British bookmaker Ladbrokes has said profits at its betting shops in the Republic and Northern Ireland almost doubled in the first six months of this year.
Operating profits at the 206 Irish shops were £12.5m sterling, compared with £6.8m a year earlier. The company said costs rose by 37.7% due to an increase in shop numbers.
Ladbrokes said good UK and Irish horse racing results helped gross win in Ireland to rise by 41.4% to £32.8m.
Across the whole group, however, Ladbrokes recorded an expected dip in first-half pre-tax profits with strong revenues from telephone betting and in-shop gambling machines.
Ladbrokes, which has over 2,500 betting shops, said pre-tax profits for the for the six months fell to £156m from £158.6m a year ago when the World Cup drew in gamblers.
The firm said its gross win increased by 19.3% to £624m. It said it would up its borrowings to kick off a share buy-back programme.
