LADBROKES, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, is to take a punt on the Italian market through a €100 million (£68 million) joint venture, but has postponed a decision on entering America following the indictment of BetOnSports.

The group, which in February gained its independence through the sale of the Hilton International hotel chain, has signed a partnership with Pianetta Scommesse, an Italian betting company, to make Ladbrokes an accredited operator.

The move is the first step in a planned investment programme of about €100 million in Italy over five years by Ladbrokes, focusing on high street shops, betting kiosks and internet and telephone operations.

The venture, for which it has paid €1.3 million for a 51 per cent stake, comes ahead of the expected deregulation of the Italian gambling market. The British company has an option to buy out its partner.

Ladbrokes is already the Irish Republic’s biggest bookmaker, with 165 shops, and it has 299 shops in Belgium. However, its move into Italy is part of a wider international expansion that in recent months has seen deals in China and Russia.

Ladbrokes is also one of two remaining bidders to run a sports lottery in Vietnam while in Turkey it has joined forces with Intralot, the Greek lottery group, to bid for the Turkish national lottery. However, it has withdrawn its interest in bidding for the new British lottery licence.

Chris Bell, chief executive, conceded that the predicament of BetOnSports had impinged on its review of the American market for internet gambling. He said that although there was no question of Ladbrokes taking any sports bets, he would wait until the outcome of a forthcoming Bill before deciding on whether to offer poker and casino games. “It remains a wait-and-see situation,” he said.

John O’Reilly, head of Ladbrokes’ e-gaming division, also played down the likelihood that it would bring its online poker and casino operations onshore next year when the Gaming Act legalises them. He said that the low-tax regime in Gibraltar made a move to the UK unlikely, although he was keen to be licensed in the UK if the Government removed the requirement that operators be based onshore.

In the six months to June 30, Ladbrokes reported a 12.3 per cent rise in operating profits from continuing operations to £151.3 million, while the gross win — the amount left behind by the punter — rose by 12 per cent to £523.1 million. The company made £17.5 million from the World Cup — exactly the same as its big rival William Hill — as a series of draws late in the tournament made up for a “dreadful” run of results in the middle part.

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