Retail

Preparing for a new UK racing season, William Hill has issued an early warning predicting the domination of Willie Mullins and his champion jockey Ruby Walsh at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival. The bookmaker predicts that the ‘Mullins/Walsh juggernaut’ will once again takeover Cheltenham this March, pricing Mullins at 1-5 to be ‘Festival Top Trainer’ at with Ruby Walsh 4-11 to …

Ladbrokes Chief Executive Jim Mullen has called on the government to give the betting industry some respite in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. In just over 12 months, the industry has seen the introduction of a point of consumption taxation, a 5% increase in machine gaming duty to 20%, new restrictions on gaming machines in the shape of the …

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) thas announced that Vivien Kyles, Chief Executive of Hamilton Park racecourse, will join its Board at the start of 2016, replacing Arena Racing Company Chairman David Thorpe as the Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Member Nominee Director. Kyles was appointed to her role at Hamilton Park in June 2008. She is also Vice Chairman of the RCA, …

County Kildare (Ireland) Punchestown Racecourse is set to undergo a €6.2 million renovation project, which will see work begin on a new €3.8 million grandstand, following 2016’s Punchestown Festival in April. The redevelopment project has been approved by the board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), who will contribute €2.5 million through a capital development grant. Punchestown Racecourse management will now …

There will be no time to celebrate Christmas for Paddy Power and Betfair governances as the shareholders of both companies have agreed outright to approve the £6.2 billion merger deal. Holding simultaneous ‘extraordinary meetings’ on Monday 21 December in which shareholders filed their votes, the merger deal saw a 99% investor approval, gaining a further significant step towards the creation of …

MRG Systems has developed a new system that gives bookmakers more control over what information to promote to their customers. The Summary Screen has been developed as the next generation of MRG’s popular All-in-One display screen and allows bookmakers the flexibility to choose which meetings get priority in their shops. The Summary Screen is the latest version of a digital …

Caledonia Investments plc has announced that it has completed the purchase of the UK’s largest retail bingo operator, Gala Bingo, from Gala Coral Group. Caledonia acquired 130 Gala Bingo clubs for a fee of £241m. Gala Bingo was formed in 1991 and currently holds a 38% share of the retail bingo UK market. It’ll continue to trade under the Gala brand …

In its bid to strengthen the integrity and credibility of sport and for the successful protection of clean athletes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today published the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. A first of its kind, the Code aims to provide the Olympic Movement and its members with harmonised regulations to protect all …

A partnership between global gaming company Intralot and Acumen Communications Ltd (ACL) has produced mCHEZA. This is the latest company to be launched in the expanding sports betting industry in Kenya. At the official launch in the capital city of Nairobi, a company spokesperson stated: “mCHEZA is a simple, fun and interactive platform on which fans can put their money on football …

After getting the go ahead from the Lithuanian Competition Council, Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) has announced the completion of the acquisition of sports-betting operator UAB Orakulas. OEG acquired 100% of shares in the firm, and this notably increases its stake in the overall gambling sector in the country. OEG now owns 35 betting shops and 18 casinos throughout Lithuania. Twelve …