UK

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has relaunched its ‘Charity Bet’ campaign for the 2024 Grand National, celebrating British horseracing’s marquee event. Organised by the trade body for UK gambling, this year’s Charity Bet campaign will see “More than 50 MPs from both sides of the House visiting local betting shops to place a Charity Bet on the Grand National.” …

Allwyn International has marked 2023 as a transformative year for its business, which will now focus on revitalising the performance and sales of the UK National Lottery.  Upon publishing its unaudited full-year 2023 accounts, the company saw its corporate revenues double to €7.87bn. The year’s accounts detailed that National Lottery sales accounted for a revenue contribution of €3.9bn, down 4% …

HBA Media has partnered with Genius Sports to launch ‘Crown Jewels Racing Fantasy’ (CJRFantasy), aiming to make horse racing competitive in the world of sports broadcasting. CJRFantasy, the first international horse racing fantasy game, has been launched to help ‘unify the global horse racing calendar’, providing broadcasters and fans around the world with a new platform to improve their knowledge, and compete with each other …

Sky Sports will show the Indian Premier League (IPL) for cricket fans in the UK and Ireland for the next four years.  The broadcaster agreed a deal with the league to showcase the sport’s largest competition whilst renewing a deal to retain broadcasting rights to the Women’s Premier League (WPL).  The IPL and WPL will be exclusively broadcasted on Sky …

The English Football League (EFL) has announced plans to allocate £600,000 in funding to communities throughout England, marking the initial distribution of grants in collaboration with Sky Bet. As part of the fund, financial assistance will be directed towards initiatives associated with over 60 EFL clubs, including a variety of projects aimed at addressing isolation, enhancing fitness and mental well-being, boosting sports …

Further developments have surfaced in the ongoing legal dispute between Entain Plc and Sports Entertainment Media BV regarding the deal valuation of BetCity.nl. On 19 March, Sports Entertainment Media BV and related parties submitted a counterclaim to the High Court of Justice of England and Wales demanding €104m in compensation from Entain. The counterclaim, put forward by the Singels family …

Betano has been named the new shirt sponsor of Aston Villa FC, according to The Telegraph.  Starting next season, the Greek online sports betting platform is reportedly paying £20m a year for two years, which coincides with the Premier League club’s latest Adidas kit launch. As the top flight side pushes for a Champions League place under manager Unai Emery, …

The BHA has announced the pre-race veterinary protocols that will again be in place at the 2024 Aintree Grand National Festival. Like previous years, the move is part of the association’s ongoing efforts to continually improve safety and ensure horses are lining up in the ‘best possible condition’. Trainers with entries in the three races over the Grand National fences …

Fitzdares has bolstered the content and data of The Racing App to cover North American horseracing events and fixtures. The Racing App has been launched in November 2023 by premium sportsbook Fitzdares and app-developer Quantum Leap Solutions to provide racing punters with an all-in-one platform for data, insights, and content on UK and Ireland racing fixtures. The Racing App is …

In time for debt awareness week, GambleAware has put out a statement emphasising the wide availability of free debt advice services and the need to lift the stigma barrier suggesting that such services affect credit score.  Collaborating with StepChange Debt Charity, which is running this year’s Debt Awareness Week from 18-24 March, GambleAware’s Money Guidance Service Manager Kathy Wade addressed …