Richard Glynn, currently chairman of spread betting company Sporting Index, has been appointed by Ladbrokes, the major UK online and land gambling group, to succeed Chris Bell as chief executive.

The 45-year-old will assume his responsibilities on 22nd April 2010 with Chris Bell remaining on for a short transitional period.

Chairman of Ladbrokes, Peter Erskine, said "His nine years' experience of the betting and gaming industry combined with his successful transformation of Sporting Index into a leading international and innovative spread betting business makes him ideally suited to lead the reinvigoration of Ladbrokes."

Glynn will receive a yearly salary of GBP 580 000 and 1.177 million shares in the company which is currently worth GBP 1.75 on his appointment.  He will also receive a further 4m shares, worth GBP 12m over five years on condition that all performance targets are met.

The Sunday Telegraph reported at the weekend that Ladbrokes is expected to improve its online offering under Richard Glynn.

Ladbroke reported a 32pc fall in annual pre-tax profits in January to GBP 174.1m.  This was blamed on the recession.  It also suffered in the UK with 7.2pc less customers gambling in its betting shops.  Chris Bell is confident that things will improve with the impact of the World Cup.  The group raised GBP 274.6m in a rights issue during October.

Ladbrokes has betting shops in Ireland, Britain, Spain and Belgium.