A single high roller has cost Ladbrokes more than £60 million in lost profits after he stopped betting for 12 months.
It is the first time in 20 years that the betting giant has lost money on the highly-secretive division handling the private accounts of mega-rich punters.
Last night Labrokes remained tight-lipped about the identity of the big-money gambler – believed to be a member of an Asian royal family – who has cost it so dear.
But sources in gambling circles suggested it may be the Sultan of Brunei’s playboy younger brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah.
The 56-year-old-Prince has been named in the past as one of Ladbrokes super-rich clients.
His assets were once estimated at more than £1 billion but in recent years he has been forced to sell many off to fund a series of expensive legal cases.
Prince Jefri faces arrest if he enters the UK after the Brunei Investment Authority won a ruling against him in the High Court in London in 2008 for allegedly making misstatements in his listing of assets.
Prince Jefri’s British lawyer was not available to comment.
Another Ladbrokes high roller who has been named in the past is Gibraltar-based gambling tycoon Putera Sampoerna, who has a £1.5 billion fortune.
A number of Premier League footballers are also said to be among Ladbrokes high-rollers.
The mega-punter who stopped betting was said to be the main reason why Ladbrokes operating profits from high rollers fell to just £5 million compared to
£66.9 million in 2009.
But there are signs that the mystery man may have returned as Ladbrokes have recorded
£4.6 million of operating profits in the period to February 15.
A Ladbrokes spokesman said last night: ‘We never comment on the identity of our clients.’
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