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13 June 2005
Betfred Launches UK Online
Casino
Bookmaker
Done Brothers is making a multi-million pound drive into the
online gaming sector.
Fred Done, the
multi-millionaire Salford-born businessman who heads the
UK's fourth largest betting shop business, is determined to
grab a share of what he calls "the sexy
industry".
Betfred.com,
the Dones' internet arm, has just launched an online casino
offering a range of games, including poker, Black Jack and
roulette, alongside the traditional web-based betting
business.
Cutting-edge software,
perfected over the last three years has been installed at a
cost of £4m, while marketing spend on the new business
this year will be around £5m and will double next
year.
Betfred.com trades in 16
currencies, 19 languages and is available 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Admitting he is a
latecomer - there are already around 200 online casinos -
Fred says: "Online at the moment is the sexy industry, it's
a worldwide business and the growth is
phenomenal.
"We are late entrants to
it, but we have got the brand and the shops on our side. We
have got to work that bit harder to make it work.
"It was a mistake on my
part (not to launch earlier) but it is a mistake that we are
rectifying. If I thought it was too late I would not be
putting all this cash into it, I would be trading the shops
and making a nice profit. It's the new gold rush, but my
belief is that the gold rush will stop and it will be the
players who know what they are doing who will make the
money. Over the next three years there will be a lot of
rationalisation. Some people will go out of business because
they don't have the right skills. We have the experience and
the brand name and the resources to succeed."
Fred, who owns the
business with his brother Peter, says the pair are in it
"for the long haul". They have rebutted numerous takeover
approaches from the big plcs and from private equity houses
keen to get a foothold in the online market.
Fred says: "We have never
opened a business with the view of selling it off quickly.
With the test of time we think we have done it right. We are
well respected in our industry."
The traditional Done
betting empire operates 505 shops spanning the length of the
country. Over the counter betting income is £655m a
year, while a similar figure is generated from slot machines
and fixed odds machines in the betting shops.
The fledgling online
business has racked up losses of £10m over the last
three years. Fred believes the concerted push into e-gaming
will soon move the business into profit.
"We expect turnover from
poker and the casino to exceed £250m within an 18 month
period, and be profitable in the next two years."
So confident is Fred that
the e-gaming arm will be a winner with punters, that he say
he would not sell the loss-making business for
£50m.
Asked about calls from
some quarters for the government to regulate the gaming
sector, because some people have become addicted, Fred says:
"We just want the government to let us continue our
business. We take the issue of under-age gambling and
problem gambling very seriously.
"We just want people to
have fun. The number of problem gamblers is a tiny
percentage, less than 0.25 per cent."
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