Bookies braced for ?250m betting bonanza
Later time slot for Grand National, US Masters golf, Premier League football and boxing presents operators with "perfect storm"
Bookmakers are preparing themselves for a bumper weekend of sporting action which could see as much as ?250m staked across a number of major events this weekend.
Ladbrokes described the weekend line-up as a “perfect storm” with the Grand National, in its new 5:15pm time slot, US Masters golf, the Premier League title race and Anthony Joshua’s world title fight all set to attract punters’ money.
David Williams, Ladbrokes director of media, predicted the new National off-time would contribute to an “unprecedented betting surge”, but added the firm enters the weekend with air of caution after a bleak Cheltenham Festival.
“Record books are on the brink of being torn up,” Williams said. “It’s the perfect storm for bookies with betting set to go through the roof.
“?200m will be bet on the National with an extra ?50 million on all the other events. We’re braced for the biggest day we’ve known.
“A repeat win for Many Clouds is the nightmare result for us. We’re still reeling after an expensive Cheltenham Festival and we could jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“With big names topping the leader-board in Augusta it’s little surprise that we’re approaching the weekend with a mixture of excitement and fear,” he added.
BetVictor said the weekend would be “pivotal” for bookmakers with a win for Many Clouds, which is likely to go off favourite tomorrow, certain to be a major blow.
The Gibraltar-based operator is currently the only major bookie offering six places in the feature race and was hopeful weather conditions and any subsequent change to the ground would throw up a surprise winner.
“We have already seen unprecedented take up of our Grand National six-place concession which has certainly resonated with punters,” Charlie McCann, BetVictor head of media, said.
“And with more rain forecast overnight at Aintree perhaps there could be a shock in the ‘big one’ and after Cheltenham we need certainly need one,” he added.
Sportsbook supplier OpenBet, which provides the back-end for operators such as Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair said it was also anticipating record betting volumes.
An OpenBet spokesperson said it would be the “biggest day of the year” and expected to process more than the 45,000 bets per minute recorded on the same Saturday last year.
Payments company Worldpay said operators saw an 84% increase in online betting activity during last year’s Grand National and following a punters’ Cheltenham Festival activity should be even higher this year.
“The Grand National is always the most popular betting event in the sporting calendar, and we are expecting even more punters to try their luck this year, after a Cheltenham Festival that saw the bookies take a bit of a beating,” Karl MacGregor, Worldpay vice president Gambling, global ecommerce, said.
“And with the race kicking off an hour later than previous years, you can expect to see people across the country glued to their screens at 5.15 on Saturday,” he added.