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Racecourse Media Group generates £117.6m in media and data rights payments for British racecourses in 2022
Racecourse Media Group (RMG) will pay racecourses £117.6 million in payments generated from their media and data rights in 2022 – compared to £110m in 2021.
The payments are derived from a range of RMG businesses, including via betting shops (Racecourse Retail Business), online bookmaker streams (Digital Streaming), pay TV channel (Racing TV), international betting (Racing TV International) and non-betting distribution, mainstream TV (ITV agreement) and data (Racecourse Data Company).
Roger Lewis, the Chairman of RMG, said: “The RMG model has once again proved to be resilient and reliable – in the face of significant challenges – producing record results, and performing ahead of expectations. The results are a testimony and tribute to the vision and dedication of those racecourses who came together and stuck together to create, grow, and develop the RMG business.
“On behalf of everyone at RMG I thank all the racecourses, owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and our valued media, technical broadcast, commercial and betting partners for their help and support in enabling RMG to play its role effectively.
“I step down from the Board of RMG this year, having joined the company in 2012. It has been a huge privilege and a great honour to have worked with so many wonderful people. I sincerely welcome my successor, Conor Grant, formerly CEO of Flutter UK and Ireland, who takes up the reins as Chairman, on October 1, 2023.”
The 2022 results were achieved against the headwind of the long-running Gambling Act Review process. RMG has played its role by using its media platforms to bring attention to the Gambling Act Review and ensuring its consumers’ views and attitudes on the subject were made available to politicians, regulators, and media commentators.
The process has led to bookmakers ramping up levels of affordability checking, which has resulted in a clear and material reduction in betting turnover from the early summer of 2022 onwards.
Looking to the future, Martin Stevenson, Chief Executive of RMG, said: “We believe that innovation is key for the business and racecourses to help grow appeal and engagement with the sport, and provide a platform to deliver growth in licence fees to racecourses and the sport in the future.
“A fundamental building block in technical innovation for the business is the deployment of a highly reliable and accurate tracking system, which we have achieved via the award-winning Coursetrack.
“Beyond purely providing timing, the importance of tracking is that it provides a wealth of real time data that the business can now utilise to develop new products and innovations. These include the roll-out of in-play betting on RMG’s content, currently deployed by BetVictor and William Hill, and with more bookmakers in the pipeline.
“Another key application of tracking data is to help create stimulating, insightful data – a suite of new facts and statistics – to engage our audiences and support betting markets.
“In addition, our Self Service Betting Terminal (SSBT) racing product is being rolled out this month. It’s worth noting that c.80% of football bets struck in shops are placed via SSBTs, compared to just 10% for racing, so this could be a real opportunity for racing to generate additional consumer engagement and turnover in the important betting shop space.
“We have also significantly enhanced our broadcast output, with advances to the virtual studio, the roll-out of augmented reality graphics, the gradual move to remote production, and developments to the production of dedicated racecourse streams. This is bringing horseracing TV coverage up to the high levels that other sports, like football and cricket, enjoy.
“Our social media initiative, #raceday, which brings an influencer-led approach to the racecourse and engages with a young demographic, has surpassed 20m views, while our free-to-play games, run in conjunction with Paddy Power, have generated 2m entries and proved to be an excellent data capture platform.
“With media increasingly being consumed through digital channels, driving innovation is key to growing audiences and engagement through these platforms. This approach blends well with our focus on strengthening the core capabilities which have enabled us to grow to where we are today, ensuring the business remains ready for the future.”
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Eagerly anticipated release now confirmed following a highly successful exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive
Play’n GO has today announced the official US release of its hit title Colt Lightning Firestorm, following a three-week period of exclusivity with Rush Street Interactive brands BetRivers and SugarHouse.
Colt Lightning Firestorm was released in Europe and other jurisdictions in May 2024, and its release in the US comes with much fanfare following the game’s rave reviews in its short exclusivity period. The game is a sequel to the wildly popular Colt Lightning game which was released early last year, and indications at this stage suggest that this sequel may prove even more successful.
This announcement sees Colt Lightning Firestorm available to players in each state and operator with whom Play’n GO is licensed. Play’n GO first entered the online casino market in the US in 2022, and has reiterated its commitment to becoming active in every regulated market around the world.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO said: “We’re excited to unveil Colt Lightning Firestorm to the wider online casino gaming community in the US, and have been very pleased to see its strong performance during its exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive. We had high hopes for the game following the success of its predecessor, and we’re confident that these robust results will continue now that the game is available to an even bigger audience.”
Esports entertainment company BLAST has announced plans to host two popular esports events in Singapore in 2024 and 2025.
BLAST will bring both world-class Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to the heart of Southeast Asia, marking a major step in Singapore’s emergence as an esports and gaming hub. Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), these high-profile events will bring the world’s best esports teams and players from all across the world to compete in Singapore.
BLAST has teamed up with AEG Presents Asia, one of the world’s largest live entertainment entities to bring these events to Singapore. The partnership forms part of BLAST’s ambition to create the best esports experiences by working closely with premier destinations and the biggest and best live entertainment partners.
More than half of global esports views (57%) are estimated to come from the Asia Pacific region, 47% more than any other region in the world with the global market valued at $1.6 billion.
By bringing the top-tier Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to Singapore, BLAST aims
to attract global esports talent, foster local growth, and elevate Singapore’s status as a destination for world-class esports entertainment.
James Woollard, Director of Market Development at BLAST, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring two of the biggest esports titles to this vibrant destination. Over the coming 18 months, Singapore will become a major hub for esports in Southeast Asia, and with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, we look forward to delivering unforgettable experiences for fans while helping to build a thriving esports ecosystem in the region. Bringing the first BLAST arena event to Singapore is an exciting first step in this journey. The World Final will see the world’s best Counter-Strike players and teams fighting for a $1,000,000 total prize pool.”
Ms Ong Ling Lee, Executive Director, Sports and Wellness, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are excited to host the BLAST Premier World Final and the BLAST Dota Slam in Singapore. The Counter-Strike event marks the first BLAST-branded event in Southeast Asia and the inaugural Counter-Strike tournament series in the region, solidifying Singapore’s position as a world-class esports destination. We are confident that the international participants and their legions of fans will have a memorable experience in Singapore, immersing themselves in the diverse and dynamic offerings of our city.”
The World Final 2024 will take place from 30th October – 3rd November and will be the first BLAST event to take place in Singapore, followed by the BLAST Dota Slam in 2025. The World Final will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in Singapore, where the world’s best eight Counter-Strike teams will compete for a massive prize pool of $1,000,000 and the chance to claim bragging rights as the best team around.
Qualified World Final teams: NAVI, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports.
Fans can sign-up for the pre-sale window by registering with BLAST.tv, where they will also receive updates and information on tickets.
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