Virgin Bet has introduced its inaugural Women’s Day event – a celebration that will provide appreciation to the women in racing and nurture an inclusive environment.

The social event will take place at the Virgin Bet Raceday on March 9 at Ayr Racecourse, allowing the operator to extensively promote its message. The Women’s Day event is notably a part of the gambling company’s A Good Bet initiative, showcasing the operator’s commitment to promoting inclusivity.

The new event will see Virgin Bet empower women in racing. The operator will therefore offer a variety of exclusive experiences to players, such as providing female visitors with the opportunity to pick the Best Turned Out Award before each race and present the trophies to the eventual victors.

In addition, Virgin Bet will team up with WalkSafe, an app developed to help women feel safe when walking alone. The operator will also make a donation to Ayr Racecourse’s charity partner, Ayrshire Cancer Support.

Virgin Bet Wants to Celebrate the Uncelebrated

In addition to other activations, Virgin Bet has also teamed up with presenter Natalie Pike who agreed to host the Women’s Day events. Commenting on the matter, Pike said that she is excited to be a part of this project and hopes to inspire “the next generation of incredible women working in horse racing.”

Sport is for everyone, and activations such as this are crucial to ensuring inclusivity and safety for women at events, and ultimately heroing the brilliant people who work in the sport.

Natalie Pike

Virgin Bet’s marketing director, Ric Leask, also commented on the initiative, saying that his team wants to provide exposure and support to the many women in the horse racing industry. According to Leask, these women are, sadly, often uncelebrated and un-thanked.

Leask concluded: “At Virgin Bet, as part of our “A Good Bet” brand campaign, we want to make sport more accessible and to highlight brilliance, no matter who the subject, and this initiative is doing exactly that.”

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UK operator William Hill has welcomed four representatives of the Irish horse racing sector to its brand ambassador lineup. The new additions include a trainer, a presenter and two jockeys.

According to the announcement, Irish trainer Gavin Cromwell, presenter and broadcaster Jane Mangan and National Hunt jockeys J J Slevin and Sean Flanagan are joining the gambling company’s team. The new additions align with William Hill’s desire to support and promote horse racing in the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond.

As part of William Hill’s ambassadorial team, the four new additions will provide blogs, covering the latest developments in the world of professional horse racing. In addition, they will produce video content that will be distributed across the operator’s social media platforms, allowing it to engage fans of the sport.

The new ambassadors will commence their activities just in time for the Dublin Racing Festival where Slevin will team up with Fastorslow. The new deals also come in the wake of the extension of William Hill’s sponsorship of the William Hill Champion Chase on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival. As announced, the bookmaker will continue to sponsor the event over the next three years.

The Bookmaker Welcomed the Four Personalities

Andrew McCleave, William Hill Ireland’s head of marketing, welcomed the new additions to the bookmaker’s ambassadorial team.

We are delighted to announce Gavin Cromwell, J J Slevin, Sean Flanagan and Jane Mangan as our new horse racing ambassadors in Ireland. All four are very talented in their fields and will be able to offer fascinating and unique insight to our followers.

Andrew McCleave, head of marketing, William Hill Ireland

McCleave noted that his company has been a fervent supporter of the United Kingdom’s racing industry for years. William Hill now aims to also “position itself at the heart of racing” in Ireland as well, the head of marketing explained.

McCleave also commented on the extended William Hill Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival sponsorship, saying that it further reflects the bookmaker’s desire to “get into the DNA of Irish racing.”

In the meantime, William Hill also minted a new partnership with Off The Ball, an Irish sports media company. McCleave is convinced that this deal will further increase his company’s exposure in the world of Irish Racing.

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The leading supplier of betting services catering to gambling operators across the globe, Sports Information Services (SIS), announced a new partnership, allowing it to significantly grow its horse racing offering. On Wednesday, the company released details regarding its new deal with Korea Racing Authority, growing its live racing content with the addition of premium horse racing fixtures from Korea.

Per the new agreement, SIS will gain access to more than 200 fixtures annually from Seoul as well as Busan. This will grant access to 1,800 races, significantly expanding the company’s Asian content offering. Thanks to the new collaboration, SIS will not only expand its live racing content but leverage the access to premium horse racing fixtures.

This, in turn, can help create new opportunities for the company with operators across the globe. SIS explained that the new deal with the Korea Racing Authority complements the growth of its offering. Recently, the company completed a similar expansion on an international level, bringing content from South Africa and Australia.

The latest deal comes after another important change was announced by SIS recently. At the end of 2023, the company confirmed it stepped back from its greyhound simulcast operations in the United States.

The Partnership Is Expected to Create New Betting Opportunities

SuHyeong Lee, the Korea Racing Authority’s head of international races and relations, spoke about the strong position SIS holds by offering racing content from across the globe. The head of international races and relations added that the Authority is excited to join forces with the leading supplier of betting services and content. “We firmly believe this will successfully widen the popularity of horse racing from Korea and are sure that our offering will be well received globally,” explained Lee in conclusion.

“SIS is renowned throughout the industry for delivering the best international racing content and we are thrilled to be able to expand the visibility of our racing through this deal.“

SuHyeong Lee, head of international races and relations, at the Korea Racing Authority

Conall McSorley, SIS’ head of international horse racing, EMEA, highlighted the importance of offering quality racing fixtures from Korea. He added that the new deal boosts the company’s offering while at the same time, creating new betting opportunities. Finally, McSorley predicted that the new product would be well received by bettors, as well as operators in different markets.

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Ahead of the planned opening of its $75 million horse racetrack and entertainment venue in Ashland, Kentucky, Sandy’s Racing & Gaming has announced a new collaboration with the globally recognized betting and gaming company, bet365. Known as a joint venture between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Revolutionary Racing Kentucky, Sandy’s Racing & Gaming anticipates opening the doors of its venue at some point this autumn.

Under the terms of the new agreement, bet365 will expand its footprint in the United States. Per the new deal, the betting and gaming company is expected to bring exciting offers and promotions for customers in Kentucky. Similar to its other betting operations, the sportsbook is expected to offer live betting, same-game parlay bets, as well as options for streaming different events.

Through the partnership with Sandy’s Gaming & Racing, bet365’s Kentucky operations will mark the sixth state where the company offers its services. The multi-year partnership comes after recently, the state’s regulator, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), greenlighted bet365’s temporary sports betting license. Along with the leading betting company, other betting behemoths such as DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM also secured licenses ahead of the launch of legal sports betting in Kentucky.

The Partnership Brings Excitement to the Duo

A spokesperson for bet365 revealed that the company is delighted to team up with Sandy’s Racing & Gaming. The spokesperson highlighted the company’s dedication to offering supreme betting experiences and praised the speed of its product. Finally, the spokesperson revealed that bet365 is looking forward to delivering its supreme services to customers in Kentucky.

“We are thrilled to partner with Sandy’s Racing & Gaming,“

explained a spokesperson for bet365

Prentice Salter, Revolutionary Racing’s CEO, revealed that it is currently an exciting time for sports fans in the state. He spoke about the strong position bet365 holds within the betting and gaming market, acknowledging its trusted, safe and fun services. Finally, Salter said that the company is delighted to forge this deal and bring new betting experiences for customers in Kentucky.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be a sports fan in Kentucky.“

Prentice Salter, CEO of Revolutionary Racing

Kentucky legalized sports betting earlier this year, in March. The launch of the legal retail sports betting market in the state is expected on September 7, followed by an online launch near the end of the month, on September 28, 2023.

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Tabcorp, an Australian gambling giant, has unveiled an extension to its digital content agreement with the Flutter-owned gambling company Sportsbet. Under the agreement, Sportsbet will be allowed to broadcast Sky Racing 1 and Sky Racing 2 live on its betting application and official website. Sky will serve as the exclusive provider of the deal.

As announced, the deal has been extended for 10 years, securing Sportsbet’s access to the Sky Racing service for a decade. The terms of the deal are more or less the same. The arrangement is expected to generate between AUD 30 million and 40 million by the end of FY 2024.

The deal comes after, in May, Tabcorp considered a bid for rights for the Melbourne Cup Carnival, one of the biggest racing events in Australia. The move caused some of Tabcorp’s competitors to drop out of the bidding.

One of the Most Significant Deals for Tabcorp

Addressing the current deal, Tabcorp’s managing director and chief executive officer, Adam Rytenskild, said that Sky is “the home of racing.” As such, the broadcaster attracts more bettors than any other channel in Australia and is a “major driver of racing wagering.”

According to Rytenskild, the extension of the deal cements Sky as a leading racing network.

With more than 150,000 races broadcast live around the world every year and the best team in Racing, the extension of this agreement recognizes Sky as one of the best and most valuable racing networks in the world.

Adam Rytenskild, CEO & MD, Tabcorp

The CEO added that the deal is also good news for racing clubs whose meetings will be followed by more people than ever before. He concluded that the agreement will extend one of Tabcrop’s most significant digital revenue streams for another 10 years.

Rytenskild concluded that his company continues to build momentum toward TAB25. The company’s robust pipeline will transform the racing sector with a new app, products and faster market speeds than ever before, the CEO added.

In other news, Sportsbet continues to double down on its marketing efforts in Australia ahead of a looming ban on sports betting ads. The company has invested millions in sports betting advertisements in H1 2023 alone.

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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the gambling regulator in the country, is tasked with monitoring the compliance of gambling licensees. The work of the commission includes not only monitoring but the implementation of penalties whenever breaches to the established regulations are observed. In addition to fines, the UKGC has the power to suspend or revoke licenses for serious offenses.

Now, the gambling watchdog unveiled details regarding a monetary sanction imposed against the gambling operator Star Racing Limited trading as Star Sports. On Thursday, the Commission revealed it uncovered breaches by the company relating to anti-money laundering (AML), as well as social responsibility. According to the Gambling Commission, the breaches occurred between March 2020 and May 2021.

Describing the breaches, the gambling regulator said that it found that Star Sports breached Paragraphs 2 and 3 of license condition (LC) 12.1.1 which are related to AML and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Additionally, the gambling watchdog said that the operator breached License Condition 12.1.2 which requires foreign jurisdiction-based operators to comply with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.

Last but not least, the UKGC said that Star Sports failed to comply with Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Social Responsibility code provision (SRCP) 3.4.1. The aforementioned paragraphs require gambling operators to interact with their customers to help prevent gambling harm or associated risks.

Due to the described breaches, the Commission said it imposed a monetary penalty of £594,000 ($776,400) against Star Sports. The company also received a warning and saw the addition of an extra condition to its license. The additional conditions to its license will demand the operator to “conduct risk-based due diligence on the third parties it transacts with,” explains the UKGC.

The Gambling Regulator Continues to Monitor the Market

The latest fine and warning come after the UKGC recently imposed a hefty fine against Videoslots. In mid-June, the regulator announced it uncovered breaches related to AML and responsible gambling practices. As a result, the licensee was hit with a substantial £2 million ($2.53 million) financial penalty.

Before that, in May, the Commission unveiled details regarding an investigation into PPB Counterparty Services Limited, trading as Paddy Power and Betfair. That probe uncovered deficiencies related to marketing, which resulted in a £490,000 ($606,300) fine against PPB Counterparty Services Limited.

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Moving forward, QuinnBet will sponsor three events that will be held at the racecourse and allow the winning horse to claim the prize pool. The three-race format will essentially mean that participating horses will have to score the highest tally of points across all three races.

QuinnBet is excited to have the opportunity to grow its footprint in horseracing in the Irish-regulated market and provide yet more opportunities for the sport to grow, and nurture competitive talent.

The operator will also be awarding special prizes to the grooms of the winning horse in every three races. Commenting on the new opportunity, QuinnBet director Stephen Kelly said:

We are delighted to enter into our first partnership agreement with The Curragh which will provide us with a major platform to raise the profile of our brand.

QuinnBet director Stephen Kelly

Kelly argued that the company is proud to further expand its footprint in Ireland and ensure that its sponsorships are designed to support the industry as a whole. The first race will be held on July 23, followed by another meeting on August 12, and a third one on October 7, giving potential participants sufficient time to prepare.

The Curragh racing and sponsorship manager Evan Arkwright was similarly pleased with the opportunity to see the racecourse expand its significance on the racing calendar and said:

Their brand will be associated with a variety of very competitive races which will give them maximum exposure over three individual days.

The Curragh racing and sponsorship manager Evan Arkwright

He further added that the team at The Curragh was working to actively explore all opportunities presented by this new round of collaboration. QuinnBet has been in the habit of sponsoring a variety of meetups over the years.

Earlier this year, QuinnBet said that it would be sponsoring the Grand National Trial race, which is held ahead of the actual event, rebranding the event as QuinnBet Grand National Trial. Such partnerships have been a good opportunity to establish the brand’s presence in the market and make it an established household name.

Also this year, QuinnBet established a partnership with Global Media Ink, a prominent Oddschecker. The partnership will continue throughout 2023 and 2024.

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Moving forward, Betsson and professional Argentinian soccer club Racing Club de Allevaneda, or just Racing Group for short, will seek to expand their reach in the region and strengthen their pull with fans. Betsson Group will have its logo displayed in the upper back of the men’s and women’s First Division soccer teams’ shirts and this will be applicable to both the teams’ local and international matches.

Betsson Teams up with Racing Group in Argentina

Commenting on this release, Betsson country manager for Argentina, Maximiliano Bellio, and Racing Club president Víctor Blanco, welcomed the opportunity to see the two brands work closer together to provide fans with more opportunities to enjoy their passion for soccer.

“Once again, we confirm the relevance of Racing Club as a brand. It fills us with pride to be selected by a prestigious company like Betsson has chosen us as a platform to further enhance their brand promotion,” Blanco said about the partnership. The debut of the new jerseys will take place on Friday, May 19, as part of the Argentinian League, the country’s top-flight soccer league.

Betsson Group CEO Jesper Svensson was similarly pleased to see this partnership take shape. He hailed the tie-up and called it another opportunity for the group to position its brand, image, and logo in the country and strike home with soccer and sports fans. Svensson also spoke highly of the partner club, its history, and fans:

The club’s history, its loyal fanbase, and the enormous potential of its squad made them the perfect team for us to support.

Betsson Group CEO Jesper Svensson

The Group Sets Out to Build Its Brands in LatAm

Betsson is looking forward to enhancing its presence in the Latin American customer base. The company saw a 23% increase in its revenue from the region in its latest quarterly report and it’s committed to growing its operations in the market further. Betsson Group chief commercial director officer Ronni Hartvig was similarly pleased with the opportunity to see the brand team up with Racing Club.

Racing Club is an organization that has a significant standing in the Latin American region and Argentina, and as such, Betsson Group only stands to benefit as it seeks to expand and establish its brand in the market.

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UK gambling firm Betfred has been unveiled as the new sponsor of the St Leger festival following a multi-year deal between the firm and the operator of the event.

The new arrangement between Betfred and Arena Racing Company (ARC) means that the gambling firm will now sponsor three of the five British Classics and will be joining the likes of William Hill and Ladbrokes as a sponsor of Britain’s oldest Classic dating back to 1776.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Betfred’s founder Fred Done outlined that sponsoring the St Leger festival means more than just business for his company – it is a privilege – and he is “proud to be associated with the world’s oldest Classic which is synonymous with great horses like Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, Dunfermline for the Queen and Oh So Sharp for Sir Henry Cecil.”

Under the terms of the deal with ARC, Betfred will sponsor several of the major supporting races among which the Doncaster Cup and Champagne Stakes, and ARC’s chief executive officer Martin Cruddace was more than happy to welcome the firm as the headline sponsor of the St Leger festival.

Fred Done and his team have long been keen supporters of British racing, and the inclusion of this historic race meeting into their sponsorship portfolio is another indication of their commitment to the sport.

Martin Cruddace, CEO, ARC

Betfred will replace Cazoo, the sponsor of the last two runnings of the St Leger festival which is the final British Classic of the season and will take place from September 14 to September 17. The first two Classics, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas, will take place at Newmarket this weekend and will be sponsored by Qipco.

The new sponsorship followed less than a month after Betfred was designated as the sponsor of The Oaks and The Derby at Epsom Downs following the three-year deal with another of the major owners of racecourses in Britain, the Jockey Club.

The St Leger festival sponsorship will significantly expand Beftred’s presence in Britain’s horse racing over the next three years and help the brand which was once a prominent sponsor of horse racing in the country to accelerate its return to the sport’s sponsorship top.

In the past, Betfred has associated with sponsorships of the Ebor, Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch handicaps, as well as the country’s jewel in the crown, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but stepped back, when the exclusive license to operate pool betting at racecourses held by Tote, the operator Betfred acquired in 2011, ended in 2018.

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As per SIS’ newest partnership in Latin America, the company will become Gran Premio Hipódromo’s title sponsor. As one of the most important South American racing calendar events, the deal will substantially bolster the developer’s exposure in the region, hopefully presenting new growth opportunities. The agreement also reaffirms SIS’s commitment to horse racing as an integral part of its offerings.

The Chilean Gran Premio Hipódromo represents a perfect sponsorship opportunity for SIS thanks to its lasting popularity across Latin America. According to the new contract, the primary race on 29 April will be named the Clásico SIS. Hipódromo Chile race manager Beltran Montt noted that the upcoming event represented the peak of Chilean racing history, thanking SIS for their patronage.

SIS is a highly valued partner, and we are pleased to have their support to make the day special for all our stakeholders.

Beltran Montt, Hipódromo Chile race manager

This sponsorship builds on SIS’ ambitions to bolster its Latin American presence. In February, the supplier strengthened its partnership with the Valparaíso Sporting Club track, another of Chile’s high-profile horse racing destinations. SIS Content Services VP Michele Fischer reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting the region’s horse racing scene, encouraging more quality content for fans worldwide.

Hipódromo Chile provides our clients with great racing all year, and we are delighted to support them on their biggest day.

Michele Fischer, SIS Content Services VP

SIS’ partnership with Hipódromo Chile also has a long-term component, allowing the supplier to distribute the track’s content to its global network of sportsbook partners. Horse racing is a cornerstone offering, thanks to agreements with tracks and clubs across the globe. The supplier takes every opportunity to expand its portfolio, as evidenced by its recent inclusion of six Italian racetracks.

SIS Continues to Excel Worldwide

SIS is well-known for its aggressive growth-oriented strategy, aiming to deliver quality content bolstered with its unique wagering-focused solution. The company’s integrated products offer live streaming with betting triggers and on-screen pricing information. A recent successful foray into eSports further cemented SIS’s position as one of the premier global content suppliers.

A wide-spanning network of sportsbook partners is a testament to SIS’ over three decades of experience. Despite its age, the company still enjoys substantial momentum, demonstrated by its latest deal with Polish operator Go+bet. The deal marked SIS’ first foray into the country, bringing its premium greyhound and horse racing content to an eager new audience.

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