A WINNING run for punters and the introduction of new taxes left Ladbrokes nursing a sharp fall in quarterly profits .
The UK’s second biggest betting firm said earnings in the three months to March 31 fell 22.3 per cent to £14.3 million after gamblers enjoyed three winning weeks when favourites won on Premier League football and had a good Cheltenham Festival.
New boss Jim Mullen, who took over in April, said he will bring forward the presentation of his turnaround plan by two months to June.
The business was impacted by the March 1 increase in machine gaming duty from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and the recent levy of a point of consumption tax. It has also withdrawn from unregulated digital markets.
Ladbrokes suffered “significant single digit millions” of losses from a small number of high rolling gamblers. The firm said its win margin was “well below” its target of 16.5 to 17 per cent.
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