Two of the most popular British betting brands – Ladbrokes and Coral – will no longer operate on the betting rings in the UK and Ireland after it was confirmed that the owner of the two companies, GVC Holdings, has reached an agreement to sell its 106 pitches to a competitor and exit on-course operations.
In a statement released on October 27th, the trading director of GVC Holdings, Rom Ritzema, said that it was not an easy decision to make and explained that a number of factors had been taken into consideration before that, especially considering the fact that both brands have had a long-time presence in the racecourse betting ring. Mr Ritzema further shared that GVC Holdings would remain fully committed to horse racing, as it intended to keep its race sponsorship portfolio under the Ladbrokes and Coral brands, and reminded that the operator is currently the largest single provider of gambling revenues to the sport.
As revealed by GVC Holdings in its official announcement yesterday, the 85 UK-based and 21 Ireland-based racecourse pitches of the company are to be sold to John Hooper, trading under the name Sid Hooper. The gambling operator also shared that 17 of its employees are affected by the decision for the closure of GVC’s racecourse operation, but a consultation with these individuals is set to immediately begin.
On-Course in the UK Gambling Sector Suffers Massive Downfall
As mentioned above, GVC Holdings revealed there were a number of factors that led the gambling operator to the decision that its presence in the racecourse betting ring is not the best strategic objective for its Ladbrokes and Coral brands.
The gambling giant explained that the volume of business represented by its racecourse pitches is extremely small, especially when compared with the volumes generated by the company’s land-based and online gambling operations. Mr Ritzema explained that the racecourse operation was actually generating more losses than anything else, so the gambling giant decided that it would be for the best to sell its pitches and leave the ring.
In recent years, the importance of the on-course market in the UK gambling sector has greatly declined. Apart from that, it was unable to operate at all after racing was restarted behind closed doors in June 2020. Now the on-course sector would probably suffer another blow on its positions because o the loss of two significant brands with a long-time presence in the ring. According to some analysts, the recently-announced sale could be a further indication that the long-term future of the on-course market is seriously jeopardised.
Ladbrokes and Coral are among the most popular names in racecourse betting, but the truth is that the majority of on-course bookmakers are smaller family-run businesses that have made serious investments in order to be given the right to use racecourse pitches to operate. Very few of them have been able to work for a period of seven months, and the very few that have been permitted to take bets into racetracks have faced serious financial difficulties.
- Author
Olivia Cole
