Scientific Games sees 53% uplift in Cheltenham Festival bets

The four-day event ran from 16-19 March and attracted almost 70 million bets, which the supplier described as a “record volume” with UK licensed operators running OpenSports. This included William Hill; Flutter Entertainment’s Betfair, Paddy Power and Sky Bet; and Entain brands Ladbrokes and Coral.

Punters wagered 34% more than in 2020, while the average stake for singles in all win and each way markets remained level at £7.50

Total account transactions across the four days were up 44%, while Scientific Games also noted that one of its operator partners processed a peak of over 34,000 bets per minute during the Festival.

Scientific Games said the primary reason for these year-on-year increased was due to the fact that all retail betting shops across the UK remain closed due to novel coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown restrictions.

In addition, spectators were not permitted to attend the event as a result of Covid-19 measures, and as such bookmakers could not take on-site bets, with punters limited to online betting only.

“This year’s Festival saw betting behaviour evolve and more players than ever before embrace the online space,” Scientific Games Digital senior vice president for sportsbook, Keith O’Loughlin, said.

“The average stake levels indicate the recreational and entertainment value of this racing event and we’re proud of the role OpenSports has played during the Festival in offering such a wide audience a truly entertaining experience.”