Ladbrokes launches a new version of its online sportsbook this week and plans to live stream over 30,000 sporting events on the site in 2010.
Ladbrokes has invested over £3 million in securing internet broadcast rights to a range of sports which, with the exception of horseracing, will be free to view for registered Ladbrokes customers.
The new site focuses heavily on betting in play with a dedicated module on the home page featuring current betting events, with links to the live streaming service Ladbrokes TV when live pictures are available. Customers accessing the horseracing coverage must place a minimum £1 bet to access the service.
Events covered include top flight football from eleven countries including Italy, Portugal and Brazil, FA Cup matches, International football, UEFA Champions League qualifiers, Europa Cup matches and Asian Champions League matches. In addition to football, live sports coverage extends to tennis where the events include Wimbledon, the Australian Open and ATP events as well as cricket with live pictures of the Australian Twenty20 league. Ladbrokes TV will also cover a wide range of events from snooker, darts, basketball, volleyball and pool.
Betting in play accounted for 43% of sports betting turnover (excluding racing) on Ladbrokes.com in 2009 and continues to grow. In 2008 it accounted for just 38%.
The new Ladbrokes.com sportsbook also incorporates improved functionality and navigation as well as a number of personalisation features. These include single click betting from every page, access to all competitions from the left hand menu at all times, the ability to save favourite events for quick access on every visit and new racing page functionality offering race by race betting. The site currently has over 500,000 active customers and offers betting in 18 languages and 18 currencies.
Commenting on the launch of the new service Ladbrokes Managing Director of Remote Betting and Gaming John O'Reilly told Bettingpro
"The new site further reflects the growing importance of betting in play and live video streaming content. This initiative, together with further development of our mobile offering and the development of new markets in Europe will continue the growth of our sportsbook."
In other Ladbrokes news, the site is also set to launch its Italian poker service this week
The new service will offer a range of Texas Hold'em tournaments for Italian players. Ladbrokes plans to launch cash games on the site as soon as local regulation allows. Ladbrokes.it currently has 35,000 registered customers.