Bookmaker News – Speculation Again Rife Over Betfair City Listing

A friend of mine joked the other day that Betfair won’t be happy until they’ve completed world domination. That was probably a bit of an exaggeration but it may be advisable to put James Bond on standby just in case if rumours are true about the betting exchange gearing up towards a potential stock market listing in the spring. A report by news agency Reuters this week suggested a renowed City adviser (Rothschild) has already been lined up to ensure a smooth flotation of the company, though Betfair‘s managing director Mark Davies (who wasn’t, to be fair, sat in a swivel chair stroking a white cat at the time) has strenuously denied this. What is significant, however, is the fact that he refused to rule out an initial public offer in the near future should market conditions be deemed suitable. This, of course, isn’t the first time Betfair has been linked with the stock market. Back in 2005, when the company was reportedly only worth a mere £700millon, investment bankers were positively salivating over the prospect of a flotation. At the last count, Betfair‘s asset were valued at around £1.5billion and, with an average of more than12,000 bets per hour being struck on the exchange on a normal day, that figure will continue to grow. Betfair, incidentally, have recently been at the forefront of a plan for bookmakers to make a voluntary contribution to Sport England, who support various sports in the United Kingdom at grass-roots level. Bookmakers, of course, contribute to both horse and greyhound racing via a levy but there is no system in place for layers to put money back into other sports they take bets on. Proposals, however, have stalled with the Association of British Bookmakers standing firm against the government’s stance that bookmakers have a moral duty to support other sports, claiming established layers haven’t been consulted before a decision was made. It will be interesting how much strength of will the government has on this issue with an election looming!