Online gaming drives revenue growth at Paddy Power Betfair

Revenues rose 17% to £478 million for the three months to March 31.

Online gaming revenues surged 31% to £76m, driven by the “strong growth” of Paddy Power’s online games.

The FTSE 100 company was also buoyed by “excellent” international growth in its US and Australian markets, where revenues jumped by 47% and 20% respectively.

However, the group said its UK online sports betting business was affected by “unfavourable results” in sporting events in the UK and Ireland. Online sport revenues slipped 6% to £152m.

March football results particularly favoured customers, the bookmaker said, due to the small number of draws and winning streaks by Liverpool and Manchester City.

The betting company also said it was impacted by February horse racing, which was temporarily suspended in the UK while the Dublin Leopardstown Festival saw a string of well-backed favourites win most races.

The group was however buoyed by the Cheltenham Festival, which saw more than £250m traded on 16 million total bets across all its platforms.

Total online revenues increased by 4% to £228m compared to the same period last year, as it benefited from its £88m acquisition of Georgian betting brand Adjarabet in February 2019.

The downturn on the British high street also impacted retail sales, which slumped 2% to £77m, as 2% machine gaming growth was offset by a decline sports revenues.

Chief executive Peter Jackson said: “Trading in April has been in line with our expectations. We remain excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead for the Group.”