Thursday 02 May 2019 9:12 am | Updated: Wednesday 05 June 2019 9:21 am

Paddy Power Betfair share price falls as online sales slump

Paddy Power Betfair reported a 17 per cent increase in revenue in the first quarter, driven by growth in Australia and the US despite a slump in online revenue.

Shares in the betting company fell 4.7 per cent to 6,450p this morning, however, as online revenue declined one per cent, excluding gaming platform Adjarabet, due to unfavourable sporting results in February racing and March football.

Revenue in Australia was up 20 per cent to £96m and US revenue increased 47 per cent to as Betfair Casino saw 83 per cent growth.

The firm’s Fanduel brand was the number one brand in New Jersey during the quarter with a 50 per cent share of market revenues, and several other US states have draft bills in progress to legalise sports betting.

Chief executive Peter Jackson said: “Q1 was a good quarter for the group with revenues up 17 per cent, notwithstanding customer friendly sports results in the UK.

“Underlying momentum remains good for Paddy Power with 22 per cent growth in average daily activities.

“For Betfair, we continue to make good progress on the technology development work to enhance our global customer propositions which will enable use to accelerate international growth.

“Meanwhile, the geographical diversification of our online business has been fu further enhanced by the addition of Adjarabet in February, with integration progressing well.”