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A daily podcast delving into the biggest stories of the day throughout the sports betting and igaming sector.
Charlie Horner (00:02.386)
Entainers published a financial statement for its Ladbrooks brand in Ireland with the nation's company registry office. It revealed that its brand delivered a profit for the calendar year of twenty twenty five, but questions remain about a company that has had plenty of cost cutting in a nation that is entering a new regular.
You can you've you've still got me, have you? Sorry guys.
Ted Orme-Claye (00:27.102)
Yeah, broke up a little.
Charlie Horner (00:28.69)
Yeah, I thought I did. I go from the top.
Charlie Horner (00:36.796)
Entain has published a financial statement for its Ladbrooks brand in Ireland with the nation's company registry office. It revealed that its brand delivered a profit for the calendar year of 2025, but questions remain about a company that has been cutting plenty of costs in a nation that is entering a new regulatory era. So, what's the story with Ladbrooks Island and how will the brand compete in the new regulatory regime under the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland?
Welcome back to iGaming Daily, supported by Opsimove, the creator of positionless marketing and the number one player engagement solution for sports betting and iGaming operators. I'm Charlie Horner and today to dissect all of this one with me, I've got the SBC News Double Act. I've got editor Ted Ornclay and journalist Patrick Kaleen. Ted, how's things?
Ted Orme-Claye (01:24.18)
Yeah, pretty good, Charlie. Yeah, it's been a busy week back from Lisbon. We've rushed into a lot of, yeah, like I was saying to you and Martin the other day, actually just rushed back into a lot of news to pick back up on, checking over all the old panels and interviews are done there. But yeah, doing pretty well, I think. Patrick's written quite a good article covering the Ladbrokes Island news, which is one of the many, yeah, many things that we've had to come back to. So yeah, good stuff, good week.
Charlie Horner (01:52.148)
Very good. And Patrick, how are you?
Patrick Killeen (01:54.754)
Yeah, yeah, good thanks. similar to Ted really, back from Lisbon, kind of juggling, dissecting everything that we did there with with ongoing news and obviously this is this is kind of one of the big things that has happened so far this week or that we've reported on so far this week.
Charlie Horner (02:11.412)
Yeah, I think this is an interesting story to take a look at this week because it gives us a bit of a glimpse into what one particular brand is up to in one particular market. And and Ireland is an interesting market and we'll get we'll get to it in the back half with its new regulatory regime coming into force this year. but it's always nice to see how the the big operators are performing in these markets. So Patrick, you wrote this one up for SBC News. Could you give us a bit of an overview of the numbers? How did Labrooks perform in Ireland during twenty twenty five?
Patrick Killeen (02:40.609)
Yeah, you say it's nice to say, Charlie, but there re there are still kind of this is another example of struggles that a an operator is having in the retail market. They overturned a one point three million euro loss to a three hundred thousand euro profit for twenty twenty five, with it being a company's registration office statement.
you I it's not like PLCs, is it really where you're kind of working with some of the most recent data available. You're working back on something that has now occurred between what, ten and twenty two months ago. there's a bit of a a gap and obviously we know
With the updates that Lab Brooks' Irish Unit has given in twenty twenty six so far, and with the the wider regulatory framework changing and with tax in well, I suppose tax changes and just the entire kind of shift in Ireland, well and tax changes in the UK for entane. we won't really be provided that information until this time next year, I suppose, but
This we kind of from the what what information we've got, we've seen a drop in staff costs from fifteen point four million euros to fourteen point two million euros. headcount from five four two to five two six. So there was still kind of a a concentrated effort to to to drop costs this time.
well for twenty twenty five rather you know even before kind of wholesale regulatory change and entertained home market of the UK. but this th this drop in expenses and drop in costs also came alongside a a dip in revenue. So revenue dipped nearly ten percent from thirty six point eight million to thirty three point two million. So
Patrick Killeen (04:32.621)
Well, Brooks Island has, you know, we've seen over the years, we've seen as recently as like the the the the talks with bar one racing two, as far back as as Boyle Sports offering for the business over ten years ago, that they're they've they're not a company that has ever been able to shy away from struggles and they're they're definitely not a company that has not publicly been involved in in financial hardship and
you know, it's kind of still relying on the backing from the wider entane group to to to continue as a going concern at the moment.
Charlie Horner (05:05.044)
Yeah, absolutely. I think your your headline on on SBC News refers to the fact that it it has delivered a small profit, but from from the the body of that article and and your your tone here, Patrick, it's it's it's clear to see that you're not you're not too optimistic about about the the brand at the moment. Ted, I'll just bring you on in on this as well. do you think that Lebrook's Island is in a somewhat unenviable position and a and if so, why?
Ted Orme-Claye (05:34.791)
Yeah, mean, know, Patrick's given us a very good breakdown there, I think there's a couple of different parts to this story and there's always the moving part of like what Patrick mentioned of the fact that this brand has been subject to acquisition interest in the past. there's, you know, we've always seen some speculation around this as recently as I think the bar one talks, which from what we understand have ended some time ago and didn't lead anywhere. But
You know, on the face of it, we look at these results and it is an impressive turnaround from such a big loss to now being, yeah, making profit, 300,000 euro in profit. Obviously there's always a bit of an uglier and a darker side to that and that as Patrick mentioned, there's been some job losses associated with this. It's one that you can never shy away from. Yeah, obviously that's never a positive thing. But I think the overarching theme we're seeing here, again, as Patrick mentioned, is that
While Ladbrokes Island has got itself in a better financial position through what appears to be some very rigid cost cutting, it is still kind of finding itself dependent, it seems, at least from what we've seen, on the wider Entain Group. And this is coming at a time when the wider Entain Group is facing a huge tax burden in its home market of the UK. And...
I guess there's all, and we've seen shop closures this year as well in Ireland. Often when you see talk of a Ladbrokes shop closures, I've often seen more talk around them in Ireland than I have in the UK, I think. So I guess maybe there is a bit of a worry that perhaps Entain will eventually kind of be forced to continue cutting down the Ladbrokes Island brand to reduce its overall spend and.
help prop up the far larger and more lucrative UK operation. That being said though, obviously, Adbrokes Island still has an online brand. It's one of, I'd say it's still one of the top five in Ireland along with probably Paddy Power, Bet365, Boyle Sports, and I don't know, maybe William Hill. think they've still got a decent foothold there as well, haven't they?
Ted Orme-Claye (07:49.459)
So maybe what we'll see is the speeding up of the business becoming much more online led in Ireland as a result of this kind cost cutting that Entain's been having to adopt across the board.
Charlie Horner (08:05.588)
Yeah, I think it's safe to say that cost cutting has been the the theme of the story here. But Patrick, it did did Entain give any any commentary around the financial performance during twenty twenty five? And you said earlier that the you know the brand Ladbrooks Island is is fairly reliant on on investment from from the wider group. Are there any guarantees that that investment is going to continue?
Patrick Killeen (08:29.471)
So the the antenna not demanding the immediate repayment of the the six point four million euros owed and they're basically have guaranteed the the the the continued backing of the Labbrooks Island island brand at the moment. And as we as you just mentioned r regarding c cost cutting, it's not
something that is limited to to Irish businesses or UK businesses or European businesses really or you know, anywhere. but the y you see, you know, th think about the companies that Ted just listed as some of the top brands in Ireland. They're so intertwined with the UK market and and and a few of them have like that retail portfolio like like Flutter with Paddy Power. that sometimes the you know it is easy to
to cut a maybe the the underperforming shops or, you know, the underperforming sides of the business which which would Labbrooks Island might might come under. What we we do have in terms of commentary from Entain is is around the decision to shut shops this year. You know, they said that they were gonna close thirty nine of Ladbrook shops in Ireland earlier this year.
Because of cost pressures, changes in customer behaviour, and that as Entain so often does do, reference to the black market. Now, that will obviously materially impact the twenty twenty-six results this time in twelve months when we're talking about Labbrooks Island. You know, it's quite easy to say we could be looking at a business in serious trouble, but it you know, they they're not just it's not just a random allocation of shops that they've closed. They will have closed shops that are
Definitely the underperforming ones, maybe ones that are no longer profit making, maybe lost leading, so maybe those ones that stayed open, you know, if you go not never mind going from bookie to bookie, going from one company's bookmaker to the exact same brand down the road or in another town can be a completely different different experience, right? so I mean, looking forward to
Patrick Killeen (10:47.243)
to next year with a with a slimmer retail estate, it doesn't necessarily mean that yes, it it will almost definitely mean a a drop in revenue, but it doesn't necessarily mean even worse results or that they're the bottom line will not improve yet again as it has done this year. You know, it's not all doom and gloom really around around the brand at the moment. I don't think as you know you said, Charlie, there's not too many positives to pick at, but there are definitely some.
Charlie Horner (11:15.828)
Well, that's a great overview and and touches on a couple of points that that certainly worth worth raising. But Ted Patrick will take a very short break and and we'll come back and we'll put this in the context of some of the regulatory ongoings in in Ireland.
Charlie Horner (11:33.361)
Welcome back to iGaming Daily. Patrick, you mentioned before the break there that there's been shop closures and that that's what Entain or Ladbrooks Island was was commenting around in its in its release. and I I guess the the point I just want to make on that is that you know when when more regulation comes in or or taxes come in on on online gaming like they did in in the UK, Ted, th I think
proponents of those tax risers are quick to say that it's the online operations that will be impacted, that the retail is protected and we saw that in the UK. But do you think that this shows that those two aren't necessarily linked and if there are underperforming parts of the business they will be the ones to face the the the axe if if you like?
Ted Orme-Claye (12:22.47)
Yeah, I mean, you we're probably going to make a lot of comparisons between the UK and Ireland, because as Patrick mentioned, there's a lot of brands that are active in both. Well, in fact, like all of the five top brands I mentioned in Ireland earlier, obviously all active in the UK and all very big brands here too.
the markets are very similarly structured I think, both markets have very strong, sports is a very strong cultural and community aspect, a big part of the entertainment industry therefore links very heavily with betting obviously and drives a lot of volume around that. But anyway, yeah, so to go back, go to your point around the retail question, yeah, ultimately, we need to look at the fact that these company, the company,
Nearly every company that runs a retail business has an online proposition. There's very few out there now apart from some independent chains who are retail only and When you run an omni-channel business like that ultimately you are going to look at when you when you've got a Heavy attacks bill to deal with
You are going to look at where can we just cut costs as a group? You're not just looking at that one particular segment. in both the UK and Ireland over the past decade plus, we've seen more people naturally really migrating towards online platforms as opposed to retail platforms. And the pure reason for that is the convenience, isn't it? At the end of the day, just being able to put a bet on in your pocket before you go in to watch a football match or whatever, go into a race or to go into the pub to watch something or to watch it at home.
whatever. That therefore has meant that the retail sector has become less, there's less profit coming from it.
Ted Orme-Claye (14:06.164)
This is a process we've seen playing out for some time and I think like I've said on previous podcasts I think the the tax burden the new taxes are just in many cases are probably accelerating that Process, I think a lot of operators will have already been eyeing will have already been expecting to shut down more shops over the coming years The the increase in taxes has just given them more of an incentive to do that. I think in Entain's case Like I said earlier, it's going to be
looking at the Irish retail assets as just being somewhere where, that's a cost-cutting measure for us to protect the revenue we're making in the UK from these taxes that biting into the bottom line, essentially. So like you say, Charlie, there's plenty of links in between them, despite some measures that the government may have attempted to put in place to exclude the retail sector from that. It will always feel the knock-on effect, I think.
Charlie Horner (15:05.03)
Absolutely. And we don't want to offend any of our Irish listeners and we want to make clear that the UK and Ireland are very separate, but a lot of a lot of operators do report do report the UK and Ireland in in yes, e exactly.
Ted Orme-Claye (15:13.8)
Yeah.
UK and I, and yeah, Entain and Flutter both have UK and I sections, don't they? it's, yeah, it's grouped in as a region, isn't it?
Charlie Horner (15:24.934)
Absolutely. So they are inextricably linked. Yes. Yeah. we'll we'll we'll double down on on on the UK and Ireland being two separate entities, Ted, because Ireland has launched a new regulatory regime that went live in the summer, and that's under the direction of the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland, which gained authority over the market, I believe, in July. for listeners who aren't
aren't aware, Ted. Could you give us an idea of what this new market looks like and what it means for operators such as Entain and Labbrooks Island?
Ted Orme-Claye (16:03.7)
Well, yeah, so as you said, so the regulator took charge of market, fully took charge of the market in July. It's been active for over a year, I think, but has been, you know, gradually building up its responsibilities, taking charge. There's been a transition period, I think, from the...
The effect kind of the defacto regulator before and which was the the Irish revenue commissioners, which was a body, the body that issued online licenses for online and retail, the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland.
has now taken full control over that. It was established by a bill back in 2024, which I think was in a development for about two years with the objective of modernizing islands gambling regulations, which were many decades old and would really no longer fit for the requirements and the demands of the modern online market because they predated the internet basically.
The gambling regulator authority of Ireland has got the remit over licensing. There's also a social impact fund that operators need to be aware of that they pay into every year with funds spent on harm prevention, treatment, education and so on.
It's been hailed by lot of the stakeholders we've spoken to in Ireland as obviously a huge milestone for the country's market. It's the most significant development for the market, like I said, in many decades. And I think, I mean, most operators I've spoken to see it as an incredibly positive development because the country needed, like we say, that modernization and both operators, the government and...
Ted Orme-Claye (17:57.265)
treatment stakeholders and so on needed some more clarity on that obviously like a lot of markets and with regulations there's still some
There's still some sticking points, marketing being a big one. We're seeing that as a topic of conversation across countless markets right now from Ireland to the UK, to the Netherlands, to Belgium, to Australia, as we've also spoken about on the podcast lately, just due to the visibility of that. And like I mentioned earlier about Ireland being such a big sporting nation, the connection between betting marketing and sports.
is always a controversial area I think but overall from what I've seen the the regulatory update is being well received
the the gambling regulator authority has been working quite a lot with other international regulators as well and setting up some some good connections and relationships there so yeah overall i it's very positive and i would also i'm going to give some props to the irish government as well for what i think was looking back over those couple years was a very effective legislative process
They got the job done very effectively I think much more effectively than our government over here who as you'll remember Charlie from when we were journalists covering this You know was open that gambling app review was overseen by about 13 different ministers and got delayed about four or five times at least I think so yeah the Irish government Fair play good job I'm sure that I'm sure though. I'm sure they'll really appreciate that coming from coming from me, you know
Charlie Horner (19:26.633)
Wow.
Charlie Horner (19:31.709)
Well that's that's scarcely believable. Political praise on iGaming Daily. The iGaming Daily government of the year goes to Ireland. Well done. but but that is I mean Patrick, I'll bring you in now because that's I mean that is that is a rarity. We we joke about it, but it is a rarity that we see a re regulation or a modernisation of a market and it and it is well received by by industry. We you know, we look at the UK, we look at the Netherlands, we look at Germany and and there are issues and and the industry is not
Ted Orme-Claye (19:32.898)
Hahaha
Charlie Horner (20:01.908)
not shy in making those issues heard. I guess just compare what what's going on in Ireland s to elsewhere in Europe and and I guess how how nice is it or how refreshing is it to see a modernisation that seems to have listened to the industry?
Patrick Killeen (20:19.051)
Yeah, I we was talking last week in Lisbon a lot about about the UK and machine games duty and and it all the discourse around that. And Ferd asked, is the UK still an attractive market for operators? Is it still something that that that everyone is y you know, in decent communication with? Is it is it still cohesive or will people start looking elsewhere? And I Well, no, it doesn't look very attractive at the moment, but
Neither does anywhere else, really. So it's it's kind of a as you say, it's just to just to hammer home the point how how swiftly this has been done and how well received it has been done is in twenty twenty six in this industry is.
Almost like a miracle, really, right? I mean there will still be issues and there's still a lot more to decide. But you I think we're kinda seeing early entrance into the into the Irish market under the full governance of the G R A I. It's a tough one to say. I think I think maybe Dragon Belt, was it Ted that entered into the market recently? So
Ted Orme-Claye (21:25.2)
Yes it did, yeah that was quite an interesting one yeah.
Patrick Killeen (21:28.031)
There's st and I'm not saying no one's entering into the UK or other markets, but th there's there's clearly still an appetite for for the market. i in terms of Ireland as a as a as a wider place for for companies to to enter or to sustain themselves in. You've got Ted mentioned briefly before the the the the the the love for sport in Ireland, the the connection between sport, particularly racing.
But also a wide r range of other sports and and and the industry which which can cause problems in terms of debates around marketing and things like that. But it doesn't you know, it's it's kind of similar to the UK where that base, that consumer base of of people wanting to involve themselves in sport and and betting is still there. So it d I mean, kind of turn going full circle and going back to Lab Brooks if they're picking their most successful
the most successful part of their retail estate to continue then but we'll kind of have to wait and see around what what happens this time next year, for what hap what has happened since their their shop closures. But Ireland as a as a whole, it is I don't know, kind of answered this in the most long winded way possible, but yes, it is a it is a
a a a stark kind of difference in the the sector to what's going on in a almost every other country that we report on at the moment, I think.
Ted Orme-Claye (22:57.51)
one thing I would say is we have seen some
I think we have seen some murmurs around the potential for the tax rates to be increased in Ireland as well. So it wouldn't surprise me if we start to see some more conversations and lobbying about that, similar to what we've seen in a lot of the other markets we cover. So maybe not everyone's out of the woods yet. think governments in general, as we've said on many other podcasts, are looking for investment, looking for funds at the moment. And Ireland, the Irish government, by the looks of it, is no exception. And they're looking at potentially increasing the
duties so yeah watch this space on that one I think
Charlie Horner (23:37.416)
The Irish government was government of the year for all of three minutes, Ted. That was that was a shame. but okay, on on that note, well th there are opportunities in Ireland and yeah, we'll we'll see how Ladbrook's Ireland continues to develop and and we'll continue to see how how the the G R A I i you know i is enacted as as a regulator and we'll monitor everything to do with Ireland on SBC News and iGaming Daily. But for now, Ted, Patrick, thanks ever so much for joining me.
Thanks to Optimu for supporting the show and to our listeners, thanks for tuning in to today's episode of iGaming Daily and come back tomorrow to keep up to date with all the latest global gambling news.