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UK sportsbook Bet365 has sold its chain of betting shops to Coral Eurobet for an estimated £40m as it looks to concentrate on its online and tele-betting operations.
John Coates, chief executive of Bet365, told the Racing Post it would provide the firm with capital for future expansion.
"Remote betting and gaming has become our core business, with more than 90% of our expected £700m turnover this year coming from that area,” Coates said.
Bet365 has had a high-street presence in the UK since 1974, but has seen rapid growth since it introduced an online business in 2001.
It is one of the few UK-based operations to accept bets from the US market, and has recently witnessed strong growth in turnover following the addition of poker and casino gaming.
The sale marks a turnaround for the UK online sportsbooks sector, which was strongly considering high-street expansion as little as 12 months ago.
Victor Chandler, Blue Square and ukbetting have all opened up retail betting outlets in the past 12 months,
But most firms are now believed to concentrate their efforts online where more money can be made from cross selling gaming products.
