Management movements evoke speculation on UK sportsbook
The online gambling and sportsbetting division of Brit financial spreadbetting group IG Group could be up for sale, according to reports last internet gambling week on the Slackbelly blog, followed up by The Times.
The blog points to the sudden departure of Extrabet’s respected chief Stuart Lane, speculating that his move is the precursor to IG offloading the sportsbetting operation.
Apparently such an event has been the subject of speculation in UK business circles, using the logic that IG generates the vast majority of its revenue and profit from clients trading financial markets via its IG Index platform, while sports clients are rarely converted into more profitable financial clients.
In following up on the online gambling story, The Times reports that rumours of underperformance at Extrabet and an imminent sale have been denied - presumably by contacts within IG. However, as The Times writer observes - watch this space!