Betfair acquire The TV Games Network

The UK based internet betting exchange Betfair and digital entertainment technology company Macrovision Solutions Corporation has today announced that Betfair has completed the purchased of the TV Games Network (TVG) from Macrovision for $50 million.   This move will see Betfair put a massive foothold into the American gaming market.

The TV Games Network (TVG) system is used at 70 horse racing tracks throughout the US, including the major courses at Kentucky and New York. The service allows user to  wage from home online, by phone with a web-enabled mobile phone, and a set-top remote control.

The President of US arm of Betfair Gerard Cunningham said: “We are tremendously excited to be the new owners of TVG and look forward to building upon the worldwide experience of Betfair to help grow the business. We believe TVG to be the premium product in the sector, with exceptional staff and loyal customers, and we look forward to working with the horseracing industry to help promote this great sport.”

Although any betting in the USA is strictly regulated it has been seen as off limits area for British companies due to The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which has caused severe problems for many operators, this could see Betfair have a major head start when and if the regulations are eased.

David Yu the CEO of the Betfair Group Ltd said “We have waited to enter the US market until we had a high quality, and above all, legal product offering”

Betfair announce Ascot sponsorship deal

The Internet Betting Exchange Betfair has outlined a new five year sponsorship deal that will see it sponsoring key races at Ascot including the Queen Elizabeth and King George VI stakes, this new deal will make Betfair the second largest sponsor in the racing industry, the state owned Tote still holds first place.  The deal will see the three day event in July branded as “Betfair Weekend”.

The First Commercial Chase will now become the Betfair Ascot Chase. The sponsorship will see the value of the race raise to an impressive £1 million and will help the event that has suffered from a lack of sponsorship for the previous two seasons.

Betfair’s director of horse racing Stephen Burn, said “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Ascot on this ground-breaking agreement, especially as it will take us up to and beyond the course’s historic tercentenary in 2011. Betfair’s first market was the Oaks in 2000, when 36 people had a bet. It is extraordinary that less than 10 years later we are involved in a deal like this.”

Victor Chandler scales down racecourse betting

Victor Chandler have this week scaled back there onsite racecourse betting as part of a major restructure of their racecourse betting. The money is according to Victor Chandler no longer there as punters are saving on travel costs and use the traditional companies’ online equivalent and betting exchanges such as Betfair instead.

On track bookies are now having to rely more on the high days such as the Grand National and other festivals as well as holidays to ensure their survival, one on track bookie commented “I’d like to think things have reached rock bottom, but I don’t think they have. With the economic situation, it’s going to be a rough 12 to 18 months. In another five years, I’d think there might be no more than 50% of the bookmakers who were here three years ago.“

Bookies Take a Beating as Comply or Die wins the National

Bookmakers were left counting the costs after joint favourite, Comply or Die won the 2008 John Smiths Grand National. This year’s Aintree spectacle is estimated to have attracted over £400 million in bets placed in betting shops and on the internet and following the result, bookmakers are reporting big losses on the race for the first time in years as seemingly millions of punters up and down the country had backed the winner.

One website that won’t be facing losses is betting exchange Betfair, whose market on the race traded over £15 million as punters bet agaisnt each other, with Betfair taking a commission on every bet up to 5%. However, for the more traditional ‘high street’ bookies the result saw massive payout but not from the horse they feared the most in the days leading up to the race. It was Cloudy Lane that was expected to start as the favourite; but continued support for Comply or Die throughout Saturday saw the David Pipe trained winner start as the 7/1 joint favourite alongside Cloudy Lane, who could only manage 6th position - much to the delight of millions of punters up and down the country who had backed the winner at odds as big as 10/1.

The BBC reported that an impressives 10.1 million people watched the race live on Saturday afternoon.

Sportingbet Betting Site

The Sportingbet betting site is now amongst the best in Europe and this is the viewpoint of the egaming awards sponsored by Income Access and yes Income Access supply the software for Sportingbet to power their sports book affiliate programme.

Betfair won the operator of the year award and no one could deny them this as their site is top class and they have spearheaded the online gaming sector in recent years.

Watch out for Coral as thier new improved site is such an improvement and William Hill is also on the up with their gaming portal

“We are pleased to have been a sponsor at the eGaming Review Industry Awards and to see our clients Jackpotjoy, Unibet and Sporting Bet Europe receive recognition for work in our industry,” said Nicky Senyard CEO of Income Access.