In the year to 30 April Betfair reported a 61 per cent increase in annual revenue to £107.1m, while operating profits rose 87% to £22.3m.
The betting exchange paid £26.9m to the UK taxman and wrote off £3.9 million as an \’exceptional item\’ for the rescue package it launched to bail out customers of rival Sporting Options.
Betfair, which ran its first market on the 2000 Oaks attracting bets from just 27 people, now has more than 95,000 monthly active users, 16,000 of them coming from outside the UK, and processes more than three million bets per day.
The firm employs 500 people at its two UK offices and is planning to widen its range of services with a new poker-based game due to launch next month.
Betfair, which recently gained operating licenses in Malta and Austria, is also pursuing licenses in Australia, South Africa and Germany.
The publication of the results for the privately-held betting exchange is likely to increase talk that the firm wants to float.
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