BETFAIR TO LAUNCH ONLINE TRADING FACILITY


Online gambling group is branching out into other sectors
 
The London publication CityAM reports that internet betting group Betfair plans to roll out an online multilateral trading facility in London later this year, using its proprietary software platform and financed initially by start-up capital from the main group.
 
Betfair received FSA regulatory approval for the platform, which will allow investors to exchange contracts for difference, at the end of July 2010.
 
Although Betfair retains the majority of shares in the group, financial and investment giant Goldman Sachs recently acquired a 12.5 percent stake in the company for an undisclosed amount.
 
CityAM reports that Betfair developers are currently working to complete the platform, which is based on Betfair’s advanced existing gambling technology.
 
Betfair first moved into financial trading in 2008, when it launched a spin-off website called Tradefair, parts of which have been subsumed under the LMAX name.