Full house for Playtech

"I definitely see more opportunities in these mergers," Mr Weizer said. The company is the "strategic technology provider" to each of the four groups that have announced mergers in recent weeks - Ladbrokes (LAD) and Gala Coral, Betfair (BET) and Paddy Power (PAP). Playtech was a "cornerstone investor" in Ladbrokes' equity placing when it announced the Coral move. And he pointed to the strength of Betfair's gaming growth (27 per cent), which Playtech "had a role in" and profited from.

Mr Weizer also highlighted the company's focus on regulated markets - a pool that is likely to deepen given upcoming gambling legislation in countries including Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Denmark and Brazil. "I definitely see ourselves as a natural choice for operators in these markets," he said.

The group also kick-started a major diversification strategy in the half with the purchase of three financial services businesses - TradeFX (renamed Markets Limited), Plus500 (PLUS) and Ava Trade. The latter two are due to complete in September. All the companies operate derivative trading platforms concentrating predominantly on contracts for difference.

Plus500 is an intriguing acquisition, having announced in May it was having to scrutinise its compliance with money-laundering rules. In the end it was forced to freeze thousands of customer accounts, prompting steep share price falls. Playtech then pounced with a bid at 400p. Half-year results from Plus500 suggest it may have got a bargain. Revenues for the six months to June rose nearly 20 per cent year-on-year to $127m (£82.5m), and both active and new customer numbers also grew. Mr Weizer said gaming would still likely be the dominant part of the enlarged Playtech business.

Broker Peel Hunt expects adjusted pre-tax profits of €206.9m, leading to EPS of 59.7¢ compared with €177.9m and 59.4¢.