Horse racing – FairOdds Network

April 4, 2025

BGC: Almost £10 million to be bet illegally on 2025 Grand National

Almost £10.0 million (€11.9 million/$13.1 million) could be illegally bet on this weekend’s Grand National, according to new analysis by the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC).

As the showpiece event on Britain’s horse racing calendar, the Grand National is popular with both regular and seasonal bettors. However, while many will wager with licensed operators, the BGC expects millions to be bet via illegal routes.

The BGC estimates £9.4m will be staked with black market operators this year. This represents 3.8% of the overall £250.0 million the BGC expects to be wagered on the race. The race takes place tomorrow (5 April) at Aintree Racecourse.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst said this should serve as a “wake-up call” for the government. As illegal operators do not pay tax in Britain, the government would miss out on significant tax revenue.

According to the BGC, the Grand National alone will generate £3.0 million in tax revenue and £2.0 million in contributions to the horse racing levy to suppor..

April 3, 2025

Racecourse Media Group appoints Russell Ferris as managing director

Racecourse Media Group has announced the appointment of Russell Ferris, currently CEO of horseracing organisation Weatherbys, as its new managing director.

Ferris will officially take on the new role on 18 August, the Racecourse Media Group (RMG) confirmed yesterday (2 April). The RMG is the umbrella organisation responsible for media rights involving 61 racecourses across Britain and Ireland.

An experienced executive, Ferris has been serving as the CEO of Weatherbys since September 2019. Weatherbys provides a range of services to the horseracing industry, including playing a major role in breeding approval.

Before becoming CEO, Ferris also had a spell as chief executive of the Weatherbys General Stud Book, a breed registry for horses in Britain and Ireland. He also spent time as operations director.

Prior to Weatherbys, Ferris was a director for At The Race, a dedicated horseracing channel in the UK and Ireland. He also worked as the managing director of Limerick Racecourse in Ire..

March 31, 2025

Weekend Report: NZ tackles gambling influencers, plus PropSwap-Bally Bet, Ladbrokes-Chester Racecourse deals

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

New Zealand authorities crack down on gambling influencers

First, authorities in New Zealand have launched a crackdown on social media influencers promoting offshore online gambling websites.

According to RNZ, the department of internal affairs (DIA) has issued its first takedown notices of influencers promoting illegal operators. Those that fail to comply could face hefty fines, the DIA warned.

The New Zealand Gambling Act makes it illegal to publish an advertisement for an offshore, unlicensed gambling operator.

“We’ve been investigating this,” director of gambling regulatory services Vicki Scott said. “We will be taking actions in relation to those influencers who are very publicly and clearly breaking the law.”

Malta regulator issues illegal gambling website warning

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is also strengthening its activity to tackle illegal gambl..

March 18, 2025

Maryland OTB owner Alyse Cohen has sights set on legalising more gambling options

Alyse Cohen has been around OTBs her whole life. Now she's fighting for a gambling expansion to save hers.

Growing up on a horse farm in rural Maryland meant riding to a hang-out spot was more than just hopping on your bike or in someone’s car to go have fun. You could saddle up and head down to the Wilcom’s Inn, a historic roadhouse at the end of a drag strip near Frederick, Maryland and hitch your horse up right outside.

Alyse Cohen’s memories of that sort of place, where everyone wanted to be on Friday and Saturday nights, started her on her current path. Her father Randy used to take her to another Frederick staple called the Cracked Claw, a seafood restaurant turned off-track betting parlour that was legendary in the area.

When the family that owned the Cracked Claw closed the business in 2011, the OTB licence for Frederick County was available. Cohen, 36, who along with her family had a hotel and conference centre in Frederick, felt an opportunity to come full circle wit..

March 18, 2025

Maryland OTB owner Alyse Cohen has sights set on legalising more gambling options

Alyse Cohen has been around OTBs her whole life. Now she's fighting for a gambling expansion to save hers.

Growing up on a horse farm in rural Maryland meant riding to a hang-out spot was more than just hopping on your bike or in someone’s car to go have fun. You could saddle up and head down to the Wilcom’s Inn, a historic roadhouse at the end of a drag strip near Frederick, Maryland and hitch your horse up right outside.

Alyse Cohen’s memories of that sort of place, where everyone wanted to be on Friday and Saturday nights, started her on her current path. Her father Randy used to take her to another Frederick staple called the Cracked Claw, a seafood restaurant turned off-track betting parlour that was legendary in the area.

When the family that owned the Cracked Claw closed the business in 2011, the OTB licence for Frederick County was available. Cohen, 36, who along with her family had a hotel and conference centre in Frederick, felt an opportunity to come full circle wit..

February 14, 2025

ATG CEO urges Swedish government to lower gambling tax for betting

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, chief executive of Swedish horse racing monopoly AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), has urged the government to drop its gambling tax for betting, following disappointing results in 2024.

Looking to how ATG performed in 2024, revenue for the 12 months to 31 December 2024 amounted to SEK6.19 billion (£459 million/€551 million/$577 million). This is 2.5% above the previous year. Net gaming revenue was largely flat, up 1.7% to SEK5.36 billion.

Revenue growth was enough to push operating profit up 1.4% to SEK1.81 billion for the 12-month period. After also including financial items, pre-tax profit topped SEK1.87 billion, up 1.8% year-on-year.

In ATG’s full-year presentation, published today (14 February), Skarplöth said growth could have been much greater had it not been impacted by Sweden’s gambling tax increase, which came into force in July.

Skarplöth said the recession, high household costs and higher interest rates had also hit ATG revenue in 2024.

Skarplöth urges re..

February 11, 2025

BHA announces passing of industry stalwart Joe Saumarez Smith

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today (11 February) confirmed the passing of its long-standing chair Joe Saumarez Smith.

Joe Saumarez Smith had a long and successful career in the gaming sector. This included a spell as chairman for platform provider Bede Gaming, acquired by Merkur in 2020. He was also an active investor in the sector, as well as a widely respected consultant.

However Joe’s true passion was horse racing and he started his career in 1991 as a member of the UK’s Jockey Club graduate programme. From there he featured as a prominent voice in racing media.

He contributed to the coverage of horse racing in Racing Post, Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph and Bloomberg.

“An influential and distinguished figure in British racing”

Joe joined the BHA in December 2014 as a non-executive director and was appointed chairman in 2022. The BHA credits Joe as a driving force in forging close ties with the betting sector.

“He played a vital convening role in dr..

February 5, 2025

BlueBet agrees to acquire TopSport assets

BlueBet Holdings has entered an agreement to acquire certain assets of Merlehan Booking, the Australia-facing sports and racing betting company trading as TopSport.

Under the deal, BlueBet will pay an initial AU$10 million (£5 million/€6 million/US$6.3 million) to acquire the assets from TopSport. This will comprise 70% cash and 30% in new, ordinary shares in BlueBet.

The agreement, announced today (5 February) by BlueBet, will also include potential further payments. These are contingent on BlueBet’s share price reaching certain milestones and the net gaming revenue performance of the assets.

To support the cash portion of the purchase price, BlueBet has successfully undertaken an equity raising. This will raise $15 million in gross proceeds via the issue of approximately 44.1 million new shares in BlueBet.

Why is BlueBet acquiring the assets?

Operated by father and son duo Lloyd and Tristan Merlehan, TopSport offers both sports and racing betting in Australia. In the first half ..

January 22, 2025

Britbet extends UK Tote Group partnership until 2030

Britbet Racing, a partnership of 55 racecourses across Great Britain, has signed an extension to its long-term partnership with the UK Tote Group.

The deal will see Tote continue to deliver its on-course pool betting service across almost all Britbet racecourses. The agreement will go live in November 2025 and run until at least the end of October 2030.

However, at present the deal excludes all Arena Racing Company (ARC) racecourses within the Britbet partnership. Talks over pool betting between ARV, Britbet and UK Tote Group remain ongoing.

Under the renewed deal, all covered racecourses will continue to control the delivery of on-course betting at their racing venues. Tote’s brand will remain associated with this offering while Tote will also provide all off-course services.

“The delivery of a daily pool betting service ranges from 500-plus staff on each day of the Cheltenham Festival, through to meetings where everyone knows each other on a weekday winter evening,” Britbet manag..

December 12, 2024

Sanborn casino sale saga highlights value of HHR for small markets

Earlier this month, the year-long New Hampshire legal saga surrounding the forced sale of Andy Sanborn's Concord Casino came to a close. The process was drawn out and contentious, however in the end it didn't actually centre around the casino but around a historical horse racing (HHR) licence.

Sanborn, a former New Hampshire state senator, was forced to close and sell the casino last year. Attorney general John Formella last August accused Sanborn of misappropriating $844,000 (£660,846/€803,192) of Covid relief funds related to the casino and other businesses. No charges have been filed for that investigation, but Sanborn was arrested on 18 October on a separate charge for misrepresenting the casino’s gross receipts in order to obtain more relief funds.

After the first investigation was opened, Sanborn and the state began a legal battle that lasted almost a year. He was originally given a June deadline to sell, but that was extended multiple times. A deal was said to be i..

December 12, 2024

Gamban founder calls for horse racing to be excluded from affordability checks

Matt Zarb-Cousin, the co-founder and director of external affairs at Gamban, has called for horse racing to be exempt from the UK's new affordability checks.

In August, the Gambling Commission launched its financial risk checks pilot, which triggers more extensive checks for a player when their monthly deposit hits £500. This measure will be adapted in February 2025 when net deposits will be lowered to a threshold of £150 or above. These checks involve the UK’s largest operators and credit reference agencies.

Much of the criticism of affordability checks has come from the horse racing sector, which feels it’s being unfairly treated compared to other more high-risk forms of betting such as slots.

Zarb-Cousin feels that horse racing must separate itself from such verticals, with the belief it shouldn’t be included in affordability checks.

“I think horse racing needs to get as far away as possible from online casino, [which] is bringing the industry down,” Zarb-Cousin said on t..

December 11, 2024

Illinois FY24 gambling report: Tax revenue over $2 billion, but casinos not key drivers

Data from the fiscal year 2024 edition of the Wagering in Illinois report from the legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability showed that the state's gaming industry generated a record $2.08 billion (£1.62 billion/€1.97 billion) in tax revenue in FY24, the most ever for the Prairie State.

According to the report, state tax revenue grew 4.8% year-over-year from $1.99 billion in FY23. Illinois has one of the strongest gaming industries in the US, with casino gaming, video gaming (slot routes), sports betting, horse racing and lottery.

The report covers not just the last fiscal year, but references financial reports dating back to legalisation dates for each genre of gambling.

The commission noted that FY24’s growth was “largely driven by the steady expansion of video gaming, elevated lottery sales and rapid growth in sports wagering”. The first two sectors generated the majority of tax revenues – $886 million from the lottery and $848 million fr..

December 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Tag: Horse racing