How has the external environment changed the way Ladbrokes operate and how it affects their Strategy as a business?

Abstract

Purpose - this exploratory research aims explore the impact of growing technology advances within the betting industry as these advances have made the external environment ever more important to the way Ladbrokes operate. It also aims to challenge whether or not the government is being too hard on the betting industry by looking at the effectiveness of the new practices introduced. To help achieve these aims the following objectives were derived: 1. The researcher intends to construct an environmental analysis of Ladbrokes to show what specific factors affect the company in how they go about their business. For example using such frameworks as PESTEL and the five forces. 2. To complete the aim the researcher intends to analyse what technology advances have occurred in the betting industry for example gaming machines and the increased use of e-commerce and online gambling and compare how these areas of the business impact Ladbrokes. 3. In order to achieve the aim the researcher intends to analyse the role the government play in the betting industry. The researcher would also do interviews and questionnaires in order to test whether or not these practises are effective and also if they are working, to then show if these new orders are either too hard or appropriate and necessary. Design/Methodology - To address the research a mixed method approach was adopted. Questionnaires were distributed amongst five shops and a semi structured interview was conducted with a business support manager whose name while be undisclosed for confidentiality purposes. Findings - It was found that the external environment has played a key role in how Ladbrokes operate. The study identified that Ladbrokes were aware of the external environment and particularly successful with the use of its Fixed Odds Betting Machines. However the study also showed that Ladbrokes fell behind it competition when it came to e-commerce and mobile gambling. The study also showed the key role that governments now play in the betting industry and showed that the new legislation being introduced did not help people with gambling problems and that further study needed to be sought.