Sports Betting
BGC Members Make Record Horserace Betting Levy Contribution
Betting and Gaming Council members are expected to contribute a record £105m in levy payments to the Horserace Betting Levy Board for last year, new figures reveal.
The figure, provided by the independent Horserace Betting Levy Board, is an increase of £5m on the previous year.
As a result of this record additional funding from bookmakers, the HBLB announced an increase of £3.2m in its prize money contribution for 2024 versus 2023, from £67.3m to £70.5m.
It is the third year in a row that Levy contributions have increased, from £97m in 2021/22, to £100m in 2022/2023 and now £105m in 2023/2024.
According to the Horserace Betting Levy Board, the £105m total is derived from the receipt of provisional end of year submissions from most Levy-paying bookmakers.
Michael Dugher, Betting and Gaming Council CEO and Acting Chair, said: “This record contribution to the Levy is extremely welcome news and demonstrates once again the enduring, mission critical support regulated betting provides British horseracing.
“Despite a double digit decline in horserace betting turnover over the past five years – and a double digit decline in racecourse attendances – this shows that levy contributions and prize money are both up, and it once again provides a timely reminder that racing could not survive without the record financial support that is flowing from betting.
“Our members remain committed to the long-term success of horseracing, and the huge economic contribution it makes across the country, especially in rural communities.
“Attention must now turn to how we challenge vested interests, introduce real change and reform the sport, ensuring we reverse the current decline and provide racing with a genuinely long term sustainable future.”
Horseracing is the second biggest spectator sport in the UK, second only to football, with around five million people attending approximately 1400 fixtures annually across 59 racecourses.
However, the sport has been in decline in recent years. In 2007, 17% of the population enjoyed horserace betting the previous year, but that fell to 10% in 2018, while racecourse attendances have dropped by 14% since 2019.
Meanwhile, horserace betting turnover for April to December 2023 is down 17% vs the average for the same period across the last five years.
The BGC has made significant efforts to lessen the impacts on racing as a result of the Government’s White Paper on gambling reforms, particularly on the issue of affordability.
Earlier this month the BGC announced a new voluntary industry Code on Customer Checks which raises standards, while reducing the need for requests for private financial documents.
Developed jointly with the Gambling Commission and backed by Government, this Code will operate as a voluntary interim scheme – bringing consistency across the regulated sector for operators who adopt it – until the frictionless financial risk assessments set out in the Government’s White Paper can be developed, tested and implemented.
While this Code delivers progress on resolving the issue of intrusive document checks, it does not offer a complete solution. So, the BGC and GC are now actively working on a new Code on Anti-Money Laundering checks, which also trigger requests for documents.
The BGC is currently working with the British Horseracing Authority and government to resolve a settlement on a new voluntary Levy to support horseracing.
It is estimated BGC members contribute around £350m a year to British horseracing in Levy, media rights and sponsorship deals.
Meanwhile the wider regulated betting and gaming sector supports 110,000 jobs, generates £4.2bn in tax and contributes £7.1bn to the economy.
Each month around 22.5m adults in Britain enjoy a bet, whether it’s buying a lottery ticket, having a game of bingo, visiting a casino, playing online or having a wager on football, horseracing and other sports.
The most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers.
The post BGC Members Make Record Horserace Betting Levy Contribution appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Spotlight Sports Group (SSG), a world-leading technology, content, and media company specialising in sports betting, has signed a deal to extend a multi-year agreement with the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).
The long-term partnership, powered by the Racing Post, will promote Hong Kong racing to a worldwide audience through the provision of full racecards for the Hong Kong Jockey Club meetings at Sha Tin and Happy Valley, editorial and tipping content. The partnership will also enable free-to-view live streams and replays of all Hong Kong racing via Racing Post digital platforms.
The collaboration also sees the promotion of the HKJC’s World Pool initiative, specifically with editorial, tipping and signposting of World Pool meetings. Spotlight Sports Group is delighted to have this agreement in place before Royal Ascot, a meeting that not only features high-class horse racing, but five days of World Pool betting.
James Fitzpatrick, Account Director for B2B Content Services at Spotlight Sports Group, said: “The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of our key partners and I’m delighted we will be continuing our relationship. Extending this deal ahead of Royal Ascot will allow us to continue to promote World Pool days to a global audience during one of the biggest international meetings of the year.”
The view was shared by Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products of the HKJC: “The HKJC and Racing Post are two of the most powerful and respected brands in the horse racing industry and we can see many great opportunities to work together to achieve our goals and longer-term vision throughout the life of the agreement.”
Spotlight Sports Group aims to support the global betting, horse racing and fantasy sports industries.
The post SPOTLIGHT SPORTS GROUP AGREES NEW DEAL WITH HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Bettors in Arizona wagered approximately $656.3 million on sports in April of 2024, according to a new report by the Arizona Department of Gaming. This represents an approximate 22.5% increase when compared to April of 2023.
partnerships
Novibet Extends Stats Perform Partnership, Launches Dedicated Opta Stats Section and Opta Points
Customers of innovative betting operator Novibet will be the first to experience a new level of immersive football betting entertainment this summer, as the sportsbook launches a range of user experiences, all powered by Stats Perform’s trusted Opta data and OptaAI.
The new experiences include:
- A highly prominent “Opta Stats” section on the Novibet website and app, featuring advanced metrics designed to help bettors cut through noise to make quick decisions, like OptaAI-powered expected goals and expected assists;
- Multiple creative new “Opta Points” betting markets within and across matches, to generate higher levels of interest in player performances, for all players;
- Deep, colourful team and player pages packed with statistics and form, to complement Novibet’s already comprehensive range of Opta-powered player stats markets; and
- Quick Opta stats contextually integrated across the Novibet platform, including alongside interactive betting opportunities.
The innovative Opta-powered features are a result of Novibet’s long-term partnership with Stats Perform and are to be rolled out across Novibet’s territories in Europe and South America. They are expected to result in greater bettor education, increased time-on-site and increased share of wallet.
Giannis Paraschos, Novibet Head of Sportsbook Product, said: “We’re delighted to extend our deep relationship with Stats Perform and use its Opta brand prominently to increase our users’ trust in our product. Our team is also really proud of the way we’ve built Opta Points into our front-end UI and back-end pricing. The Euros and Copa América are the ideal competitions to use Opta Points to help our users follow their favourite club players as they represent their countries and find new heroes. We think it’ll make more of the games and more of the players matter to our bettors and be an enormously popular way for them to immerse themselves in the tournaments.”
“We’re very pleased that Novibet see the value of our trusted Opta brand, and the potential of Opta xGoals, Opta xAssists and our new Opta Points metric. It’s a privilege to partner with clients like Novibet who share our aspiration to make sports betting more entertaining, and fascinating to see the magic they’ve built with our Opta data feeds,” Andrew Ashenden, Chief Betting Officer at Stats Perform, said.
The new Opta experiences are set to launch in time for the 2024 Euros and Copa América and subsequently across major global football leagues.
Stats Perform’s detailed, real-time sports data, OptaAI and Opta brand is at the heart of modern, trusted sports media and betting experiences across the world’s best sports broadcasters, publishers, teams, federations, apps and sportsbooks. Among its multiple awards in recent years include SBC’s Best Sports Data Product in 2022 and 2023.
The post Novibet Extends Stats Perform Partnership, Launches Dedicated Opta Stats Section and Opta Points appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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