UK Volume 22

uk.superbrands.com Superbrands UK Vol. 22 ‘Bringing the excitement of a bet into the everyday for everyone.’ Ladbrokes is a brand at the heart of fan culture, backing the stories of the underdogs and uniting bettors to play together Market A stadium filled with drummers, a giant balloon game, and a brand-new way to bet – Ladbrokes is a brand that is dominating the sports gaming industry. After joining forces with Coral in 2016, the two brands grew rapidly, becoming part of Entain in 2018, a leading global sports betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment operator. The Group is active in 27 countries and five continents and employs around 24,000 people worldwide. With thousands of betting shops, Ladbrokes is both a leader in online betting and gaming and one of the key players on the British high street. Product In its 119-year history, Ladbrokes has done it all, from taking on the first female bookmaker in 1918, to helping pioneer fixed odds betting, inspiring gaming companies everywhere to shake up the game. Ladbrokes offers sports betting, horse racing, financial betting, poker, bingo and casino from a single login and centralised player bank. But it is Ladbrokes’ latest innovations that have shaken up the world of betting, with platforms like 5-A-Side – the first in market product allowing customers to place an accumulator-style bet on a single game. 5-A-Side lets the customer ‘be the boss’, selecting their formation and choosing their players to complete goals, assists and passes – a bit like in Fantasy League. Ladbrokes even added a feature of a real-time leaderboard, allowing customers to compete against one another to win significant rewards. 5-A-Side is the ultimate 90-minute, second-screen experience. Ladbrokes has also committed to the future of high street retail, investing heavily in what it calls its ‘shops of the future’, incorporating some of its latest technology to create an enhanced customer experience. The company is also spearheading technological advances, with plans to launch the first virtual reality sports club, giving customers a more immersive and interactive experience, in the UK later this year. Such innovations are powered by the industry- leading technology of its parent company Entain, which has recruited more than 3,000 people into its tech team over the past 14 months. Achievements Entain has put responsible gambling front and centre, with the Entain Foundation pledging to invest more than £100m over five years, across four areas of focus – including research and education, grassroots and non-elite sports, support in communities, and diversity in tech through partnerships with organisations such as Girls Who Code as well as the Tech Girls Movement foundation. The company’s Changing for the Bettor responsible gambling strategy has been recognised with several awards, including the Safer Gambling Operator of the Year accolade. At Euro 2020, Ladbrokes generated more national media coverage than all its rivals’ combined, with help from football ambassadors such as Sol Campbell and Teddy Sheringham. In addition, Ladbrokes’ TV ad was featured in Campaign’s Pick of the Week and Ad of the Day. The brand also made its mark on the music industry, with a live gig from The Subways. The event had more than 300,000 views on Facebook and Ladbrokes also lit up venues across the UK, in partnership with #WeMakeEvents, from Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club to Barrowlands in Glasgow. Ladbrokes ‘Shops of the Future’ are set to modernise high street betting DID YOU KNOW?