Retail

Britain’s leading female flat jockey, Hayley Turner, is to retire from race riding at the end of this season. Turner has made the decision after more than fifteen years in the saddle, with Hayley riding in her first race as a licensed jockey at Southwell in March 2000. Hayley enjoyed her first winner only a few months later on Generate at …

 Last week’s 20% surge in Paddy Power shares has created a total of 207 ‘paper millionaires’. Prior to the UK August Bank Holiday weekend Paddy Power shares traded at €96. The Irish Independent newspaper reported the shareholder figures following a review of Paddy Power Plc register, detailing that 207 accounts held 10,000 + shares which following last week trading gains …

Great Britain’s two-time Olympic Gold winning medallist Victoria Pendleton has been granted an amateur riders licence by the British Horseracing Authority. The granting of the licence is a big step forward as Britain’s most successful female Olympian looks to compete at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival, with betting operator Betfair as her main sponsor. Pendleton, made her debut on a racecourse …

Eastern European gambling operator Fortuna Entertainment has recorded a 47% decline in net profits to €4.8 million (H1 2014 – €8.9 million). The operator had been negatively impacted by a steep decline in its group operating margins to 10.4% (H1-2014 18.5%) due to being hit by a set of unfavourable sports results in March. A tough opening six months of …

Australia’s Seven broadcast network and Racing Victoria have launched a new free to air channel devoted to Victoria racing events, Racing.com Racing.com will be made available using the full range of Seven Network services and devices, as the channel makes its debut this Saturday. Details on Racing.com were announced today by Tim Worner, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of …

New Zealand’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed the re-appointment of Graeme Reeves as Chief Gambling Commissioner. Reeves, a commercial lawyer with experience in commercial and property law, previously served as a director of the Airways Corporation for New Zealand and spent time as a director of New Zealand Post. The re-appointment of Reeves is announced as New Zealand Racing …

The announcement of a potential Paddy Power and Betfair merger has dominated industry headlines this morning. Nevertheless Paddy Power governance delivered a  very strong H1 2015 interim report (period ending 30 June), as the operator posted top metric growth for both digital and retail divisions. Paddy Power would record a group operating profit before taxes of €80 million up 33% on 2014’s …

SIS, supplier of real time betting and data provisions for online and retail betting sectors (sis.tv), has announced the appointment of Nigel Stocks as its new Chief Financial Officer. Stocks joins from Jatomi Fitness, a global health club business that employs over 2,500 people across Eastern Europe and Asia, where he contributed to new business and international expansion initiatives from its …

US pro sports betting advocates heard the expected news that a federal appeals panel had upheld the ban of sports betting in New Jersey. The Third Court of Appeals in Philadelphia denied New Jersey’s appeal by a majority decision of 2-1, denying New Jersey the right to bypass the 1992 Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The New Jersey …

A veteran in financial strategy for leisure and entertainment markets, Bowcock has held financial directorial roles at Barratt Developments, Hilton Group and Luminar Group Holdings Bowcock will be responsible for William Hill’s group financial operations for land based and online operations. Bowcock will be directly working with CEO James Henderson as the leading UK bookmaker adjusts to new market conditions, …