SBC News
BetGoodwin reportedly weighs £80m Junior AIM flotation as UK-listed gambling stocks struggle
Sky News reports that UK bookmaker BetGoodwin is exploring a London Junior AIM listing valuing it at about £80m. The move would come as major listed operators have seen sharp share price falls and face further tax pressure.
BetGoodwin, the online brand of heritage betting group Goodwin Racing, is reportedly considering an initial public offering in London. Sky News has reported that the company is looking at a flotation on the Junior AIM Market that would value it at around £80m. BetGoodwin declined to comment when approached by SBC News.
According to the report, the business has asked independent UK investment bank Allenby Capital to assist with the potential listing. One source told Sky News that the current owners, Chief Executive Julian Head and Chief Operating Officer Ben Head, who are father and son, would look to sell down roughly 20% of their interest. The flotation is not guaranteed.
BetGoodwin launched online in 2022, 25 years after the wider group set up its telephone betting operation. The Blask Index lists it as the 74th-largest operator in the UK and the 66th-largest in Ireland. Goodwin Racing's liquid cash reserves rose by more than 122% to £6.08m in 2024.
The reported plan comes during a difficult period for gambling companies on the London Stock Exchange. Flutter Entertainment dropped its London listing to become solely listed in New York. Over its last 12 months on the LSE, from 31 July 2025 to 31 July 2026, its shares fell from £228.60 to £75.88. Entain, the largest gambling group still listed in London, has seen its stock fall by more than 40% in 2026 and was relegated from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 in September. Rank Group's shares are down 16% this year.
Evoke, owner of William Hill and 888, has seen its shares rise by nearly 90% in 2026, but only because it has been acquired by Bally's Intralot and will soon delist. The shares trade at about 42p against the 52p-per-share deal price.
Tax is a further concern. Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% in April 2026, and General Betting Duty is due to increase from 15% to 25% in April 2027. With the Budget a week away, another rise, reportedly to Machine Games Duty, is widely rumoured. The LSE has also lost several other large companies in recent years, which makes a gambling operator choosing London for a listing notable.
Based on reporting by SBC News.