Despite being taken for more than £1 million on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, William Hill have confirmed that they bounced back in some style thereafter – celebrating their ‘most profitable day’ in the meeting’s history on Wednesday.
Other firms were celebrating too as they enjoyed roaring trade, with a series of book-friendly results – aside from Gaelic Warrior’s win in the Gold Cup – helping to spread some joy amongst a sector that hasn’t had much to cheer about of late.
But it’s not all good news, as estimates suggest that around £60 million was wagered with black market bookies across Cheltenham’s four days.
Back in the Black
Things weren’t looking so rosy after the first race of the meeting last Tuesday.
Punters latched onto the chances of Old Park Star in their droves, backing Nicky Henderson’s horse in from 5/2 to 15/8 in the hours before the Supreme Novices Hurdle.
And the gamble paid off as the six-year-old edged home to land an emotional victory for Henderson – he was without the likes of Constitution Hill and Sir Gino for the meeting – and a financially rewarding one for backers.
It wasn’t a good result for the bookies, of course, with William Hill counting the cost of a promotion that paid out even money on any SP favourite winning on day one of the meeting – a decision that set them up for a liability ‘north of £1 million’ after the opening race.
Another customer-friendly result came in the Champion Hurdle, where Rich Ricci’s decision to supplement Lossiemouth proved to be a fruitful one.
The grey had dominated the mares’ races at the festival in recent years, but Ricci and trainer Willie Mullins decided to give her a chance against the boys in the flagship race of the opening day.
It was a narrative that punters leant into with gusto, backing Lossiemouth into 7/5 from 3/1. More than £1 million was matched on the Betfair Exchange alone.
Needless to say, the seven-year-old bolted home to claim another prestigious Grade 1 for Ricci and Mullins while taking the bookies for another seven-figure payday.
Gaelic Warrior was another juicy winner for punters, landing the Gold Cup in sublime fashion, but all told the bookmakers had got back on top prior to Friday’s showpiece.
Indeed, with a handful of big odds outsiders winning, the layers were laughing – William Hill, via spokesperson Lee Phelps, confirming that only a handful of Grand National renewals had yielded a better result for the firm in nearly a century of trading.
A number of on-course bookmakers revealed that their pitches had been busier than they had in years, with big money being wagered – something that will cheer the betting ring, given the struggles faced by venue layers in recent times.
Supermassive Black Hole
Of course, the licensed sector could have been enjoying an even more profitable time – but for the hefty chunk of revenue swallowed by illegal black market operators.
In fact, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has forecast that around £60 million was lost to unlicensed bookies; many of whom are taking bets via WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
It’s thought that around £1 billion was wagered on the festival with legitimate operators, which means that around 6% of the entire betting revenue of the meeting was lost to the black market.
The grave concern is that the ramifications for punters from the government’s tax hike in November are yet to be truly felt, with the increase in taxation to be rolled out in April (Remote Gaming Duty) and again in April of next year (General Betting Duty).
Once that happens, it’s expected that the number of customer promotions will shrink accordingly, with margins also tightened – resulting in weaker odds for punters.
At that point, the black market may enjoy another boom in popularity.
“The criminal, harmful black market also tried to cash in, targeting punters with illegal betting that offers none of the protections provided in the regulated sector,” BGC chief Grainne Hurst said when quizzed on the Cheltenham Festival.
“Rising taxes and increasingly intrusive checks will only make it harder for legitimate operators to compete. The priority must be keeping punters in the regulated market where protections are in place, rather than driving them towards harmful unregulated operators.”
Many illegal firms will allow punters to place bets without performing any of the necessary verification checks – such as proof of funds or even their age. Many also have no protections in place for their customers’ funds.