Betfred will end their sponsorship of British racing and close all of their racecourse betting shops barring Ascot and the Betfred-owned Chelmsford beginning in July 2018, Racing Post reported. Betfred's exclusive licence to operate pools betting expires in July. British racecourses will launch their own pools betting operation in 2018, resulting in the end of the Tote's 90-year presence on the majority of British courses and its monopoly over pools betting.
“As from next year, we will fulfil everything we promise,” Fred Done, Chief Executive of Betfred, told Racing Post. “We will not go back on anything or dodge anything or get out of contracts. I gave racing the opportunity of saying, 'We don't want you as a sponsor,' and I would have walked away. They didn't take that opportunity, but as of next July we will not be sponsoring anywhere but for the exceptions of Ascot and Chelmsford. All our betting shops on the racecourse, with the exception of Ascot and Chelmsford, are shutting down. We won't be represented on any [other] courses.”
The announcement affects over 600 races and racing stands to lose £6 million in lost sponsorship income alone. In 2016 Betfred was the sponsor of almost 1,000 races, almost 10% of the 10,035 races carded in Britain. Forty-nine betting shops, of Betfred's 51 located on racecourses, will be closed. Betfreds bettng shops will continue paying levy and media rights to the sport.
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