Ladbrokes is not just an online bookmaker - they were one of the founders of betting as we know it as well as one of the biggest betting shop operators in the world. They are a worldwide recognisable brand synonymous with online betting. Ladbrokes were the preferred bookmaker of British aristocracy when founded are still not afraid to lay a bet. They still have a dedicated 'high rollers' division and will lay decent bets on request - a bit shortcoming for most other online bookmakers.

Horse Racing, Football, Tennis, Greyhounds, American Football, Athletics, Australasian Racing, Australian Rules, Baseball, Basketball, Bowls, Boxing & UFC, Cricket, Cycling, Darts, Financials, Gaelic Sports, Golf, Handball, US Horse Racing, Ice Hockey, Motor Racing, Motorbikes, Netball, , Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker, Novelty Betting, Speedway, Trotting, Volleyball, Winter Sports

• Best Odds Guaranteed
• In-Play Betting
• Live Streaming
• Mobile Friendly Website
• iPhone & Android Apps
• £0.10 Minimum Stake
• £2,500,000 Maximum Payout
• Asian Handicap Betting
• Fractional, Decimal & American Odds

Deposit and withdraw to your Ladbrokes account using any of these currencies… AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR.

Ladbrokes undertook a comprehensive – and overdue – redesign across their entire product range in 2013 which saw them deliver a much improved banking and sportsbook experience.

A consistent product across all platforms with a focus on ease of navigation and banking with some core requirements built in from the ground up such as Live Streaming, In-Play Betting and Best Odds Guaranteed.

They also widened their betting markets – in particular horse racing – to include several additional betting markets.

Overall the redesign was well received and have given Ladbrokes a very solid platform to offer an industry leading betting experience.

Online Sportsbook Redesign

In what is seen as a major milestone for the company, a new Sports Book design has been developed that will be rolled out through 2013. There are several new advantages of the new sports book:

• Improved Navigation – Find your bets easier with a fresh easy to use design
• Improved Horse Racing Markets – more betting markets, including ‘without favourites’, ‘match bet markets’ & more
• Live Odds Update – Odds are instantly updated without the need to refresh the page. If odds change – you’ll know about it
• Featured & Live Betting – Popular sporting events are in the featured section, with a Live section showing you what’s live now

The Ladbrokes website is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Romanian, Slovenian, Serbian, Finnish, Turkish, Czech, Bulgarian.

Ladbrokes Corporate Information and History

Ladbrokes has a long bookmaking history that started out in 1886 when 2 of the Ladbrokes founders – Schwind and Pendleton – were joined by Arthur Bendir in 1902. The operation was named after ‘Ladbroke Hall’ although the firm soon moved to London to setup offices as a bookmaker in London’s Mayfair. For the next 50 years Ladbrokes would serve as the preferred bookmaker of Britain’s aristocracy and high society and they were a bookmaker in a true sense of the word – they were required to lay bets against well informed bettors staking large bets with the associated risks.

Cyril Stein

This continued until the mid 1950’s when dwindling revenues in the post way era – and prior to the boom period in the British bookmaking industry that was about to occur – the firm was acquired by the Stein family – namely Mark and his nephew and subsequent successor Cyril Stein. In 1993 Cyril Stein would retire as chairman with Ladbrokes worth approximately £2 billion based on it’s Stock Exchange listing having being acquired for a figure thought to be £100,000 40 years earlier.

Betting Shops

Shortly afterwards in 1961 the government legalised betting shops – notably under pressure generated by the lobbying of those in the right places with something to gain – and the fact that there was a demand from a betting public. This was the foundation of the betting industry in the UK as we know it, and Ladbrokes embarked on a huge period of growth in 2 main areas – horse racing and football.

Ladbrokes intense rivalry with William Hill

It was subsequent competition between William Hill and Ladbrokes that led to a period of intense rivalry between the 2 firms in the 1960’s and there were times when it would have been glorious to be a punter!

None more so when frequent competition between the 2 firms led to unbalanced books where all outcomes generated a big loss for the bookmakers – such was their desperation to get one over on each other and both firms jostling for superiority as the UK’s leading bookmaker – which at the time was fought out in betting shops on a Saturday afternoon.

This period of intense competition between the 2 firms led to Ladbrokes accepting massive liabilities, and when football results played out on Saturday the 28th December 1963, the firm lost in excess of £1 million. To put these losses into context that was the same value that the firm subsequently floated for on the stock exchange 3 years later. They essentially lost more in betting liabilities than the value of the company itself.

Growth Years

However the growth of Ladbrokes betting shops during the period was the foundation of the business and they went on to prosper, particularly during the boom years of the 1970’s and 1980’s, and they were by now well established as one of the UK’s leading betting shops and remained one of the UK’s biggest on course bookmakers.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Ladbrokes went on a period of acquisitions – and being acquired – in the 1980’s and beyond. This started by acquiring the retailer Texas Homecare in 1986 and subsequently selling it to J Sainsbury who integrated the shops into it’s Homebase subsidiary. Ladbrokes also acquired Vernons Pools in 1993 during the boom years of football betting coupons which it subsequently sold to SportTech in 2007.

Ladbrokes & the Hilton Group

In 1999, Ladbrokes acquired Stakis Hotels and rebranded to the Hilton Group plc, however Ladbrokes returned to concentrating purely on it’s gambling and betting knowledge in 2005 with the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005, and sold it’s hotel interests to Hilton Hotels Corporation.

Gambling Act 2005

2005 was a period of intense change for the UK bookmaking industry and in particular online betting. 9% betting tax in shops had already been abolished and now the ability for bookmakers to move offshore and the passing of the Gambling Act in 2005 meant for the first time bookmakers were allowed to advertise in newspapers, TV and radio. Ladbrokes was one of the first to launch into this area with a huge campaign for which the Advertising Standards Authority received a raft of complaints – all of which were rejected.

The relaxation of advertising laws and the growth of the Internet ushered in a new period of intense growth and a new generation of punters. Gone was the shady business that revolved around smoky betting shops, and in came bright open and airy shops supported with FOBT’s (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals – i.e. casino games), backed up with offshore online betting websites.

Ladbrokes takes over BetDaq Exchange

Ladbrokes successfully completed it’s acquisition of Betdaq in 2013 and over the coming years would integrate the Betdaq exchange into it’s product offerings. The upside to Betdaq would be the increased liquidity in it’s betting markets which to Ladbrokes it was able to increase its product offering with Exchange betting.

Possible Merger with Coral

In 2015 news surfaced that Coral and Ladbrokes were in merger talks which are currently progressing. This follows a lot of consolidation within the bookmaking industry as tightening on taxation on UK bookmakers trading from offshore jurisdictions takes hold.

Online Betting & Sports Book

As one of the UK’s leading online bookmakers and betting brands, Ladbrokes are perfectly positioned to develop a leading online range of products and are well positioned to maintain their prominent position within the bookmaker industry.