Hear the full interview
From 1:48 in Friday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Neil Channing says he is not at all surprised that Betfred has pulled its sponsorship of the five British Classics, and warns it will not be the last sponsor to walk away from racing.
A couple of weeks ago on Nick Luck Daily, Betfred founder Fred Done said he would pull out of sponsoring the Classics if machine games duty rose from 20 to 40 per cent. In last week’s budget it went up to 25 per cent, but Done has still followed through. Betfred will not sponsor the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, Oaks, Derby or St Leger next year.
“I can’t say I’m at all surprised,” Channing told Nick Luck. “People have said he’s the boy who cries wolf, on both sides of the argument. But I feel like he might have felt, ‘I’m doing racing a right favour here, and I can’t afford to do that.’”
Hard to put a price on prestige
Channing says big race sponsorship brings benefits that are hard to measure, and those are the first things to go when bookmakers are under pressure. “If you are Fred Done, why do you sponsor the Classics? I think it’s about defending your brand,” he said. “Most people in horse racing have heard of Betfred. It’s not like they’re going to notice it for the first time because of the Derby. But it’s a chance to add to the prestige of your brand and ally it with a prestigious brand like the Derby or the Oaks.”
“It’s hard to put a price on that, and we’re living in a world where we do have to put numbers on these things. There’s a big hit at the moment to all bookies, and all of these things that you can’t put a price on are definitely under threat.”
“I’m sorry to sound really pessimistic, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. And I don’t think it’s the last sponsor pulling out that we’re going to hear of.”
Neil Channing
What shop closures cost racing
He thinks some people in racing have not grasped what betting shop closures cost the sport. “I think we’ve had about a thousand go so far this year, and in the last three years we were losing only 150 every year,” he said. “Every betting shop that goes is £6,000 a year in levy payments and £18,000 in media rights. So it costs racing £24,000 a year. It soon adds up. I don’t think people would be that surprised if 2,000 went, and of course that’s every year. Those shops aren’t going to reopen in a year’s time.”
He expects other firms to follow Betfred’s lead. “If you’re sitting in another firm that’s sponsoring a lot of races, I think it’s hard to go to your board and say, ‘Well, Fred Done stopped sponsoring all the Classics, but we’ve decided to stick by this racecourse because they’re doing a great job of looking after us and we get to entertain some clients,’” he said. “Nobody wants to entertain high rollers, because the Gambling Commission don’t let you have high rollers anymore.”
The Million Pound Shot
Channing admitted he had not watched The Million Pound Shot, Channel 4’s fake game show presented by Bradley Walsh about the tactics of the gambling industry. “I really hate to be a person that criticises something they didn’t bother to watch,” he said. “I quite like Bradley Walsh, but people have pointed out the hypocrisy that The Chase is sponsored by a bingo company. People have also pointed out a reference in the show to players using their credit card to gamble, which has been illegal in this country for, I think, six years now.”
“Obviously, it’s one-sided propaganda,” he added. “I don’t imagine the gambling industry are going to get a show to promote how much gambling enhances the lives of most people who take part in it.”
