1
annual report 20082009
annual report and accounts  
2008  2009
it’s all about overview 
highlights 1
it’s all about sport 2
sport 4
enhancing sport casino games and poker 5
supporting our customer 6
chairman’s statement 7
group chief executive’s review 9
governance
corporate social responsibility  15
board of directors 19
financial review 22
corporate governance statement 23
directors’ report 26
remuneration report 28
regulatory developments 33
financial statements
independent auditors’ report 36
group financial statements 37
notes to the consolidated financial statements 41
parent company financial statements 70
notes to the parent company financial statements 72
other information
notice of meeting 78
notes to the notice of meeting 80
shareholder information 84
financial summary  85
corporate directory  86
contents 1
annual report 20082009
highlights
key highlights
breadth of sports product increased significantly to over 8000 different  z z
offers per day
introduced live streaming to supplement inplay betting z z
launched in romania and south africa z z
90 new casino style games launched in q4 z z
reinstatement of dividend payments 10p final dividend declared z z
financial highlights  
from continuing operations
2009
£m
2008
£m

amounts wagered 1577 2 1347 8 17
net gaming revenue 1636 1443 13
ebitda 397 310 28
adjusted operating profit 311 247 26
group operating profit 219 08 
diluted eps p 42 05 
adjusted diluted eps p 60 42 41
net cash 238 286 17
 adjusted to exclude exceptional items share option charge and amortisation
 net of long term debt and customer liabilities 2
our ethos is ‘it’s all about sport’ sport is inherent 
in both the company name and our core branding 
sport inspires our employees entertains our 
customers involves us in the local community 
and provides a neverending range of betting 
opportunities which help form the strong 
foundations on which we operate  
it’s all about sport
breakdown of net gaming revenue per country
czech 
republic 4
australia 12
other 21
uk 6
germany 4
spain 17
greece 19
turkey 13
bulgaria 4
since being founded 10 years ago sportingbet 
has built a first class sports betting platform that 
up to 8000 sports betting markets every day 
covering a huge range of sports leagues and bet 
types supplemented by revenues generated from 
casino poker and other betting games  
outside the main business of bookmaking we 
continue our sports ethos by supporting sport 
through various charitable and sponsorship 
contributions as an example in april 2008 
sportingbet announced its sponsorship deal 
with heather watson a young tennis player from 
guernsey eighteen months on heather continues 
to perform well and has just claimed the girls us 
open title increasing heather’s junior ranking to 
uk number one and number three in the world  
other sponsorship deals include wolverhampton 
wanderers football club euroleague basketball 
and the brisbane broncos based in australia  
for more information about our sponsorships see 
the corporate social responsibility statement on 
page 15 to 18 annual report 20082009
3
betting opportunities per week
mission and strategy
our mission is to become the world’s leading 
online sports betting company 
to achieve this we plan to continually develop our 
market leading internet sports betting platform 
which offers our customers innovative betting 
opportunities every minute of every hour of 
every day via a secure userfriendly and efficient 
interface 
sportingbet today already offers one of the world’s 
largest ranges of betting markets covering football 
leagues from algeria to y emen and all mainstream 
sports we will continue to expand this range in the 
future 
the customer’s experience with sportingbet will 
be further enhanced by also having access to 
an extensive suite of complementary products 
covering casino poker and other betting games 
we believe that the success of the sportingbet 
business is built on five key areas – regulation 
public accountability product customers and 
employees these five building blocks form the 
backdrop to all decision making processes  in 
more detail
1 regulation  
regulation determines the infrastructure from 
which we can give our customers the security and  
comfort they expect when gambling 
2 public accountability
public accountability provides for financial 
transparency fraud protection and additional 
assurance for our customers our shareholders 
and our employees
3 our product
we strive to lead the way with both our core sports 
betting product and our supplementary products  
of casino games and poker 
continuous investment in state of the art 
technologies and innovative ideas are paramount 
to the success of our business
4 our customers
we are committed to providing the best possible 
service to our customers in an efficient manner
5 our people
we are dedicated to providing our employees with 
a safe healthy friendly and rewarding working 
environment and aim to employ and retain the 
very best people in the industry
3800
2008 2009
7300 4
our sportsbook generates 64 of our gaming 
revenue with casino games and poker providing 
additional income streams as such the focus 
of our attention is very much on building and 
developing our sportsbook we are committed to 
seeking out the latest technologies and developing 
the most innovative ideas 
we are constantly looking for ways to improve 
and develop our sportsbook offering and in the 
last twelve months alone we have made some 
significant enhancements 
sport
54
14
football
other
australian 
racing
tennis
multiples
21
6
5
breakdown of sports
inplay bet percentage
recent developments
since the website launched back in 1998 we have 
been committed to offering the latest and stateof
theart technologies this is why in october 2008 
we introduced live streaming to our european 
sportsbook offer this enables our customers 
to view the event on which they are betting live 
without leaving the sportingbetcom website  in 
addition our live streaming product runs side by 
side with our inplay product allowing customers to 
bet point by point minute by minute  
inplay has become one of the most popular 
concepts on our site and now accounts for over 
56 of all bets placed the setup is simple  
a customer logs onto their sportingbet user 
account then as their sporting event commences 
we offer them a series of betting markets on which 
they can bet for example in a football match 
these markets could include next goal scorer next 
player to take a corner first yellow card given and 
many more on average we now offer up to 8000 
betting opportunities to our customers each week  
that’s 5000 every single day
with all these new developments across our 
sportsbook product it is increasingly important that 
we dedicate resource to ensure and safeguard 
its future success that’s why in the last twelve 
months we have almost trebled the size of our 
trading team placing an emphasis on training 
and development so that our traders become 
specialists in both their chosen sport and a range 
of other sports additionally we have recruited 
heavily into our it team to help support the growth 
of the sportsbook product ensuring that the 
latest technologies are made available to both 
our customers and our operational teams at the 
earliest available point 
2008
2009
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 5
annual report 20082009
casino games and poker together form our 
‘supplementary products’ these products help 
support our core sportsbook product by offering 
customers a selection of different games to play 
on  whilst we call these products supplementary 
they are by no means given secondrate attention 
casino  games
the casino and games product portfolio has 
changed significantly in the last 12 months in 
addition to building upon our extensive range of 
games with our incumbent suppliers sportingbet 
has integrated with a number of new suppliers 
including net entertainment and ash gaming  
this has resulted in over 80 new games  
being added to the customer portfolio 
enhancing sport  
casino games and poker
total games 
2009
total games 
2008
number of games on sportingbetcom
product breakdown
poker
whilst the figures for our poker product have 
shown little change in the last 12 months the 
product itself has developed significantly since  
last year with resizable tables improved lobby 
filters a quickplay feature chat filters new 
tournament poker variants and headhunter and 
bounty tournaments all introduced   
sports 64 casino  
games 24
poker 12
casino and games continues to go from 
strength to strength with strong growth seen 
across all games categories outside the core 
product embedded minigames which sit on the 
sportsbook continue to prove very popular with 
our customers and this year we have launched 
three new games in this area
our poker team have been busy building the 
paradisepoker brand culminating in a large 
and successful promotion which saw 100 
paradisepoker players fly over to las vegas and 
play in the world series of poker event – many of 
whom went on to win considerable pots 
in july 2008 we launched the paradisepoker 
store  players can use their frequent player 
points “fpps” to buy branded merchandise 
poker equipment and electronics this store has 
been a successful addition to the paradisepoker 
player’s club our loyalty scheme there have 
been thousands of orders from the store boosting 
players’ engagement with the brand and the 
brand’s presence throughout europe
116
32 6
market leading products are essential to the 
success of our business equally customer 
satisfaction is a vital part of our model that is 
why in april 2007 we opened a central customer 
service centre in dublin enabling all customer 
interaction both incoming and outgoing to take 
place in one central location helping to reduce 
costs and improve effectiveness  
as part of the induction process every customer 
service team member is trained to follow  
these following key principles
produce superior customer experiences z z
ensure every interaction with our customers is z z
an opportunity to exceed their expectations
deliver innovative quality services z z
pursue the delivery of services that enhance z z
and simplify the way our customers interact 
with our products
foster an environment where our employees z z
are empowered challenged and accountable
appreciate employee and customer ideas z z
supporting our customers
centralisation of the customer service function 
gives us the ability to respond to the changing 
environment as the business grows both in 
product and geographically  
we now offer support to customers from over  
22 territories 24 hours a day seven days a week  
our team of customer service representatives 
has almost doubled in the last 12 months and 
between them speak over 42 languages  
we continue to invest and focus on our customer 
service function and see it as a key driver of 
customer retention
it was therefore a tremendous endorsement of 
their efforts to be nominated and then go on to 
win the world contact centre award for best 
customer services in europe   
whilst customer service is centralised we 
recognise that every geography has its own 
particular nuances in terms of customer practices 
sports events and essentially what a customer 
likes to bet on that is why we tailor our websites 
to the local market with regional managers and 
territory teams focussing directly on their  
specific market
contact breakdown
telephone 20 live chat 60
email 20 annual report 20082009
7
peter dicks
chairman and nonexecutive director
once again i am pleased to report that 
sportingbet has made significant progress during 
the last financial year the group continues to 
consolidate its position as a leader in the online 
sports betting market whilst growing profits 
significantly this has been achieved against 
the backdrop of a poor economic climate for 
consumer spending in all markets and the 
additional adverse impact of new taxes in one of 
the group’s core markets australia  
regulation continues to define the internet 
gambling industry across europe and the rest of 
the world  in general we continue to see pressure 
on european countries to justify their national 
gambling regimes in light of the freetrade 
requirements of international law such actions 
have seen some countries move towards a more 
liberal stance and in certain cases the introduction 
of regulation whilst other nations continue to 
receive censure from various international trade 
organisations sportingbet strongly supports 
sensible well balanced regulation that has 
consumer protection at the heart of its agenda  
chairman’s statement
corporately the group seeks to mitigate 
regulatory risk through geographic diversification 
whilst retaining structural flexibility to react 
positively to such regulation if when and where it 
may occur
in the united states the group continues to be in 
talks with the us department of justice to seek 
clarification of the position of the us authorities 
with respect to the group’s previous activities 
and to determine whether a mutually acceptable 
resolution is possible these talks continue and 
are both productive and amicable in their nature 
the board remains optimistic of reaching an 
appropriate settlement but there continues to be 
little visibility of the likely timing or quantum
our ethos is ‘it’s all about sport’ sports betting 
is the origin and mainstay of our business 
accounting for 64 of group net gaming revenue 
“ngr” and is inherent in both the company’s 
name and our core branding  our objective is to 
develop our marketleading internet sports betting 
platforms to offer customers something to bet 
on every minute of every day through a secure 
userfriendly and efficient interface the group’s 
european website offers one of the world’s largest 
ranges of betting markets per day covering all 
mainstream sports and leagues across the globe 8
outside the main business of bookmaking we 
continue our sports ethos by supporting sport 
through various charitable and sponsorship 
contributions  sportingbet is now the main 
supporter of heros a charity dedicated to the 
welfare of former racehorses to ensure they have 
a comfortable existence once their racing days 
are over sportingbet is also focused on football 
the dominant sport in europe and is now the 
main shirt sponsor for wolverhampton wanderers 
football club playing in the english premier 
league steaua bucharest of romania and slavia 
sofia of bulgaria in australia the group is the 
major sponsor of the brisbane broncos one of 
australia’s leading rugby league teams and 
carlton football club one of australia’s largest 
aussie rules teams
the group is also investing in the communities in 
which we base our operations  in guernsey the 
location of our main european operational base 
we are proud to sponsor heather watson a young 
guernsey tennis player who has recently won 
the us open girl’s title heather is now ranked 
number one in the uk and number three in the 
world the group also sponsors many local sports
based community events such as the guernsey 
marathon in antigua where the group has held a 
gaming license for many years we have donated 
a significant sum to fund both the building of a 
library at the island academy international school 
and bursaries for a number of under privileged 
local children
i am pleased to announce the reinstatement of 
dividend payments the group has achieved a 
considerable amount since the closure of the us
facing business in october 2006 and the payment 
of a 10p dividend marks a further stage in the 
development of the business 
chairman’s statement 9
annual report 20082009
group chief executive’s review
andrew mciver
group chief executive
since being founded ten years ago sportingbet 
has grown significantly to become a major player 
in the online betting industry its marketleading 
european sports betting platform now offers over 
8000 sports betting markets on a busy trading 
day covering a huge range of sports leagues and 
bet types supplemented by revenues generated 
from casino poker and other betting games 
sportingbet branded websites are now available 
in 23 different languages and the customer call 
centre located in dublin is able to answer queries 
in 42 languages  
sportingbet’s operations are focused on europe 
australia and a burgeoning emerging markets 
business the european operation is based in 
the channel islands operating under a licence 
provided by the alderney gambling control 
commission this is supported by an operational 
centre in dublin providing customer services and 
administrative support together with an it function 
located in london the group’s australian division 
is based in darwin operating under a license 
provided by the northern territories government  
in total the group now employs over 500 people
sport and sports betting continues to be at the 
heart of the sportingbet business sports betting 
revenues accounted for approximately 64 
2008 60 of group ngr during the year 
significant additional functionality was added 
to the sports product offerings in response to 
consumer demand  in november 2008 live 
webstreaming of sport was made available to 
our european customer base to complement the 
group’s inrunning betting product “inplay” this 
functionality allows customers to watch the game 
live on their pc whilst placing bets on a wide 
variety of outcomes during the event the demand 
for inplay betting is significant and now accounts 
for 56 of amounts wagered in europe in order 
to further support the demand for this product 
sportingbet now provides a roundtheclock in
running betting service on an ever wider variety of 
events irrespective of an event’s location or  
time zone  10
in addition to the extension of the group’s 
inplay product the coverage of prematch  
betting has also been broadened to include  
new sports leagues and betting markets  
as a result sportingbet offers one of the most 
extensive sports betting products available  
this broad product offering is backed up by a 
bestinclass risk management and trading team 
this is demonstrated by the continued  
marketleading sports margin a margin that 
is achieved in conjunction with maintaining 
competitive pricing for the customer the board 
believes that the group’s strength and expertise 
in this key operational area will stand it in good 
stead to capitalise on the significant potential in 
this industry
during the year the group launched websites into 
two further markets south africa and romania  
in south africa the group acquired a licence for 
online sports betting in conjunction with a local 
partner and launched a localised site in february 
2009 this market is currently immature and we 
are looking to the 2010 fifa world cup finals in 
south africa to help build this business in addition 
the group launched a romanian language site in 
april 2009 in conjunction with our very successful 
greek partner this launch has been supported by 
the sponsorship of steaua bucharest the largest 
and most popular football team in romania
europe
the european business incorporating the 
financial results for the emerging markets 
division continues to grow strongly with the 
amount wagered on sports increasing by 214 
to £917 5m 2008 £7555m generating a 
gross margin pre bonus adjustment of £936m 
2008 £754m up 241  european casino and 
games revenue grew by 126 to £437m 2008 
£388m whilst poker revenues declined by 7 6 
to £220m 2008 £238m  
the number of sports bets placed rose by 12 to 
57 5m 2008 5 15m the continued increase in 
popularity of inplay betting has been a significant 
driver of the volume growth over the past year 
inplay betting accounted for 56 of the value 
of bets placed during the year  this popularity is 
evidenced by the number of bets per customer 
increasing to 134 2008 1 1 1  the average bet 
size was up 9 to £1597 2008 £1466 leading 
to yield per sports customer increasing from £161 
to £216
during the year a sports gross margin of 102 
was achieved 2008 100 despite the increase 
of inplay betting which tends to have a lower 
average margin due to the greater proportion of 
straight wagers versus multiple bets than pre 
match betting this margin has been achieved 
through absolute focus on accurate odds 
setting risk management and investment in the 
underlying technologies to allow the team of highly 
experienced traders to maximise profits from  
the wagers that are taken
over the past 24 months the european business 
has undertaken a thorough review of its customer 
database as a result of this analysis the group 
implemented a change in marketing strategy to 
move from a ‘quantity at any cost’ to a ‘quality 
and value’ approach the marketing focus is 
now prioritised on those customer segments 
that provide a significant contribution to group 
performance this has resulted in a movement 
away from mass market recruitment towards 
the recruitment and yield management of more 
valuable players
group chief executive’s review annual report 20082009
11
significant investment has also been made in 
the european customer service centre as part of 
the continued focus on our customer base the 
service centre based in dublin now employs over 
150 people and has 42 language capabilities 
the investment in the dublin operation has been 
recognised by the world contact centre the 
leading customer service industry body through 
the award for best customer services in europe
the group aims to derive its revenues from a 
broad geographical base the board is aware that 
regulatory uncertainty exists in many markets in 
which the group operates and therefore a broad 
geographic base helps to reduce the impact of 
potential regulatory shocks which may occur 
the group’s core markets of greece and spain 
continue to perform well with gaming revenues up 
56 and 1 1 respectively
gaming revenues from the turkish business have 
fallen by 15 yearonyear equivalent to £41m 
as a result of the group reducing the importance 
of this market turkey accounted for approximately 
128 of group revenue during the year 
compared to 17 2 for the prior year although the 
turkish business performed strongly during the 
latter part of the year
the uk market has historically been difficult for 
the group and gaming revenues from this domain 
fell by 21 during the year this market has been 
generally overserviced with a relatively expensive 
media environment the impact of the recession 
in the uk has led to the cost of media falling 
enabling the group to consider strategies in this 
market which hitherto had been prohibitively 
expensive  as a result the group now has a 
number of sportsbased sponsorships in the uk 
including over 75 horse races throughout the 
summer of 2009 and the main sponsorship of 
wolverhampton wanderers football club 
eastern europe continues to be a significant 
growth market growing in aggregate by 26 
to account for 15 of group revenues 2008 
13  in addition increased focus on france and 
germany following more certainty around the 
longer term regulatory outlook has resulted in 
an increase in ngr of 5 1 these markets are 
expected to make a significant contribution to the 
group’s results in future years
europe’s casino and games offering which 
accounted for 24 of the group’s revenue grew 
by 126 during the year customers continue to 
move away from the traditional download casino 
product down 25 yearonyear in favour of 
more instant casino games using flashbased 
technologies up 343 yearonyear to support 
this demand the group has launched over 90 
instant games in q4 across certain domains 
provided by a range of software suppliers  
further initiatives are in place through the current 
financial year to widen the availability of these 
new products to other geographies as well as 
integrating new software suppliers to increase the 
available content
during the year the european region generated 
poker rake of £220m 2008 £238m pre
bonus deductions down 7 6 on the prior year  
poker now accounts for only 12 of the group’s 
revenue down from 15 in 2008 the european 
poker market remains very challenging as the 
environment remains highly competitive with 
certain large usfocused poker companies using 
their significant cash flows and high liquidity 
to continue to attract customers from existing 
european only companies   12
in july 2009 the group sold its licensed italian 
operation “sportingbet italia spa” to the local 
management team for nominal consideration  
sportingbet italia spa was acquired in may 2006 
in anticipation of expected further liberalisation 
of italian online gaming regulation these 
changes did not materialise and consequently 
the combination of alternative betting channels 
together with the lack of operational synergies 
with the rest of the group’s european business 
has meant sportingbet italia spa had been loss 
making since acquisition whilst these losses 
had been reduced to the minimum considered 
achievable the board concluded that significant 
financial and managerial investment would be 
required to generate a profitable business in italy 
from the current base and at the present time 
such investment would be better placed elsewhere 
in the group’s portfolio during the first eleven 
months of the financial year sportingbet italia 
spa generated amounts wagered of £141m and 
£21m of ngr generating an operational loss of 
approximately £15m  
the disposal of sportingbet italia spa has 
resulted in a loss from discontinued operations of 
£94m which comprises the write down of goodwill 
of £64m a loss on disposal and other associated 
costs of £15m and a yeartodate trading loss of 
£15m during the year 
australia
the australian betting market has undergone 
considerable change in the past financial year  
the australian market continues to be dominated 
by the totaliser agency boards “tabs” some 
of which remain state owned and some of which 
have now been privatised the tabs account for 
approximately 70 of the a20bn wagering 
industry in australia the corporate bookmakers 
have demonstrated a combined compound annual 
growth rate in turnover of over 28 over the past 
seven years compared with the growth of the 
tabs phone and internet operations of just 93  
the corporate bookmaking market is dominated 
by four main businesses of which sportingbet is 
the largest
in september 2008 new south wales and 
victoria relaxed their restriction on sports betting 
advertisements with other states following suit 
shortly thereafter sportingbet as australia’s 
largest independent bookmakers was able to 
increase its profile in these markets through 
advertising in press tv radio and at sports events 
it is anticipated that the internet business will 
be the prime beneficiary of such advertising 
in response to the relaxation in advertising 
restrictions a number of states sought to impose 
further gambling taxes and levies on sports and 
betting revenues these taxes vary by state 
and by sport and are charged in some cases 
on the amount wagered and in other cases on 
gross margin the taxes and levies have been 
implemented by the states but remain subject to 
challenge by the industry
amounts wagered increased by 127 from 
£5432m to £6121m resulting in pretax margin 
increasing 24 from £234m to £291m 
gambling taxes in australia amounted to £67m 
in the year 2008 £36m resulting in posttax 
margin increasing by 132 from £198m to 
£224m  after bonuses ngr increased by 89 
from £191m to £208m
group chief executive’s review 13
annual report 20082009
the australian operation comprises two elements 
an internet business and a telephone business  
the telephone operation is biased towards higher 
staking customers betting predominantly on 
horseracing and the business typically offers an 
element of credit to the customer the internet 
business which has been built from scratch over 
the last five years is more recreational in nature 
and covers a greater diversity of sports no credit 
is offered for internet customers the different bias 
of the two operations leads the internet business 
to have a higher gross margin percentage than the 
telephone operation
the internet business accounts for 33 of the 
amounts wagered and 46 of the gross margin 
the number of bets placed on the internet has 
grown by 59 over the prior year
over the year we have seen the effect of the 
global financial crisis impacting on the higher 
staking telephone customers in particular the 
number of bets per telephone customer has 
decreased 26 from an average of 149 bets per 
year to 1 10 per year the average bet size has also 
fallen by 9 from a663 to a603
emerging markets
in accordance with the board’s desire for a broad 
geographical base the group has invested in its 
emerging markets division for the past two years 
the primary focus of this division is to identify 
new potential markets for online gambling to 
understand the gambling culture propensities 
and regulation in these regions and if appropriate 
launch into these markets the expansion in 
our global footprint also helps to support the 
sustained increase in the group’s global sports 
offering which is proving to be increasingly popular 
with its existing european sports customers 
the emerging markets financial performance 
is currently incorporated within the european 
division’s financial report
the emerging markets division has been focused 
primarily on two regions brazil and canada  
during the year the group acquired a sports 
betting licence from south africa in conjunction 
with a local partner this licensed south african 
business was launched in february 2009
in brazil the group has developed a strong 
business over the past two years growing fourfold 
over the prior year albeit from a relatively low 
base  the sportingbet brand has developed a 
strong media presence in brazil as well as being 
the main sponsor of the brazilian football league’s 
second division – home of corinthians brazil’s 
most popular team the experience gained from 
this market will be used to launch into other 
geographies in the region all profits are currently 
being reinvested in this market
   14
dividend
the group plans to reinstate the payment of 
a dividend of 10p for the year ended 31 july 
2009  a considerable amount has been achieved 
since the closure of the usfacing business in 
october 2006 through efforts to restructure the 
business and the reinstatement of a dividend 
marks a further stage in the development of the 
group  the intention to pay such a dividend is 
not expected to affect the discussions about any 
possible future agreement or financial settlement 
with us department of justice
the 10p dividend will be paid on 8 january 
2010 to shareholders on the register on 1 1 
december 2009 subject to shareholder approval 
at the annual general meeting to be held on 
18 december 2009 the group plans to follow 
a progressive dividend policy subject to market 
conditions
outlook
the group’s focus will remain on sports betting 
through further investment in it product and 
marketing strong consumer demand is driving 
the development of our inplay product which now 
offers round the clock live betting opportunities 
for our customers supplemented by live video 
footage we continue to increase the number of 
markets we serve and plan to extend our footprint 
each year whilst these embryonic markets take 
time to mature early indications from new markets 
have been encouraging
current trading
overall the new financial year has commenced 
in line with expectations european sports betting 
continues to power the business with amounts 
wagered ahead of our expectations at this stage 
casino and games continues to perform in line 
with prior years whilst poker remains a difficult 
market
in australia the amounts wagered are only 
marginally ahead of the prior year additionally the 
first two months of the year have experienced a 
lower than average sports margin in australia due 
to a high percentage of favourites winning events
however given the strong signup and turnover 
trends in the core european sports business the 
board remains optimistic for the outcome of the 
financial year at this stage 
group chief executive’s review annual report 20082009
15
corporate social responsibility
overview 
since its formation in 1998 sportingbet has 
always sought to exhibit responsible and ethical 
practices the company’s culture was formalised 
in 2000 in a series of written statements entitled 
customer charter and code of conduct since 
then these statements have been available for 
viewing on the sportingbet website and continue 
to illustrate the company’s social responsibility 
to its customers to its shareholders and to the 
governments of markets in which it operates 
the company’s objective is to provide a ‘protected 
entertainment environment’ in which its customer 
care programmes give responsible adults the 
confidence of knowing that their money is safe 
whilst providing the company with the confidence 
that all reasonable steps are being taken to 
protect the vulnerable
social responsibility 
committee 
the social responsibility committee is chaired by 
nonexecutive director brian harris and its other 
members are sean o’connor nonexecutive and 
senior independent director and the company’s 
general counsel daniel talisman who also acts 
as the committee’s secretary the committee 
meets at least two times a year and in fact met 
three times during the last financial year the 
audit  compliance manager and the group 
head of human resources attend its meetings 
and the group chief executive is apprised of the 
committee’s work at least twice in the course of 
the year 
the committee is responsible for reviewing 
the company’s policies on corporate social 
responsibility and stimulating groupwide best 
practice on matters including age verification 
fraud money laundering responsible gaming  
selfexclusion and privacy
appropriate recommendations are made to the 
company’s board terms of reference can be 
viewed on wwwsportingbetplccom and are 
available in writing on request 16
customers 
as a service business the core of sportingbet’s 
policies on social responsibility lie in its approach 
to its customers all operational directors and 
managers are committed to winning and retaining 
the trust and loyalty of their customers 
the guiding principle behind sportingbet’s policies 
can be summarised as ‘know your customer’ 
procedures to achieve this mean far more than 
merely collecting documentary evidence of 
people’s identities it is about understanding their 
individual requirements appreciating concerns and 
closely researching their patterns of behaviour
knowing one’s customers and creating profiles of 
their activities and preferences leads to targeted 
and appropriate marketing strategies this lies at 
the heart of the company’s customer relationship 
management policies
the way different customers spend money 
and what they spend it on provides an overall 
understanding of their motivation for almost all of 
the company’s customers online gambling is an 
entertainment pastime and sportingbet’s products 
promotions and culture make their relationship 
with the company an enjoyable experience
it is the small minority however who may be 
potential fraudsters underage gamblers or 
problem players that result in the need for 
comprehensive systems and procedures to 
protect the company and often the customer 
of course nothing can ever be entirely secure 
against determined offenders but the company 
commits much time and investment to finding 
organisational and software driven approaches to 
excluding the vulnerable and identifying fraud
with the advent of multiplayer environments 
such as poker the company is particularly vigilant 
about the risk of collusion or irregular fund 
movements between participants systems have 
been designed to highlight unusual or concerning 
patterns of play
employees 
the board of sportingbet is of the firm belief that 
the company’s success is due to the quality and 
commitment of its workforce the company’s 
employee management priorities including its 
remuneration strategies are based on recruiting 
and retaining the best people in the industry and 
on encouraging working practices that improve 
productivity reduce costs develop talent and give 
job satisfaction
further the board recognises the need for 
communication with employees at every level 
weekly sales notes and all quarterly results 
announcements are circulated to employees and 
copies of the annual report and accounts are 
made available the company is committed to 
developing ongoing communication with all of 
its employees this is achieved through a variety 
of channels including the group’s intranet and 
ensures that everyone is informed of the group’s 
progress and recognises the key roles that they as 
employees play in sportingbet’s success further 
the group is committed to a policy of equal 
opportunity in matters relating to employment 
training and career development of employees 
and is opposed to any form of less favourable 
treatment afforded on the grounds of age 
disability sex marital status sexual orientation 
nationality race or religion
corporate social responsibility 17
annual report 20082009
trade and charitable 
organisations 
the company recognises the obligation upon the 
gaming industry to demonstrate its commitment to 
selfregulation the company is supportive of the 
role that the industry’s trade associations can play 
in this regard and sportingbet is an active member 
of the remote gambling association “rga” 
holding a seat on its executive committee and 
being represented on various rga  
subcommittees
the company has signed up to the rga’s codes 
on social responsibility and age verification the 
provisions of which the committee endorses
sportingbet invests time and resources in meeting 
and communicating with officers and politicians of 
governments and national online gaming licensing 
authorities the company’s management remains 
committed to playing its part in promoting the 
value of legislation that will lead to a regulated 
approach to the industry not least as a mechanism 
for protecting the vulnerable elements of society 
from unscrupulous operators
recognising that some customers may be 
affected by gambling dependency the company 
has continued to provide funding in the uk to 
responsibility in gambling trust “rigt” being 
the body which supports gamcare the company 
also supports charitable organisations that are 
not linked to the online gaming industry including 
friends of israel sport centre for the disabled 
the dan maskell tennis trust headway – a local 
guernsey charity the bishop simeon trust in 
south africa and the bury st edmunds  
theatre royal 18
community liaison
in order to encourage a socially integrated 
work environment the company has placed an 
emphasis on investing in the local communities 
in which it operates  in guernsey where the 
company’s primary licenced operations are based 
the company has invested a significant amount of 
time and money into the local community including 
the sponsorships of heather watson the uk’s 
number one and world number three ranked junior 
tennis player the channel islands athletics club 
and local events like the sportingbet guernsey 
marathon and the sportingbet channel islands 
sports personality of the y ear awards 
in antigua where the group has held sports 
betting and gaming licences for many years the 
company has donated a significant sum of money 
to fund both the building of a library at the island 
academy international school and bursaries for 
a number of less privileged local children the 
antigua girls high school has benefited from a 
donation to provide desks and other key furniture 
as part of the school’s commitment to update  
its resources
sponsorship – investing in 
the future of sport
in the last twelve months the company has 
invested significantly in sport  in football in the 
uk sportingbet announced its sponsorship of the 
premier league team wolverhampton wanderers 
football club for the 20092010 season in 
addition sportingbet is the official online betting 
and gaming partner of portsmouth football club  
commencing in april sportingbetcom became 
the official sponsor of monday evening racing 
at windsor race course and sponsored over 75 
individual horse races across the uk throughout 
the summer  in conjunction with this in the last 
financial year sportingbetcom has become the 
main supporter of heros the leading charity 
dedicated to the welfare of former racehorses to 
ensure they have a comfortable existence once 
their race days are over  in europe the company’s 
investment in sport has focussed on football and 
basketball sponsorships through partnerships with 
the romanian football team steaua bucharest 
the bulgarian team slavia sofia the spanish team 
real ovieda and the main sponsorship title of the 
euroleague basketball  
in australia the group is the major sponsor of 
the brisbane broncos one of australia’s leading 
rugby league teams and carlton football club 
one of australia’s largest aussie rules teams
finally in brazil sportingbet is the main sponsor of 
brazilian football league’s second division  home 
of corinthians brazil’s most popular team
corporate social responsibility annual report 20082009
19
board of directors
andrew mciver
group chief executive
andrew mciver aged 46 formerly group finance 
director took over as group chief executive in 
october 2006  andrew qualified as a chartered 
accountant with arthur andersen following two 
years in the corporate finance department at 
dresdner kleinwort wasserstein he held senior 
finance positions at signet group plc ladbrokes 
group plc and british telecom’s internet division  
he was director of finance with house of fraser 
plc for four years before joining sportingbet in 
december 2001
jim wilkinson
group finance director
jim wilkinson aged 43 joined sportingbet plc as 
group finance director in february 2008 prior 
to which he held the same position at johnson 
services group plc between 2004 and 2007    
as a chartered accountant jim qualified with 
touche ross before moving to informa group plc 
in 1994 to hold a series of management positions 
most significantly group finance director from 
19982004 20
peter dicks
chairman and nonexecutive director
peter dicks aged 67  joined the board of 
sportingbet as chairman in january 2000   
he resigned in september 2006 as a result of 
actions taken by the state of louisiana with 
regard to online gaming activities in the united 
states  he rejoined the board as chairman and 
nonexecutive director in february 2008  
peter started his career as a stockbroker and was 
cofounder of abingworth plc in 1973 peter is 
a director of a number of quoted and unquoted 
companies including graphite enterprise trust 
plc polar capital technology trust private equity 
investor mears group and standard microsystems 
a us nasdaq quoted company peter is also a 
director of daniel stewart and company
sean o’connor
senior independent  
nonexecutive director
sean o’connor aged 60 joined sportingbet 
as nonexecutive director in 2000  he is the 
chairman of cape plc and springboard urban 
and was acting chairman of sportingbet plc from 
september 2006 to february 2008 he was 
previously chairman of the stoves group plc 
and of mediakey plc and is currently a director 
of several public and private companies including 
the graphite enterprise trust plc escape studios 
and crow tv
board of directors 21
annual report 20082009
brian harris
nonexecutive director
brian harris aged 63 joined sportingbet as a 
nonexecutive director in january 2003   
the founder and senior partner of a london 
law firm with an international clientele he has 
acted for foreign governments multinational 
corporations national airlines and prominent 
individuals and companies involved in international 
sports he is actively involved in sporting charity 
work for the disabled
nigel payne
nonexecutive director
nigel payne aged 49 is a nonexecutive 
director  he joined sportingbet plc in may 2000 
as group finance director  nigel was group 
chief executive between 2001 and 2006 prior to 
joining sportingbet nigel was the group finance 
director of polestar magazines europe’s largest 
magazine printer and has held directorships 
at scottish  newcastle and brann direct 
marketing  nigel is also a director of mucky 
pups childcare limited bettor logic limited and 
golfbidder limited  nigel qualified as a chartered 
accountant in 1984 22
trading summary
on 21 july 2009 the group’s licensed italian 
operation sportingbet italia spa was sold 
all prior year key facts and figures have been 
restated to reflect the results of continuing 
operations for the period
amounts wagered for the year ended 31 july 
2009 were £1577 2m 2008 £1347 8m 
earning net gaming revenue “ngr” of £1636m  
2008 £1443m 
amounts wagered on sports betting in europe 
incorporating the financial results for the 
emerging markets division grew by 211 to 
£9066m 2008 £7485m earning ngr of 
£827m 2008 £684m casino and gaming 
contributed a further £413m and poker £188m 
to both amounts wagered and ngr 2008 
£368m and £200m amounts wagered on 
australian sports betting grew by 125 to 
£6105m 2008 £5425m earning ngr of 
£208m 2008 £191m  
as a percentage of amounts wagered the 
european and australian sports ngr were 
91 and 34 respectively 2008 91 and 
35 however amounts wagered and ngr are 
stated after a deduction for customer bonuses 
of £181m 2008 £135m without the bonus 
deduction the equivalent numbers would have 
been 102 and 37 2008 100 and 36
costs excluding exceptional items share 
option charge and amortisation in the year 
were £1325m 2008 £1 196m accounting for 
810 of ngr 2008 829
the group earns over 90 of its revenue in 
currencies other than sterling and has benefited 
in the translation of these results at constant 
currency the total amounts wagered increased 
by 10 whilst total ngr increased by 7 since 
the majority of the costs are incurred in the same 
currency as the revenue is earned the benefit to 
operating profit has been approximately £40m 
for the year
exceptional items for the year amounted to 
£42m relating to a provision against monies 
due from one of the group’s european payment 
processing providers the amount owed by the 
third party is now in dispute and at this time its 
recoverability is sufficiently unclear as to warrant 
the provision
the loss for the year from discontinued 
operations amounted to £94m arising as 
a result of the sale of the group’s italian 
operations  this loss comprises the write down 
of goodwill of £64m other associated costs of 
£15m and a year to date trading loss of £15m
operating profit before exceptional items share 
option charge and amortisation for the year was 
£311m 2008 £247m
earnings before interest tax depreciation and 
amortisation before exceptional items and 
share option charge were up 280 to £397m 
2008 £310m
operating profit after charging exceptional items 
of £42m 2008 £120m share option charge 
of £31m 2008 £80m and amortisation of 
other intangible assets of £19m 2008 £39m 
was £219m 2008 £08m
finance income
finance income comprised interest receivable 
of £07m 2008 £08m and interest payable on 
bank loans of £03m 2008 £04m
earnings per share
basic earnings per share before exceptional 
items share option charge and amortisation was 
65p 2008 48p diluted earnings per share 
before exceptional items share option charge 
and amortisation was 60p 2008 42p
cash flow
during the year ended 31 july 2009 the group 
generated cash from operating activities of 
£17 0m 2008 £330m  
as at 31 july 2009 the group had £443m 
2008 £494m of cash and liquid resources 
on its balance sheet  after taking into account 
£165m 2008 £152m of customer liabilities 
and £40m 2008 £56m of bank loans 
secured on residential properties in the channel 
islands net cash at the period end stood at 
£238m 2008 £286m
treasury management
the group’s treasury function provides a 
centralised service for the provision of finance 
and the management and control of liquidity 
foreign exchange and interest rates the 
function operates as a cost centre and manages 
the group’s treasury exposure to reduce risk in 
accordance with policies approved by the board
it is not the policy of the group to trade in or 
enter into speculative transactions authorities 
procedures and reporting responsibilities are 
documented and regularly reviewed 
due to the international nature of its core 
activities the group’s reported profits net 
assets and cash flows are all affected by foreign 
exchange rate movements 
operations are financed by a mixture of retained 
profits bank borrowings and longterm loans 
in addition various financial instruments such 
as trade receivables and trade payables arise 
directly from the group’s operations
certain customers in the australian region are 
allowed to place bets on credit the group’s 
policy in respect of credit risk is to require 
appropriate credit checks are made on potential 
customers before bets are placed and credit 
limits set accordingly
during the year the group began to use  
forward currency contracts to manage foreign 
currency risks
financial review annual report 20082009
23
corporate governance statement
compliance
the company recognises the importance of 
the principles of good corporate governance 
and the board is pleased to report its continued 
commitment to achieving high standards 
throughout the year as an aim listed company 
sportingbet is not required to follow the 
provisions of the 2008 frc combined code 
the “code” as set out in the financial services 
authority listing rules nonetheless in so far as 
it can be applied to a company of its nature the 
company voluntarily complies with the principles 
as set out in section 1 of the code 
the board is accountable to the company’s 
shareholders for good governance and the 
statement set out below describes how the 
principles identified in the code are applied by  
the group 
the board constitution and 
procedures 
the company is controlled through the board 
of directors which at the end of the financial 
year comprised two executive and four non
executive directors all nonexecutive directors 
other than nigel payne are considered by the 
board to be independent of management and 
free of any relationship which could materially 
interfere with the exercise of their independent 
judgement given nigel payne’s previous 
position as an executive director he is not 
considered to be independent as defined by the 
code  however the board continues to believe 
that his experience objectivity and in particular 
insight into the regulatory environment in which 
the company operates combine to provide a 
valuable contribution to the strategic direction  
of the company
during the year there were no changes to the 
constitution of the board
the chairman is primarily responsible for the 
running of the board and ensures that all 
directors receive sufficient relevant information 
on financial business and corporate issues 
prior to meetings the group chief executive’s 
responsibilities focus on coordinating the 
company’s business and implementing  
group strategy  
a formal schedule of matters is reserved for 
consideration by the board which met twelve 
times during the year the board is responsible 
for overall group strategy acquisition and 
investment policy approval of major capital 
expenditure projects and consideration 
of significant financing matters it reviews 
the strategic direction of individual trading 
subsidiaries their codes of conduct their annual 
budgets their progress towards achievement 
of these budgets and their capital expenditure 
programmes in addition the directors have 
access to the advice and services of the 
company secretary and all directors are able 
to take independent professional advice in the 
furtherance of their duties if necessary
all new directors receive a full formal and 
tailored induction on joining the board as well 
as training and advice on their responsibilities 
as necessary all directors in accordance with 
the code submit themselves for reelection at 
least once every three years and new directors 
are subject to a transparent and rigorous 
appointment process including submitting 
themselves for reelection at the first annual 
general meeting after their appointment 
the company secretary is responsible for 
ensuring board processes and procedures are 
appropriately followed and support effective 
governance and decision making 
board committees 
the board delegates clearly defined powers 
to its audit remuneration and nomination 
committees whilst the company’s social 
responsibility committee “src” as 
reported on pages 15 to 18 is responsible for 
reviewing the company’s policies on corporate 
social responsibility and making appropriate 
recommendations to the board the minutes of 
each committee are circulated to and reviewed 
by the board 
audit committee 
the audit committee is chaired by nigel 
payne who has recent and relevant financial 
experience for this role as indicated on page 
23 its other members are peter dicks who was 
appointed to the committee on 1 february 2008 
and sean o’connor who was appointed to the 
committee on 30 january 2001 
the company believes that a membership 
of three reflects the size of the business 
as defined by the code going forward 
furthermore the company recognises that it 
does not comply with provision c31 in that 
not all the members of the committee are 
independent nonexecutive directors  
as defined by the code and as explained 
above the board considers that in order to 
ensure the effective working of the committee 
it was appropriate to appoint nigel payne as 
chairman and peter dicks as a member of the 
committee and is confident of their experience 
to ensure the committee’s affairs are conducted 
in an impartial and objective manner the 
committee’s secretary is daniel talisman the 
company secretary 
the audit committee meets at least twice a 
year and met twice during the last financial 
year and normally invites a representative of 
both the auditors and the executive directors 
to attend its meetings the latter usually being 
the group finance director at the end of each 
meeting the auditors are invited to meet with the 
committee with no executive or staff members 
present the terms of reference of the 
committee include monitoring the integrity of 
the financial statements monitoring the internal 
and external audit function and reviewing 
accounting policies financial controls and 
financial reporting procedures the committee 
also has responsibility for reviewing the 
effectiveness of the group’s internal control and 
risk management systems described in more 
detail later in this section during the year the 
committee received presentations from senior 
management on the key risks and control issues 
in their respective business areas and reviewed 
risk mitigation plans for critical risks terms of 
reference for the committee can be viewed 
on the company’s website and are available in 
writing on request  24
remuneration committee 
the remuneration committee is chaired 
by peter dicks who was appointed to the 
committee on 1 february 2008  brian harris 
and sean o’connor are its other members 
the committee’s secretary is daniel talisman 
the company secretary the remuneration 
committee meets when necessary during 
the year and met five times during the last 
financial year and considers the terms of 
employment and overall remuneration for the 
executive directors including pension rights 
and any compensation payments further the 
committee makes decisions regarding grants 
or awards under share plans salaries and 
incentive compensation the executive directors 
appraise the remuneration committee on the 
level and structure of remuneration set for 
senior management terms of reference for the 
committee can be viewed on the company’s 
website and are available in writing on request 
the remuneration of nonexecutive directors is 
determined by the executive directors 
nomination committee 
the nomination committee is chaired by sean 
o’connor and its other members are peter 
dicks who was appointed on 1 february 2008 
nigel payne and brian harris the committee’s 
secretary is daniel talisman the company 
secretary the committee sits formally at least 
twice a year and met twice during the last 
financial year the terms of reference for the 
committee including the terms and conditions  
of appointment of directors can be viewed on  
the company’s website and are available in  
writing on request 
the committee is responsible for monitoring and 
formally reviewing the performance composition 
balance and expertise of the board as a whole 
and making an appraisal of the contribution of 
individual directors including a review of their 
time commitment and attendance records the 
committee also considers succession planning 
for the board and group senior management 
when necessary the committee prepares a 
description of the role to be filled and engages 
external consultants to administer a detailed 
search and the generation of a shortlist 
any recommendations for appointments or 
replacements are brought before the board 
evaluation 
the board continued its ongoing evaluation 
processes of itself and its committees to assess 
their performance and identify areas in which 
their effectiveness policies and processes 
might be enhanced as part of this process the 
board continues to comply with the institute of 
chartered secretaries and administrators’ code 
of good boardroom practice the performance 
of individual directors has been considered by 
the chairman and group chief executive in 
discussion with other nonexecutive directors 
the nonexecutive directors considered the 
performance of the chairman taking into 
account the views of the executive directors 
communication with 
investors 
the group places considerable importance 
on communication with its institutional and 
private shareholders and responds quickly to all 
queries received there is regular dialogue with 
institutional shareholders as well as general 
presentations after each quarter end and the 
issue of preliminary results 
all shareholders have at least 20 working days’ 
notice of the annual general meeting at which 
all directors are introduced and available for 
questions the executive directors endeavour 
to meet the company’s larger institutional 
shareholders at the time of the company’s 
quarterly results announcements and the 
senior independent director sean o’connor is 
available to shareholders throughout the year 
accountability and audit 
a internal control 
the group has complied with provision c21 
of the code and the turnbull guidance for the 
year ended 31 july 2009 and up to the date of 
approval of the annual report and accounts 
the board has ensured that there has been 
an ongoing process for identifying evaluating 
and managing the significant risks faced by the 
group this process has been regularly reviewed 
by the board 
whilst acknowledging the overall responsibility 
for the system of internal control and for 
reviewing its effectiveness the board is aware 
that the system is designed to manage rather 
than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve 
business objectives and can only provide 
reasonable but not absolute assurance against 
material misstatement or loss
the group’s internal control procedures continue 
to be reviewed progressively developed and 
formalised to ensure that they sufficiently meet  
the requirements of the group executive 
members of the board are involved daily in all 
aspects of the business and they attend regular 
management meetings at which performance 
against plan and business prospects are 
reviewed additionally the board seeks to 
continually strengthen the internal control 
system where this is consistent with improving 
the relationship between risk and reward
other key features and the processes for 
reviewing effectiveness of the internal control 
system that the committee has applied during 
the current financial year are described  
as follows 
monthly management information including z z
financial accounts and key performance 
indicators have been defined and are 
produced on a timely basis for review by  
the board 
a detailed formal budgeting process for all z z
group businesses culminates in an annual 
budget which is reviewed and approved by 
the board results for the group and for its 
main constituent businesses are reported 
monthly against the budget to the board 
and revised forecasts for the financial year 
are considered each quarter 
corporate governance statement 25
annual report 20082009
a comprehensive financial and accounting z z
package sets out the principles of the 
minimum standards required by the board 
for effective financial control this package 
sets out the financial and accounting 
policies and procedures to be applied 
throughout the group compliance with 
the policies and procedures set out in 
this package is reviewed regularly formal 
reports for the board are prepared by the 
senior executives on the operation of those 
elements of the system for which they  
are responsible 
the company has clearly defined guidance z z
for capital expenditure these include 
annual budgets detailed appraisal and 
review procedures levels of authority and 
stringent due diligence requirements where 
businesses are being acquired 
b external audit 
the audit committee meets periodically to 
review the adequacy of the group’s internal 
control systems accounting policies and 
compliance with applicable accounting 
standards and to consider the appointment of 
external auditors and audit fees the group’s 
auditors are invited to attend its meetings the 
audit committee is authorised by the board 
to investigate any activity within its terms of 
reference and obtain outside legal or other 
independent professional advice as necessary 
the auditors and individual board members are 
afforded the opportunity for separate meetings 
with the audit committee the audit committee 
consists wholly of nonexecutive directors 
the award of nonaudit work to the auditors is 
subject to preclearance by the audit committee 
if the fee exceeds specified thresholds as 
a matter of best practice and in accordance 
with the international standard on auditing 
260 the auditors have held discussions with 
the audit committee on the subject of auditor 
independence and have confirmed their 
independence in writing 
peter dicks   
   
   
   
brian harris   
   
   
   
andrew mciver   
sean o’connor   
   
   
   
   
nigel payne   
   
   
jim wilkinson   
board
audit
remuneration
nomination
board
remuneration
nomination
src
board
board
audit
remuneration
nomination
src
board
audit
nomination
board
12
2
5
2
12
5
2
3
12
12
2
5
2
3
12
2
2
12
12
2
5
2
12
5
2
3
12
12
2
5
2
3
12
2
2
12
possible 
meetings
number meetings 
attended 26
fidelity investments 67 322542 1391
dbs advisors  
limited 50893903 105 1
bonaire investment  
holdings limited 47 852003 988
credit suisse 37 732960 7 79
mg investment  
management 37 49441 1 7 74
marathon asset  
management 30463822 629
majedie asset  
management 21661342 447
ubs 20416239 422
artemis investment  
management 185 1 1937 382
number of 
ordinary shares 
of 01p each
 voting  
rights
the directors submit their annual report and 
audited financial statements of the group for 
the year ended 31 july 2009
principal activities 
the principal activities of the group are the 
operation of interactive licensed betting and 
gaming operations over the internet in australia 
only interactive betting is conducted over the 
internet and telephone 
results and dividends 
the results of the group for the year are set 
out on page 37 and show a profit after taxation 
for the year of £124m 2008 £43m loss 
the directors recommend payment of a final 
dividend of 10p per ordinary share 2008 nil 
review of the business and 
future developments 
a more detailed review of the business and 
future developments is given in the group chief 
executive’s review on pages 9 to 14
directors 
the following directors have held office during 
the year and subsequently 
auditor
the auditor grant thornton uk llp is willing to 
continue in office and a resolution to reappoint 
grant thornton uk llp will be proposed at the 
forthcoming annual general meeting
related party transactions
details of transactions with related parties 
undertaken by the group during the year are 
disclosed in note 25 to the financial statements
corporate governance
the board’s statement on corporate governance 
appears on pages 23 to 25 and policies in 
relation to employees appear on page 16
charitable donations 
during the year the group donated 
approximately £187 000 to a number of 
charities this figure includes donations to the 
responsibility in gambling trust the island 
academy international school antigua heros 
homing exracehorses organisation scheme 
and the bishop simeon trust  included in this 
total was a donation of £3000 to the friends 
of israel sport centre for the disabled of which 
brian harris is the founder 
directors’ indemnity
details of the directors’ indemnity insurance can 
be found in the remuneration report 
purchase of own shares
on 15 october 2008 the company purchased 
6693900 ordinary shares at an average 
price of 29973 pence per share to be held in 
treasury to enable the company to satisfy future 
obligations under certain of the company’s 
equity incentive plans
on 27 october 2008 the company transferred 
80601 ordinary shares held by the company 
in treasury pursuant to the exercise of awards 
by participants under the company’s share 
incentive plans
on 1 1 november 2008 the company 
transferred 80000 ordinary shares held by the 
company in treasury in satisfaction of an award 
to a former employee pursuant to the terms of 
the company’s 2005 long term retention plan
on 27 november 2008 the company 
transferred 6533299 ordinary shares from 
treasury to satisfy obligations to its employees 
under certain of its equity incentive plans  as a 
result the company no longer holds any shares 
in treasury
policy and practice of 
payment of suppliers 
in respect of the group’s next financial year it 
is the policy of the group that each company 
within the group should agree appropriate terms 
and conditions for its transactions with suppliers 
by means ranging from standard written terms 
to individually negotiated contracts payments 
are to be made in accordance with these terms 
and conditions at 31 july 2009 the company 
had a trade creditor balance of £nil 2008 £nil 
group trade payables represented 15 days of 
purchases 2008 15 days 
substantial shareholdings 
as at the opening of dealing on 7 october 2009 
the following shareholders hold or control 
interests in 3 or more of the company’s  
voting rights
directors’ report
brian harris and sean o’connor will retire by 
rotation at this year’s annual general meeting 
and will each seek reelection being eligible
the interests of the directors in the shares of 
the company and options for such shares were 
as shown on pages 28 to 32 both reflecting the 
year end figures and any subsequent changes 
no director has any interest in any other group 
company details of the directors’ remuneration 
and service contracts appear on pages 28  
to 32
p dicks chairman and nonexecutive
a mciver executive 
j wilkinson executive 
n payne nonexecutive 
s o’connor senior independent  
 nonexecutive
b harris nonexecutive annual report 20082009
27
treasury management 
the board has laid out its policy on treasury 
management in the financial review on  
page 22 
going concern 
the directors have considered the implications 
of the potential impact of regulatory 
uncertainties discussed in note 24 the directors 
have reviewed the cash flow projections for the 
group in light of these uncertainties and have 
considered the financial resources available to 
the group  accordingly the directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the group and the 
company have adequate resources to continue 
operations for the foreseeable future  for this 
reason they continue to adopt the going concern 
basis in preparing the financial statements
annual general meeting 
the annual general meeting will be held on 18 
december 2009 the notice of the meeting 
begins on page 78 the notice contains special 
business including the renewal of authority to 
the board to allot shares and the disapplication 
of statutory preemption rights on equity issues 
for cash – both in accordance with abi and 
napf guidelines shareholders should complete 
the proxy form accompanying this report in 
accordance with the notes contained in the 
notice of meeting 
statement of directors’ 
responsibilities
the directors are responsible for preparing the 
annual report and the financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare 
financial statements for each financial year 
under that law the directors have elected to 
prepare financial statements in accordance with 
international financial reporting standards as 
adopted by the european union “ifrss” and 
the parent company financial statements in 
accordance with united kingdom accounting 
standards united kingdom generally accepted 
accounting practice  
the financial statements are required by law to 
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs 
of the group and the company and of the profit 
or loss of the group for that period in preparing 
these financial statements the directors are 
required to
select suitable accounting policies and then z z
apply them consistently
make judgments and estimates that are z z
reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable accounting z z
standards have been followed subject 
to any material departures disclosed and 
explained in the financial statements and
prepare the financial statements on z z
the going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the company 
will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records which disclose 
with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the group and the company 
and enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements comply with the companies 
act 2006 they are also responsible for 
safeguarding the assets of the group and hence 
for taking reasonable steps for the prevention 
and detection of fraud and other irregularities
the directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the corporate and 
financial information included on the company’s 
website legislation in the united kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from legislation 
in other jurisdictions
disclosure of information 
to the auditors
so far as each of the directors is aware there 
is no relevant audit information of which the 
company’s auditors are unaware each of the 
directors has taken all the steps that he ought 
to have taken as a director in order to make 
himself aware of any relevant audit information 
and to establish that the company’s auditors are 
aware of that information
on behalf of the board 
d talisman llb acis 
company secretary 
7 october 2009 28
executive directors   
andrew mciver  1 3 9 520 95 1 7 1478 95 2160 90
jim wilkinson 3 290 479 1 770 41 283 21
dave hobday 2 9  44 1 45  2334 129
nonexecutive directors
peter dicks  3 5 6 7  120   120  60 
sean o’connor  3 4 5 6 7 1 10   1 10  1 10 
brian harris  3 4 6 7 81   81  84 
nigel payne 3 5 7  8 1 14   1 14  181 
  1235  1474 9 2718 136 5212 240
pension 2009 benefits notes total 
emoluments 
2009
bonuses
£000
salaryfees total 
emoluments
2008
pension 2008
remuneration report
1 director’s emoluments
aggregate emoluments for andrew mciver 1 
as highest paid director excluding pension 
contributions amounted to £1477 820 
2008  £2160326 
dave hobday resigned as a director of the 2 
company on 8 may 2008
the average total emoluments of the 3 
executive directors was £1124187 
2008 £1592372  the average total 
emoluments of nonboard employees 
was £62028 2008 £76642 the ratio 
between the two averages was 1821 
2008 2081 
member of the social responsibility 4 
committee  
member of the audit committee 5 
member of the remuneration committee 6 
member of the nomination committee 7  
2008 total emoluments include the release 8 
of 75000 shares under the 2005 share 
plan and an interest in 33333 shares 
following the release of a share based 
payment award on 23 october 2007 
included above are contributions to an 9 
employee benefit trust established for the 
benefit of the directors and certain senior 
employees 29
annual report 20082009
share options granted under the 1 
sportingbet plc unapproved executive 
share option scheme 2004 
share awards granted under the 2 
sportingbet long term retention plan 
2005 during the financial year 175000 
shares were released to andrew mciver  
and 140000 shares were released to  
dave hobday  nigel payne waived his  
rights to the remaining shares subject to  
this award in the light of his role as  
nonexecutive director
share awards granted under the 3 
sportingbet 2006 restricted share plan  
during the financial year 1136364 shares 
were released to andrew mciver and 
655542 shares were released to  
jim wilkinson
a provisional discretionary share bonus 4 
totalling 3452760 shares were made 
to andrew mciver dave hobday and jim 
wilkinson during the 200708 financial year 
on the dates as set out above the awards 
vest in two equal amounts on 1 november 
2008 and 1 november 2009  if all shares 
are held subject to a number being sold 
to meet any tax liability an additional 15 
bonus in shares will be awarded  during 
the financial year 504808 shares were 
released to andrew mciver and 264423 
shares were released to jim wilkinson  
dave hobday’s award of 48798 shares 
remains capable of being released to him in 
november 2009 subject to meeting  
certain conditions
andrew mciver was granted the right to 5 
earn shares which would vest in three equal 
parts in respect of financial years 2007  
2008 and 2009 and would be subject to 
the same performance conditions as the 
sportingbet 2006 restricted share plan 
during the financial year 66666 shares 
were released to andrew mciver under  
this award
share awards granted under the 6 
sportingbet restricted share plan 2009  
during the financial year no shares were 
released to andrew mciver and jim 
wilkinson under this award
dave hobday resigned as a director on 8 7  
may 2008 his award of 246212 shares 
under the sportingbet 2006 restricted 
share plan was released to him during the 
financial year
13789763 options were exercised during this 
financial year 2008 1 1583883 of which 
1966906 options were exercised by directors 
of the company 2008 £3244445 the price 
paid by participants for all awards under the 
appropriate share plans is £nil the market price 
of shares at 31 july 2009 was 5975p and the 
range during the financial period was 2325p to 
6525p  a summary of the performance criteria 
upon which awards or options may be exercised 
is set out below 
2 interests of directors in share options and 
share plans of the company
no of 
options at  
1 aug 2008
notes exercise 
price p
no of 
options at 
31 jul 2009
earliest 
exercise  
date
expiry of 
exercise 
period
date of 
grant
executive directors       
andrew mciver 1 500000 500000 210104 49 290107 290114
 2 175000  010805  010807 010808 
 3 2784092 1647 728 301 106  011 107 010210
 4 1161057 656250 141207  011 108 101209
 5 133334 66668 090506  011 107 011 109
 6  1959566 200109  011 110 011212
jim wilkinson 3 608173 343750 010208  011 108 011209
 4 1507 726 852204 010208  011 107 010210
 6  1077 760 200109  011 110 011212
dave hobday 2 140000  081 105  010807 010808
 7 246212  301 106  011 107 011209
 4 48798 48798 141207  011 108 010210
nonexecutive directors
peter dicks        
nigel payne 1 250000  290104 49 290107 290114
sean o’connor       
brian harris        30
andrew mciver received an interest in 1 
75000 shares on 1 august 2008 and 
100000 shares on 27 october 2008 
following releases of awards under the 
2005 share plan  andrew mciver met the 
tax liability of the former award from his 
own proceeds 41000 shares were sold to 
meet the tax liability of the latter award  he 
received an interest in 1136364 shares on 
27 november 2008 following the release 
of an award under the 2006 share plan  of 
this award andrew mciver was allotted and 
issued 670455 shares  the company met 
the tax liability with a sum in cash equivalent 
to the value of the balance of 465909 
shares  he received an interest in 504807 
shares on 19 january 2009 following the 
release of the first part of a discretionary 
share bonus
jim wilkinson received an interest in 2 
655542 shares on 27 november 2008 
following the release on an award under the 
2006 share plan  he met the tax liability 
of this award from his own proceeds  jim 
wilkinson received an interest in 264423 
shares on 19 january 2009 following the 
release of the first part of a discretionary 
share bonus  of this discretionary share 
bonus jim wilkinson was allotted and 
issued 156009 shares  the company met 
the tax liability with a sum in cash equivalent 
to the value of the balance of 108414 
shares
peter dicks received an interest in 5 1099 3 
shares on 19 march 2009 forming part of 
his nonexecutive remuneration
3 interests of directors in shares in the company
1
2
7
3
4
5
6
1158197

629886
465859
461265
263010
176398
2542536
81 155 1

5 16596
525364
314109
176398
notes 2009 2008
executive directors
andrew mciver
jim wilkinson
dave hobday
nonexecutive directors
peter dicks
sean o’connor
brian harris
nigel payne
sean o’connor received an interest in 4 
5 1099 shares on 19 march 2009 forming 
part of his nonexecutive remuneration 
brian harris received an interest in 5 1099 5 
shares on 19 march 2009 forming part of 
his nonexecutive remuneration
nigel payne received an interest in 5 1099 6 
shares on 19 march 2009 forming part of 
his nonexecutive remuneration all of which 
he subsequently gifted 
2008 shareholding stated at the date of 7  
resignation
remuneration report annual report 20082009
31
3 interests of directors in shares in the company continued
remuneration policy 
the company’s policy is designed to attract 
retain and motivate individuals to ensure 
the success of the company remuneration 
packages are designed to reward directors fairly 
for their contributions whilst remaining within the 
range of benefits offered by similar companies 
in the sector 
the remuneration committee seeks to structure 
total benefits packages including base salaries 
which align the interests of shareholders and 
senior management with particular importance 
weighted upon the performancerelated 
elements of such total remuneration these 
elements are related to their participation in 
sportingbet’s share plans each of which only 
permits the release of an award or option 
subject to the company meeting its performance 
conditions details of which are given below 
specifically when considering adoption of the 
sportingbet restricted share plan 2009 the 
remuneration committee assessed the needs 
of the company for the period through to 2012 
compared to the company’s needs when the 
sportingbet 2006 restricted share plan was 
introduced in november 2006 immediately 
following the enactment of the unlawful internet 
gambling enforcement act 2006
directors’ remuneration will continue to be the 
subject of regular review in accordance with this 
policy in the next financial year 
terms of reference 
the terms of reference of the remuneration 
committee include
to determine the remuneration and benefits z z
including incentive arrangements of 
the executive directors the directors of 
divisional companies and other employees 
of similar status 
to set targets for performancerelated pay z z
elements of remuneration packages 
to review recommendations from the board z z
on the overall remuneration and benefits 
policy of the group with the power and 
authority to amend it if appropriate 
to have regard to the provisions of the z z
combined code and associated guidance in 
its decisionmaking 
the directors intend that the company’s 
remuneration policy will be set by the 
remuneration committee in accordance with 
the terms of reference set out above for the 
following financial year and subsequent  
financial years
service contracts 
the company’s policy on the duration of 
directors’ contracts is that for both executive 
and nonexecutive directors notice periods 
will be no more than one year served by the 
company or the director 
andrew mciver and jim wilkinson have service 
contracts dated 18 january 2006 and 21 
january 2008 respectively which provide for 12 
months’ notice by the company or the director 
and contain noncompete obligations there 
are no payments or compensation on early 
termination of the contract save that where 
a payment is made in lieu of notice and the 
executive commences new employment during 
such a period they are under an obligation to 
repay the company any prorated amounts
each nonexecutive director has a contract for 
services each with a termination period of twelve 
months’ notice it is the company’s policy that 
a proportion of their fee is paid in sportingbet 
shares which are to be retained until they cease 
to be a director of the company
in december 2006 and in the case of jim 
wilkinson on 1 february 2008 sportingbet plc 
granted rolling indemnities to all of its directors 
and the company secretary uncapped in 
amount in relation to certain losses and liabilities 
which they may incur in the course of acting as 
directors and company secretary of sportingbet 
plc or of one or more of its subsidiaries these 
indemnities replace those previously granted on 
similar terms and continue to be in place as at 
31 july 2009
bonuses 
the company operates a bonus incentive 
scheme which applies at differing rates to the 
employment terms of the executive directors 
and members of senior management part of 
any payment under this scheme is linked to the 
annual performance of the business for which 
they are responsible and is at the discretion of 
the board
the remuneration committee reviews the 
packages and varies individual elements when 
appropriate from year to year the remuneration 
committee has policies and procedures in place 
to monitor the size of potential rewards 
on 14 december 2007 and 1 february 2008 
the remuneration committee granted andrew 
mciver and jim wilkinson respectively the 
conditional right to receive a discretionary bonus 
in shares in the company  these shares would 
vest in two equal amounts after the two financial 
periods ending 2008 and 2009 subject to 
the company meeting the same performance 
conditions as the 2005 and 2006 share plans  
they would also receive an additional 15 of 
the award if they retain their shares subject to a 
number being sold to meet any tax liability  
in 2009 
share incentive schemes 
the company operates six share incentive 
schemes namely the unapproved share 
option scheme the ‘unapproved scheme’ the 
sportingbet plc company share option plan 
the ‘ir approved scheme’ the sportingbet 
plc executive share option scheme the 
‘executive scheme’ the sportingbet long term 
retention plan 2005 the ‘2005 share plan’ 
the sportingbet 2006 restricted share plan 
the ‘2006 share plan’ and the sportingbet 
restricted share plan 2009 the ‘2009 share 
plan’ prior to the company’s admission to 
aim on 30 january 2001 share options were 
granted under the unapproved scheme only 
share options are now only granted under the 
2009 share plan the 2005 share plan was 
introduced on 2 august 2005 and the 2006 
share plan was introduced on 3 november 
2006 the 2009 share plan was adopted on 
22 july 2008 and awards were granted under 
the 2009 share plan on 20 january 2009 the 
company’s policy to grant share options under 
the executive scheme and awards under the 
2006 share plan and the 2009 share plan is at 
the remuneration committee’s discretion as and 
when considered appropriate  32
entitlements under the 2005 share plan entail a 
loyalty element and a performance element the 
loyalty element represents 35 of the executive 
directors’ total potential awards pursuant to 
the 2005 share plan participants who remain 
employed by the company until 31 july 2008 
may exercise loyalty awards which have vested 
up to that date participants who remain 
employed by the company until 31 july 2008 
may exercise performance awards which may 
have vested subject to the satisfaction of certain 
performance conditions up to that date only 
executive directors are entitled to participate 
under the 2005 share plan and all are subject 
to the same performance conditions details of 
the awards released to the executive directors 
under the 2005 share plan are set out in the 
table on page 29 
the 2006 share plan entails a performance 
based award calculated as a multiple of salary 
using the three day average of the company’s 
closing share price prior to the award being 
made the award vests after the relevant periods 
as contained within each participant’s award 
broadly following the end of the following 
financial year as with the 2005 plan the shares 
may only vest and be released subject to the 
satisfaction of certain performance conditions 
only executive directors are entitled to 
participate under the 2006 share plan and all 
are subject to the same performance conditions 
the 2009 share plan uses the same rules 
as those which govern the 2006 share plan  
however there are differences in the nature of 
awards granted under the 2009 share plan  
entitlements under the 2009 share plan entail 
a loyalty element and performance element 
in equal proportions  20 of the executive 
directors’ total potential award under the 2009 
share plan vests and is released in november 
2010 30 of such award in november 201 1 
and 50 of such award in november 2012  
shares comprised within the loyalty element of 
the award may only vest and be released if the 
participant remains employed by the company 
as at 31 july 2010 31 july 201 1 and 31 july 
2012 respectively  as with the 2005 share plan 
and the 2006 share plan shares comprised 
within the performance element of the award 
may only vest and be released if a the 
participant remains employed by the company 
as at 31 july 2010 31 july 201 1 and 31 july 
2012 respectively and b certain performance 
conditions are satisfied  only executive 
directors are entitled to participate under the 
2009 share plan and all are subject to the 
same performance conditions 
as an additional incentive on 9 may 2006 the 
remuneration committee granted andrew 
mciver the right to earn additional shares in the 
company these shares would vest in three 
equal amounts after the three financial periods 
ending 2007  2008 and 2009 subject to the 
company meeting the same performance 
conditions as the 2005 and 2006 share plans
for both the 2005 and 2006 share plans 
performance conditions are based on the extent 
to which growth in the company’s adjusted 
continuing earnings per share ‘eps growth’ 
exceeds growth in the retail prices index ‘rpi 
growth’ over a financial year of the company 
for the performance award to be exercisable in 
full eps growth must exceed rpi growth by 
5 per financial year compound the proportion 
of the performance award exercisable increases 
on a straight line sliding scale between 0 and 
100 if eps growth exceeds rpi growth by 
any margin up to 5 over a financial year the 
remuneration committee continues to believe 
that in relation to the 2005 and 2006 share 
plans eps growth in excess of rpi growth is 
the most appropriate measure for determining 
the increase in value delivered to shareholders 
by the company’s executive directors and other 
senior executives the remuneration committee 
reviews the appropriateness of the performance 
measure and the specific target set when 
considering each new grant of performance 
awards 
for the 2009 share plan the performance 
condition is based on the extent to which growth 
in the company’s earnings before interest tax 
and amortisation ‘ebita growth’ exceeds rpi 
growth over a financial year of the company
for the performance award to be exercisable 
in full ebita growth must exceed rpi growth 
by 15 per financial year compound  the 
proportion of the performance award exercisable 
increases on a straight line sliding scale between 
0 and 100 if ebita growth exceeds rpi 
growth by any margin in excess of 5 over a 
financial year  the remuneration committee 
believes that in relation to the 2009 share 
plan ebita growth in excess of rpi growth 
is the appropriate measure for determining the 
increase in value delivered to shareholders by 
the company’s executive directors and other 
senior executives for the period 20092012  
the remuneration committee reviews the 
appropriateness of the performance measure 
and the specific target set when considering 
each new grant of performance awards
cash based long term 
incentive plan 
in 2006 the remuneration committee reviewed 
the remuneration and benefits packages of 
certain key employees as a result a cashbased 
long term incentive plan ‘l tip’ was established 
and offered to the executive directors and a 
small number of key employees and which was 
varied in november 2006 in order to retain 
key employees following the enactment of the 
unlawful internet gambling enforcement act 
2006 the l tip pays a cash sum based on the 
relevant employee’s gross salary 40 of which 
matured in december 2007  with the remainder 
maturing in august 2009 in order for the 
employee to receive such payments under the 
l tip they need to be in employment up to and 
including 31 december 2007 in respect  
of the 40 and 31 july 2009 in respect of  
the remainder 
in 2008 the remuneration committee reviewed 
the remuneration and benefits packages of 
certain key employees  as a result a cash
based long term incentive plan ‘l tip’ was 
established and offered to the executive 
directors and a small number of key employees 
in order to retain such individuals  the l tip 
pays a cash sum in august 2012 based on the 
relevant employee’s gross salary  in order for the 
employee to receive such payment under the 
l tip they need to be in employment up to and 
including 31 july 2012
by order of the board 
d talisman llb acis  
company secretary  
7 october 2009
3 interests of directors in shares in the company continued
remuneration report 33
annual report 20082009
the supply of betting and gaming services 
continues to be subject to a complex 
inconsistent and often protectionist approach 
by jurisdictions worldwide however action 
to address this by international trade bodies 
such as the world trade organisation and 
the european commission has resulted in the 
censuring of certain nations and increasingly 
the introduction of regulatory regimes for  
the activity
the group continues to provide its services 
only from jurisdictions where it is licensed 
and regulated and that therefore the supply 
of services from these jurisdictions where its 
regulator and applicable local laws deem the 
gambling transaction to take place is  
explicitly legal 
in order to provide its worldwide gambling 
service the group currently maintains licences in 
alderney antigua and barbuda australia south 
africa and the uk 
major issues of note in the last 12 months all of 
which have been widely reported include
the possibility that the uk will impose z z
financial requirements on offshore operators 
who target the local gambling market 
an ongoing move towards liberalisation z z
of the gambling sector in a number of eu 
jurisdictions including france denmark italy 
through a wider regulatory regime  
and sweden
greater european commission pressure on z z
eu and efta member states principally 
norway to justify their national gambling 
regimes including proposed new 
regulatory regimes in light of the free trade 
requirements of international law and
increasing attempts to impose indirect taxes z z
via product fees on gambling operators by 
certain states in australia
regulatory developments
eu member states are subject to scrutiny from 
the european commission the “commission” 
and as guardian of the ec treaty it closely 
monitors existing and developing legislation 
in the eu the principal method by which the 
commission has applied pressure on member 
states is through the use of ‘infringement 
proceedings’ against eu member states 
in contravention of ec law through such 
proceedings the commission has asked a 
number of states to amend their laws restricting 
the free movement of gambling services the 
ongoing pressure from the commission and in 
some cases national court decisions declaring 
domestic legislation to be incompatible with ec 
law has led to a domestic review of prohibitive 
legislation in a number of jurisdictions including 
france italy sweden and denmark 
on 9 september 2009 the european court 
of justice the “ecj” delivered its judgment 
in case c4207 between departamento de 
jogos da santa casa da misericordia de lisboa 
“santa casa” and bwin and effectively upheld 
the portuguese national law restricting certain 
betting and gaming activities to the state 
monopoly santa casa while the ecj maintained 
the need for restrictions on gambling services to 
be justified in the public interest the judgment 
is unambiguous in its vindication of state 
monopolies as an effective method for doing so
the european union  
spain
as a result of the uncertainty over the legality  
of the provision of online gambling which is  
not expressly prohibited by spanish law spain 
has historically adopted a tolerant approach  
to the supply of foreign gambling services into 
the jurisdiction
madrid and the basque region have both 
introduced licensing regimes for online betting 
which has led to the spanish government taking 
steps towards a nationwide system of regulation 
which will permit operators to obtain a spanish 
gambling licence the draft legislative process 
is ongoing and has been subject to criticisms 
including accusations of a lack of transparency 
and failure to consult stakeholders as a result 
other spanish regions including castillaleon 
and la rioja have announced their intention to 
regulate the sector on a regional basis
united kingdom
the group operates a licence granted by the 
alderney gambling control commission and 
is therefore permitted to advertise in the uk 
under the gambling act 2005 which permits uk 
advertising for alderney licensees on the back of 
alderney’s whitelisted status    
in april 2009 the department for culture media 
and sport “dcms” announced that overseas 
gambling operators who advertise in the uk may 
face new financial and regulatory requirements 
to ensure a more even financial treatment of 
uk operators and nonuk operators who target 
the uk market  the dcms is due to report its 
findings to parliament before the end of 2009  34
france 
france has historically been a staunch opponent 
of the provision of online gambling services by 
operators without a french licence  
in light of this approach the commission has 
put substantial pressure on france’s domestic 
regulation of online gambling stating that its 
laws are not compatible with ec law as a 
result of such pressure france is to regulate 
the online gambling sector specifically france 
will liberalise the online sports betting and 
skill gaming market including poker but 
will not liberalise online gaming the draft 
online gambling law produced by france was 
subject to a number of critical comments by 
the commission but it is understood that the 
licensing system it introduces will be in force 
prior to the world cup 2010 the commission is 
certain to monitor the draft law as it progresses 
through the french legislature and it is 
understood that it will carry out a full assessment 
of the final version to determine its compatibility 
with ec law
germany
despite criticism from the commission the 
interstate gambling treaty remains in force in 
germany the treaty effectively provides that 
all forms of online gambling are unlawful where 
they are targeted at german residents
while the current official position in germany 
is that the treaty is not to be amended we 
understand that the german government is 
under intense pressure from the commission 
and at a political level internally to amend the 
legislation furthermore enforcement action 
against operators where they actively target 
german residents including through local 
marketing has been curbed due to the lack of 
clarity in the legal position 
in our view therefore legislation that was 
intended to almost comprehensively block online 
gambling has had only limited effect and the 
general inability of the german government to 
block online gambling websites coupled with the 
questionable legality of the legislation has led to 
a continued supply of online gambling services 
and an absence of extraterritorial enforcement 
against the activity
italy
italy has changed its monopolyorientated  
stance on online gambling and has started to 
permit a number of nonitalian bookmakers 
to obtain licences to operate online betting 
offerings from certain outlets such as 
newsagents bars and cafes
in addition italy has recently announced that it 
is to legislate for the licensing of online poker 
cash games casino games betting exchanges 
and betting on virtual events during the course 
of 2009 the draft legislation will be submitted 
to the commission during the course of 2009 
with the intention to commence licensing by the 
end of 2009
italy currently requires that even eulicensed 
operators obtain an additional gambling licence 
in italy in order to target its domestic market  
however such an approach is potentially in 
breach of the eu principle of mutual recognition 
of businesses licensed elsewhere in the eu and 
it remains to be seen whether such a stance will 
be permitted by the commission in the  
long term 
norway
outside of the eu the efta surveillance 
authority the “authority” has held that draft 
norwegian legislation prohibiting the processing 
of payments for gambling infringes efta laws 
on the freedom to provide services and the 
free movement of capital  norway is legally 
obliged to take account of the authority’s 
comments and if it fails to reflect them in the 
legislation the authority is likely to instigate 
infringement proceedings formally requiring 
that the legislation is changed in our view 
such infringement proceedings if not complied 
with may ultimately result in the norwegian 
legislation being referred to the efta court by 
the authority 
regulatory developments
the european union continued  annual report 20082009
35
turkey
antionline gambling legislation was introduced 
in turkey in february 2007 to underpin the 
state monopoly although it remains legal for 
customers to transact with offshore online 
operators the group continues to accept bets 
from turkish residents although it does not have 
employees nor does it conduct advertising in 
the territory 
australia
the lack of consistency in the approach and 
implementation of state and federal legislation 
across australia has resulted in uneven 
regulation of the online gambling sector this is 
particularly evident in the protectionist legislation 
in relation to the payment of fees for the use 
of sports products eg race fields and sporting 
fixtures which is levied against betting operators 
in australia in a supposed bid to prevent illegal 
gambling and to police the dissemination of 
information in this field such fees are levied on 
operators licensed in australia in addition to 
taxes they pay in their licensing state 
race fields legislation exists in every australian 
state except the australian capital territory 
and the northern territory in addition no fees 
are currently payable in western australia 
and tasmania as the relevant legislation 
has not yet come into effect the race fields 
legislation however is subject to ongoing legal 
challenge principally on the grounds that it is an 
unconstitutional violation of australian free trade 
principles the high court has already ruled 
against such fees on the grounds that they  
are an unfair and unconstitutional restriction  
on competition
unlike race fields and with the exception of 
victoria no state or territory has legislation that 
specifically requires betting operators to pay 
fees for the use of sporting fixture information 
however a general principle has developed 
under which corporate bookmakers enter into 
direct commercial agreements with the national 
administrative bodies for each sport such 
agreements typically provide for a fee equivalent 
to 5 of revenue to be paid to the administrative 
bodies
united states
the us continues to prohibit online gambling 
supplied from offshore  
despite the current prohibitive position there 
have been suggestions that in light of the 
economic downturn in the us and the resultant 
loss of revenue for landbased casino operators 
liberalisation may occur in the online gambling 
market  increasing pressure from consumers 
and lobby groups has also resulted in legislative 
proposals  to date these have not amounted to 
a change in the existing prohibitive regime
the group continues in its discussions with the 
us department of justice to seek clarification of 
the position of the us authorities with respect 
to the group’s previous activities and whether 
a mutually acceptable resolution is possible  
these talks continue and are productive and 
amicable in their nature  the board continues 
to be optimistic of reaching a settlement but has 
little visibility of the likely timing or quantum
asia
the regulatory regime in many asian countries 
is currently prohibitive and at present the group 
has no operations or activities in asia
rest of the world 36
we have audited the financial statements of 
sportingbet plc for the year ended 31 july 
2009 which comprise the consolidated income 
statement the consolidated balance sheet 
the consolidated cash flow statement the 
consolidated statement of recognised income 
and expense and the related notes the financial 
reporting framework that has been applied in  
the preparation of the group financial 
statements is applicable law and international 
financial reporting standards ifrss as 
adopted by the european union 
we have reported separately on the parent 
company financial statements of sportingbet 
plc for the year ended 31 july 2009
this report is made solely to the company’s 
members as a body in accordance with sections 
495 and 496 of the companies act 2006 our 
audit work has been undertaken so that we 
might state to the company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an 
auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the 
fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept 
or assume responsibility to anyone other than 
the company and the company’s members as a 
body for our audit work for this report or for the 
opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities 
of directors and auditors
as explained more fully in the statement of 
directors’ responsibilities set out on page 27  
the directors are responsible for the preparation 
of the financial statements and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair view 
our responsibility is to audit the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law 
and international standards on auditing uk and 
ireland those standards require us to comply 
with the auditing practices board’s apb’s 
ethical standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the 
financial statements
a description of the scope of an audit of 
financial statements is provided on the apb’s 
website at wwwfrcorgukapbscopeuknp
opinion on financial 
statements
in our opinion
the financial statements give a true and fair z z
view of the state of the group’s affairs as at 
31 july 2009 and of the group’s profit for 
the year then ended 
the group financial statements have been z z
properly prepared in accordance with ifrs 
as adopted by the european union
the financial statements have been z z
prepared in accordance with the 
requirements of the companies act 2006
emphasis of matter  
regulatory uncertainty
in forming our opinion on the financial 
statements which is not qualified we have 
considered the accuracy of and draw attention 
to the disclosures made in note 24a regarding 
the implications of and uncertainties arising 
from regulatory developments concerning 
online gambling and related activities in the 
united states turkey and parts of europe there 
is uncertainty as to the impact such regulatory 
developments may have on the group note 
24a includes a statement that the board does 
not consider it probable that a material liability 
or impairment in the carrying value of assets will 
arise as a result of any potential action
opinion on other matter 
prescribed by the 
companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the 
directors’ report for the financial year for 
which the financial statements are prepared is 
consistent with the financial statements
matters on which we 
are required to report by 
exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the 
following
under the companies act 2006 we are required 
to report to you if in our opinion
certain disclosures of directors’ z z
remuneration specified by law are not made 
or
we have not received all the information and z z
explanations we require for our audit
paul etherington
senior statutory auditor 
for and on behalf of grant thornton uk llp 
statutory auditor chartered accountants 
london
7 october 2009
independent auditor’s report to 
the members of sportingbet plc 37
annual report 20082009
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 july 2009
notes 31 july 2009
£m
year ended
31 july 2008
£m
restated
amounts wagered 4 1577 2 1347 8
net gaming revenue 3 4 1636 1443
administrative expenses excluding exceptional items share option charge and amortisation of  
other intangible assets  1325 1 196
group operating profit before exceptional items share option charge and  
amortisation of other intangible assets  311  247
other administrative expenses
exceptional items 5 42 120
share option charge 7 31 80
amortisation of other intangible assets 13 19 39
total administrative expenses  1417 1435
group operating profit  219 08
finance income 9 07 08
finance costs 9 03 04
profit before taxation 6 223 12
taxation 10 05 35
profitloss for the year  218 23
loss for the year from discontinued operations 2 94 20
group profitloss for the year  124 43
profitloss attributable to the equity holders of the parent  124 43
profitloss per ordinary share – continuing operations   
basic 1 1 46p 05p
diluted 1 1 42p 05p
profitloss per ordinary share  
basic 1 1 26p 09p
diluted 1 1 24p 09p
comparative figures have been restated to 
reclassify discontinued operations as described 
in note 2
the notes on pages 41 to 69 form part of these 
financial statements  38
as at
consolidated balance sheet
as at 31 july 2009
notes 31 july 2009
£m
31 july 2008
£m
noncurrent assets   
goodwill 12 412 530
other intangible assets 13 159 152
property plant and equipment 14 219 211
noncurrent receivables   05
deferred tax asset 10 14 07
  804 905
current assets 
trade and other receivables 15 134 7 5
cash and cash equivalents 16 443 494
derivatives 19 07 
  584 569
current liabilities   
trade and other payables 17 410 528
interest bearing loans and borrowings 17 40 56
contingent consideration 17 05 45
  455 629
net current assetsliabilities  129 60
noncurrent liabilities   
longterm provisions 18 01 01
  01 01
net assets  932 844
equity   
issued share capital 20 05 05
shares to be issued 21  90
share premium 21 594 563
retained earnings 21 333 201
foreign exchange reserve 21  15
total equity  932 844
the notes on pages 41 to 69 form part of 
these financial statements these financial 
statements were approved by the board and 
authorised for issue on 7 october 2009 
a mciver  
director annual report 20082009
39
year ended
notes 31 july 2009
£m
31 july 2008
£m
group profitloss after taxation  124 43
depreciation  47 37
software amortisation  40 28
other amortisation  19 39
loss on disposal 2 7 9 
share option charge  31 80
finance income  04 04
taxation  05 35
operating cash flows before movements in working capital  341 17 2
increase in receivables  48 07
decreaseincrease in payables  97 17 9
cash generated by operations  196 344
income tax paid  26 14
net cash from operating activities  17 0 330
purchases of property plant and equipment 14 61 122
purchases of software 13 66 28
acquisition of subsidiary  45 46
interest received  03 04
net cash from discontinued operations 2 12 
cash used in investing activities  181 192
exercise of share options  01 
new bank loans raised   03
purchase of own shares  30 
repayment of borrowings  16 
net cash from financing activities  47 03
net decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents in the year  58 141
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year  494 345
effect of foreign exchange rate changes  07 08
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 16 443 494
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 july 2009
the notes on pages 41 to 69 form part of these 
financial statements  40
consolidated statement of 
recognised income and expense
for the year ended 31 july 2009
2009
£m
2008
£m
amounts initially recycled to equity under designated cash flow hedges 12 
amounts recycled to the income statement to match the hedged items 05 
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 15 11
net income recognised directly in equity 22 11
profitloss for financial year 124 43
total recognised income and expense for the year 146 32
attributable to  
equity holders of the parent 146 32
 146 32 41
annual report 20082009
notes to the financial statements
1 accounting policies
basis of preparation 
the financial information provided is for the 
group’s financial year ended 31 july 2009 
the financial information has been prepared 
in accordance with applicable international 
financial reporting standards ifrss as 
adopted by the eu    
the accounting policies have been applied 
consistently throughout the group for the 
purposes of preparation of this financial 
information  
standards in issue not  
yet effective
the iasb and ifric have issued the following 
standards and interpretations which are 
effective for periods starting after the date of 
these financial statements and are yet to be 
adopted by the group
international accounting 
standards iasifrs 
ias 1 presentation of financial statements z z
revised 2007  1 january 2009 
amendment to ias 39 financial z z
instruments recognition and measurement 
 eligible hedged items  1 july 2009
ifrs 3 business combinations revised z z
2008  1 july 2009 
amendments to ifrs 7 financial z z
instruments disclosures  improving 
disclosures about financial instruments  
1january 2009
ifrs 8 operating segments  1 january z z
2009
improvements to ifrss 2008 z z
improvements to ifrss 2009 z z
international financial reporting 
interpretations committee ifric 
ifric 16 hedges of a net investment in a z z
foreign operation  1 october 2008
the group does not anticipate that the adoption 
of these standards and interpretations will have 
a material effect on its financial statements on 
initial adoption ifrs 8 may require changes 
in the scope and presentation of segmental 
disclosures ias 1 revisions will require a change 
in the format and presentation of reporting and 
ifrs 3 revisions would have an impact on the 
accounting of any future business combinations
basis of consolidation – 
subsidiaries 
the group financial statements for the year 
consolidate the financial statements of 
sportingbet plc and the entities it controls its 
subsidiaries
subsidiaries are consolidated from their date of 
acquisition being the date on which the group 
obtains control and continue to be consolidated 
until the date that such control ceases control 
comprises the power to govern the financial and 
operating policies of the investee so as to obtain 
benefit from its activities and is achieved through 
direct or indirect ownership of voting rights 
currently exercisable or convertible potential 
voting rights or by way of contractual agreement 
accounting policies are consistently applied 
across the group all intercompany balances 
and transactions are eliminated
business combinations 
on acquisition the assets liabilities and 
contingent liabilities of a subsidiary are 
measured at their fair values at the date of 
acquisition any excess of the cost of acquisition 
over the fair values of the identifiable net 
assets acquired is recognised as goodwill any 
deficiency of the cost of acquisition below the 
fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired 
ie discount on acquisition is credited to the 
income statement in the period of acquisition
contingent and deferred consideration arising as 
a result of acquisitions is stated at a measure of 
fair value at the date of acquisition contingent 
consideration is based on management’s 
best estimate of the likely outcome the fair 
value of contingent share consideration is 
measured based on the market price of shares 
at acquisition subsequent remeasurement of 
contingent consideration is adjusted  
against goodwill
amounts wagered
amounts wagered represents amounts staked in 
respect of bets placed on sporting events in the 
year net win in respect of casino and gaming 
and rake in respect of poker games that have 
concluded in the year amounts wagered are 
stated net of certain promotional bonuses
net gaming revenue
net gaming revenue is measured at the fair 
value of consideration received or receivable 
and comprises the following
sports betting gains and losses in respect z z
of bets placed on sporting events in the 
year stated after betting taxes and certain 
promotional bonuses 
open positions are carried at fair market 
value and gains and losses arising on this 
valuation are recognised in revenue as well 
as gains and losses realised on positions 
that have closed 
casino and gaming net win in respect of z z
bets placed on casino games that have 
concluded in the year stated net of certain 
promotional bonuses
poker net win in respect of rake for poker z z
games that have concluded in the year 
stated net of certain promotional bonuses
where the group refers to gaming revenue z z
this represents net gaming revenue before 
the deduction of promotional bonuses
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of 
an acquisition over the group’s share of the fair 
value of the identifiable assets and liabilities 
acquired goodwill is allocated to  
cash generating units for the purpose of 
impairment testing
goodwill allocated to each cash generating unit 
is not amortised and is reviewed for impairment 
at least annually where impairment arises on 
a cash generating unit it is allocated initially 
against goodwill and thereafter pro rata amongst 
other assets any impairment is recognised 
immediately in the income statement and is 
not subsequently reversed goodwill arising on 
earlier acquisitions was being amortised over its 
estimated useful life of 20 years in accordance 
with the transitional provisions of ifrs 1 first 
time adoption of ifrs the unamortised balance 
of goodwill at 31 july 2006 was frozen and 
reviewed for impairment and will be reviewed for 
impairment at least annually 42
property plant and 
equipment
property plant and equipment is stated at cost 
less accumulated depreciation depreciation is 
provided on all property plant and equipment 
except for freehold land at rates calculated to 
write each asset down to its estimated residual 
value using the straight line method over its 
expected useful life as follows 
methods of depreciation residual values and 
useful lives are reviewed and adjusted  
if appropriate at each balance sheet date 
leasehold improvements are included within 
fixtures fittings and equipment in the property 
plant and equipment note
impairment of property 
plant and equipment and 
intangible assets
at each balance sheet date the group reviews 
the carrying amounts of its property plant 
and equipment and other intangible assets to 
determine whether there is any indication that 
those assets have suffered an impairment loss 
if any such indication exists the recoverable 
amount of the asset is estimated in order to 
determine the extent of the impairment loss  
if any where the asset does not generate  
cash flows that are independent from other 
assets the group estimates the recoverable 
amount of the cashgenerating unit to which  
the asset belongs 
recoverable amount is the higher of fair value 
less costs to sell and value in use in assessing 
value in use the estimated future cash flows 
are discounted to their present value using a 
pretax discount rate that reflects current market 
assessments of the time value of money and 
the risks specific to the asset for which the 
estimates of future cash flows have not  
been adjusted
fixtures fittings  
and equipment
leasehold improvements
motor vehicles
computer equipment
 
25 on cost
10 on cost
25 on cost
33 on cost
computer software 
where in the opinion of the directors the 
group’s expenditure in relation to development 
of internet activities results in future economic 
benefits these costs are capitalised and 
amortised over the useful economic life of  
the asset
development costs are capitalised only when 
it is probable that future economic benefit will 
result from the project and the following criteria 
are met 
the technical feasibility of the product has z z
been ascertained
adequate technical financial and other z z
resources are available to complete and sell 
or use the intangible asset
the group can demonstrate how the z z
intangible asset will generate future 
economic benefits and the ability to 
use or sell the intangible asset can be 
demonstrated
it is the intention of management to z z
complete the intangible asset and use it or 
sell it
the development costs can be measured z z
reliably
amortisation is provided on computer software 
at a rate calculated to write each asset down to 
its estimated residual value using the straight 
line method over its expected useful life  
as follows
methods of amortisation residual values and 
useful lives are reviewed and adjusted if 
appropriate at each balance sheet date
other intangible assets 
identifiable intangible assets acquired as part of 
business combinations that meet the conditions 
for recognition under ifrs 3 are recognised 
at their fair value at the acquisition date and 
amortised over their useful economic life  
as follows
if the recoverable amount of an asset or cash
generating unit is estimated to be less than 
its carrying amount the carrying amount of the 
asset or cashgenerating unit is reduced to 
its recoverable amount  an impairment loss is 
recognised as an expense immediately unless 
the relevant asset is carried at a revalued 
amount in which case the impairment loss is 
treated as a revaluation decrease
where an impairment loss subsequently 
reverses the carrying amount of the asset 
or cashgenerating unit is increased to the 
revised estimate of its recoverable amount but 
so that the increased carrying amount does not 
exceed the carrying amount that would have 
been determined had no impairment loss been 
recognised for the asset or cashgenerating 
unit in prior years a reversal of an impairment 
loss is recognised as income immediately  
unless the relevant asset is carried at a  
revalued amount in which case the reversal  
of the impairment loss is treated as a  
revaluation increase
finance costs 
finance costs are charged to profit over the term 
of the debt so that the amount charged is at a 
constant rate on the carrying amount
finance costs include issue costs which  
are initially recognised as a reduction  
in the proceeds of the associated  
financial instrument
computer software            33 on cost
superbahis url
belmond international 
limited  marketing contract
33 on cost
 
20 on cost
notes to the financial statements
1 accounting policies continued annual report 20082009
43
financial instruments 
financial assets and financial liabilities are 
recognised on the group’s balance sheet when 
the group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument
trade receivables
trade receivables are recognised initially at fair 
value and subsequently measured at amortised 
cost using the effective interest method 
less provision for impairment a provision for 
impairment of trade receivables is established 
when there is objective evidence that the 
group will not be able to collect all amounts 
due according to the original terms of the 
receivables significant financial difficulties of 
the debtor probability that the debtor will enter 
bankruptcy or financial reorganisation and 
default or delinquency in payments more than 
60 days overdue are considered indicators that 
the trade receivable is impaired the amount 
of the provision is the difference between the 
asset’s carrying amount and the present value 
of estimated future cash flows discounted at 
the original effective interest rate the carrying 
amount of the asset is reduced through the use 
of an allowance account and the amount of 
the loss is recognised in the income statement 
within ‘other administrative expenses’  
when a trade receivable is uncollectable it is 
written off against the allowance account for 
trade receivables subsequent recoveries of 
amounts previously written off are credited 
against ‘other administrative expenses’ in the 
income statement
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents include cash in 
hand deposits with banks it also includes cash 
reserves and short term cash in transit held by 
payment service providers
financial liabilities and equity
financial liabilities and equity instruments are 
classified according to the substance of the 
contractual arrangements entered into  an 
equity instrument is any contract that evidences 
a residual interest in the assets of the group 
after deducting all of its liabilities
interest bearing loans and other 
borrowings
borrowings are recognised initially at fair value 
net of transaction costs incurred  borrowings 
are subsequently stated at amortised cost and 
the difference between the proceeds net of 
transaction costs and the redemption value is 
recognised in the income statement over  
the period of the borrowings using the effective 
interest method
borrowings are classified as current liabilities 
unless the group has an unconditional right to 
defer settlement of the liability for at least 12 
months after the balance sheet date
trade payables
trade payables are not interestbearing and are 
stated initially at their fair value and thereafter at 
their amortised cost using the effective interest 
rate method the fair value of trade and other 
payables has not been disclosed as due to 
their short duration management considers the 
carrying values recognised in the balance sheet 
to be a reasonable approximation of their  
fair value
equity instruments
equity instruments issued are recorded at the 
proceeds received net of direct issue costs
derivative financial instruments
the group’s activities expose it primarily to the 
financial risks of changes in foreign currency 
exchange rates 
the group uses derivative financial instruments 
to reduce exposure to foreign exchange rate 
movements the group does not hold or issue 
derivative financial instruments for  
speculative purposes
derivatives are initially recognised at fair value 
on the date a derivative contract is entered 
into and are subsequently remeasured at their 
fair value calculated using either discounted 
cashflow techniques or by reference to market 
prices supplied by banks the method of 
recognising the resulting gain or loss depends 
on whether the derivative is designated as a 
hedging instrument and if so the nature of 
the item being hedged the group designates 
certain derivatives as hedges of the variability of 
cash flows cash flow hedge
the group documents at the inception of the 
transaction the relationship between hedging 
instruments and hedged items as well as its 
risk management objective and strategy for 
undertaking various hedge transactions the 
group also documents its assessment both at 
hedge inception and on an ongoing basis of 
whether the derivatives that are used in hedging 
transactions are highly effective in offsetting 
changes in the cash flows of the hedged items
the use of financial derivatives is governed by 
the group’s policies approved by the board of 
directors which provide written principles on the 
use of financial derivatives
derivative financial instruments not eligible for 
hedge accounting are recognised in the balance 
sheet at fair value calculated using either 
discounted cash flow techniques or by reference 
to market prices supplies by banks  
changes in their fair value are recognised in  
the income statement 
cash flow hedges
the effective portion of changes in the fair value 
of derivatives that are designated and qualify as 
cash flow hedges is recognised in equity the 
gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is 
recognised immediately in the  
income statement 
amounts accumulated in equity are recycled in 
the income statement in the periods when the 
hedged item will affect profit or loss however 
when the hedged transaction results in the 
recognition of a nonfinancial asset or a liability 
the gains and losses previously deferred in 
equity are transferred from equity and included 
in the initial measurement of the cost of the 
asset or liability
when a hedging instrument expires or is sold or 
when a hedge no longer meets the criteria for 
hedge accounting any cumulative gain or loss 
existing in equity at that time remains in equity 
and is recognised when the forecast transaction 
is ultimately recognised in the income 
statement when a forecast transaction is no 
longer expected to occur the cumulative gain or 
loss that was reported in equity is immediately 
transferred to the income statement
1 accounting policies continued 44
dividends 
dividends are recognised when they become 
legally payable interim dividends are recognised 
when paid final dividends are recognised when 
approved by the shareholders at an annual 
general meeting 
functional and 
presentational currency
items included in the financial statements 
of each of the group’s entities are measured 
using the currency of the primary economic 
environment in which the entity operates  
“the functional currency” the consolidated 
financial statements are presented in sterling 
£ which is the parent’s functional and 
presentational currency
foreign currency 
translation
foreign currency transactions of individual 
companies are translated at the rates ruling 
when they occurred foreign currency monetary 
assets and liabilities are translated at the closing 
spot rate any differences are taken to the 
income statement 
the results of overseas operations are translated 
at the average rates of exchange during the year 
and their balance sheets translated into sterling 
at the rates of exchange ruling on the balance 
sheet date exchange differences which arise 
from translation of the opening net assets and 
results of foreign subsidiary undertakings and 
from translating the income statement  
at an average rate are taken to reserves 
taxation
the tax expense represents the sum of the tax 
currently payable and deferred tax
the tax currently payable is based on taxable 
profit for the year taxable profit differs from 
net profit as reported in the income statement 
because it excludes items of income or expense 
that are taxable or deductible in other years and 
it further excludes items that are never taxable 
or deductible the group’s liability for current 
tax is calculated using tax rates that have been 
enacted or substantively enacted by the balance 
sheet date
deferred tax
deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or 
recoverable on differences between the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial 
statements and the corresponding tax bases 
used in the computation of taxable profit and is 
accounted for using the balance sheet liability 
method deferred tax liabilities are generally 
recognised for all taxable temporary differences 
and deferred tax assets are recognised to the 
extent that it is probable that taxable profits will 
be available against which deductible temporary 
differences can be utilised such assets and 
liabilities are not recognised if the temporary 
difference arises from the initial recognition 
of goodwill or of other assets and liabilities 
in a transaction other than in a business 
combination that affects neither the tax profit 
nor the accounting profit
deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable 
temporary differences arising on investments in 
subsidiaries except where the group is able to 
control the reversal of the temporary difference 
and it is probable that the temporary difference 
will not reverse in the foreseeable future
the carrying amount of deferred tax assets 
is reviewed at each balance sheet date and 
reduced to the extent that it is no longer 
probable that sufficient taxable profits will  
be available to allow all or part of the asset to  
be recovered
deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates 
that are expected to apply in accordance with 
laws which have been enacted or substantially 
enacted at the balance sheet date deferred tax 
is charged or credited in the income statement 
except when it relates to items charged or 
credited directly to equity in which case the 
deferred tax is also dealt with in equity
employee benefits
pension costs 
for defined contribution arrangements the 
amount charged to the income statement 
in respect of pension costs and other post
retirement benefits is the contributions payable 
in the year differences between contributions 
payable in the year and contributions 
actually paid are shown as either accruals or 
prepayments in the balance sheet
share based employee 
remuneration 
where share options are awarded to employees 
the fair value of the options at the date of grant 
is charged to the income statement over the 
vesting period with the corresponding credit to 
the profit and loss reserve nonmarket vesting 
conditions are taken into account by adjusting 
the number of equity instruments expected 
to vest at each balance sheet date so that 
ultimately the cumulative amount recognised 
over the vesting period is based on the number 
of options that eventually vest market vesting 
conditions are factored into the fair value of the 
options granted as long as all other vesting 
conditions are satisfied a charge is made 
irrespective of whether the market vesting 
conditions are satisfied the cumulative expense 
is not adjusted for failure to achieve a market 
vesting condition
where the terms of the options are modified 
before they vest the increase in the fair value  
of the options measured immediately before  
and after the modification is also charged to  
the income statement over the remaining  
vesting period
where equity instruments are granted to  
persons other than employees the income 
statement is charged with the fair value of  
goods and services received
the proceeds received net of any directly 
attributable transaction costs are credited to 
share capital nominal value and share premium 
when the options are exercised
leases 
leases are classified as finance leases 
whenever the terms of the lease transfer 
substantially all the risks and rewards of 
ownership to the lessee all the other leases are 
classified as operating leases
the group as lessee
rentals under operating leases are charged on 
a straight line basis over the lease term even 
if the payments are not made on such a basis 
benefits received and receivable as an incentive 
to sign an operating lease are similarly spread on 
a straight line basis over the lease term
notes to the financial statements
1 accounting policies continued 45
annual report 20082009
the group as lessor
rental income from the group’s land and 
buildings accounted for within property plant 
and equipment is recognised on a straight line 
basis over the lease term
exceptional items
exceptional items are those that in 
management’s judgement need to be disclosed 
by virtue of their size or incidence in order for 
the user to obtain a proper understanding of the 
financial information
provisions
provisions are recognised when the group 
has a present obligation as a result of a past 
event and it is probable that the group will be 
required to settle that obligation  provisions are 
measured at the directors’ best estimate of the 
expenditure required to settle the obligation at 
the balance sheet date and are discounted to 
present value where the effect is material 
critical accounting 
judgements and key 
sources of estimation 
uncertainty 
in the application of the accounting policies 
which are detailed in this note the directors 
are required to make judgements estimates 
and assumptions about the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities that are not readily 
apparent from other sources the estimates and 
associated assumptions are based on historical 
experience and other factors that are considered 
to be relevant actual results may differ from 
these estimates
the estimates and underlying assumptions 
are reviewed on an ongoing basis revisions 
to accounting estimates are recognised in the 
period in which the estimate is revised if the 
revision affects only that period or in the period 
of the revision and future periods if the revision 
affects both current and future periods
the estimates and assumptions which have  
a significant risk of causing a material 
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets 
and liabilities within the next financial year are 
discussed below
impairment of goodwill
determining whether goodwill is impaired 
requires an estimation of the value in use of 
the cashgenerating units the value in use 
calculation requires the entity to estimate the 
future cash flows expected to arise from the 
cashgenerating unit and select a suitable 
discount rate in order to calculate present 
value note 12 provides information on the 
assumptions used in these financial statements
sports betting open positions
in accordance with the group’s accounting 
policy management monitors open betting 
positions on a monthly basis to ensure any 
significant changes in fair value are recognised 
in revenue note 19 sets out managements 
measurement basis
share based payments
management applies valuation techniques to 
calculate the fair value of share option charges 
note 22 provides information on the choice of 
valuation technique and the assumptions used in 
these financial statements
intangible assets
for acquisitions that occurred on or after 1 
august 2006 management has recognised 
separately identifiable intangible assets on the 
balance sheet these intangible assets have 
been valued based on expected future cash 
flow projections from existing customers the 
calculations of the value and estimated future 
economic life of the assets involve by the nature 
of the assets significant judgement
customer liabilities
customer liabilities represent cash held by the 
group on behalf of customers these are stated 
net of an allowance for uncollected dormant 
balances management apply judgement 
calculating the allowance by reference to player 
terms and conditions in assessing the likelihood 
of balances being reclaimed
hedge accounting
in management’s judgement the group  
satisfies the necessary criteria to enable  
hedge accounting to be applied to certain 
derivative instruments note 19 provides  
further information
1 accounting policies continued 46
2 discontinued operations
sale of italian operations
on 21 july 2009 the group’s licensed italian 
operation sportingbet italia spa was sold 
to the local management team for a nominal 
consideration
sportingbet italia spa was acquired by 
the group in may 2006 in anticipation of 
expected further liberalisation of italian online 
gaming regulation this did not materialise and 
consequently sportingbet italia spa has been 
loss making since acquisition
whilst these losses have been reduced to the 
minimum considered achievable the board 
has concluded that significant financial and 
managerial investment would be required to 
generate a profitable business in italy and such 
investment would be better placed elsewhere in 
the group’s portfolio
31 july 
2009 
£m
year ended
31 july
2008
£m
amounts wagered 141 164
net gaming revenue 21 27
administrative expenses 36 47
operating loss 15 20
loss before taxation  15 20
taxation   
loss for the year 15 20
loss on disposal 7 9 
loss for the period from discontinued operations 94  20
notes to the financial statements
income statement of discontinued operations annual report 20082009
47
2 discontinued operations continued
year ended
31 july
2009 
£m
31 july
2008
£m
loss after taxation 15 20
depreciation 02 02
operating cash flows before movement in working capital 13 18
increasedecrease in receivables 04 01
increasedecrease in payables 03 20
cash generated by operations  01 19
net cash from operating activities 12 01
purchases of property plant and equipment  03
cash used in investing activities   03
net cash used in financing activities  
net increasesdecreases in cash and cash equivalents in the year 12 02
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 12 14
cash and cash equivalents at end of period  12
cash flow statement of discontinued operations 48
3 net gaming revenue
4 segment information
2009
£m
2008
£m
gaming revenue 1817 157 8
promotional bonuses 181 135
net gaming revenue 1636 1443
for management purposes the group is 
currently organised into three geographical 
regions – europe australia and emerging 
markets these operating divisions are the  
basis on which the group reports its primary 
segment information
the following table presents revenue and 
profit information and certain asset and liability 
information regarding the group’s business 
segments for the years ended 31 july 2009 and 
31 july 2008 
europe 
£m
unallocated
central costs
£m
australia
£m
continuing
operations
total 
£m
discontinued 
operations 
total 
£m
emerging 
markets
£m
2009
amounts wagered 9387 6105 280  1577 2 141
net gaming revenue 1394 208 34  1636 21
depreciation 7 5 06  04 85 02
administrative expenses excluding  
exceptional items share option charge 
and other amortisation 954 146 33 107 1240 34
group operating profit before  
exceptional items share option  
charge and other amortisation 365 56 01 1 11 311 15
other administrative expenses      
    exceptional items 42    42 
    share option charge 15 06  10 31 
    other amortisation 19    19 
total administrative expenses 1 105 158 33 121 1417 36
operating profitloss 289 50 01 121 219 15
balance sheet information      
total assets 1 148 240   1388 
total liabilities 365 90   455 
expenditure incurred to acquire  
property plant and equipment and  
intangible assets 1 17 10   127 
for segmental information by activity revenue 
is attributed to three principal areas of activity 
notes to the financial statements
emerging markets refer to the group’s 
operations in canada brazil and south africa
sports betting casino gaming and poker 
segment assets and capital expenditure cannot 
be allocated to principal areas of activity 49
annual report 20082009
4 segment information continued
europe 
£m
unallocated
central costs
£m
australia
£m
continuing
operations
total 
£m
discontinued 
operations 
total 
£m
emerging 
markets 
£m
2008
casino 
gaming
£m
casino 
gaming
£m
poker rake
£m
poker rake
£m
total 
£m
total 
£m
sports 
betting
£m
sports 
betting
£m
amounts wagered 12910 368 200 1347 8
net gaming revenue  87 5  368 200  1443
amounts wagered 1517 1 413 188 1577 2
net gaming revenue 1035 413 188 1636 
amounts wagered 7952 5425 101  1347 8 164
net gaming revenue 1235 191 17  1443 27
depreciation 52 06  05 63 02
administrative expenses excluding  
exceptional items share option charge 
and other amortisation 859 1 12 27 135 1133 45
group operating profit before 
exceptional items share option  
charge and other amortisation 324 7 3 10 140 247 20
other administrative expenses      
    exceptional items 120    120 
    share option charge 58 13  09 80 
    other amortisation 39    39 
total administrative expenses 1 127 132 27 149 1435 47 
operating profitloss 107 60 10 149 08 20
balance sheet information      
total assets 1339 135   147 4 
total liabilities 537 93   630 
expenditure incurred to acquire  
property plant and equipment and  
intangible assets 137 10   147 03 50
5 exceptional items
33
40
03
03
47

120





42
42
a
b
c
d
e
f
notes 2008
£m
2009
£m
reorganisation costs relating to uigea
transfer of licensable activities to the channel islands
transfer of emea and poker customer services operation to dublin
paradise – boss migration
transfer of spanish customer services operation to dublin
provision against monies due from payment processing provider
a the impact of the passing of the uigea 
and the subsequent decision to close the us
facing part of paradise poker and dispose of 
the remaining usfacing operations resulted 
in a number of reorganisation costs including 
redundancies and other related costs amounting 
to £nil 2008 £31m and retention and loyalty 
payments to retained employees of £nil 2008 
£02m
b the costs relating to the transfer of the 
licensable activities to alderney and guernsey 
include redundancy recruitment training 
temporary accommodation and other  
related costs 
c the costs to create the dedicated emea 
and poker customer services and fraud centre 
in dublin comprise redundancy recruitment 
training temporary accommodation and other 
related costs
d paradise – boss migration costs relating to 
the migration of paradise poker players to the 
boss media platform include redundancy one
off migration marketing and other related costs
e the costs to transfer the spanish language 
customer services centre to dublin include 
recruitment training temporary accommodation 
costs oneoff marketing the termination 
payment to the former spanish partner and other 
related costs
f provision against monies due from one of  
the group’s european payment processing 
providers where the amount owed by the third 
party is in dispute and its recoverability is not 
sufficiently clear
group operating profit before exceptional items 
share option charge and amortisation has been 
arrived at after chargingcrediting
notes to the financial statements
6 profit before taxation
2009
£m
2008
£m
net foreign exchange losses 10 01
depreciation of property plant and equipment 47 37
amortisation of software 40 28
auditors’ remuneration 
    audit services 01 01
    audit of subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 06 04
    tax services 03 02
rental income  02 annual report 20082009
51
7 share option charge
8 staff costs
2009
£m
2009
no
2008
£m
2008
no
share option charge 31 7 6
social security costs on share options  04
 31 80
the average monthly number of employees including executive directors was  
europe 419 340
australia 87 74
  506 4 14
2009
£m
2008
£m
employee costs including executive directors were as follows  
wages and salaries 299 335
social security costs 28 22
pensions costs 13 12
 340 369 52
2009
£m
2008
£m
bank loans and overdrafts 03 04
 03 04
interest receivable 07 08
 04 04
notes to the financial statements
9 net interest receivablepayable
the following table sets out directors’ 
remuneration there are no key management 
personnel other than the group’s directors
further nonstatutory disclosures on the 
remuneration of each individual director are given 
in the remuneration report on pages 28 to 32 
2009
£m
2008
£m
directors’ remuneration  
salary and fees 12 14
bonuses 06 09
compensation for loss of office  12
share based payments 09 17
total emoluments 27 52
pension contributions 01 02
 28 54
8 staff costs continued 53
annual report 20082009
the tax charge for the year is higher than the 
standard uk rate of corporation tax as  
explained below
10 taxation
2009
£m
2008
£m
note 10a analysis of charge in the period 
current tax  
uk corporation tax on losses of the period  12
overseas taxation 24 27
adjustments to overseas taxation in respect of previous periods  12 03
total current tax note 10b  12 42
deferred tax
current year movement to deferred tax  07 07
total deferred tax note 10c  07 07
tax on profit on ordinary activities 05 35
note 10b factors affecting the tax charge for the period
profit on ordinary activities before tax  223 08
profit on ordinary activities multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the uk 28 2008 28  62 02
effects of
expenses not deductible for tax purposes  13 44
effect of lower tax rates on overseas earnings  69 35 
tax losses arising in year  09 26
other timing differences  09 06
adjustments to tax charge in respect of previous periods  12 03
current tax charge for the period note 10a  12 42
note 10c provision for deferred tax deferred tax asset
other timing differences  07 07
provision for deferred tax at 28 2008 28  07 07 
as at the beginning of the year  07 
current year movement  07 07
as at the end of the year deferred tax asset  14 07
uk deferred tax assets in respect of accelerated 
capital allowances £09m and tax losses £67m 
have not been recognised on the basis that it is 
not probable that there will be sufficient taxable 
profit in future years against which the assets 
can be recovered 54
notes to the financial statements
11 earnings per share
09p
09p
 
 
43p
38p
20p
18p
 
 
03p
03p
04p
04p
 
 
05p
04p
26p
24p
 
 
62p
57p
46p
42p
 
 
65p
60p
05p
05p
 
 
48p
42p
2008
total
discontinued
2009
discontinued
2008
total
2008
£m
discontinued
2009
£m
discontinued
2008  
£m
2009
total
continuing
2009
continuing
2008
total
2009
£m
continuing
2009
£m
continuing
2008
£m
profitloss per ordinary share
basic
diluted
adjusted earnings per ordinary share 
before exceptional items share 
option charge and amortisation
basic
diluted  
basic earnings 218 94 124 23 20 43
exceptional items 42  42 120  120
share option charge 31  31 80  80
amortisation 19  19 39  39
adjusted earnings 310 94 216 216 20 196
the calculation of basic earnings per share is 
based on the profitloss on ordinary activities 
after taxation attributable to shareholders of 
sportingbet plc and the weighted average 
number of shares in issue during the year
during the year the group had the following 
weighted average number of shares in issue and 
potentially dilutive shares
due to the size of noncash items the group 
has adjusted its earnings per ordinary share to 
exclude exceptional items share option charge 
and amortisation
2009
no
2008
no
weighted average number of shares in issue 477 099664 454244357
employee share schemes 39630748 38686358
contingent consideration  19187 386
fully diluted number of weighted average number of shares in issue 516730412 5 121 18101 annual report 20082009
55
11 earnings per share continued
12 goodwill
as at 31 july 2009 the group had the following 
shares in issue and potentially dilutive shares
2009
no
2008
no
number of shares in issue 483987 106 47201 1023
employee share schemes 39630748 38686358
contigent consideration  19187 386
fully diluted number of shares in issue 523617 854 529884767
£m
cost 
as at 1 august 2007  2460
additions  47
exchange adjustments  02
other movements  37
as at 1 august 2008  2546
additions  
disposals  64
exchange movements  01
other movements  55
as at 31 july 2009  2428
impairment losses
as at 1 august 2007  2016
as at 1 august 2008  2016
as at 31 july 2009  2016
net book value  
as at 31 july 2009  412
as at 31 july 2008  530 56
2009
£m
2008
£m
europe 17 8 232
australia 234 234
italy  64
 412 530
subsequent to the annual impairment test 
for 2009 the carrying amount of goodwill is 
allocated to the following cash generating units
the recoverable amounts for the cash 
generating units above are determined based 
on internal discounted cash flow evaluation 
the cash flow evaluation is based on actual 
operating results and five year forecasts at the 
growth rates stated in the key assumptions
discount rates for the goodwill impairment 
review are based on company specific pretax 
weighted average cost of capital percentages 
and range from 10 to 15 the future 
cash flows are modelled based on budgeted 
projections and cash flows beyond the  
budget period are extrapolated using a  
growth rate of 1 the growth rate applied is 
based on past experience future cash flows  
are projected assuming no changes to the 
current regulatory environment
disposals relate to the sale of sportingbet italia 
spa as described in note 2
the other movements arose as a result of 
changes in the underlying value of the amount 
payable to satisfy the contingent consideration 
the group has reclassified italy as a separate 
cash generating unit this year as a result of 
increasing separability of the cash flows from 
this business during the year
notes to the financial statements
12 goodwill continued 57
annual report 20082009
the £139m of other intangible costs  
includes £52m capitalisation of the  
superbahis url and contract and £87m 
relating to the belmond international limited 
marketing contract
13 other intangible assets
software 
£m
other 
£m
total
£m
cost   
as at 1 august 2007 140 52 192
additions 28 87 1 15
as at 1 august 2008 168 139 307
additions 66  66
as at 31 july 2009 234 139 37 3
amortisation and impairment losses   
as at 1 august 2007 7 1 18 89
charge for the year 28 39 67
exchange adjustments 01  01
as at 1 august 2008 98 57 155
charge for the year 40 19 59
as at 31 july 2009 138 7 6 214
net book value   
as at 31 july 2009 96 63 159
as at 31 july 2008 7 0 82 152
amortisation of software is charged to 
administrative expenses in the consolidated 
income statement other amortisation and 
impairment losses are charged to other 
amortisation within other administrative 
expenses 58
14 property plant and equipment
notes to the financial statements
computer 
equipment 
£m
fixtures 
fittings and 
equipment 
£m
freehold 
land and 
buildings 
£m
total 
£m
motor 
vehicles 
£m
cost     
as at 1 august 2007 40 01 121 80 242
additions 26  80 16 122
exchange movements   02  02
as at 1 august 2008 66 01 199 96 362
additions 04  26 31 61
disposals 02  7 3  7 5
exchange movements 07  01  06
as at 31 july 2009 60 01 154 127 342
depreciation     
as at 1 august 2007 27 01 86  1 14
charge for the year 09  26 02 37
exchange adjustments   01 01 
as at 1 august 2008               36 01 1 13 01 151
charge for the year 06  35 06 47
disposals 04  63  67
exchange adjustments 08    08
as at 31 july 2009 30 01 85 07 123
net book value     
as at 31 july 2009 30  69 120 219
as at 31 july 2008 30  86 95 211 annual report 20082009
59
15 trade and other receivables
2009
£m
2009
£m
2009
£m
2008
£m
2008
£m
2008
£m
trade receivables 61 59
provision for impairment of trade receivables 24 19
trade receivables net 37 40
other receivables 62 21
prepayments and accrued income 35 14
 134 7 5 
up to 2 months past due 30 34
2 to 6 months past due 01 04
over 6 months past due 06 01
 37 39
as at 1 august 19 05
provision for receivables impairment 12 20
receivables written off during the year as uncollectable 07 06
as at 31 july 24 19
trade receivables that are less than 30 days past 
due are not considered impaired as of 31 july 
2009 trade receivables of £37m 2008 £39m 
the creation and release of provisions for 
impaired receivables have been included in 
“other administrative expenses” in the income 
statement amounts charged to the allowance 
account are generally written off when there is 
no expectation of recovering additional cash  
the other classes within trade and other 
receivables do not contain impaired assets
the carrying amounts of the group’s trade 
receivables are denominated entirely in 
australian dollars
were past due but not impaired these relate to 
a number of independent customers for whom 
there is no recent history of default 
trade receivables are usually due within 30 
days and do not bear any effective interest rate 
all trade receivables are subject to credit risk 
exposure however the group does not identify 
specific concentration of credit risk with regards 
to trade receivables as the amount recognised 
consists of a large number of receivables from  
various customers
movements on the group provision for 
impairment of trade receivables are  
as follows
the ageing analysis of these trade receivables is 
as follows
the fair value of these short term financial 
assets is not individually determined as the 
carrying amount is a reasonable approximation 
of fair value 60
16 cash and cash equivalents
17 trade and other payables
notes to the financial statements
2009
£m
2008
£m
cash 301 336
short term cash deposits 141 136
restricted cash 01 22
 443 494
restricted cash includes £nil 2008 £12m 
held with barclays in connection with the share 
capital reduction exercise in 2005 and £01m 
2008 £10m held in designated accounts 
which have certain restrictions 
contingent consideration of £05m 2008 
£45m is owed in respect of the acquisition of 
the business and assets of maslin properties 
limited
although repayable on demand the group has 
a bank loan of £40m which is available up to 
2012 the directors do not anticipate early 
short term cash deposits consists of balances 
held by payment service providers  the effective 
rates on bank balances and short term deposits 
was £nil 2008 £nil
repayment the loan is secured by a floating 
charge over the assets of the group and bears 
an interest rate of 15 above libor
the open bets at the year end are within the 
scope of ias 39 as derivative contracts these 
bets are held at fair value with significant gains 
and losses recognised in revenue management’s 
2009
£m
2008
£m
bank loans  40 56
trade payables 53 89
other payables 55 16
customer liabilities 148 134
tax and social security 17 40
accruals and deferred income 120 231
contingent consideration 05 45
open bets 17 18
 455 629
assessments of the exposure to significant 
changes in fair value of open bets is assessed 
as negligible due to the short term exposures 
to such liabilities and the minimal movement on 
average betting odds between the date of bet 
placing and the period end  61
annual report 20082009
18 provisions
19 financial instruments
chargeback 
provision
as at 1 august 2007 03
amounts incurred and charged against the provision 02
as at 1 august 2008 01
amounts incurred and charged against the provision 
as at 31 july 2009 01
included in current liabilities 
included in noncurrent liabilities 01
 01
the chargeback provision provides for future 
chargebacks on customer deposits made within 
the group uses financial instruments 
comprising cash and cash equivalents short 
term borrowings and trade receivables which 
arise directly from its operations
short term receivables 
the group’s trade and other receivables 
are actively monitored to avoid significant 
concentrations of credit risk
derivative instruments
the group takes out forward currency contracts 
in euro and australian dollars hedge accounting 
is applied to certain derivative instruments as set 
out below
interest rate risk
the group finances its operations through a 
mixture of retained profits and bank facilities  
bank borrowings are made using variable 
interest rates the interest rate risk on the 
group’s £40m bank loan is not considered to  
be significant
liquidity risk
the group seeks to manage financial risk to 
ensure sufficient liquidity is available to meet 
foreseeable needs and to invest cash assets 
safely and profitably
sufficient cash reserves are held to maintain 
shortterm flexibility together with shortterm 
borrowings
the following table details the contractual 
maturity analysis of the group’s financial 
liabilities
25 years
 £m
31 july 2009
1 year or less 
£m
5 years  
and over 
£m
total 
£m
financial liabilities  
trade payables 1 17   1 17
customer liabilities 148   148
bank loans 01 42  43
sports betting open positions 17   17
total 283 42  325
the year and is expected to unwind in the next 
financial year 62
notes to the financial statements
customer liabilities represent cash held by 
the group on behalf of customers net of an 
allowance for uncollected balances in the event 
that the level of balances reclaimed exceeds 
management’s expectation the gross cash 
outflow could be higher
credit risk
as explained in the financial review the group 
recharges its credit risk arising from credit 
facilities allowed to certain customers in the 
australian region by making appropriate credit 
checks before bets are placed and setting credit 
limits based on this information
currency risk
the group’s activities expose it to the financial 
risks of changes in foreign currency exchange 
rates a significant proportion of its income 
is derived from foreign currencies whilst the 
majority of its costs are in sterling
during the year the group moved to a proactive 
position and began to hedge foreign currency 
sales with forward contracts for up to one year 
purchasing currencies to cover 80 of its 
exposure one quarter ahead 70 two quarters 
ahead 60 three quarters ahead and 50 
four quarters ahead  this policy is approved by 
the board and the board receives updates on a 
regular basis in respect of the hedging position
the group’s derivative transactions comprise 
currency forward contracts  during the year 
the group entered into a number of forward 
contracts with terms of between 1 and  
12 months
the group applies hedge accounting to its 
forward contracts which provide a cash flow 
hedge against spot rate foreign currency 
volatility over highly probable forecast euro sales
 amounts initially recycled to equity under 
designated cash flow hedges totalled £12m 
2008 £nil of which £05m 2008 nil has 
been recycled to the income statement on the 
completion of designated hedge relationships
the tables below show the extent to which 
group companies have monetary assets and 
liabilities in currencies other than their  
local currency
19 financial instruments continued
25 years
 £m
31 july 2008
1 year or less 
£m
5 years  
and over 
£m
total 
£m
financial liabilities  
trade payables 145   145
customer liabilities 134   134
bank loans 02 59  61
sports betting open positions 18   18
total 299 59  358
the maturity analysis in respect of sports betting 
open positions reflects the fair value of the 
liability position at the balance sheet date in 
the event that the outcome of bets adversely 
affected the business the gross cash outflow 
could be higher annual report 20082009
63
czech
koruna
 £m
2008
 £m
net foreign currency monetary assets
liabilities at fair value 
through the income statement
financial liabilities at 
amortised cost
euro 
£m
functional currency of operation other 
currencies  
£m
2009  
£m
total 
£m
2008 
£m
us dollars 
£m
2009
£m
2009 
sterling 39 09 26 31 105
 39 09 26 31 105
2008 
sterling 165 15 06 35 221
 165 15 06 35 221
financial liabilities as per balance sheet  
trade and other payables 17 18 37 6 47 0
interest bearing loans and borrowings   40 56
 17 18 416 526
fair values
the fair values of the group’s financial 
instruments are considered to be equal to the 
book value as these financial instruments are 
not publicly traded the fair values presented are 
determined by calculating present values of the 
cash flows anticipated until maturity of these 
financial assets 
2009
£m
2009
£m
2008
£m
2008
£m
financial assets as per balance sheet  
trade and other receivables   99 61
cash and cash equivalents   443 494
derivatives 07   
 07  542 555
loans and receivables assets at fair value through  
the income statement
19 financial instruments continued 64
foreign currency 
sensitivity
sportingbet plc is exposed to market risk 
through its use of financial instruments and 
specifically to currency risk
exposures to currency exchange rates arise 
from the group’s retranslation of its foreign 
subsidiaries as well as the group’s overseas 
sales and purchases which are primarily 
denominated in euros and turkish lira
exposures to foreign exchange rates vary during 
the year depending on the volume of overseas 
transactions nonetheless the analysis above is 
considered to be representative of the group’s 
exposure to currency risk
if sterling had weakened against the euro and 
turkish lira by 05 2008 13 and 04 
2008 07 respectively then this would have 
had the following impact
the following table illustrates the sensitivity of 
the net result for the year and equity with regard 
to the group’s financial assets and financial 
liabilities and the eurosterling exchange 
rate and turkish lirasterling rate it assumes 
a  05 movement in the sterlingeuro 
exchange rate for the year ended 31 july 2009 
2008 13 and a  04 movement for the 
sterlingturkish lira exchange rate 2008 07 
capital management
in common with many internet companies 
that have few physical assets the group 
has no policy as to the level of equity capital 
and reserves other than to address statutory 
requirements as at 31 july 2009 the group 
had £40m of bank loans which are secured on 
the group’s land and buildings details of the 
group’s dividend policy are disclosed on page 44 
of this annual report
these percentages have been determined based 
on the average market volatility in exchange 
rates in the previous 12 months
if sterling had strengthened against the euro 
and turkish lira by 05 2008 13 and 
04 2008 07 respectively then this would 
have had the following impact
notes to the financial statements
euro
£m
euro
£m
euro
£m
euro
£m
turkish lira
£m
turkish lira
£m
2009
2009
2008
2008
turkish lira
£m
turkish lira
£m
total
£m
total
£m
total
£m
total
£m
net profit 02 01 03 04 03 07
equity 01 01 03 04 03 07
net profit 02 01 03 04 03 07
equity 01 01 03 04 03 07
19 financial instruments continued 65
annual report 20082009
shares issued in respect of acquisitions 
represent 7 422679 shares in respect of 
the acquisition of the business and assets of 
belmond international limited during the year 
ended 31 july 2008
20 share capital
2009
£000
2008
£000
authorised  
1000m 2008 1000m ordinary shares of 01p each 1000 1000
allotted issued and fully paid  
as at 31 july 2008 47201 1023 shares of 01p each 472 433
issues in respect of acquisitions 7 422679 shares 7 25
other share issues in respect of exercised share options 4714005 shares 5 12
other share issues nil shares  2
as at 31 july 2009 483987 106 shares of 01p each 484 472 66
notes to the financial statements
at 31 july 2009 the following share options 
were outstanding in respect of ordinary shares 
ordinary shares of 01p date of grant period of option exercise 
price  
p
september 2002 100000 september 2005 – september 2009 83
december 2003 1155000 december 2006 – december 2010 395
january 2004 1570625 january 2007 – january 201 1 49
february 2004 100000 february 2007 – january 201 1 395
may 2004 50000 may 2007 – may 201 1 94
october 2004 100000 october 2007 – october 201 1 97 5
november 2004 160000 november 2007 – november 2014 131
august 2005 26250 july 2007 – july 2008 
may 2006 66667 november 2007 – november 2009 
november 2006 9296041 november 2007 – november 2009 
march 2007 461904 november 2007 – november 2009 
june 2007 84325 november 2008 – november 2009 
november 2007 4249569 november 2008 – november 2009 
december 2007 1422354 december 2008 – december 2009 
march 2008 256225 1 november 2008 – november 2009 
june 2008 25 19157 november 2009 – november 201 1 
january 2009 15706605 november 2010 – november 2012 
at 31 july 2009 there were 39630748 options 
or awards over ordinary shares outstanding 
7 152724 of which relate to directors details of 
which can be found in the remuneration report 
on pages 28 to 32 
of the share options detailed above 35700 
relate to the hmrc approved scheme 
1880625 relate to the executive scheme 
1319300 relate to the unapproved scheme 
26250 relate to the 2005 plan 19173247 
relate to the 2006 share plan 15706605 
relate to the 2009 restricted share plan 66667 
relate to conditional awards and 1422354 to 
discretionary awards to executive directors
20 share capital continued annual report 20082009
67
the movement in group equity of £88m 
2008 £123m is wholly represented by the 
movements shown in equity reserves and share 
capital in notes 21 and 20 
the movement in shares to be issued of £90m 
represents settlement of consideration in 
relation to historic acquisitions
21 equity
share 
premium 
account
£m
issued 
share 
capital 
£m
profit 
and loss 
account
£m
shares to 
be issued
£m
foreign 
exchange 
reserve
£m
total
£m
own 
shares
£m
as at august 2007 04 429 146     168 26 721
acquisitions 01 134 56                             7 9
share option charge     7 6  7 6
loss for the year     43  43
foreign currency exchange      11 11
as at 1 august 2008 05 563 90  201 15 844
acquisitions  31 90    59 
share option charge     31  31
profit for the year     124  124
purchase of own shares    30   30
issue of own shares in lieu of options    30 30  
hedging reserve     07  07
foreign currency exchange      15 15
as at 31 july 2009 05 594   333  932 68
notes to the financial statements
22 share based payments
the company operates six equitysettled share
based remuneration schemes for employees 
across the group as listed in note 20 all 
employees are eligible to participate in these 
the exercise price of options outstanding at the 
end of the year ranged between 0p and 131p 
2008 0p and 131p and their weighted average 
contractual life was 596 days 2008 455 days
of the total number of options outstanding at the 
end of the year 3235625 2008 3310625 
had vested and were exercisable
the volatility assumption measured at the 
standard deviation of expected share price 
schemes the vesting conditions being that the 
individual still remains in employment at the 
date of the release of the option and in respect 
of the 2005 and 2006 share plans satisfies 
the weighted average share price at the date 
of exercise of options exercised during the year 
was 27 9p 2008 442p
the weighted average fair value of each  
option granted during the year was 3335p 
2008 4427p
certain performance criteria the terms of these 
schemes are discussed in more detail in the 
remuneration report on pages 28 to 32
the following information is relevant in the 
determination of the fair value of options granted 
during the year under the equityand cash
settled sharebased remuneration schemes 
operated by sportingbet plc
no
2009 2008
weighted 
average 
exercise price
p
no weighted 
average 
exercise price
p
outstanding at the beginning of the year 27 38686357 37 40271306
granted during the year  17 416122  15996714
forfeited during the year  66667  
exercised during the year  13789763 04 1 1909203
lapsed during the year 14 2615301 7 1 5672460
outstanding at the end of the year 25 39630748 27 38686357
exercisable at the end of the year 526 3235625 525 3310625
2009
2009
£m
2008
2008
£m
equitysettled  
options pricing model used blackscholes blackscholes
weighted average share price at grant date pence 3517p 4427p
exercise price pence nil nil
weighted average contractual life days 1208 555
equitysettled  
expected volatility 50 50
expected dividend growth rate 2 2
riskfree interest rate 5 5
the sharebased remuneration expense comprises  
equitysettled schemes 31 80
returns is based on a statistical analysis of daily 
share prices over the last three years 69
annual report 20082009
23 commitments under operating leases
24 contingent liabilities
25 related parties
a from time to time the group is subject to 
legal claims and actions the group takes legal 
advice as to the likelihood of success of the 
claims and actions and no provision or disclosure 
is made where the directors feel based on 
that advice that action is unlikely to result in a 
material loss or a sufficiently reliable estimate of 
the potential obligation cannot be made 
as part of the ongoing operational risk 
assessment process adopted by the group 
there is continued monitoring of the legal and 
regulatory developments and their potential 
impact on the business appropriate advice 
continues to be taken in respect of these 
developments
as noted within the regulatory developments 
section pages 33 to 35 there have been 
certain adverse regulatory developments within 
turkey and parts of europe in addition the 
group as a whole has been impacted by the 
enactment of the unlawful internet gambling 
enforcement act in the us in october 2006 
although the group has ceased taking bets from 
us resident customers potentially there remains 
a residual risk associated with the group’s 
historic us transactions
at 31 july 2009 the group had outstanding 
commitments for future minimum lease 
payments under noncancellable operating 
leases which fall due as follows
operating lease payments represent  
rentals payable by the group for office  
property costs
the group makes contributions into an 
employee benefit trust “ebt” as part of a 
cash based long term incentive plan for certain 
there is uncertainty as to what actions if 
any may occur from the above noted events 
and any impact such action may have on the 
group however the board does not consider 
it probable that a material liability or a material 
impairment in the carrying value of assets will 
arise as a result of any potential action
b the group has entered into arbitration 
following a claim by its former marketing partner 
for the spanish market the group disputes the 
claim and has sought specific legal advice it is 
considered that it would be prejudicial to the 
arbitration process to provide a best estimate of 
any potential liability
2009
£m
2008
£m
minimum lease payments under operating leases recognised as an expense for the year
land and buildings 17 19
2009
£m
2008
£m
land and buildings  
within 1 year 16 15
within 25 years inclusive 17 32
in more than 5 years 06 11
 39 58
key employees a number of directors are 
beneficiaries of the ebt into which contributions 
of £06m were made in 2009 2008 £12m 70
parent company independent 
auditor’s report
to the shareholders of sportingbet plc
we have audited the parent company financial 
statements of sportingbet plc for the year 
ended 31 july 2009 which comprise the parent 
company balance sheet and the related notes 
the financial reporting framework that has been 
applied in their preparation is applicable law and 
united kingdom accounting standards united 
kingdom generally accepted accounting 
practice we have reported seperately on the 
group financial statements of sportingbet plc 
for the year ended 31 july 2009
this report is made solely to the company’s 
members as a body in accordance with sections 
495 and 496 of the companies act 2006 our 
audit work has been undertaken so that we 
might state to the company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an 
auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the 
fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept 
or assume responsibility to anyone other than 
the company and the company’s members as a 
body for our audit work for this report or for the 
opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities 
of directors and auditors
as explained more fully in the directors’ 
responsibilities statement the directors are 
responsible for the preparation of the parent 
company financial statements and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair view our 
responsibility is to audit the parent company 
financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and international standards on 
auditing uk and ireland those standards 
require us to comply with the auditing practices 
board’s apb’s ethical standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the 
financial statements
a description of the scope of an audit of 
financial statements is provided on the apb’s 
website at wwwfrcorgukapbscopeuknp
opinion on financial 
statements
in our opinion the parent company financial 
statements
give a true and fair view of the state of the z z
company’s affairs as at 31 july 2009 
have been properly prepared in accordance z z
with united kingdom generally accepted 
accounting practice and
have been prepared in accordance with the z z
requirements of the companies act 2006
emphasis of matter  
regulatory uncertainty
in forming our opinion on the financial 
statements which is not qualified we have 
considered the accuracy of and draw attention 
to the disclosures made in note 24a of the 
group financial statements regarding the 
implications of and uncertainties arising from 
regulatory developments concerning online 
gambling and related activities in the united 
states turkey and parts of europe there is 
uncertainty as to the impact such regulatory 
developments may have on the company 
note 24a of the group financial statements 
includes a statement that the board does not 
consider it probable that a material liability or 
impairment in the carrying value of assets will 
arise as a result of any potential action
opinion on other matter 
prescribed by the 
companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the 
directors’ report for the financial year for  
which the financial statements are prepared  
is consistent with the parent company  
financial statements
matters on which we 
are required to report by 
exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the 
following matters where the companies  
act 2006 requires us to report to you if in  
our opinion
adequate accounting records have not been z z
kept by the parent company or returns 
adequate for our audit have not been 
received from branches not visited by us or
the parent company financial statements z z
are not in agreement with the accounting 
records and returns or
certain disclosures of directors’ z z
remuneration specified by law are not made 
or
we have not received all the information and z z
explanations we require for our audit
paul etherington 
senior statutory auditor 
for and on behalf of grant thornton uk llp 
statutory auditor chartered accountants 
london
7 october 2009 annual report 20082009
71
as at 31 july 2009
parent company balance sheet
notes 2009 
£m
2008
£m
fixed assets   
investments 4 463 5 13
  463 5 13
current assets
debtors 5 256 422
cash at bank and in hand 6 12 12
  268 434
creditors – amounts falling due within one year 7 63 125
net current assets  205 309
net assets  668 822
shareholders’ funds   
issued share capital 8 05 05
shares to be issued 9  7 5
share premium 9 583 549
retained earnings 9 80 193
equity shareholders’ funds  668 822
the notes on pages 72 to 77 form part of 
these financial statements these financial 
statements were approved by the board and 
authorised for issue on 7th october 2009
a mciver  
director 72
notes to the parent company 
financial statements
1 parent company accounting policies
2 loss after tax
the financial statements for the company have 
been prepared in accordance with uk law and 
applicable uk gaap accounting standards  
the principal accounting policies are 
summarised below they have all been applied 
consistently throughout the financial year and 
the preceding year  
the following principal accounting policies have 
been applied
exemptions
the directors have taken advantage of  
the exemption available under section 408 of 
the companies act 2006 and not presented 
a profit and loss for the company alone the 
company is also exempt from the requirement 
to prepare a cash flow statement as its cash 
flows are consolidated in the group financial 
statements of sportingbet plc
valuation of investments
investments held as fixed assets are stated at 
cost less any provision for impairment
leased assets
assets held under finance leases and other 
similar contracts which confer rights and 
obligations similar to those attached to owned 
assets are capitalised as tangible fixed assets 
and are depreciated over the shorter of the lease 
terms and their useful lives the capital elements 
of future lease obligations are recorded as 
liabilities while the interest elements are 
charged to the profit and loss account over the 
period of the leases to produce a constant rate 
of charge on the balance of capital repayments 
outstanding hire purchase transactions are 
dealt with similarly except that assets are 
depreciated over their useful lives 
rentals under operating leases are  
charged on a straightline basis over the lease 
term even if the payments are not made on such 
a basis benefits received and receivable as an 
incentive to sign an operating lease are similarly 
spread on a straightline basis over the lease 
term except where the period to the review date 
on which the rent is first expected to be adjusted 
to the prevailing market rate is shorter than the 
full lease term in which case the shorter period 
is used 
pension costs
for defined contribution schemes the amount 
charged to the profit and loss account in respect 
of pension costs and other postretirement 
benefits is the contributions payable in the 
period  differences between contributions 
payable in the year and contributions 
actually paid are shown as either accruals or 
prepayments in the balance sheet 
share based employee 
remuneration
where share options are awarded to employees 
the fair value of the options at the date of grant 
is charged to the profit and loss account over the 
vesting period
where share options are granted to employees 
of subsidiary undertakings the fair value of the 
options is added to the cost of investment in 
these subsidiary undertakings over the  
vesting period
nonmarket vesting conditions are taken into 
account by adjusting the number of equity 
instruments expected to vest at each balance 
sheet date so that ultimately the cumulative 
amount recognised over the vesting period is 
based on the number of options that eventually 
vest market vesting conditions are factored 
into the fair value of the options granted as 
long as all other vesting conditions are satisfied 
a charge is made irrespective of whether the 
market vesting conditions are satisfied the 
cumulative expense is not adjusted for failure to 
achieve a market vesting condition
where the terms of the options are modified 
before they vest the increase in the fair value 
of the options measured immediately before 
and after the modification is also charged to 
the profit and loss account over the remaining 
vesting period
where equity instruments are granted to persons 
other than employees the profit and loss 
account is charged with the fair value of goods 
and services received 
further descriptions of the group’s sharebased 
payment plans are given in note 22 of the group 
financial statements
financial liabilities and 
equity
financial liabilities and equity are classified 
according to the substance of the financial 
instrument’s contractual obligations rather than 
the financial instrument’s legal form
company loss after tax for the year amounted 
to £1 13m audit fees for the company were 
borne by other members of the group and 
are disclosed in the notes to the consolidated 
financial statements 73
annual report 20082009
3 staff costs
4 investments
2009
£m
2008
£m
shares in subsidiary 
undertakings
£m
employee costs including directors were as follows  
wages and salaries 26  37
social security costs 03 02
pensions costs 02 03 
 31  42
investment in subsidiary undertakings
as at 1 august 2008 5 13
disposals  7 2
options issued to employees of subsidiary undertakings 22
as at 31 july 2009 463
during the year 6 employees were employed by 
the company 2008 5
there were 2 2008 2 directors in the 
company’s defined contribution pension 
scheme further non statutory disclosures on 
the remuneration of each individual director 
are given in the remuneration report financial 
statements
during the year the company disposed of 
its investment in sportingbet italia spa and 
dissolved sportingbet germany limited 74
for all undertakings listed previously the 
country of incorporation is the same as the 
country of operation 
the company has agreed to provide its 
subsidiary undertakings with such financial 
support as is necessary to enable the 
subsidiaries to continue to trade and meet their 
obligations to third party creditors as and when 
they fall due
activity country of incorporation 
or registration
interactive sports ci limited online betting alderney
interactive sports limited online betting england
sportingbet australia pty limited online and telephone betting australia
internet opportunity entertainment limited online betting antigua  barbuda
platinum management advisors sa administrative services costa rica
sporting odds limited online betting england
mlb limited contract call centre ireland 
anfield limited investment holding company bvi
sb properties guernsey limited investment property holding company guernsey
sportingbet management services limited administrative services england
sportingbet it services limited software development and it related services england
sportingbet product services limited market research project management and web  
 design services england
5 debtors
2009
£m
2008
£m
other debtors 03 03
prepayments and accrued income 11 01
owed by subsidiary undertakings 242 418
 256 422
notes to the parent company 
financial statements
4 investments continued
the following principal subsidiaries were wholly 
owned at 31 july 2009 annual report 20082009
75
restricted cash represents £nil 2008 £12m 
held with barclays in connection with the share 
capital reduction exercise in 2005 
6 cash at bank and in hand
2009
£m
2008
£m
cash 12 
restricted cash  12
 12 12
7 creditors  amounts falling due within one year
8 share capital
2009
£m
2008
£m
bank loans 40 56
accruals and deferred income 19 24
contingent consideration  45
due to subsidiary undertakings 04 
 63 125
shares issued in respect of acquisitions 
represent 7 422679 shares in respect of 
the acquisition of the business and assets of 
belmond international limited during the year 
ended 31 july 2008
2009
£000
2008
£000
authorised  
1000m 2008 1000m ordinary shares of 01p each 1000 1000
allotted issued and fully paid  
as at 31 july 2008  47201 1023 shares of 01p each 472 433
issues in respect of acquisitions 7 422679 shares 7 25
issues in respect of exercised share options 4714005 shares 5 12
other share issues nil shares  2
as at 31 july 2009 483987 106 shares of 01p each   484 472 76
notes to the parent company 
financial statements
at 31 july 2009 the following share options 
were outstanding in respect of ordinary shares 
ordinary shares of 01p date of grant period of option exercise 
price  
p
september 2002 100000 september 2005 – september 2009 83
december 2003 1155000 december 2006 – december 2010 395
january 2004 1570625 january 2007 – january 201 1 49
february 2004 100000 february 2007 – january 201 1 395
may 2004 50000 may 2007 – may 201 1 94
october 2004 100000 october 2007 – october 201 1 97 5
november 2004 160000 november 2007 – november 2014 131
august 2005 26250 july 2007 – july 2008 
may 2006 66667 november 2007 – november 2009 
november 2006 9296041 november 2007 – november 2009 
march 2007 461904 november 2007 – november 2009 
june 2007 84325 november 2008 – november 2009 
november 2007 4249569 november 2008 – november 2009 
december 2007 1422354 december 2008 – december 2009 
march 2008 265225 1 november 2008 – november 2009 
june 2008 25 19157 november 2009 – november 201 1 
january 2009 15706605 november 2010 – november 2012 
at 31 july 2009 there were 39630748 options 
or awards over ordinary shares outstanding 
7 152724 of which relate to directors details of 
which can be found in the remuneration report 
on pages 28 to 32 
of the share options detailed above 35700 
relate to the hmrc approved scheme 
1880625 relate to the executive scheme  
1319300 relate to the unapproved scheme 
26250 relate to the 2005 plan 19173247 
relate to the 2006 share plan 15706605 
relate to the 2009 restricted share plan 66667 
relate to conditional awards and 1422354 to 
discretionary awards to executive directors
8 share capital continued 77
annual report 20082009
9 reserves
share 
premium 
account
£m
shares to 
be issued
£m
profit and 
loss account  
£m
as at 1 august 2008 549 7 5 193
acquisitions 34 7 5 
share option charge   31
other movements   01
issue of own shares in lieu of options   30
loss for the year   1 13
as at 31 july 2009 583  80
the movement in company shareholders’ funds 
of £154m 2008 £69m is wholly represented 
by the movements shown in reserves and share 
capital in notes 9 and 8 
the movement in shares to be issued of £7 5m 
represents settlement of consideration in relation 
to historic acquisitions 
other movements comprise of rounding 
differences 78
notice of meeting
notice is hereby given that the annual 
general meeting of sportingbet plc the 
‘company’ will be held at 4th floor 45 
moorfields london ec2y 9ae on 18 december 
2009 at 1030 am for the following purposes
ordinary business 
to consider and if thought fit pass the following 
ordinary resolutions 
resolution 1
to receive and adopt the accounts the directors’ 
report and the auditor’s report on the financial 
statements for the year ended 31 july 2009
resolution 2
to receive and approve the directors’ 
remuneration report for the year ended 31 july 
2009
resolution 3 
to declare a final dividend for the year ended 31 
july 2009 of 1 pence £001 per ordinary share
resolution 4 
to reappoint grant thornton uk llp as 
auditors of the company to hold office from the 
conclusion of the meeting until the conclusion of 
the next general meeting at which accounts are 
laid before the company
resolution 5
to authorise the directors to set the auditor’s 
remuneration 
resolution 6 
to reelect brian harris as a director of  
the company 
resolution 7 
to reelect sean o’connor as a director of  
the company 
special business
to consider and if thought fit pass the following 
resolutions of which resolutions 8 and 10 will be 
proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 
9 and 1 1 will be proposed as special resolutions
resolution 8
that in accordance with section 55 1 of 
the companies act 2006 “2006 act” the 
directors be and they are hereby generally and 
unconditionally authorised in substitution for all 
existing authorities conferred on directors in 
accordance with section 80 of the companies 
act 1985 or section 55 1 of the 2006 act 
to exercise all the powers of the company z z
to allot shares in the company up to an 
aggregate nominal amount of £161375 
and
to exercise all the powers of the company to z z
allot equity securities as defined in section 
560 of the 2006 act up to an additional 
aggregate nominal amount of £161375 
provided that this authority may only be used 
in connection with a rights issue in favour 
of holders of ordinary shares and other 
persons entitled to participate therein where 
the equity securities respectively attributable 
to the interests of all those persons at 
such record dates as the directors may 
determine are proportionate as nearly 
as may be to the respective numbers of 
equity securities held or deemed to be 
held by them or are otherwise allotted in 
accordance with the rights attaching to such 
equity securities subject to such exclusions 
or other arrangements as the directors 
may consider necessary or expedient to 
deal with fractional entitlements or legal 
difficulties under the laws of any territory 
or the requirements of a regulatory body 
or stock exchange or by virtue of shares 
being represented by depositary receipts 
or any other matter whatsoever provided 
that the authorities in 8i and 8ii shall 
expire at the conclusion of the next annual 
general meeting  of the company after 
the passing of this resolution or if earlier 
on the date which is 15 months after the 
date of the annual general meeting except 
that the company may before such expiry 
make an offer or agreement which would or 
might require relevant securities or equity 
securities as the case may be to be allotted 
after such expiry and the directors may allot 
relevant securities or equity securities in 
pursuance of any such offer or agreement 
as if the authority in question had  
not expired
resolution 9
that in accordance with section 570 of the 
2006 act the directors be and they are hereby 
empowered to allot equity securities as defined 
in section 560 of the 2006 act for cash 
pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 
number 8 or by way of a sale of treasury shares 
as if section 561 1 of the 2006 act did not 
apply to any such allotment provided that this 
power shall be limited to
the allotment of equity securities in z z
connection with a rights issue or other pro 
rata offer but in the case of the authority 
granted conferred by paragraph 8ii by way 
of a rights issue only in favour of holders of 
ordinary shares and other persons entitled 
to participate therein where the equity 
securities respectively attributable to the 
interests of all those persons at such record 
dates as the directors may determine are 
proportionate as nearly as may be to the 
respective numbers of equity securities 
held or deemed to be held by them or are 
otherwise allotted in accordance with the 
rights attaching to such equity securities 
subject in each case to such exclusions 
or other arrangements as the directors 
may consider necessary or expedient to 
deal with fractional entitlements or legal 
difficulties under the laws of any territory 
or the requirements of a regulatory body or 
stock exchange or by virtue of shares being 
represented by depositary receipts or any 
other matter whatsoever and
the allotment otherwise than pursuant to z z
paragraph 9i above of equity securities 
up to an aggregate nominal amount of 
£24206223 and shall expire upon the 
expiry of the general authority conferred by 
resolution number 8 above except that the 
company may before such expiry make an 
offer or agreement which would or might 
require equity securities to be allotted andor 
shares held by the company in treasury to be 
sold or transferred after such expiry and the 
directors may allot equity securities andor 
sell or transfer shares held by the company 
in treasury in pursuance of such offer or 
agreement as if the power conferred by this 
resolution had not expired annual report 20082009
79
resolution 10
that the company and any wholly owned 
subsidiary of the company be and is hereby 
authorised to
make political donations to political parties z z
andor independent election candidates not 
exceeding £100000 in total
make political donations to political z z
organisations other than political parties not 
exceeding £100000 in total and
incur political expenditure not exceeding z z
£100000 in total during the period 
beginning on the date of the passing of this 
resolution 10 and ending on the earlier of 
the conclusion of the next annual general 
meeting of the company and 31 december 
2010
for the purposes of this resolution 10 the terms 
‘political donation’ ‘political parties’ ‘political 
organisation’ and ‘political expenditure’ have the 
meanings given to them by sections 363 to 365 
of the 2006 act
resolution 11
that pursuant to section 701 of the 2006 act 
and article 7c of the company’s articles of 
association the company is hereby generally 
and unconditionally authorised to make market 
purchases within the meaning of section 693 
of the 2006 act of ordinary shares of 01p 
each in the capital of the company ‘ordinary 
shares’ on such terms and in such manner as 
the directors may from time to time determine 
provided that 
the maximum number of ordinary shares z z
hereby authorised to be purchased is 
48412446 representing approximately 10 
per cent of the company’s issued ordinary 
share capital at the date of this notice of 
meeting 
the minimum price exclusive of any z z
expenses which may be paid for each 
ordinary share is 01p
the maximum price exclusive of any z z
expenses which may be paid for each 
ordinary share is an amount equal to 
105 per cent of the average of the middle 
market quotation for an ordinary share of 
the company for the five business days 
immediately preceding the day on which 
such share is contracted to be purchased 
unless previously renewed revoked or z z
varied the authority hereby conferred shall 
expire at the close of the next annual 
general meeting of the company or 31 
december 2010 whichever is the earlier 
and
under this authority the company may make z z
a contract to purchase ordinary shares which 
would or might be executed wholly or partly 
after the expiry of this authority and may 
make purchases of ordinary shares pursuant 
to it as if this authority had not expired 
7 october 2009
by order of the board 
d talisman llb acis 
company secretary  
registered office  
4th floor  
45 moorfields  
london  
ec2y 9ae 80
notes to the notice of meeting
entitlement to attend  
and vote
pursuant to regulation 41 of the uncertificated 
securities regulations 2001 only those 
shareholders on the register of members of 
the company as at 600 pm on 16 december 
2009 or if the meeting is adjourned on the 
register of members of the company 48 hours 
before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting 
shall be entitled to attend or vote at the above 
annual general meeting in respect of the 
number of shares registered in their name at 
that time changes to entries on the relevant 
register after 600 pm on 16 december 2009 
or if the meeting is adjourned on the register 
of members of the company 48 hours before 
the time fixed for the adjourned meeting shall 
be disregarded in determining the rights of any 
person to attend and vote at the meeting 
proxies
crest members who wish to appoint a proxy 
or proxies by utilising the crest electronic 
proxy appointment service may do so by 
utilising the procedures described in the crest 
manual crest personal members or other 
crest sponsored members and those crest 
members who have appointed a voting service 
providers should refer to their crest sponsor 
or voting service providers who will be able to 
take the appropriate action on their behalf 
in order for a proxy appointment made by means 
of crest to be valid the appropriate crest 
message a ‘crest proxy instruction’ must 
be properly authenticated in accordance with 
euroclear uk  ireland limited’s ‘euroclear’ 
specifications and must contain the information 
required for such instructions as described in 
the crest manual the message regardless of 
whether it relates to the appointment of a proxy 
or to an amendment to the instruction given to a 
previously appointed proxy must in order to be 
valid be transmitted so as to be received by the 
company’s agent id ra10 by the latest times 
for receipt of proxy appointments specified in 
the notice of meeting for this purpose the 
time of receipt will be taken to be the time as 
determined by the timestamp applied to the 
message by the crest applications host from 
which the company’s agent is able to retrieve 
the message by enquiry to crest in the manner 
prescribed by crest
the company may treat as invalid a crest 
proxy instruction in the circumstances set out 
in regulation 355a of the uncertificated 
securities regulations 2001
crest members and where applicable their 
crest sponsors or voting service providers 
should note that euroclear does not make 
available special procedures in crest for any 
particular messages normal system timings 
and limitations will therefore apply in relation to 
the input of crest proxy instructions it is the 
responsibility of the crest member concerned 
to take or if the crest member is a crest 
personal member or sponsored member or 
has appointed a voting service providers 
to procure that his crest sponsor or voting 
service providers takes such action as shall 
be necessary to ensure that a message is 
transmitted by means of the crest system by 
any particular time in this connection crest 
members and where applicable their crest 
sponsors or voting service providers are referred 
in particular to those sections of the crest 
manual concerning practical limitations of the 
crest system and timings
a member of the company eligible to attend 
and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint 
one or more proxies to exercise all or any of his 
rights to attend speak and vote at the meeting 
a member can appoint more than one proxy in 
relation to the meeting provided that each proxy 
is appointed to exercise the rights attaching to 
different shares held by the member a proxy 
need not be a member of the company  81
annual report 20082009
a form of proxy accompanies this document for 
your use to be valid forms of proxy together 
with the power of attorney or other authority 
if any under which it is signed or a notarially 
certified copy thereof must be deposited at the 
offices of the company’s registrars capita 
registrars proxy department the registry 
34 beckenham road beckenham kent br3 
4tu not less than 48 hours before the time 
appointed for holding the meeting or adjourned 
meeting a form of proxy must be returned in 
one of the following methods
electronically through the company’s z z
registrars’ website wwwcapitashareportal
com
in hard copy form by post by courier or by z z
hand to the company’s registrars 
capita registrars 
proxy department 
the registry 
34 beckenham road 
beckenham kent br3 4tu or
in the case of crest members by utilising z z
the crest electronic proxy appointment 
service in accordance with the procedures 
set out above
deposit of a form of proxy will not prevent a 
member from attending and voting in person 
should he so wish
in the case of joint holders where more than 
one of the joint holders purports to appoint a 
proxy only the appointment submitted by the 
most senior holder will be accepted seniority 
is determined by the order in which the names 
of the joint holders appear in the company’s 
register of members in respect of the joint 
holding the firstnamed being the most senior 
documents on display
a register of directors’ interests in the share 
capital and debentures of the company copies 
of service agreements under which directors 
of the company are employed and the current 
articles of association are available for inspection 
at the company’s registered office during normal 
business hours from the date of this meeting 
notice and will also be available for inspection 
at the annual general meeting for at least 15 
minutes prior to and during the meeting
electronic addresses
you may not use any electronic address provided 
either in this notice of annual general meeting 
or any related documents including the form of 
proxy to communicate with the company for 
any purposes other than those expressly stated 82
ordinary business
the following notes explain some of the items of 
ordinary business
resolution 1 
the directors must lay the annual accounts 
and the respective reports of the directors 
and auditors before shareholders at an annual 
general meeting 
resolution 2 
this resolution is to approve the directors’ 
remuneration report for the year ended 
31 july 2009 you can find the report in the 
remuneration report in the annual report and 
accounts for the year ended 31 july 2009 
resolution 3
a final dividend of 1 pence £001 per ordinary 
share for the year ended 31 july 2009 is 
recommended for payment by the directors if 
you approve the recommended final dividend 
this will be paid on 8 january 2010 to all 
ordinary shareholders who were on the register 
of members at the close of business on 1 1 
december 2009
resolutions 4 and 5
at each general meeting at which accounts 
are laid before the members the company is 
required to appoint auditors to stand until the 
next such meeting and resolution 5 authorises 
the directors to set their remuneration
grant thornton uk llp have indicated their 
wish to continue as the company’s auditors
resolutions 6 and 7 
under the company’s articles of association 
each director must stand for reelection every 
three years you are therefore asked to reelect 
brian harris and sean o’connor as directors of 
the company
special business
in addition to the ordinary business of the 
company this year there will be the following 
items of special business at the annual general 
meeting
power to issue ordinary 
shares resolution 8
by resolution 8 your directors are seeking 
authority to allot share capital under section 55 1 
of the 2006 act of up to a maximum amount 
of £161375  representing approximately one 
third of the issued share capital of the company 
as at 6 october 2009 so as to include issues 
of shares in the capital of the company up to 
6 october 2009 being the latest practicable 
date before publication of this notice being 
in accordance with the guidelines issued by 
the investment protection committees of the 
association of british insurers and the national 
association of pension funds 
in addition the association of british insurers 
abi has said that it will now consider as 
routine a resolution to authorise the allotment 
of a further onethird of share capital for use 
in connection with a rights issue your board 
considers it appropriate to seek this additional 
allotment authority at this year’s annual general 
meeting in order to take advantage of the 
flexibility it offers  however the board has no 
present intention of exercising either authority
disapplication of statutory 
preemption rights 
resolution 9
resolution 9 will empower the directors to allot 
ordinary shares in the capital of the company for 
cash on a nonpreemptive basis
in connection with a rights issue or other z z
prorata offer to existing shareholders
otherwise than in connection with a rights z z
issue up to a maximum nominal value of 
£24206223 representing approximately 5 
per cent of the issued ordinary share capital 
of the company as at 6  october 2009  the 
latest practicable date before publication of 
this letter
notes to the notice of meeting
explanatory notes to the resolutions annual report 20082009
83
political donations and 
expenditure resolution 10
the company has a policy that it does not 
make political donations to or incur political 
expenditure on behalf of political parties or 
political organisations however the 2006 act 
contains restrictions on companies making 
‘political donations’ to ‘political parties or other 
political organisations’ or incurring ‘political 
expenditure’ and it defines these terms very 
widely the effect is that some activities of 
the company that form part of the normal 
relationship between the company and bodies 
concerned with policy review law reform and 
other business matters affecting the company 
may be restricted by the provisions of the 2006 
act such activities which are in shareholders’ 
interests for the company to conduct are not 
designed to support or implement support for a 
particular political party or political organisation 
the company believes that the authority 
proposed under this resolution 10 is necessary 
to ensure that it does not commit any technical 
or inadvertent breach of the restrictions that 
could arise from the uncertainty generated 
by the wide definitions contained within the 
2006 act when carrying out activities in the 
furtherance of its legitimate business interests 
resolution 11
the 2006 act permits a company to purchase 
its own shares provided that the purchase has 
been authorised by the company in a general 
meeting whilst the directors have no present 
intention of making such purchases it is 
common practice for listed companies to seek 
such authority and the directors consider that it 
is prudent for them to do so 
resolution 1 1 if passed will give the company 
authority to purchase its own shares in the 
market up to a limit of 10 per cent of its issued 
ordinary share capital the maximum and 
minimum prices are stated in the resolution 
your directors believe that it is advantageous 
for the company to have this flexibility to make 
market purchases of its own shares in the 
event that shares are purchased they would 
either be cancelled and the number of shares 
in issue would be reduced accordingly or 
retained as treasury shares aim companies 
with authorisation from shareholders are 
able to purchase their own share and to hold 
shares repurchased as treasury shares with a 
view to possible resale at a future date rather 
than having to cancel them the company will 
consider holding repurchased shares pursuant 
to the authority conferred by this resolution as 
treasury shares and would solely be used to 
satisfy the release of awards or the exercise of 
options under the company’s share schemes 
this would give the company the ability to 
reissue treasury shares quickly and cost 
effectively and would provide the company 
with additional flexibility in the management of 
its capital base any issues of treasury shares 
for the purposes of the company’s employee 
share schemes will be made within the 10 per 
cent antidilution limit set by the association of 
british insurers your directors will only exercise 
this authority if they are satisfied that a purchase 
would result in an increase in expected earnings 
per share and would be in the interests of 
shareholders generally the total number of 
options and warrants to subscribe for ordinary 
shares outstanding at 6 october 2009 the 
latest practicable date prior to publication of this 
document was 39630748 which represented 
819 of the issued share capital at that time 
and which will represent 906 of the issued 
share capital if the full authority to buy back 
shares is used  84
registrars 
all enquiries relating to shares or shareholdings 
should be addressed to 
capita registrars  
northern house  
woodsome park  
fenay bridge  
huddersfield  
west yorkshire hd8 0la 
shareholder helpline no 0871 664 0300  calls 
cost 10p per min plus network extras lines are 
open 830am530pm monfri
facsimile 01484 600 91 1
wwwsportingbetplccom 
the company’s website provides amongst 
other things the latest news and details of the 
company’s activities share price information and 
links to the websites of our brands the investor 
relations section of wwwsportingbetplccom 
contains uptodate information including the 
company’s latest results the company’s financial 
calendar and archived webcasts 
wwwsportingbetshares
com 
shareholders who prefer to receive 
communications about the company by email 
are encouraged to register their details at the 
company’s shareholder portal –  
wwwsportingbetsharescom you will need your 
investor code found on your share certificate 
or on correspondence from capita registrars 
to complete this process at the first time of 
registering capita registrars will send you a 
username and activation code by post and 
upon receipt you will then be able to access the 
company’s shareholder portal the shareholder 
portal provides shareholders of the company 
with the ability to choose from the following 
services 
 z z annual report and accounts 
agm and egm notices and 
webcasts  
shareholders can choose to have these 
emailed to a specified email address  
rather than 
 z z web proxy voting  
shareholders can vote at agms or egms 
through wwwsportingbetsharescom or 
alternatively via wwwcapitaregistrarscom  
by clicking on the quickloginlink and  
entering sportingbet as the company name 
you will need your investor code for  
this service 
 announcements made to the z z
alternative investment market 
uk based shareholders can choose to 
receive certain rns announcements by 
email 
 direct dividend payments z z  
dividends can be paid automatically into 
your bank or building society account there 
are two primary benefits of this service  
a there is no chance of your dividend 
cheque going missing in the post and  
b the dividend payment is received more 
quickly because the cash sum is paid 
directly into the account on the payment 
date without the need to pay in the cheque 
and wait for it to clear  
as an alternative shareholders can 
download a dividend mandate and complete 
and post to capita registrars 
 change of address z z  
shareholders can change their address 
directly online at wwwsportingbetshares
com or by notifying capita registrars in 
writing at the above address 
 your shareholding z z  
shareholders can value their shareholding 
and view previous transactions in the 
company’s shares and
 share dealing z z  
a share dealing service is available to the 
company’s shareholders to buy or sell the 
company’s shares at capita share dealing 
services via wwwsportingbetplccom or  
wwwsportingbetsharescom  
telephone dealing is also available via 
capita registrars on 0871 664 0445 calls 
cost 10p per min plus network extras
please note that the directors of the company 
are not seeking to encourage shareholders 
to either buy or sell the company’s shares 
shareholders of the company who are in 
any doubt as to what action to take are 
recommended to seek financial advice from an 
independent financial adviser authorised by the 
financial services and markets act 2000 
nonshareholders can register to receive 
notifications of the company’s annual  
report and accounts and webcasts at  
wwwsportingbetplccom 
lost share certificate 
if your share certificate is lost or stolen you 
should immediately contact capita registrars 
shareholder helpline no 0871 664 0300   
calls cost 10p per min plus network extras who 
will advise on the process for arranging  
a replacement 
duplicate shareholder 
accounts 
if as a shareholder you receive more than one 
copy of a communication from the company you 
may have your shares registered in at least two 
accounts this happens when the registration 
details of separate transactions differ slightly if 
you wish to consolidate such multiple accounts 
please call capita registrars shareholder 
helpline no 0871 664 0300  calls cost 10p 
per min plus network extras 
sharegift 
sharegift is a charity share donation scheme 
it is a free service for shareholders wishing 
to give shares to charitable causes it may be 
useful for those who wish to dispose of a small 
parcel of shares which would cost more to sell 
than they are worth there are no capital gains 
tax implications ie no gain or loss on gifts of 
shares to charity and it is also possible to obtain 
income tax relief further information can be 
found at wwwsharegiftorg
shareholders’ information 85
annual report 20082009
financial summary
year ended  
31 july 2007
ifrs
 £m
year ended  
31 july 2005
uk gaap
1 
£m
year ended 
31 july 2008 
ifrs
£m
year ended  
31 july 2009
ifrs 
£m
year ended 
31 july 2006
uk gaap
1
 
 £m
amounts wagered 15262 20609 10609 1347 8 1577 2
net gaming revenue 1758 3033 1 17 2 1443 1636
operating profitloss before exceptional items  
share option charge and amortisation 605 1034 7 8 247 311
exceptional items 13 – 268 120 42
share option charge – 67 99 80 31
amortisation 164 221 18 39 19
group operating profitloss 454 746 307 08 219
net finance income 46 30 10 04 04
profitloss before taxation 408 716 297 12 223
taxation – – 12 35 05
profitloss for the period 408 716 309 23 218
loss for the period from discontinued operations   2813 20 94
group profitloss for the period 408 716 3122 43 124
earnings per share     
basic 134p 17 7p 732p 05p 46p
basic adjusted 186p 249p 44p 48p 65p
diluted adjusted 139p 238p 40p 42p 60p
1
 the periods ended 31 july 2005 and 2006 are 
stated under uk gaap as it is not practical to 
restate amounts for period prior to the date of 
transition to ifrs   
the principal differences between uk gaap 
and ifrs are discussed in note 27 of the 2008 
annual report and accounts
financial calendar
exdividend date for 2009 dividend  
9 december 2009
record date for 2009 dividend  
1 1 december 2009
annual general meeting 18 december 2009 
4th floor 45 moorfields london ec2y 9ae
final dividend payment date for the financial 
year ended 31 july 2009  
8 january 2010 86
corporate directory
secretary
d talisman llb acis
registered office
4th floor 
45 moorfields 
london ec2y 9ae
company number
3534726
registrars
capita registrars 
northern house  
woodsome park  
fenay bridge  
huddersfield  
west yorkshire hd8 0la 
auditors
grant thornton uk llp 
grant thornton house 
melton street euston square 
london nw1 2ep
corporate advisors  joint 
stockbrokers
daniel stewart and company plc 
becket house  
36 old jewry 
london ec2r 8dd
joint stockbrokers
oriel securities limited 
125 wood street 
london 
ec2v 7an
solicitors
nabarro 
lacon house 
84 theobold’s road 
london wc1x 8rw
principal bankers
barclays bank plc 
floor 27 
1 churchill place 
london e14 5hp
press office
maitland 
orion house 
5 upper st martin’s lane 
london 
wc2h 9ea design by firedog 
wwwfiredogdesigncouk  wwwsportingbetplccom
sportingbet plc
4th floor  
45 moorfields 
london 
ec2 9ae
contact us
tel 00 44 020 7184 1800 
fax 00 44 020 7184 1810 
email infosportingbetcom
investor relations
email investorsportingbetcom


Summary:
 9
annual report 20082009
group chief executive’s review
andrew mciver
group chief executive
since being founded ten years ago sportingbet 
has grown significantly to become a major player 
in the online betting industry its marketleading 
european sports betting platform now offers over 
8000 sports betting markets on a busy trading 
day covering a huge range of sports leagues and 
bet types supplemented by revenues generated 
from casino poker and other betting games 
sportingbet branded websites are now available 
in 23 different languages and the customer call 
centre located in dublin is able to answer queries 
in 42 languages  
sportingbet’s operations are focused on europe 
australia and a burgeoning emerging markets 
business the european operation is based in 
the channel islands operating under a licence 
provided by the alderney gambling control 
commission this is supported by an operational 
centre in dublin providing customer services and 
administrative support together with an it function 
located in london the group’s australian division 
is based in darwin operating under a license 
provided by the northern territories government  
in total the group now employs over 500 people
sport and sports betting continues to be at the 
heart of the sportingbet business sports betting 
revenues accounted for approximately 64 
2008 60 of group ngr during the year 
significant additional functionality was added 
to the sports product offerings in response to 
consumer demand  in november 2008 live 
webstreaming of sport was made available to 
our european customer base to complement the 
group’s inrunning betting product “inplay” this 
functionality allows customers to watch the game 
live on their pc whilst placing bets on a wide 
variety of outcomes during the event the demand 
for inplay betting is significant and now accounts 
for 56 of amounts wagered in europe in order 
to further support the demand for this product 
sportingbet now provides a roundtheclock in
running betting service on an ever wider variety of 
events irrespective of an event’s location or  
time zone  10
in addition to the extension of the group’s 
inplay product the coverage of prematch  
betting has also been broadened to include  
new sports leagues and betting markets  
as a result sportingbet offers one of the most 
extensive sports betting products available  
this broad product offering is backed up by a 
bestinclass risk management and trading team 
this is demonstrated by the continued  
marketleading sports margin a margin that 
is achieved in conjunction with maintaining 
competitive pricing for the customer the board 
believes that the group’s strength and expertise 
in this key operational area will stand it in good 
stead to capitalise on the significant potential in 
this industry
during the year the group launched websites into 
two further markets south africa and romania  
in south africa the group acquired a licence for 
online sports betting in conjunction with a local 
partner and launched a localised site in february 
2009 this market is currently immature and we 
are looking to the 2010 fifa world cup finals in 
south africa to help build this business in addition 
the group launched a romanian language site in 
april 2009 in conjunction with our very successful 
greek partner this launch has been supported by 
the sponsorship of steaua bucharest the largest 
and most popular football team in romania
europe
the european business incorporating the 
financial results for the emerging markets 
division continues to grow strongly with the 
amount wagered on sports increasing by 214 
to £917 5m 2008 £7555m generating a 
gross margin pre bonus adjustment of £936m 
2008 £754m up 241  european casino and 
games revenue grew by 126 to £437m 2008 
£388m whilst poker revenues declined by 7 6 
to £220m 2008 £238m  
the number of sports bets placed rose by 12 to 
57 5m 2008 5 15m the continued increase in 
popularity of inplay betting has been a significant 
driver of the volume growth over the past year 
inplay betting accounted for 56 of the value 
of bets placed during the year  this popularity is 
evidenced by the number of bets per customer 
increasing to 134 2008 1 1 1  the average bet 
size was up 9 to £1597 2008 £1466 leading 
to yield per sports customer increasing from £161 
to £216
during the year a sports gross margin of 102 
was achieved 2008 100 despite the increase 
of inplay betting which tends to have a lower 
average margin due to the greater proportion of 
straight wagers versus multiple bets than pre 
match betting this margin has been achieved 
through absolute focus on accurate odds 
setting risk management and investment in the 
underlying technologies to allow the team of highly 
experienced traders to maximise profits from  
the wagers that are taken
over the past 24 months the european business 
has undertaken a thorough review of its customer 
database as a result of this analysis the group 
implemented a change in marketing strategy to 
move from a ‘quantity at any cost’ to a ‘quality 
and value’ approach the marketing focus is 
now prioritised on those customer segments 
that provide a significant contribution to group 
performance this has resulted in a movement 
away from mass market recruitment towards 
the recruitment and yield management of more 
valuable players
group chief executive’s review annual report 20082009
11
significant investment has also been made in 
the european customer service centre as part of 
the continued focus on our customer base the 
service centre based in dublin now employs over 
150 people and has 42 language capabilities 
the investment in the dublin operation has been 
recognised by the world contact centre the 
leading customer service industry body through 
the award for best customer services in europe
the group aims to derive its revenues from a 
broad geographical base the board is aware that 
regulatory uncertainty exists in many markets in 
which the group operates and therefore a broad 
geographic base helps to reduce the impact of 
potential regulatory shocks which may occur 
the group’s core markets of greece and spain 
continue to perform well with gaming revenues up 
56 and 1 1 respectively
gaming revenues from the turkish business have 
fallen by 15 yearonyear equivalent to £41m 
as a result of the group reducing the importance 
of this market turkey accounted for approximately 
128 of group revenue during the year 
compared to 17 2 for the prior year although the 
turkish business performed strongly during the 
latter part of the year
the uk market has historically been difficult for 
the group and gaming revenues from this domain 
fell by 21 during the year this market has been 
generally overserviced with a relatively expensive 
media environment the impact of the recession 
in the uk has led to the cost of media falling 
enabling the group to consider strategies in this 
market which hitherto had been prohibitively 
expensive  as a result the group now has a 
number of sportsbased sponsorships in the uk 
including over 75 horse races throughout the 
summer of 2009 and the main sponsorship of 
wolverhampton wanderers football club 
eastern europe continues to be a significant 
growth market growing in aggregate by 26 
to account for 15 of group revenues 2008 
13  in addition increased focus on france and 
germany following more certainty around the 
longer term regulatory outlook has resulted in 
an increase in ngr of 5 1 these markets are 
expected to make a significant contribution to the 
group’s results in future years
europe’s casino and games offering which 
accounted for 24 of the group’s revenue grew 
by 126 during the year customers continue to 
move away from the traditional download casino 
product down 25 yearonyear in favour of 
more instant casino games using flashbased 
technologies up 343 yearonyear to support 
this demand the group has launched over 90 
instant games in q4 across certain domains 
provided by a range of software suppliers  
further initiatives are in place through the current 
financial year to widen the availability of these 
new products to other geographies as well as 
integrating new software suppliers to increase the 
available content
during the year the european region generated 
poker rake of £220m 2008 £238m pre
bonus deductions down 7 6 on the prior year  
poker now accounts for only 12 of the group’s 
revenue down from 15 in 2008 the european 
poker market remains very challenging as the 
environment remains highly competitive with 
certain large usfocused poker companies using 
their significant cash flows and high liquidity 
to continue to attract customers from existing 
european only companies   12
in july 2009 the group sold its licensed italian 
operation “sportingbet italia spa” to the local 
management team for nominal consideration  
sportingbet italia spa was acquired in may 2006 
in anticipation of expected further liberalisation 
of italian online gaming regulation these 
changes did not materialise and consequently 
the combination of alternative betting channels 
together with the lack of operational synergies 
with the rest of the group’s european business 
has meant sportingbet italia spa had been loss 
making since acquisition whilst these losses 
had been reduced to the minimum considered 
achievable the board concluded that significant 
financial and managerial investment would be 
required to generate a profitable business in italy 
from the current base and at the present time 
such investment would be better placed elsewhere 
in the group’s portfolio during the first eleven 
months of the financial year sportingbet italia 
spa generated amounts wagered of £141m and 
£21m of ngr generating an operational loss of 
approximately £15m  
the disposal of sportingbet italia spa has 
resulted in a loss from discontinued operations of 
£94m which comprises the write down of goodwill 
of £64m a loss on disposal and other associated 
costs of £15m and a yeartodate trading loss of 
£15m during the year 
australia
the australian betting market has undergone 
considerable change in the past financial year  
the australian market continues to be dominated 
by the totaliser agency boards “tabs” some 
of which remain state owned and some of which 
have now been privatised the tabs account for 
approximately 70 of the a20bn wagering 
industry in australia the corporate bookmakers 
have demonstrated a combined compound annual 
growth rate in turnover of over 28 over the past 
seven years compared with the growth of the 
tabs phone and internet operations of just 93  
the corporate bookmaking market is dominated 
by four main businesses of which sportingbet is 
the largest
in september 2008 new south wales and 
victoria relaxed their restriction on sports betting 
advertisements with other states following suit 
shortly thereafter sportingbet as australia’s 
largest independent bookmakers was able to 
increase its profile in these markets through 
advertising in press tv radio and at sports events 
it is anticipated that the internet business will 
be the prime beneficiary of such advertising 
in response to the relaxation in advertising 
restrictions a number of states sought to impose 
further gambling taxes and levies on sports and 
betting revenues these taxes vary by state 
and by sport and are charged in some cases 
on the amount wagered and in other cases on 
gross margin the taxes and levies have been 
implemented by the states but remain subject to 
challenge by the industry
amounts wagered increased by 127 from 
£5432m to £6121m resulting in pretax margin 
increasing 24 from £234m to £291m 
gambling taxes in australia amounted to £67m 
in the year 2008 £36m resulting in posttax 
margin increasing by 132 from £198m to 
£224m  after bonuses ngr increased by 89 
from £191m to £208m
group chief executive’s review 13
annual report 20082009
the australian operation comprises two elements 
an internet business and a telephone business  
the telephone operation is biased towards higher 
staking customers betting predominantly on 
horseracing and the business typically offers an 
element of credit to the customer the internet 
business which has been built from scratch over 
the last five years is more recreational in nature 
and covers a greater diversity of sports no credit 
is offered for internet customers the different bias 
of the two operations leads the internet business 
to have a higher gross margin percentage than the 
telephone operation
the internet business accounts for 33 of the 
amounts wagered and 46 of the gross margin 
the number of bets placed on the internet has 
grown by 59 over the prior year
over the year we have seen the effect of the 
global financial crisis impacting on the higher 
staking telephone customers in particular the 
number of bets per telephone customer has 
decreased 26 from an average of 149 bets per 
year to 1 10 per year the average bet size has also 
fallen by 9 from a663 to a603
emerging markets
in accordance with the board’s desire for a broad 
geographical base the group has invested in its 
emerging markets division for the past two years 
the primary focus of this division is to identify 
new potential markets for online gambling to 
understand the gambling culture propensities 
and regulation in these regions and if appropriate 
launch into these markets the expansion in 
our global footprint also helps to support the 
sustained increase in the group’s global sports 
offering which is proving to be increasingly popular 
with its existing european sports customers 
the emerging markets financial performance 
is currently incorporated within the european 
division’s financial report
the emerging markets division has been focused 
primarily on two regions brazil and canada  
during the year the group acquired a sports 
betting licence from south africa in conjunction 
with a local partner this licensed south african 
business was launched in february 2009
in brazil the group has developed a strong 
business over the past two years growing fourfold 
over the prior year albeit from a relatively low 
base  the sportingbet brand has developed a 
strong media presence in brazil as well as being 
the main sponsor of the brazilian football league’s 
second division – home of corinthians brazil’s 
most popular team the experience gained from 
this market will be used to launch into other 
geographies in the region all profits are currently 
being reinvested in this market
   14
dividend
the group plans to reinstate the payment of 
a dividend of 10p for the year ended 31 july 
2009  a considerable amount has been achieved 
since the closure of the usfacing business in 
october 2006 through efforts to restructure the 
business and the reinstatement of a dividend 
marks a further stage in the development of the 
group  the intention to pay such a dividend is 
not expected to affect the discussions about any 
possible future agreement or financial settlement 
with us department of justice
the 10p dividend will be paid on 8 january 
2010 to shareholders on the register on 1 1 
december 2009 subject to shareholder approval 
at the annual general meeting to be held on 
18 december 2009 the group plans to follow 
a progressive dividend policy subject to market 
conditions
outlook
the group’s focus will remain on sports betting 
through further investment in it product and 
marketing strong consumer demand is driving 
the development of our inplay product which now 
offers round the clock live betting opportunities 
for our customers supplemented by live video 
footage we continue to increase the number of 
markets we serve and plan to extend our footprint 
each year whilst these embryonic markets take 
time to mature early indications from new markets 
have been encouraging
current trading
overall the new financial year has commenced 
in line with expectations european sports betting 
continues to power the business with amounts 
wagered ahead of our expectations at this stage 
casino and games continues to perform in line 
with prior years whilst poker remains a difficult 
market
in australia the amounts wagered are only 
marginally ahead of the prior year additionally the 
first two months of the year have experienced a 
lower than average sports margin in australia due 
to a high percentage of favourites winning events
however given the strong signup and turnover 
trends in the core european sports business the 
board remains optimistic for the outcome of the 
financial year at this stage 
group chief executive’s review