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BetFred.com Owners Solds Organization for 27.2 Million Pounds

On January 31st, 2009, the BetFred.com gaming empire, which includes online bingo, casino, poker aside from its online and offline sportsbook features, has sold the entire company for 27.2 million pounds, according to a report released by the Crains Manchester Business. BetFred was founded by two British brothers, Fred and Pete Done and holds the recognition of the world's biggest independent bookmakers.

With a formidable presence both online and offline, Betfred has more than 750 outlets, five thousand employees and boasts a total turnover of 1.5 billion pounds. Originally licensed in Netherlands Antilles, BetFred is now licensed in Gibraltar as of January 19th, 2009. The brothers stated that the agreement was finalized in 2008 but they were not allowed to reveal the identity of the buyer. But the two insisted that the agreement made "commercial sense".

Betfred is best known for its sports book operations and only debut in the online gaming sector recently in 2005, with online casino and online poker sites coming up and more recently, their online bingo site and mobile betting services. Fred Done stated that the profits from the online operations of BetFred were not as substantial as they had hope. In the first year, 2.3 million pounds profit was generated from a 4.5 million pounds turnover.

In 2007, a 9.2 million pounds turnover only produced 3.3 million pounds profit. BetFred's Financial Director said that in the year to March 2008 operating profits of the group improved by 22.7 percent to 13.2 million pounds. He added that they have sold the online business but they are compelled by the terms of the agreement not to divulge any more details. The deal made commercial sense, but with their brand new partners, the BetFred brand will continue to improve in the next few years.

 

Monday, March 09 , 2009
Gerald Kernighan