Bookies generally win, bookies sometimes lose, but the businesses that provide them with the software and technology should be the beneficiaries either way.
Playtech, which gets its income from providing software and services, produced a strong halfway performance. The stand-out was its casino division, where revenues were up by 29 per cent, driven by customer wins across various territories.
Sports was even better, but its 35 per cent rise was assisted by a strong one-off boost from the World Cup and this level of increase is unsustainable.
Bingo and poker were less strong, as these are highly competitive areas across the gaming industry. All this left earnings ahead by 28 per cent at €97.6 million.
The market was more encouraged by a promise that