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From the FT "AUGUST 22, 2017 by: Murad Ahmed, Arash Massoudi, Neil Hume and Bryce Elder Online gambling group GVC approached Ladbrokes Coral, the UK bookmaker, in recent weeks with a takeover offer worth as much as £3.6bn to create one of the world’s largest betting companies. According to two people close to the discussions, the talks broke down and are no longer active. But they are the latest sign that British gambling groups are preparing for a fresh round of consolidation, with dealmaking disrupted as the industry braces itself for further regulatory crackdowns from UK authorities." https://www.ft.com/content/280666e6-8741-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787
Gaming_group_GVC_held_takeover_talks_with_Ladbrokes_Coral_sources
The sp seems to be pushing gently upwards and while the Government Review is a worry the market can see beyond that. Easy to understand business, making money and people continue to gamble in good times and bad.
Or reasons to hold and see what unfolds. 17% improvement in online trade, perhaps a chance of market consolidation and a better dividends.
The share price has been held back by the fear that the government will impose drastic restrictions on in shop machines which will hurt profits. Those calling for drastic restrictions will be disappointed. The government needs money. Bookies are golden eggs. They might impose a stricter code of conduct in the form of warnings to be more visible to punters or a small reduction from the £100 maximum bet. They certainly won't want to cause shop closures and industry contraction. I think the business update on Thursday will be quite positive. Sporting results have been in bookmakers favour recently.
Yes they are hopeless I haven't used my Ladbrokes account for ages. I haven't stopped punting . They have made no attempt to get me back and I guess many others trawl around the other operaters hovering up free bets who don't return as they feel they aren't,'appreciated Bet 365 often pop the odd fiver into your account or send you some money back on a loser which is a nice little touch Its ironic I hold shares here but don't use either Ladbrokes or Corals I wish the real reason was I was holding my account back so I didn't impinge on their profits! There must be a whole load of punters who have opened up an account and have been untapped
More here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-launches-enforcement-action-against-gambling-firms
Ladbrokes and William Hill are among five online firms being investigated by the CMA - Competition and Markets Authority - relating to unfair sign up promotions and making it difficult to withdraw your money. I myself have had experience of this, casino bonuses where you have to wager "X" amount of times your initial deposit in order to withdraw the bonus and also having to provide a copy of my passport, a utility bill and a copy of my debit card used, before any winnings were paid out. They hide behind money laundering as being the reason, but really they're hoping you cannot be bothered and will just lose the money back. It wouldn't surprise me if this escalated into the next PPI style scandal. I recently tried to place a bet on the horses online with Coral - nothing happened. I opened online chat and was informed a decision was made by the trading team that I could no longer bet on any Sports events but i was free to carry on using other parts of the site like the casino. Why didn't someone have the courtesy to e-mail about the decision made? Online bookmaking really is the most dishonourable profession out there.
JP Morgan also issued an “overweight” rating on 888 Holdings describing it as “an attractive online pure-play”,
They have been tipping LADS, with others, for months. I'm still waiting, grumpily for the bounce!
Market Report: Shares in Ladbrokes Coral jump as JP Morgan names bookmaker its 'top pick' Buyers of Ladbrokes Coral were back in the saddle as JP Morgan named the bookmaker its “top pick” in the gaming industry. Shares galloped 1.1p, or 1pc, ahead to 115.5p, as the US investment bank began covering the stock with an “overweight” rating citing earnings per share growth and attractive valuation. In a wider sector note, JP Morgan said that gaming stock valuations appear to be pricing in a consistent growth premium for online players and a bear case regulatory scenario only affecting retail-exposed players. “Online players are not immune from regulatory risk,” analyst Jaafar Mestari said. Bookmakers have been bracing for a regulatory hit on profitable gambling machines. A government review of fixed-odds betting terminals was called in December, but the result was delayed due to the general elections. JP Morgan also issued an “overweight” rating on 888 Holdings describing it as “an attractive online pure-play”, while it began covering Paddy Power Betfair and William Hill with “neutral” ratings.
The main problem with these machines is they are one armed bandits disguised as games of chance They are computer programmed to ultimately win which means the compulsive gambler who endlessly plays is doomed to failure As John Banks once said "licences to print money" Different to having a punt on a horse race or a football match
Although I agree that there is more money staked online than is put into Fobts, I find the comparison irrelevant from a personal perspective. I do some voluntary work for the Samaritans and find we take an enormous amount of calls from people addicted to these machines. I personally haven't had a case study to deal with that has involved on line gambling. Maybe my experience isn't the norm - I will do some asking around. I do find it very sad dealing with cases of fobt addiction. Unfortunately many families have been torn apart and the suicide rate from gambling addiction is very distressing. I guess unless you have that particular gene inside you then it's difficult to accept how difficult it is for people to break the chain. Fortunately when they come to us they have taken the first step - many probably don't get that far. Hopefully the eventual outcome of the government review will recommend a sensible way forward.
Disagree entirely. The amount of money staked on these machines is miniscule compared to the amount staked online. There is nothing morally wrong with the machines. You might as well say all gambling including the national lottery is morally wrong. If people want to use them they should be allowed to.
I dont understand the argument that the bookmaking industry is putting across regarding the 20,000 job losses should the stake sizes on fobts be slashed. The only reason there are so many high street bookmakers compared to say fifteen years ago is purely because of the machines anyway. Just because something makes money doesn't mean that what's morally right and wrong should be ignored. The labour government should never have allowed their introduction in the first place and we wouldn't be wasting all this time and money dealing with reviews and the fallout in society. Take them out and move on.
I wonder if they'll ever offer an IPO? Them and BV miles ahead of the competition as far as I'm concerned without the FOBT saga casting a cloud. LCL happy to restrict winning customers on horse racing etc to peanuts but crying like babies over the thought of stakes being reduced from £100 to £2 on the machines! Want to have their cake & eat it spring to mind.
Modest uptick since I started buying and hoping that the promised cost savings come through this year.
Nothing in the budget on FOBT. It would seem a delay till the summer. I think it will be hard for the chancellor to give up the tax income.
Well that day is now here. Papers have speculated on same subject but it does not appear to have been leaked early like some "expected" announcements. Not sure on the merits of delaying any implementation, apart from my divi's but then it might depend on how or why they spin on any reduction.
Just saw this article Ladbrokes loses appeal over £71m tax avoidance case in the FT,do you think that this information is already in the share price or are we in for a bad start on monday morning ?
Just saw this article Ladbrokes loses appeal over £71m tax avoidance case in the FT,do you think that this information is already in the share price or are we in for a bad start on monday morning ?
gvc looking back to bid for ladbrokes
Not sure as LCL may well be subject to shorting and day trading. My view on the business is to Keep Calm and Carry on Investing. Loner term investors might have to be patient to see the full rewards of the merger but folks like a flutter even in recessions.....having said that, is investing any different from betting?
Ladbrokes/Coral there was more shares brought yesterday than sold 2043 trades Vol. Sold 1,654,471 Vol. Bought 3,069,276 can anybody please explain this as I would of thought if more were brought than sold the share price would go up thank you.
Good point! My guess is that the government will make a decision on FOBT's at the March 2017 Budget. To be enacted April 2018. Obviously the share will react north or south depending on what is stated.