Minnows hand GVC profit payout from Euros

The stellar performance of footballing minnows like Iceland in Euro 2016 helped to fatten the profits of online gaming firm GVC, the firm said today.

The owner of the Sportingbet and Bwin betting websites enjoyed “particularly favourable” results in the first half of the tournament, boosting its sports betting margin — wagers less payouts — in the second quarter of the year to 9.9% from 7.9% a year earlier.

Iceland’s march to the quarter-finals included knocking out England while big names like Spain also failed.

Austria-founded Bwin’s army of German punters backing their team to be champions also lost out.

GVC, which won a £1 billion auction for Bwin.party last year, is on track to achieve €125 million (£104 million) in cost savings through the deal.

It played down Brexit insecurities, saying 90% of its customers were outside the UK, giving it “significant flexibility to face any potential long-term challenges”.