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It has proven to be a very tumultuous year for the retail betting sector, with 151 stores closing to the public between March and September. The big four – Ladbrokes Coral, William Hill, Betfred and Paddy Power – continued to dominate the retail scene, holding 87 per cent of betting shops in Great Britain. Generally, however, stores have been struggling …

It was a year of firsts for operators, as technological advances provided a platform for innovation to improve the overall betting experience. The year saw the creation of new betting platforms, the introduction of cryptocurrencies and blockchains as well as the development of instant withdrawal capacities for Irish bookmakers. For the first time, FIFA rolled out the tournament-wide use if …

With the opening of new markets and the opportunity of the World Cup, this year marked a significant chance for sportsbooks to elevate engagement and embark on expansion. The World Cup, as shown by Google’s most searched terms, was arguably the buzzword for 2018. England surpassed everyone’s expectations by reaching the semi-finals, front-runners such as Portugal and Brazil were knocked …

Approving the Lega-5Star coalition ‘Budget Law’ on the weekend before Christmas, Italy’s Senate has delivered coal to betting stakeholders’ festive stockings, as a miserable 2018 closes its curtains. From 1 January 2019, Italian land-based and online gambling incumbents will have to undertake a number of quick adjustments to a new tax reality, as Lega-5Star seeks to collect circa €700 million …

Racing has once again seen a variety of changes throughout 2018, with new partnerships being forged as well as betting operators offering to showcase more fixtures across a wider range of race meetings. 2018 saw Sports Information Services (SIS) unveil a partnership with Unibet, which allowed it to deliver horse racing and greyhound racing’s live pictures and data from domestic and …

UK:  B2 impact – the sound of scraping… With Britain’s B2 ban now formally enacted into law (see below), the first practical signs of impact (beyond PR and lobbying) are starting to be felt. So far, these have been seen in machine contracts, rental pleas, horseracing funding and M&A. This list is likely to grow as April approaches and then …

As the year draws to a close and the betting sector prepares for an exciting 2019, SBC is looking back on 12 months that was filled with innovation, regulation and an abundance of landmark moments. The Gambling Commission released its biannual report for September 2018, detailing the latest statistics in the gambling industry from throughout the year. The report covered …

Arena Racing Company (ARC), Chepstow Racecourse and Ladbrokes Coral have announced a five-year renewal of Coral sponsorship of the Welsh Grand National, making it the longest Graded race sponsorship in British jump racing. Under the renewed agreement, Coral will continue to sponsor Wales’ most prestigious race until 2022, which will be the 50th year that the operator has sponsored the …

Online bookmaker Betway has strengthened its horse racing sponsorship portfolio, confirming a deal with Irish trainer Ross O’Sullivan and former jockey Katie Walsh to become brand ambassadors. O’Sullivan, who enjoyed a successful amateur career, riding for Jessica Harrington began training horses in 2011, he will utilise this insight and experience to provide regular updates on the yard with blogs for …

Leading iGaming affiliate Better Collective has completed its €30m (£27m) takeover of Swedish based affiliate marketing company Ribacka Group AB following its acquisition of all shares in the company. The entire purchase value of the shares is not to be paid immediately; the initial payment of  €15m will be paid in cash at closing while the remaining two instalments of …