GAMBLING INSIDER

Ladbrokes Coral continues to grow steadily in Australia in the face of possible upcoming changes in regulation.

From 1 July South Australia will introduce a 15% tax on all bets placed in the state, while the federal government is considering the possibility of imposing the same tax rate across the country.

Such a development would be troubling for the Northern Territory, which has already established a good base for the industry by offering favourable tax-rates.

However, Ladbrokes Coral Chief Executive, James Mullen, was very positive when reflecting on the company’s future in the region: "In Australia, we continue to knock it out of the park, staking up 68%, with net revenue up 67%.”

Asked specifically about the prospect of tax laws changing in the Northern Territory, Mullen was upbeat. “If that happens, we'll deal with it. We have some mitigating plans in place to address that, but we're just waiting for the regulators to see if we have some more information.”

He added that he did not see any changes for Australia in the short term, and pointed to Ladbrokes’ success. “With regard to the strategy for Australia, I mean, frankly, we’ve been delighted with the growth rates that we have there,” he said.