Netbet plans stock market gamble

NEWS Netbet, the UK's only online betting service is about to take a bet itself and launch on the stock market. The offshore-based service will float on Ofex, the specialist market for untried share issues. Investors will be offered 1.7 million shares at 70p each, raising £1.2m capital for expansion and listing 10 million shares on Ofex. The firm is currently testing software to expand the service to offer bets on US sporting events such as baseball, basketball and ice hockey. Bets are already taken on the Internet on sporting events worldwide, including European football and golf tournaments. Analysts were reluctant to predict whether the move will succeed, claiming there is little history of successful online betting flotations. High street bookmaker William Hill aborted its planned flotation last week, being sold instead to two venture capital firms. The bookmaker's parent company, Japanese investment bank, Nomura, accepted an offer of £825m from Cinven and CVC Capital Partners. However, the flotation was already foundering due to lack of interest from large financial institutions in the city. In an attempt to attract larger investors, the share price was scaled back; this led instead to small investors clamouring to buy into the company.