Horse racing Archives - Page 2 of 5

Kentucky sports betting bill heads to governor’s desk

House Bill 551 – which would authorise sports wagering in the Bluegrass State – is heading to Governor Andy Beshear’s desk after clearing the Senate just hours before the deadline.

Beshear, a Democrat, has stated his intention to sign the bill, meaning that the outlook looks optimistic for legalised sports betting in Kentucky.

Lawmakers approved the legislation 26-12, with a 23-vote threshold for passage. The two-thirds majority requirement is a result of state rules regarding revenue generating laws being passed in a session not devoted to the budget.

There is a long tradition of horse racing in Kentucky

“After years of urging lawmakers to legalise sports betting, we finally did it! Today’s result shows that hard work pays off,” said Beshear on Twitter. “Kentuckians will soon be able to place their bets here and, for the first time, we are going to keep those dollars to support our roads and bridges, schools and communities.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

March 16, 2023

Norway announces new distribution of Norsk Rikstoto profits

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The Norwegian Ministry of Food and Agriculture have established new regulations, formalising the revenue share received by the different national equestrian organisations from Norsk Rikstoto.

Under the new rules, the profits distributed to these various bodies will be formalised, with each organisation receiving a set percentage of the proceeds. This differs from the repealed regulations in which the Ministry had far more discretion over where the profits were distributed.

Gambling on horse racing in Norway is supervised by the state-owned monopoly of Norsk Rikstoto, which collects all legal pari-mutuel bets on the vertical. The profits from this company are then shared among a variety of Norwegian equestrian organisations in order to support the sport.

Distribution of profits

The new regulations outline that the Norwegian Trotting Association, the national harness racing association, is to receive 82% of the profits. The Ministry says that the grant will be used in order to suppor..

February 23, 2023

ATG CEO: FY22 results success despite “turbulent and troubled year”

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Former Swedish trotting monopoly Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) has reported full-year 2022 revenue of SEK6.04bn (£480.9m/€546.5m), a slight decrease of 1.2% compared to 2021, despite a “turbulent and troubled” 2022.

The total revenue consists of net gaming revenue at SEK5.22bn, agency income of SEK234m and other incomes at SEK584bn.

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG, said that the operator had delivered good results for the period – particularly in terms of sport and casino – regardless of outside challenges.

“I ended last year’s CEO speech by saying “we can look forward to an exciting 2022”,” said Skarplöth. “So, a year later, I can state that I got a little more right than I wanted – but in the wrong way.”

“ATG, during such a turbulent and troubled year, succeeding in increasing the net gaming revenue in both sports and casino by 8% and 49%, respectively, is a well-approved result.”

Specifically, Skarplöth was referring to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukra..

February 20, 2023

William Hill named as Grand National’s official betting partner

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William Hill has been named as the official betting partner of the Grand National in a three-year deal.

As well as being the official betting partner, the deal will see William Hill named as the sponsor of three races held at the Aintree racetrack during the Grand National.

The festival runs from 13-15 April.

The three races are the Grade 1 William Hill Aintree Hurdle on 13 April, the William Hill Handicap Hurdle on 14 April and the Grade 3 William Hill Handicap Chase on 15 April.

Non-runner, money-back

william hill will be offering bets with non-runner, money-back terms

Daryl West, William Hill’s head of sponsorship, social and PR said the company was “delighted” to be involved as the event’s official betting partner for the next three years.

“The Grand National Festival at Aintree is one of the pinnacles of the National Hunt calendar and we are delighted to be involved as the official betting partner for the next three years,” he said.

“Horseracing is a vital part of our heri..

February 20, 2023

MyRacehorse appoints ex-Betfair racing head as marketing director

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MyRacehorse, a micro-share horse racing syndicate, has hired ex-Betfair head of racing Will De Nardo to lead on its UK and Ireland marketing efforts.

De Nardo has been appointed as MyRacehorse’s UK and Ireland marketing director and global gaming advisor.

In his new role, he will lead the company’s customer base expansion.

De Nardo joins MyRacehorse after close to 10 years working at various Flutter Entertainment brands, spending time at Sky Betting & Gaming and FoxBet before moving on to Betfair.

“Will brings an additional and important marketing skill set to our UK and Ireland business due to his invaluable experience at Flutter,” said MyRacehorse managing partner Jules Pittam.

“He will be influential in enhancing the owner experience as well as working with new partners as he develops gaming opportunities around the world. We are delighted to have someone of such high calibre join the team.”

de nardo said he aims to replicate the business’ success in new markets

De Nardo sa..

February 16, 2023

CDI closes $197.2m sale of Arlington Heights property to Chicago Bears

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Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has completed the sale of a property in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to nearby National Football League (NFL) franchise the Chicago Bears.

The initial deal was struck in September 2021, with the Bears having agreed to pay $197.2m to acquire the 326-acre site, which is currently home to Arlington Heights Racecourse.

The racecourse opened in 1927 and upon closure had a capacity of 35,000 seats. The venue had not hosted any form of racing since the deal with the Bears was agreed in 2021.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

January 30, 2023

SIS pens 24/7 Live Racing deal with BetConstruct

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BetConstruct will feature live racing content from Sports Information Services (SIS) as part a new partnership.

Under the terms of the deal, BetConstruct’s platform will integrate SIS’s offerings, starting with its 24/7 Live Racing Content.

This comprises of over 35,000 horse races and 38,000 greyhound events, taking place at over 170 racecourses across five continents.

SIS said the deal with the London-headquartered supplier represents an important step within its stated ambition of further developing relationships with leading platforms.

Andy Kelly, SIS’s commercial manager for UK and Europe, said: “We’ve been extremely open that SIS has a strategic goal of strengthening its partnerships with platforms and distributors.”

“BetConstruct has an excellent global reach that allows for significantly more operators worldwide to have access to the best racing products on the market. It has also been a pleasure working with the BetConstruct team and I am looking forward to a long and suc..

January 4, 2023

Tab NZ misses profit budget again in November

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Tab NZ again fell short of its monthly profit budget in November despite surpassing its gross betting revenue (GBR) target for the month.

Tab NZ, New Zealand’s sports betting monopoly, said while major events such as football’s 2022 Fifa World Cup, horse racing’s Melbourne Cup and the NZ Trotting Cup helped it to surpass turnover and GBR levels, gross betting margin and profit missed budget.

Retail traffic continued to hold strong following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the overall field size across all three codes was up on the year-to-date average, other factors such as continued competitive pressure from unregulated offshore operators, reduced betting margin and lower average bet size in key customer segments impacted the figures.

Tab NZ had already warned in early December that due to it missing budgets a number of times in recent months, it would have to reduce distributions to racing codes across New Zealand by 9% for the 2022-23 financial year ending 31 July 2023.
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December 12, 2022

PMU aims to increase stakes by €1bn by 2025

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French horse racing operator Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) announced a three-year strategic vision to grow its annual stakes by €1bn and to increase its total number of customers to four million.

The business outlined a series of transformations for the company in the period including a “global approach” to PMU’s growth, the deployment of new technology and the development of marketing channels.

“By 2025, PMU will write a new page in its business plan,” said PMU managing director Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet. “Our objective of generating €1bn in additional stakes in 2025 and of having more than four million customers is ambitious and based on a collective spirit of conquest. During this period, PMU will develop its employer brand and its engagement policy to attract and retain talent.”

pmu aims to exceed four million total customers by 2025

Malecaze-Doublet elaborated on the specific loci within the business that would be a focus for transformation.

“The transformation of the company w..

December 9, 2022

Norway extends Norsk Rikstoto monopoly for 10 more years

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The government of Norway has extended Norsk Rikstoto’s exclusive licence to offer bets on horse racing for another 10 years.

Norway remains one of the last European countries with a state gambling monopoly. Lottery Norsk Tipping is the only body permitted to offer online casino gaming, while Norsk Rikstoto has the exclusive rights to take bets on horse racing.

Norway remains one of the last European countries with a state gambling monopoly

The government said that the monopoly system is necessary because the types of games offered by Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto “have high prizes, high turnover or a high risk of creating gambling problems”.

Norsk Rikstoto’s monopoly will now last at least 10 more years, as the government announced that its licence would be extended until at least the end of 2032.

Minister for culture and equality, Anette Trettebergstuen, said that she felt that Norsk Tipping understood its role as a monopoly operator and that its goals were aligned with the go..

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