and celebrities who simply don't have a clue what they are talking about and don't bother to check basic facts which key arguments in their story. If this was the financial industry, making errors like this would have them in all sorts of trouble, but the same level of regulation doesn't apply because finance stock markets are supposedly all legitimate and serious, whereas sports betting is just a bit of fun for people who can never win in the long-term... according to the media. This week we have seen the sting by the Telegraph which, on the face of it, looks to be a tremendous piece of investigative work into fixing in English football. But the headlines around it are over-sensationalised yet again. Delroy Facey, a former pla