The UK bookmaker, Ladbrokes, is struggling to get its digital platform off the ground, announcing recently yet another delay in launching its much awaited website. Today it was announced that Ladbrokes had dismissed its head of online business, Richard Ames, who has been with the company since 2009. The group said that Ames had ceased to perform his executive duties with immediate effect, dealing yet another blow to Ladbrokes.
All eyes are now on the Chief Executive of Ladbrokes, Richard Glynn, who promised to turn Ladbrokes’ digital arm around and bring it in line with other rival groups such as William Hill who are miles ahead in the race when it came to online gambling and technology.
Analysts believe that the current situation is a very difficult one, which calls Glynn’s turnaround strategy into question. They say that after being with Ladbrokes for two and a half years, since March 2010, Glynn walked away from multiple online acquisitions and eventually announced that the group would invest over £50 million in creating its own platform. However, say the analysts, instead of seeing advancement in the field, Ladbrokes has been forced to announce a nine month delay in the launch of the new online sports betting platform which should essentially be competing with groups such as Bet 365 and William Hill. By not having the right platform, Ladbrokes is missing out on important sporting events such as the UK football season.
Last month, Ladbrokes announced a profit warning, letting shareholders know that profits would not be great and leading to shares losing over a tenth of their value in a single day. The latest firing of Richard Ames would do anything to calm the already jittery nerves of shareholders and investors.
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