(Reuters) – British bookmakers had one in every of their busiest intervals this weekend with punters worldwide playing on main sports occasions: the Grand National, the Masters and the Premier League clash between title chasers Manchester City and Liverpool.
888, a pure on-line sports-betting participant, stated the National, which welcomed again followers for the primary time in three years on Saturday, was its largest horseracing occasion ever, with “prospects inserting bets from throughout the globe”, serving to the bookmaker appeal to a report variety of new prospects.
“Falling solely wanting the Euro 2020 last between Italy and England, the recognition of the Grand National … clearly showcases its significance within the UK’s sporting calendar,” it stated.
Industry turnover over the weekend may have hit round 1 / 4 of a billion kilos, sports betting agency William Hill’s spokesperson Tony Kenny stated on Monday.
“The previous few days have been heaven for sports followers. With the Masters, Grand National, and the large Premier League recreation between Manchester City and Liverpool all happening, we had one of many busiest intervals we’ve ever had at William Hill,” he stated.
Turnover for the Grand National alone was within the area of 200 million kilos ($260 million), William Hill, which has over 1,400 betting outlets throughout the United Kingdom and now owned by Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, stated.
Flutter Entertainment, proprietor of manufacturers Sky Bet, Betfair (sports ebook) and Paddy Power, stated it noticed greater than 13 million bets positioned on the Grand National.
Noble Yeats’ victory was an “wonderful end result within the buying and selling room”, William Hill’s Kenny added, with Sam Waley-Cohen’s mount, one in every of outsiders within the 40 runners, going off at odds of 50-1.
Ladbrokes-owner Entain declined to remark.
British bookmakers up to now two years have seen extra punters flock on-line as pandemic restrictions pressured shut their retail outlets. Last yr’s Grand National set a report for UK on-line sports betting.
But as curbs in England have been lifted this yr, prospects have returned to the excessive road, with it being too early to inform how a lot of the net betting behaviour sticks.
Also attracting bets on-line and in retail outlets was the pulsating 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Liverpool.
And the weekend noticed Scottie Scheffler take a three-shot victory on the Masters on Sunday to earn the coveted “Green Jacket” and cement his standing because the world’s high ranked golfer.
($1 = 0.7677 kilos)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Alison Williams)
