By Rosalba O'Brien LONDON (Reuters) - European online betting firms' previous U.S. experience and their record of expanding abroad will give them the edge over rivals when the U.S. market reopens this year, said Britain's 888 Holdings Plc. U.S. legislators had clamped down on internet betting in 2006 when it was explicitly barred by Congress, dealing a blow to online gaming companies who had set up there and driving them elsewhere in their quest for growth.

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Ladbrokes, Britain's second-largest bookmaker, is betting on a tie-up with gaming software developer Playtech to rack up earnings from growing demand for online gambling. Playtech has finalised an agreement to advise and assist Ladbrokes with its digital services for an initial period of five years, the companies announced on Monday. Ladbrokes, a familiar sight on Britain's high streets with 2,200 retail outlets, has struggled to keep up with the online offering of UK market leader William Hill.

* EBIT 136 mln euros vs analyst forecast of 138.5 mln * Has captured 27 pct of mobile sports betting market * Exchange rates could cut 2013 op profit by 10 mln euros * Shares rise 2.7 pct as brokers' up target prices By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN, March 5 (Reuters) - Paddy Power's operating profits rose 14 percent last year even as the Irish bookmaker spent big on expanding into Italy and larger rivals challenged its online presence.

It's just after morning opening at Sydney's Randwick Labor Club and already a few regulars are at the slot machines, or "pokies" as they are better known, for a quiet flutter. Electronic poker machines are the most popular form of betting in Australia, but concerns about problem gamblers have prompted the government to introduce reforms to help keep their spending under control. "The big picture is we're becoming a nanny state," said Peter Bell, a retiree who likes playing the machines, just like he enjoys to bet on horse races. He insists he is not a problem gambler.