There’s great news for horse racing punters who frequent Coral and/or Ladbrokes shops on their high street; you can now enjoy the advantages of best-odds guaranteed.
It’s a move designed to boost the activity in betting shops, with earnings set to be hit when the reduced FOBT stake limit comes into play later in the year.
GVC Holdings, who own the betting brands, claim that 1,000 of their shops will disappear from the high street due to the lost revenue, and are hoping that the roll-out of best-odds guaranteed over the counter will go some way towards tackling that.
“This is the biggest racing offer ever to hit the high street, and is a clear signal of our intent as we face up to a new era for betting shops from April 1,” said the firm’s PR director, Simon Clare.
“There is no question that a seismic change in our betting shop business is going to occur when the FOBT stake restrictions come into force, but we are now taking pre-emptive action with the launch of this significant betting shop offer, which will boost our horseracing business and also our betting shop footfall as we prepare for the challenge ahead.”
As of Monday, punters were able to secure best-odds guaranteed over the counter every day in all Coral and Ladbrokes shops, as long as they have either a Ladbrokes Grid or Coral Connect card.
The move follows the brand’s decision to introduce lay-to-lose guarantees, ensuring punters can get on as and when they please, with the best-odds guaranteed part of the bet eligible on the first £100 of a wager.
“Whilst betting shops will inevitably close as a result of the changes to FOBT stakes, there is a huge opportunity to re-energise and refocus all those that remain to become ever more vibrant, social, sports betting hubs where people come to watch live sport and enjoy a flutter, and horseracing will be the most important sport of them all within this vision of the future,” Clare added.
“By matching the universally popular best-odds guaranteed horseracing concession that exists online, we have removed a major disincentive to bet on horseracing in our betting shops versus online, and we hope this will lead to a significant upturn in racing business levels over the coming weeks and months.”
Best-Odds Guaranteed: What, Where and When?
Best-odds guaranteed was designed to ensure that punters got the very best price for the horses they back; no matter when or where that bet was placed.
So, if you back a horse at 5/1 and their price drifts to 8/1 on the starting line, then you will be paid out at the higher SP thanks to best-odds guaranteed.
Up until now it had been an online exclusive, but Coral and Ladbrokes are the first to roll out the offer across the board, with Betfred and Paddy Power offering limited versions of B.O.G.
In Betfred shops you can enjoy B.O.G on two specified British and Irish meetings, plus there’s typically a ‘happy hour’ where all races are subject to the offer.
In Paddy Power shops, you can enjoy happy hour B.O.G offers as well as placing best-odds singles all day in selected stores. Over in Ireland, you can back B.O.G singles all day.