Flutter processes 35 million bets across Cheltenham Festival
Operator giant confirms more than 2.5 million active players across its three UK and Irish sports betting brands over the four-day period
Flutter Entertainment has revealed that 35 million bets were processed across its three main UK and Ireland brands during the Cheltenham Festival.
The operator said that over the four-day period, it had over 2.5 million active customers across its Betfair, Sky Bet and Paddy Power brands.
Additionally, Flutter highlighted the extent of its customer service outreach, with more than 85,000 customer contacts and 51,000 verification documents handled during the festival – a volume that would typically be seen in a single month.
In terms of the operator’s fiscal performance, with Flutter highlighting the battle between punters “swung from race to race”, the firm noted a £3m loss on the opening race of the showpiece event thanks to Slade Steel’s win in the Supreme Novices Hurdle.
However, Flutter said it was able to claw almost all of that back when it claimed £2.5m after 33/1 outsider Stellar Story won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, beating Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man at the line.
The operator also noted that while Galopin Des Champ winning the Gold Cup was a blow, as it was the only favourite to win on the day, accumulators and multis fell through, meaning the “trading teams were able to breathe a sigh of relief”.
Elsewhere, Flutter detailed how its Sky Bet brand plans to use the action at Prestbury Park as a “springboard” for major upcoming sporting events like Aintree, the Masters, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Ruairi Stirling, Sky Bet commercial performance manager, explained: “Sky Bet has always been a football-first brand, but we know our customers love racing and Cheltenham. Therefore, we selected offers and promotions that we knew our racing customers expected but also spoke to our football customers.”
Finally, Kaite Baylis, head of PR, content and social at Betfair, spoke about how important it was for the brand to have legendary jockey Rachael Blackmore as an ambassador for the brand and the charitable work that was done alongside the festival.
She commented: “The Rachael Blackmore Serial Winners Fund has seen us donate £5,000 for every winner Rachael has had since the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November.
“We doubled that to £10,000 per race at Cheltenham and the final season total will go to the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Irish Injured Jockeys, two amazing charities that are vital to the racing world.”