WORLD CUP 2010 SEES MOBILE BETTING INCREASE BY 400% AT LADBROKES

Ladbrokes has today revealed that it has already taken 4 times more bets via mobile internet on the 2010 World Cup than it did during the whole of Euro 2008. This rapid growth has been driven by the increase in smartphone ownership enabling swift access to betting opportunities from any location. The upsurge has seen Ladbrokes break the 100,000 barrier for bets taken over mobile internet services on a single event for the first time.

Ladbrokes launched the first fully functional iPhone betting application (registration and deposit included) in the app store during the World Cup and usage is soaring. The app is tailored to appeal to novice and casual bettors and uses graphics and gestures that make full use of iPhone functionality. No odds are used on the application – customers just see the return they receive for specified stakes on each World Cup betting market – so for example if a customer selected a £5 bet on Carlos Tevez to score the first goal in the Argentina vs. Germany World Cup Quarter Final the app would show the potential win of £30. The application has helped mobile internet overtake traditional telephone betting for the first time at a major football tournament at Ladbrokes.

Betting turnover on Ladbrokes’ mobile channels has doubled over the past 12 months and the rapid growth is set to continue as mobile internet access becomes more commonplace and the ease of access via dedicated applications like the Ladbrokes World Cup app increases. During the same 12 month period Ladbrokes has also seen a 6 fold increase in the number of its customers that bet exclusively via mobile internet.

Ladbrokes first launched a WAP mobile betting service in 2001 and followed this with the launch of downloadable Java application in 2005. In December 2009 it launched a web application for iPhones – a service which already accounts for over a third of its mobile turnover. In addition to sports betting Ladbrokes also offers a range of mobile casino and slot games on its existing mobile platforms.

John O’Reilly, Managing Director of Remote Betting and Gaming at Ladbrokes commented: “Mobile betting and gaming is a significant growth area and smartphones, especially the iPhone, have dramatically improved the user experience. We’re delighted to be the first major bookmaker to launch a full betting application in the app store and we’ll follow this World Cup product with a range of other applications tailored to different betting and gaming audiences - the first being a tailored application for the next domestic football season.”

To use the Ladbrokes iPhone application search for 'Ladbrokes' in the app store. For Ladbrokes mobile application go to mobile.ladbrokes.com.

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For further information contact:

Ciaran O’Brien

Head of Public Relations

+44 (0) 020 7355 0340

+44 (0) 7976 180173

About Ladbrokes:

Ladbrokes is a leader in the global betting and gaming market with over 2,700 betting shops in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Spain. The Company also operates betting facilities at nine FA Premiership grounds and numerous racecourses, including Ascot.

The telephone betting operation, utilising call centres in the UK and Malaysia, services over 100,000 customers, while Ladbrokes.com, the Company's online betting and gaming facility, has attracted more than 725,000 active clients.

Betting is available in 18 languages and 18 currencies. The site incorporates the highest levels of security, which underwrite an integrated array of sports betting and gaming services available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

The company, the origins of which date back to 1886, employs 16,000 people in six countries and is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies.