36 PERCENT ONLINE GAMBLING REVENUE GROWTH FOR BETFAIR

(548) (29-September-2006)

Pre-tax profits up 65 percent and a cash reserve of millions

The online betting exchange juggernaut that is Betfair continued to power its way to bigger returns for investors in the year ended April 2006 according to financial figures just out.

The company reported year-on-year revenue growth of 36 percent to GBP 145 million, with pre-tax profits rising 65 percent to GBP 38 million from GBP 23 million in the corresponding period last year.

Betfair ended the year with a cash balance of over GBP142 million - ell over double that in the last reporting period which was GBP 52 million. Net asset value in the group climbed from GBP 48 million in 2005 to GBP 130 million this time around.

1.3 billion bets were placed on the exchange over the last reporting period, and Betfair sites are now regularly handling over five million bets per day, with more than GBP 2 000 a minute being deposited onto the sites.

The number of active monthly exchange users was up to almost 160 000 from 95 000 last time, with registered customers up to almost a million by the end of the football World Cup, which generated 11 million bets through the company. Active monthly gamblers spend an average of 1 hour 10 minutes on the site every month - an impressive "dwelling time".

The Betfair exchange, which is now available in 18 languages, has also seen encouraging returns from its ventures in emerging markets with regions outside the UK accounting for more than a third of total revenues, compared with less than a quarter in 2005. 50 percent of new registrations have also been from outside the UK.

The report reiterates that Betfair has never accepted bets from US gamblers, clearly making its position known to U.S. authorities. It also notes with approval that the UK tax regime is to remain unchanged bor betting exchanges.