Exchange stuff

So, finally, after many years of speculation, Ladbrokes have acquired Betdaq, for Euro 30M, roughly £25m.
The rationale behind the move, is stated, as being :

( I have just tried to copy / paste from an IPad .. Article, as as usual, the piece of crap that is Apple, doesn't work. I see their shares are tanking .. I hope they go bust, they are an arrogant company, who doesn't give a shit about customer service.)

So, I will have to do it manually.

Combines Ladbrokes global brand, with a scale able betting exchange. (Liquidity can hardly get much worse).
Accelerates Ladrbokes strategy to grow digital revenues.
Enables Ladbrokes to address the full spectrum of the broader sports betting market.
Further enhances Ladbrokes liability management, with more flexible and lower cost hedging. ( This is an important point. Hopefully, they will now route hedging thru the exchange, improving liquidity. I believe they had to pay Betfair, to read the data, on the site .. By, improving liquidity n Betdaq, Ladbrokes will no longer, need to review other sites as intensively )

It will be interesting to see how Ladbrokes integrate the exchange, with their High Street presence, and websites. It's possible, it could be a very useful dimension, which may give something for Betfair to think about.
Of course, it's also possible, they use the exchange to get information, of successful punters, and may limit shrewdies .. We shall see.


Crossing the wires, late in the day, was an announcement that Andrew Black (Co-founder of Betfair), has decreased his holdings from 8.87% to 7.58%.

This seems odd, as the current CEO, Breon Corcoran, and Alexander Gersh, both spent £300k, buying shares last month, at about £6.58.

Current Betfair Share price is £6.70 .. far, far away from the listing days, when £15 seemed achievable.

I wonder what he must be thinking now .. and what Betfairs response, if any, will be, to the changing landscape.

I cannot help but feel, it was a great opportunity missed.

Posted with Blogsy