Last week, the Cheltenham Festival, one of the most-anticipated world-class racing events in the United Kingdom and Ireland, wrapped up. Considering the importance of the four-day Festival, sports books have been preparing for a significant time to ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for bettors and racing fans alike.
Not unexpectedly, the Cheltenham Festival was significantly important for Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of three leading sportsbooks in the UK and Ireland, namely, Sky Bet, Betfair and Paddy Power. This year, just like every year, Flutter’s brands have undergone extensive preparation to ensure exceptional and engaging moments for their customers.
The end of the four-day Festival saw Flutter release a report regarding the activities of its brands. Overall, the company’s three brands in the UK and Ireland reported more than 2.5 million active customers during the Festival. Those customers completed a whopping 35 million bets for the duration of the four-day racing event.
The significant number of active customers in combination with the 35 million wagers do not come as a surprise, considering Sky Bet, Betfair and Paddy Power’s strong position within the gambling sector.
Flutter’s customer service director for UK and Ireland (UKI), Arlene Griffin, revealed that during the Festival, the company’s brands and their employees handled 85,000 customer contacts. Some 51,000 documents were verified in the span of four days. Griffin said that the aforementioned volumes correspond to what is usually seen as a month’s work.
The Brands Strive to Offer Seamless and Fun Experiences
Karen McMahon, Flutter’s racing director UKI, explained that the much-anticipated event represents an opportunity for the brands to shine. She added: “lots of preparation goes into ensuring our customers enjoy a seamless and fun experience – hearts definitely beat faster during this week.” An ongoing goal for Flutter’s brands was to ensure exceptional experiences for the players who can enjoy services at scale and unrivaled speed.
The brands of the leading betting and gaming company are powered by seasoned traders with significant experience in the gaming and racing verticals. Yet, Flutter acknowledged that despite preparations, predicting the outcomes of the events was difficult, adding that “the battle between punters and our sportsbooks swings from race to race.”
The company lost approximately £3 million ($3.8 million) from the opening race of the Festival. Still, in the last two days of the event, the company’s brands recovered some £2.5 million ($3.2 million).