SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
After being revealed as the most favoured bookmaker concession in a recent Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF) survey, William Hill has announced that it will be revamping its Best Odds Guaranteed promotion.
The changes to the promotion, set to come into play on Thursday, will now mean that customers will only be able to access the concession from midnight on the day of the race.
“As of midnight tonight our Best Odds Guaranteed offering will be evolving and in future you will receive BOG only when you have placed your bet on the day. This will impact a small number of customers and will allow us to invest in a number of other offers and ‘Racing Refunds’,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.
The changes to the promotion comes as a ‘package’ alongside changes to the ‘Racing Refunds’ policy.
William Hill has since adopted its policy regarding racing refunds, now opting to pay out if a horse refuses to race, the horse remains inside the stalls after the off, as well as other occasions at the operator’s discretion where “we believe there has been an injustice (e.g. rider unseats at the start or jockey fails to weigh in)”.
It follows on from the decision made by Paddy Power last week, who had announced that punters will be able to use the promotion from 8am on race day, as opposed to the previous arrangement which meant customers could use the offer when a race is priced up.
The promotion review comes as bookmakers must refocus their resources to offset the associated costs from the controversial FOBT ruling.
Paddy Power emphasised that the decision to change their promotion was in line with their strategy to compete with others in the industry.
Meanwhile other operators such as bet365, Ladbrokes Coral and Sky Bet, who all currently offer Bog from declarations stage have not expressed any plans to alter their promotions.
