Ladbrokes, the betting chain, announced a drop in profits today as high-rolling customers moved to offshore gambling operations and Euro 2008 was won by the favourite, Spain.

The company said its pre-tax profits fell 16 per cent in the first six months of this year to £134 million compared with the same period last year.

Most of the fall came from the loss of high rollers, gamblers that bet large sums of money over the telephone, to rivals located in tax havens or countries with loose gaming rules. Profit from high rollers fell one third to £40 million and the number of unique customers fell 7,200 to 90,200.

Ladbrokes also said its UK operations had suffered with profits falling marginally to £98.3 million, despite a strong start to the year. The company blamed a bad June on the turnaround, particularly Royal Ascot and Euro 2008.

Christopher Bell, the chief executive, said: "June suffered a string of poor results affecting all channels, most notably Royal Ascot and the early stages of Euro 2008."

Bookies had to pay out heavily on Euro 2008 when one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain, won the competition. Royal Ascot also produced a number of favourites that won their races, including two of the big competitions, the Gold Cup and the King George V Stakes.

Ladbrokes increased its total gross win - the difference between what punters bet and win - by 6 per cent to £648.3 million. It will increase the interim dividend by 5 per cent to 5.1p a share.

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