Retail

Following an incident which saw legendary jockey Frankie Dettori dislodged from his racehorse at Newmarket, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has moved to ‘indefinitely’ suspend all types of drones being used in UK racetracks. Dettori who was riding ‘Oh So Terrible’, stated that the horse had been spooked by the noise made by a camera drone flying nearby which caused …

The British Horseracing Association (BHA) has filed a submission to the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) stating that the merger of Ladbrokes and Coral could impact consumer choice in UK racing and greyhound industries. Approved by BHA CEO Nick Rust the former Managing Director of Retail Operations for Ladbrokes, the association warned the CMA that the merger could lead …

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has ‘condemned’ the practices highlighted in a government report into greyhound racing in New South Wales, a state of affairs that has seen the sport banned from the Australian state. The Special Commission of Inquiry found ‘overwhelming evidence’ of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting – a practice that …

The sport of greyhound racing will be banned in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) by 2017, following an investigation which uncovered ‘systemic animal cruelty’ including dog baiting and mass killings. A commission inquiry carried out by Australian lawyer Michael McHugh, had uncovered mass cruelty within the Australian greyhound industry, with the report detailing the death of some …

International Game Technology (IGT) has confirmed the appointment of Mario Di Loreto to the new role of Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Organisation & Transformation. The executive appointment will see Di Loreto a report directly to IGT Plc Group CEO Marco Sala. The company detailed that it had hired Di Loreto to oversee group HR leadership and strategy as …

Betfred has agreed a multi-year deal with Sky to show Sky Sports in all of its 1,360 UK high-street shops. The complete portfolio of seven Sky Sports channels, including Sky Sports News HQ and Eurosport, has been available to customers in Betfred shops since 1 July. Mark Stebbings, Managing Director of Betfred Retail, said: “Exciting live sport and a great …

Cricket Australia has announced that two players from the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), Hayley Jensen and Corinne Hall, have been banned for six months for betting on matches. Both players have voluntarily accepted bans of two years, of which 18 months are suspended. Jensen, a 23-year-old New Zealand international who has represented Victoria and Melbourne in the 2015/16 Australian …

Despite increasing corporate revenues to £10 billion, UK bookmaker Betfred has posted an operating loss of £76.6 million (52-week period ending 27 September 2015). Filing its annual return with UK Companies House the Manchester-based operator reported that its financial performance had been impacted by increased gambling taxes which lowered operating margins. Furthermore, the bookmaker like its industry competitors was hit …

Financial advisory group Davy has lowered sector-wide growth forecasts for UK-listed gambling operators as a result of BREXIT. The ‘Leave’ outcome has forced Davy to review the current positions of listed gambling operators as the UK economy faces months of fiscal and legal uncertainty.    Issuing a market note, Davy analysts detailed that UK legacy operators with both large retail …

Embattled Spanish gambling operator Grupo Codere has been issued a lawsuit by ‘former Codere shareholders’ regarding its April share capital disbursement which saw the controlling Martinez Sampedro family reduce its corporate equity to 2%. The share dilution which aimed to raise + €450 million in capital in order to ease the company’s + €1 billion debt with existing creditors is …