Liverpool sports betting firm Stanleybet says punters across its European markets staked almost £800m in 2025 and the firm is reporting a big rise in pre-tax profits to £3.4m. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool sports betting firm Stanleybet has seen a rise in annual revenues and pre-tax profits as it continues to fight legal battles over its Italian operations.

Stanleybet, which is based at The Plaza in St Paul’s Square has posted its annual accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, on Companies House. The business reports in euros and LBN has converted all figures to sterling.

They show a rise in annual revenues from £74.5m to around £80m. Pre-tax profits rocketed to £3.4m from £409,000 in the previous year. During the year punters staked more than £785m, up from £722m in 2024.

Betting stakes are not counted as revenue as once a bet is placed the money doesn’t belong to the bookmaker but is just being held pending the result of the wager.

From its Liverpool headquarters Stanleybet operates more than 2,000 betting shops. It has a very limited presence in the UK with almost all outlets in countries such as Italy, Romania, Germany, Belgium, Croatia and Poland. It has pulled out of Cyprus and Spain.

Its operations in Italy are conducted under a Maltese gaming licence and trade under cross-border EU laws. However, Stanleybet is in a long-running legal battle with the Italian Government over disputed tax demands which it is challenging “vigorously”.

Previous incarnations of the Stanley business were much more active in the UK. It sold around 700 UK betting shops to William Hill in 2005 and also once operated a network of regional casinos.

Over the past couple of years Stanleybet has reduced its headcount from around 270 to 172 in 2025. Majority shareholder of the business is Giovanni Garrisi.

Writing in the annual report, Giovanni said: “Turnover increased over the prior year, driven primarily by targeted growth in the online business, with the retail business reporting steady growth.

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“Margins improved slightly from the prior year, as the group sought to mitigate margin risk through improved product diversification.

“The group’s challenge to its legitimate right to conduct betting activities in Italy is well documented along with taxation rates of this trade. Settlement of some Italian betting tax demands under a long-term payment plan during the year impacted results in the prior year.”