Recently, BetStars announced that it has entered into a partnership with British Racing to become an Authorized Bettering Partner within the British horse racing segment. This arrangement was carefully planned to be in-time for the Grand National at Aintree. This partnership will help support the future of the sport since BetStars is the sports betting brand of parent company Amaya, who also owns PokerStars, the largest online poker room in the world.
BetStars was only launched in January 2016 as a branded sports book. Since the initial launch, the online casino has added British horse racing to their portfolio. As a result, this deal will deliver numerous benefits for those within the horseracing industry as well as race and sports bettors.
The Director of Trading, Ian Marmion, noted that he is delighted to have made this deal to become an Authorized Bettering Partner of British Racing. Betting in the United Kingdom has historically been supported by horse racing so it is critical to keep the sport alive. This partnership will allow the sport to continue to grow and be successful. Furthermore, this agreement allows BetStars to partner with one of the most popular sports in the world so it is critical that they make a contribution to the sport as a new entrant.
On the other side, the Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) confirmed that they are also delighted that BetStars has come on-board as a partner of British Racing. By signing into this new partnership, BetStars knows the importance of British Racing to operators with regards to retaining and attracting high-value customers. BetStars is a world-renowned brand that now offers a sport that is exciting as their reputation. BetStars and the British Horseracing Authority are both looking forward to delivering the multiple benefits of the partnership to their customers.
BetStars will join Sky Betting and Gaming, 32Red, SeanieMac and Betfair as well as several other major gambling operators as an Authorized Betting Partner to the UK racing industry. The terms of the agreement between the two parties are that BetStars will contribute a share of revenue from its operations to British Racing to help support the future of the sport.
This partnership is significant considering the British Horseracing Authority’s ABP scheme limits sponsorship for UK racing and branding opportunities. When selected to be a sponsor and have the opportunity to brand around the race track, operators are able to reach a new market that only a select few gaming companies can access.
The BHA has been unsuccessful in convincing online bookmarkers, who have a UK retail presence, the benefit of the ABP scheme considering those bookies pay 10.75% levy for their retail betting revenue to the sport. Full spectrum bookies are currently content with the scheme considering it will become obsolete when the UK government imposes a new race “betting right” that extends the retail levy tax to all racing wagers by April 2017.
