Betfair, the world's biggest betting exchange, reported an 11% rise in third quarter revenue, beating market expectations, with strong demand for betting on the Australian Open tennis and horse racing driving growth.
Betfair said the Australian Open had been particularly popular with the marathon five-set final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadel prompting a raft of in-play betting.
"We had our best ever Australian Open, which culminated in almost £50m sterling of bets being placed in the final," acting chief executive Stephen Morana said.
Betfair, founded 12 years ago by one-time professional gambler Andrew Black and former JP Morgan trader Ed Wray, said third quarter revenue rose to £85.3m, just beating forecasts of €84.8m.
The company has struggled since it listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2010, seeing its share price fall by a third on the back of intensifying competition from rivals such as William Hill and concerns over the tightening of gambling laws in some parts of Europe.
It has responded with the launch of a marketing campaign, drawing attention to the more generous odds that it offers gamblers compared with bookmakers.
Betfair acts as an intermediary between gamblers wanting to place a bet or offer odds to others, taking a commission on their wins and offering an alternative to traditional bookmakers who take bets directly from customers.
Morana, the company's finance director, is holding the CEO role on a temporary basis ahead of the arrival of Breon Corcoran, who will join the company in August from Paddy Power .
Mr Corcoran, 40, took over as chief operating officer at Paddy Power last year. The former JP Morgan employee was heavily involved in Paddy Power's expansion into Australia as well as its strong online business which has seen it take the lead in the fast-growing mobile phone market in the UK.
The company also confirmed today that Ed Wray would step down as chairman and be replaced by ex-Railtrack chief executive and city veteran Gerald Corbett.
