Machines gain revenue share in U.K. books

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Ladbrokes betting shops in the U.K. are seeing an increase in revenue from touch-screen roulette machines and a decline in on-site betting on sports.

The company recorded a 32 percent increase in revenue from touch-screen terminals in its 2,200 shops in the period September-December 2007. For all of 2007, revenue from machines grew 21 percent to £248 million. Sports and race betting at the shops declined 3.8 percent to £491 million.

The U.K. Gambling Commission is to review the impact of the machines and report by April 2009. A previous commission study found that one in nine roulette terminal players were problem gamblers.

Meanwhile, the U.K.’s 16th richest man, Joe Lewis, has built a £300 million, 7 percent stake in Ladbrokes. The Times reports that some analysts believe Lewis might consider engineering a move on Ladbrokes and Rank to create a gaming entity on a par with Gala Coral.

Ladbrokes is valued at about £2 billion plus another £1 billion in debt.