As part of its move to digital, Ladbrokes have closed 46 stores in the last six months.
The bookmaker Ladbrokes has closed 46 stores in the last six months.
The British gambling firm closed the stores deeming them to be “under-performing”.
The move comes as the bookmaker turns to refocus its business model on online gambling, after the firm experienced a 1,100 per cent rise in mobile stakes during the 2014 World Cup.
In a year that the firm consider dismal, Ladbrokes’ pre-tax profits fell by nearly half to £27.7 million.
The firm blamed costly business upgrade on the reason for it “inevitably lagging behind”, despite the bookmaker’s strong showing during the World Cup.
As part of the nationwide restructure scheme, Ladbrokes said that further shop closures are “inevitable”. However, their online customer base continues to expand, and now, with 600,000 active mobile customers, and 326,000 new registrants signing up in the last year, the firm is still very much active.
Betting on football remains the firm’s strongest performer.
Richard Glynn, Ladbrokes CEO, said that the period of preparation has left the bookmaker “well positioned for growth”.
He said: “We have made substantial progress. We now have the products, the platforms, the people and the brand in place to deliver. The results are unquestionably poor but they are in line with forecasts. It’s also a positive narrative from Ladbrokes in that it has focused on all the things it is implementing to put it right.
“The board remains confident of the outlook for the business and in delivering a result in line with its expectations for the current year.”
The firm has also blamed bad luck for the profit decline, citing a period of “industry-wide customer friendly results” in both horse racing and football.
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