Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The Ladbrokes portion of the group was established in 1886, and Coral in 1926. In November 2016, the companies merged to create Ladbrokes Coral Group. Since March 2018, it has been owned by Entain (formerly GVC Holdings). Prior to its sale, Ladbrokes Coral was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a member of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded by Messrs. Schwind and Pennington in 1886, as commission agents for horses trained at Ladbroke Hall in Warwickshire. The name Ladbrokes was adopted in 1902, when Arthur Bendir joined the partnership, and operations were moved to London. Ladbrokes' London offices were first in the vicinity of the Strand, moved to Hanover Square in 1906 and, in 1913, to Six Old Burlington Street, Mayfair. From 1913 to 1956, Ladbrokes' clientele was exclusively drawn from the British aristocracy and upper classes, many of whom were members of the elite gentlemen's clubs in the St James's area of Central London. Unusually for the times, Ladbrokes' principal longtime representative on British racecourses was a woman, Helen Vernet. Having joined the firm in 1919, she was made a partner in 1928 and remained with the firm until shortly before her death in 1956, at the age of 80. Following the end of World War II, Ladbrokes' fortunes were in steady decline, thanks to an austere postwar economic climate, a dwindling client base, and reluctance to change the firm's specialised approach to bookmaking. As a result, in 1956 the company was acquired by Mark Stein and his nephew Cyril Stein for a reported £100,000. In 1961, the government legalised betting shops under the Betting and Gaming Act. As managing director, Stein used profits from the business's traditional areas to establish a chain of betting shops. The company first diversified outside the betting business by taking a major stake in the Dragonara Palace in Malta, a casino and hotel, which opened its first phase in 1964. In 1967, Ladbrokes was floated on the London Stock Exchange. From 1967 to 1973, Ladbrokes' retail betting business grew from less than 50 shops to 1,135, and the company expanded its ventures to include bingo clubs, hotels under the Dragonara brand, casinos in London, holiday centres, and real estate investments. In 1973, Terry Rogers