Rather like a horse race with Frankel on the card, there was an odds-on inevitably about the profit warning issued by bookmaker Ladbrokes (LAD) - its second in barely six months - after its retail business was affected by low summer footfall and its consistently troublesome digital arm continued to look hobbled.
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The lack of progress in the digital arm reflects the awkward stage before the deal with Playtech has a discernible affect. As a result, the 2013 operating profit for the digital division is expected to be in the much lower range of £10m-£14m. It looks like Ladbrokes needs slightly better risk control in its digital sportsbook. The current management team also got a vote of confidence from the chairman.
