Retail

Sazka Entertainment has appointed four-time Olympic medalist Lord Sebastien Coe to its Board of Directors. Lord Coe is the current President of World Athletics and was instrumental in London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. He began his role as a non-executive director of the Pan-European lottery operator on Tuesday. Despite UK subsidiary Allwyn competing to win the UK government’s Fourth …

The board of Grupo CIRSA has announced that it has agreed to terms on a new €615 million debt-bond placement, helping the Spanish gambling group improve its financial liquidity by refinancing its previous debt arrangements.    The bond placement will carry an annual interest rate of 4.5%, with its maturity clause triggered from 2027 onwards, and has been underwritten by the …

PM Boris Johnson has called for a change of leadership at DCMS, appointing Nadine Dorries as new Culture Secretary, replacing Oliver Dowden. Called to Number-10 this afternoon, Dorries the MP for Mid-Bedfordshire was confirmed as DCMS new leader, promoted from her previous role as Minister of Mental Health for the Department of Health and Social Care. The Ministerial reshuffle, saw …

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has published its fixture list for the 2022 season, with plans to enhance the number of meetings taking place on both Saturdays and Sundays. In total, the number of races taking place throughout 2022 will be 1,482, down four from the 1,486 showcased in 2021, although the number of weekend meetings will be increased, with …

John O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Rank Group Plc, will deliver the keynote speech of the ‘Reputation Matters’ 2021 conference – a dedicated event focused on UK gambling and its evolving relationships with regulatory and political stakeholders.    Hosted on Tuesday 2 November at the Iron Mongers Hall in the City of London – Reputation Matters will focus on ‘UK Gambling’s future …

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has disclosed that it has received over 2,000 responses to its online questionnaire on horse whip practices. The update follows the closure of the initial phase of UK racing’s review of the use of foam-padded whips during races and the improvement of equine welfare.  Feedback submitted by industry stakeholders including riders, breeders, owners and the …

Intralot SPA reports a significant improvement in trading, delivering growth across all business units as the Athens listed gambling technology group moves to advance its US market profile.  Publishing its H1 2021 trading results (period ending 30 June), Intralot achieved group revenues of €202 million – up 34% on corresponding 2020 results of €150 million. Revenue growth was attributed to …

Sportech Plc has outlined its transformed organisation that is refocused on delivering a stronger balance sheet performance and profits for investors.  Publishing its first interim results as a London AIM listed enterprise, Sportech registered group revenues to £13.5 million up 70% on corresponding 2020 results of £7.9 million.  Period growth was attributed to Sportech’s 11 US Venue subsidiaries that registered …

SAZKA Group remains confident in its full-year financial outlook, as the enlarged Czech gambling conglomerate prepares for the full comeback of business units across European markets. Publishing its H1 2021 interim results (period ending 30 June), SAZKA recorded group revenues of €1.26 billion – up 96% on corresponding 2020 results of €652 million. Topline revenue growth was attributed to the …

As this morning 888 Holdings is declared the winning bidder of Caesar Entertainment’s auction of William Hill’s non-US assets – uncertainty remains as to the future of the heritage bookmaker’s retail unit and how it will reshape betting’s presence on the high-street.   The deal will enable 888 to quadruple its market share, becoming the third-largest group operator in the UK …