Britain's Most Admired Companies 2012: Gaming
It's not all fun and games in this sector: competing for the nation's spare pounds is even tougher in a downturn. But these five firms make the gambling industry look like a safe bet.
Paddy Power tops the sector again with a whopping 11-point lead. The Irish bookmaker also comes ninth overall and takes the award for quality of marketing, helped by a vigorous campaign during Euro 2012 that pushed half-year profits up 21% to €68.7m (£54.5m). Rivals have also cashed in on the busy sporting summer – operating profits at William Hill jumped 26% in Q3 and its shares have risen 70% this year. Britain’s largest high-street bookie is also mulling a takeover of online rival Sportingbet. Third-placed Betfair reckons half its punters placed a bet via a mobile device in Q1. Bwin.Party Digital, the world’s largest listed online gaming group, saw Q3 net revenues fall after a big drop in poker sales.
