You might look at the betting and gaming industry and believe there is a whole lot of healthy rivalry, with hundreds of brands currently vying for our pennies. Many companies however, although they may appear impartial, are in fact part of the same group, and you’ll likely never know it. Like many markets, there are actually a couple of large players and the remainder are left to scramble for the rest of the habit.
It is not only the old high street bookies such as William Hill and Betfred that occupy the best spots in the biggest gaming business leagues. Many ancient online just bookmakers have already beaten the old land based operators, such as Bet365, and the world’s biggest and earliest online exchange, Betfair. Mergers between already huge companies such as Ladbrokes and Coral and Betfair and Paddy Power has generated behemoth bookies. The near future of bookmaking in the united kingdom is in the equilibrium as it risks becoming a monopoly of a very few enormous companies, very much like the energy markets.
Within this report we also look at the development of the UK gambling industry, the size of the profits made together with the progressive switch to online betting and gambling.
Largest CompaniesUK Market ShareUK Market SizeEvolution of GamblingMergers
Largest Betting Firms Ladbrokes-Coral Group Plc (possessed by GVC Holdings)
Position 1
Headquarters
London
Revenue
#2.5 Billion
Workers 30000
High Street Shops
4000
Launched 2016 (Merger)
ladbrokes-coral
William Hill were ousted from top spot after the merger at 2016 of Britain’s second and third largest bookmakers in 2015, finished 2016. The new company, imaginatively named Ladbrokes-Coral Plc, generates almost #2.5 billion in revenue every year and workers over 30,000 people and is listed on the FTSE 250.
In 2018 the new group was further bought by GVC at a deal worth roughly #4 billion, including further power to the newest on an international scale. GVC also own and run sites such as sportingbet (though we wouldn’t recommend them to bet with), partypoker and Bwin.
Ladbrokes, Britain’s oldest betting company founded in 1886, and Coral, based in the 1926, have over 200 years experience of being a bookmaker involving them. The group own nearly 4000 gambling stores, although were made to sell over 300 in the merger, and so are two of the most recognisable brands on the British high street.
Coral, began by Joe Coral an on track bookmaker from the 1920′s, grew rapidly following legalisation of off-course gaming stores in 1961, becoming one of the first bookies to make the most. Merging with another firm in 1971 to become Coral Leisure the group was acquired by Bass in 1981. In 1997 Ladbrokes chose their very first attempt to purchase Coral from Bass however that was blocked by the UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission in the time. Coral was sold to Morgan Grenfell, a private equity company in 1999 and merged with Eurobet, among the first online gaming websites, in precisely the same year. Gala bingo, founded in 1991 and operating over 150 halls using an additional online presence, merged with Coral in 2005 to make the Gala Coral Group.
Ladbrokes was started by two men who acted as a commission representatives for horses (trained in Ladbroke Hill). Following a move to London from the early 20th century that the firm became a bookmaker for rich customers. Falling on more difficult times after WWII that the business was sold for only #100,000. The identical legalisation of gambling shops that drove Coral’s rise in 1961 nonetheless reversed the fortunes of Ladbrokes also, who were afterwards floated on the stock market for #1M in 1966. With forays to the hotel (Hilton Group) and residence convenience industry the Ladbrokes team grew to second biggest UK bookmaker. Before the Coral merger Ladbrokes also acquired BETDAQ, the 2nd largest betting exchange, 2013.
The group now generate more than a third of their profits from digital sources and involving them have more online clients than any other business. For much more about every brand visit our full reviews.
Ladbrokes Review Coral Review
William Hill Plc
Position 2
Headquarters
London
Revenue
#1.7 Billion
Workers 16000
High Street Shops
2300
Launched 1934
william-hill
For a very long time William Hill were the biggest betting business in the UK with over 2300 shops and just under #2 billion in yearly earnings. The operator, that currently generates around 200 million in annual profits and is listed on the FTSE 250, comes from humble beginnings.
In 1934 the company was founded by Mr William Hill, who following some early failures and prohibited ventures found he could earn money using a loophole that permitted off-course betting using credit or post. Hill’s entered late into the gaming store industry, opening their first 5 years following the change in law in 1966, due to the founders belief they were a cancer . He relented when he noticed how fast his competitors were getting forward.
The business changed ownership several times down the years. Bought for 700 million in 1997, the brand has been sold two decades later for 825 million and recorded on the London Stock Exchange in 2002.
The William Hill group have experienced some corporate failures through the years but their competitive strategy, especially online, has enabled them to control the market landscape. Possibly the most well-known bookmaker in the world, largely down to the fact Hill’s have spread outside the UK over any other bookie, and also due to their huge amount they spend on advertising and sponsorship.
William Hill Review William Hill Casino Review
Paddy Power Betfair Plc
Ranking 3
Headquarters
Dublin
Revenue
#1.75 Billion
Workers 8000
High Street Shops
600 (UK + I)
Established 2016 (Merger)
paddy-power-betfair
Many mergers are just about money. Coral did not really bring anything new to Ladbrokes for instance, however, the merger between Betfair and Paddy Power from 2016 to make the third biggest gambling brand was surely mutually beneficial to both parties.
Paddy Power, among Ireland’s biggest bookmakers, was founded in 1988 but it was the online age that really saw the newest come to life via its often controversial advertising strategies. Holding over 600 stores across the united kingdom and Ireland and boasting retail revenues of nearly #1 billion Paddy Power brought the real world places, marketing strategy and money to the merger.
Betfair on the other hand had a very different history in the gambling industry. Located as a peer-peer gaming market as opposed to a traditional bookie in 2000, Betfair became the largest of its kind in virtually no time at all. Despite better chances on offer in the market, the market still remains fairly modest (see later) and so to be able to compete Betfair established a fixed odds sports publication in 2011. Betfair are the smaller party in the merger, making less than 500 million in earnings. For this reason PP shareholders received 52 percent and Betfair 48% of the new firm.
Paddy Power Review Betfair Review
Bet365 Group Ltd
Ranking 4
Headquarters
Stoke-on-Trent
Revenue
#2.3 Billion
Employees 3500
High Street Shops
None
Launched 2000
Bet365
Bet365 meteoric increase has come form the electronic industry, and believing that just today is the online gaming market larger than the high road (excluding national lottery) that is a fairly impressive performance. When they state in their advents that Bet365 is the worlds favourite online gambling company they really are not lying.
Launched in 2000 from a tiny temporary building in Stoke by now multi-billionaire Denise Coates, Bet365 currently produces enormous online earnings and is the biggest private employer in Stoke. They even own the soccer stadium.
Denise started the business by borrowing from her fathers mortar and brick bookmaking business, established in 1974 from Stoke City chairman Peter Coates. Selling the stores to Coral in 2005 Bet365 became an online only operator where they have gained a massive customer base of more than 20+ million people from 200 nations. The brand has the best reputation within the betting and gaming sector from the punters and insiders and boasts one of the most loyal customer bases of any business.
Often mentioned as a success story of British internet business, if you should rule out the offline gambling sector then these guys would be the greatest. Multi-award winnings and continuously developing new technologies and ideas the only way that this organization is moving in the future is up.
Bet365 Review
Betfred
Position 5
Headquarters
Warrington
Revenue
#800 Million
Workers 1000
High Street Shops
1650
Established 1967
Betfred
The Betfred journey to becoming one of the biggest independent gambling companies in the UK is much more heart-warming than most others. Launched from a single shop in Salford by Fred that an Peter Done in 1967, the team now have a multi-billion turnover as well as #1 billion in revenues annually. According to Warrington the company has never been sold or merged and remains in the same hands as it began in.
Fred Done is famous in particular for paying our ancient on Manchester United to win the league double just for them shed on both occasions (1998 and 2012). He also lost #1,000,000 in a private bet with Victor Chandler (proprietor of BetVictor) betting again on Man United, this time to finish higher than Chelsea in 2005 – which they didn’t. Despite all these misjudgements Fred is also famous for inventing the Lucky 15 and other complete cover stakes.
The company has a large gaming store performance, and since buying around 300 shops that Ladbrokes-Coral have been forced to sell now own at the area of 1650 shops in the united kingdom. Famed for being one of the very best racing bookmakers Betfred increased their vulnerability in this market by purchasing the tote in 2011 for #265. This allows them to enable totepool bets to other operators as well as supplying bespoke bag bets others don’t have. Regardless of this Betfred’s future seems mixed and will likely hinge on how well they develop on the internet in the next several years.
Betfred Review
888 Holdings Plc
Position 6
Headquarters
Gibraltar
Revenue
#600 Million
Workers 1600
High Street Shops
None
Established 1997
888-holdings
888 is a thoroughly modern gambling company, there’s absolutely no amorous rear story here. Now part of a somewhat convoluted company arrangement, 888 Holdings is the gambling arm of parent firm Cassava Enterprises. Originally founded as Virtual Holdings conducting an early casino website, casino-on-net, by 2 Israeli company guys, the company grew in step with the rise of the web.
The brand was renamed 888 in 2002 and despite taking a hard hit when online gaming became illegal in several US territories in 2006 has continued to grow in every area of online gambling. The team operate a sport (888 Sport) and poker site (888 Poker) along with several casino (e.g. 888 casino, 777 casino)) and bingo brands (e.g. 888 bingo, 888 ladies, Wink Bingo) using a distribution of 61 percent casino, 18% poker, 11% sport and 9 percent bingo.
888 are a global online specialist which will only grow in the future. The company was fined nearly #8M from the gambling commission in 2017 for failure to properly protect vulnerable gamblers in the UK. This will slow down the aggressive growth strategy of the company, although only marginally.
888 Sport Review 888 Casino Review
Kindred Group (Unibet, 32Red, Stan James, et al)
Ranking 7
Headquarters
Malta
Revenue
#800 Million
Workers 1400
Top Steet Shops
100 (Stan James)
Launched 1997
Kindred
Kindred is a title that you may likely haven’t heard of, it is in reality the rebranding of this older Unibet Group Plc following the acquisition of over a dozen other manufacturers.
Fast becoming one of the biggest betting companies in Britain and Europe that the Kindred group comprises Stan James, 32Red, Bingo.com and Maria. Unibet is of course the jewel in the crown, the Scandinavian brand has grown to become among the largest online gaming websites with over 15 million clients.
The future goal of the brand is apparent from their current history of takeovers, paying #19 million for Stan James (which contains a new real world presence) and #175 million to the top rated online casino 32Red.
Unibet Review 32Red Casino Review
Market Share And Gambling Revenue Distribution
UK online and offline gaming market share
The pie charts above show a general representation of the supply of gambling revenue in the UK. Offline gambling remains the biggest sector as this comprise the federal lottery (28%), in contrast to high street bookies (27 percent ) and land-based casinos (5 percent ) only online betting is larger (40 percent ). The tendency in offline to online is predicted to continue in the future.
Within the online marketplace casino is the biggest (slots 37% and other games 15 percent ), followed by with sports betting (40%). Exchange gambling (3%), online poker (2 percent ) and online bingo (2%).
The Size Of The UK Gambling Industry
The united kingdom gambling industry currently generates roughly #15 billion in annual revenues and is increasing quickly at up to 8 percent a year. Of this total over a third (Number 5 billion ) is created from online gaming, using a rough split of 60% casino and 40% sports gambling.
The industry as a whole is responsible for contributing around #8 billion to the UK treasury every year and directly employs over 100,000 people (perhaps up to 500,000 if you include indirect workers ).
High Street Bookmakers And Land Bases Casinos
Supply of high street gaming venuesDespite the constant change towards online betting because the turn of this millennium there are still around 9000 gambling shops in the UK (90 percent of which can be controlled by Coral, William Hill, Ladbrokes and Betfred), 600 bingo halls, 1800 arcades and 150 land-based casinos (63 owned by the Rank Group and 41 by Genting). There are in the area of 200,000 gaming machines operated in the united kingdom also, of which around 40,000 are the contentious fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
The National Lottery (and other lottery) revenues are also contained in the general gambling revenue figure. This constitute to #3.5 billion of the total, with in the region of #250 million going back to great causes.
High street bookmaking is liable for a similar figure, #3.5 billion annually, claiming over 95 percent of the non-remote gambling earnings in the united kingdom. Pool betting (like the Tote) constitutes 4 percent with different resources, such as on-track bookies, making up only 1%.
Land-based casinos generate #1 billion in annual profits. Just under half of this stems from roulette (44%), per quarter from blackjack (25%), a fifth (20 percent ) kind slots and other electronic games and the rest from other games and tables.
Online Betting And Casino
Sports betting supply in the UKApproximately 57% of internet gambling revenues comes from distant casinos. Of this three quarters derives from slots, together with the rest coming from table along with other games (an opposite trend to land based casinos). Poker, that is categorized under casino, creates less than 2 percent of the entire earnings.
Sports betting is the next most significant industry, producing up to 37% of the general revenue. Of this around 54 percent comes from soccer betting, around 32 percent from horse racing and the remainder from different resources (of which tennis constitutes almost half).
Other sources of revenue include exchange gambling (~3%), online bingo (~3%) and swimming betting (~0.5%).
In 2014 the online sector made up 29 percent of the total market share, by 2016 that had grown to 32 percent. By 2020 the industry could approach 50 percent of annual earnings generated from gambling related activities in the UK.
Evolution Of High Street To Internet Betting
Apart from the peculiar independent bookie and a number of the stalls you visit at racecourses, all bookmakers now provide online betting. Obviously, it didn’t utilized to be this way, and prior to the internet era breaking into the industry was easier said than done. For a complete history of gaming see our dedicated page.
Pre-1960′S
Prior to 1960 in the UK it had been prohibited to take bets away from horse and greyhound tracks. Betting was heavily regulated by the government and although illegal operators did exist, overall you would find it hard to put a bet from the track.
Bookies did take bets off-course through loop-holes from the law that allowed bets to be obtained by phone or via postal order. This is the way William Hill started out. If you were rich enough needless to say there were always options open to you, Ladbrokes for example started out as a gentleman’s bookmaker for high profile clients. In the event that you were nevertheless a normal working-class lad or lass nevertheless, there were quite a few choices open for you.
Even then most betting at the time was for dog and horse racing only. Football betting was mostly outlawed, except for non stakes pool gambling syndicate games, like the football pools (which still exists today).
Basically before 1960 betting was not very easy as you had to go to some race-track to do it (or do it illegally in a rear street gaming den). That is unless you’re rich when the law didn’t really apply to you and you could bet through discreet retailers.
1960 Betting And Gaming Act And Betting Shops
Betting shopIn 1960 the authorities eventually embraced the new age. Normal people had more disposable income in their pockets and they wanted more freedom with how to spend their cash. The gambling action for the first time allowed off-course gaming and from the next year, May 1961, a whole plethora of new gambling shops opened throughout the duration of the nation in a rate of 100 a week.
Betting was still largely restricted to horse racing, with principles set up like the’trebles principle’ on soccer. This meant all footy bets needed to be accumulators with 3 or more choices differently you couldn’t wager. The only sports you could put singles was rushing.
Still this new sector was adopted by the people of Britain, sowing the seed that eventually resulted in the UK becoming the largest gambling state (per head) in the world.
Among the very first people to open one of these new betting shops was Joel Coral and 10,000 stores have been reported to have opened within the initial 6 months. Paradoxically the UK’s now largest high street bookie, William Hill, originally refused to start betting shops, stating they were a cancer on society. He reneged at 1966.
1970s And 1980s
The bookmaker industry grew exponentially in the decades following legalisation of high street gambling. By the 1970′s there have been 15,000 shops in the uk.
This is the time when many of the largest names we know now made and solidified their standing. Britain’s oldest bookmakers, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral were making so much they even began to invest in other leisure businesses.
1990′S
Despite the huge achievement of high street bookies in the past three decades the industry had a restricted clientele. The huge majority of punters utilizing gaming stores were working class men and the standing of shops as being seedy dark dens filled with smoke and foul language didn’t help to change this.
Bookies sought to make a larger customer base by introducing new features, such as live game in stores and new football coupons to promote more diverse customers and bets. The removal of this’trebles rule’ on soccer in 1990′s moved a fantastic way towards supporting the bookies branch out, with punters now able to back singles on a range of sports.
A progressively better picture, wider range of stakes and markets, even more televised sports (particularly Premier League soccer ) and also an ever-increasing disposable income, saw the fortunes of bookmakers rise again.
By the mid-1990′s the sector seemed locked down with five massive companies dominating the landscape, along with a few independents across the nation. Many believed betting and gaming would be like this forever. That was before the internet came along.
New Millennium And The Internet Online betting 2As the 1990′s drew to a close a brand new threat started to emerge into the older established order, online betting. This was more dangerous to the established high street bookies than you might imagine.
High street bookmaking was controlled by different betting and gambling functions and much more importantly stakes were taxed (9p/#1 staked). Online gambling however was a little bit like the wild west, so you can basically set up in which you desired, launch a site and begin accepting bets from clients — tax free.
Although avoiding tax on gaming bets and winnings was at the time illegal it was nearly impossible to police. New companies together with the old high street bookies began to install new sites, mainly based off coast in Gibraltar or Malta, to make the most of this tax free trade (many are still located there today).
In the late 1990′s and early 2000′s the industry share online was very low and even though the new unregulated online trade was a concern it wasn’t widespread enough to induce changes yet. The bookies were still making enough from the large street even though tax averting new manufacturers were now taking a percentage of the profits.
Victor Chandler And Tax
In 1999 Victor Chandler (now BetVictor) transferred his bookmaking company off coast to Gibraltar in protest in the betting tax prices in the UK, selling his 41 stores to Coral. This allowed Victor to supply betting opportunities to global customers, particularly from Asia, without paying UK tax. It also enabled UK punters to bet with no paying the 9p/# stake tax.
It’s thought it was this decision that led the then UK chancellor, Gordon Brown, to remove the betting tax in 2001. Saying that although he eliminated the tax paid directly by the punter new taxes were imposed on the bookies profits left in the UK and by this point the boat had mostly sailed and many conventional bookies were conducting their online operation from overseas.
2005 Gambling Act
gambling act 2005
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