Britain's Most Admired Companies 2011: Gaming sector
With cutting edge technology, savvy marketing and international clout, gaming is a serious business these days.
A stunning debut for Paddy Power, topping this new-for-2011 sector and coming sixth overall. The Irish bookmaker also takes the awards for quality of marketing and innovation. Of the group operating profit of €45.3m, 81% comes from online operations. The UK’s largest high street bookie, William Hill, has 2,370 shops, but posted Q3 profits down 22% in October, thanks to losses at its phone betting arm. Third-placed Bwin.Party Digital – the company behind the PartyPoker brand – has teamed up with US casino operators MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming in anticipation of the legalisation of online poker there. Betting exchanges Betfair and Sportingbet are also pushing for global expansion.
BMAC 2011 by sector: Gaming
| QMan | Rank | FS | Rank | QG&S | Rank | AAT | Rank | |
| 888 Holdings | 3.9 | 10 | 3.5 | 9 | 6.0 | 6 | 3.6 | 9 |
| Betfair | 5.3 | 5 | 9.0 | 1 | 7.9 | 2 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Bwin.Party Digital | 6.6 | 4 | 8.4 | 3 | 7.0 | 3 | 5.9 | 5 |
| Gala Coral | 4.7 | 8 | 2.1 | 10 | 4.7 | 8 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Ladbrokes | 5.0 | 7 | 6.1 | 6 | 5.4 | 7 | 5.9 | 4 |
| Paddy Power | 8.4 | 1 | 8.7 | 2 | 8.0 | 1 | 8.0 | 1 |
| Rank Group* | 5.1 | 6 | 5.9 | 7 | 4.6 | 9 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Sportingbet | 7.0 | 3 | 6.4 | 5 | 6.5 | 5 | 6.0 | 3 |
| tote | 4.6 | 9 | 5.0 | 8 | 4.0 | 10 | 3.2 | 10 |
| William Hill | 7.6 | 2 | 6.6 | 4 | 7.0 | 3 | 6.9 | 2 |
| 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 5.4 |
(Continued)