Betfair number jump back up

UNITED KINGDOM -- As reported by the UK Guardian: "Revenues at the betting exchange Betfair have jumped by a third after it lured record numbers of punters on the back of last summer's football World Cup and a revamped poker game.

"Marketing and a new online casino also helped Betfair enjoy a 57% leap in active users to more than 433,000 in the year to April 30, according to the private company's results published today. That drove up like-for-like revenues by 30% to £182m as Betfair shrugged off a tough regulatory environment. But one-off investments of about £12m meant pre-tax profits dipped to £25.3m from £36.5m a year earlier.

"...While rival companies have been hit by an American crackdown on online gaming, Betfair says it has been unaffected thanks to a long-standing policy of refusing bets from the United States.

"But it has sought new customers in other countries as it moves away from dependence on the UK market. Customers outside Britain contributed 38% of total revenues last year, up from 32% in 2006.

"Betfair has licences in the UK, Malta, Germany, Austria and Australia and will soon start trading in Italy..."