Betfair Financials Promising

Thanks to a new online casino, a revamped poker room, and a sharp up-tick in customers, Betfair has seen its annual revenues improve mightily.

Betfair reports that its active customers at the end of April total more than 443,000, and that total customers have now eclipsed one million.  Based in the UK, the bookmaker has reduced its reliance on UK customers, as overseas customers now contribute 38 percent of total revenue, compared to 32 percent in 2006.  The company holds licenses in Australia, Malta, Austria and Germany.

Revenues were up 30 percent to £182 million, producing £48 million in earnings, an increase of 26 percent.  But one-time investments of £12 million actually caused pre-tax profits to fall to £25.3 million from £36.5 million.

Betfair is one of the few online gambling companies that was unaffected by the UIGEA, as it did not accept U.S. customers before the passing of the legislation.