British bookmaker Ladbrokes says its profits in Ireland more than doubled last year to £14.3m. It increased its Irish betting shop numbers from 148 to 195, including the acquisition of 16 shops in Derry.
Its gross win increased by 43% to £48.9m, while costs rose by 24%.
Overall, Ladbrokes this morning reported better than expected pre-tax profits of £246.5m for 2006, up 6% on 2005.
It also said it was planning a bid to run Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino. Ladbrokes confirmed its interest in the recently announced Manchester casino and 'several' of the other 16 licences due to be made available by the British government soon.
But Ladbrokes did not give an update on a possible takeover deal with online gaming group 888, which it first approached last November.
Sir Ian Robinson, chairman of Ladbrokes, said only that discussions, while ongoing, were 'complex because of the current conditions in the US' and that the group would update the market 'when appropriate'.
