The FTSE 250-listed firm — which acquired rival bwin.partygaming in a £1bln takeover last year – said its full-year profits would be at the top end of expectations as recent strong trading continued into December.

Shareholders taking a gamble on online gaming firm GVC HoldingsPLC (LON:GVC) were rewarded with an increase in its planned special dividend today as the owner of Sportingbet hiked its profit forecasts.

The FTSE 250-listed firm — which acquired rival bwin.partygaming in a £1bln takeover last year – said its full-year profits would be at the top end of expectations as recent strong trading continued into December.

GVC, whose other brands include Foxy Bingo and PartyPoker, raised its planned special dividend by 49% to 14.9 euro cents a share, or around 12.5p in sterling terms, up from the 10 euro cents, or 8.4p a share previously announced.

Kenneth Alexander, GVC’s chief executive officer, said: “Momentum across the Group has continued to build throughout the year and is a reflection of the hard work of our employees, quality of our technology and strength of our brands.

“The integration of bwin.party is proceeding positively and ahead of our original expectations. We continue to look forward to 2017 with confidence and expect to achieve further significant progress.”

In reaction to the good news, GVC shares jumped over 5% higher, up 33p to 648p, with the stock having already gained nearly 40% so far this year.