27 October 2017 – Totally Gaming

Arena Racing Company has this week agreed several deals regarding the worldwide distribution of greyhound racing.

In addition to a media rights partnership with Australia wagering and gaming group Tabcorp, an agreement has also been struck with Greyhound Media Group (GMG), who represent Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) which ensures at least 1,619 fixtures will be made available to the betting industry from the start of next year.

Worldwide omni-channel content provider Vermantia, is also to become ARC’s exclusive supplier of greyhound content to a wide range of international markets, as well as prefered partner for producing and delivering bespoke channels to retail operators.

Antony Hopkins, director of international markets at Arena Racing Company, spoke to TotallyGaming.com about these deals and the increasing popularity of greyhound racing:  “ARC represents the media interests of GMG and this week’s agreement between GMG and BAGS guarantees the supply of GMG’s fixtures to retail operators in UK and Ireland. The deal means ARC’s greyhound offering, via GMG tracks, comprises of content from tracks which have a proven record of delivering competitive racing, integrity to operators, familiarity and trust amongst punters, as well as excellent welfare records.  The deal with Tabcorp and Vermantia will extend the reach of this content into international markets, and underpins all of the key attributes of our content.”

Adding that confidence is key to ensure a popular product continues to grow:  “Betting on greyhounds has been well received in a number of territories where the content has been introduced over the last few years, and therefore it makes an important contribution to betting operators core business. “However, for the popularity of betting on greyhound racing to continue to grow in the UK and worldwide it is essential that betting operators and punters have confidence in the sport in terms of integrity and welfare standards. ARC’s greyhound tracks all put on regular and familiar sport where the integrity has been proven and it has a strong appeal to betting operators and punters alike.”

With the sport of greyhound racing growing on a worldwide basis, Hopkins also highlighted his key reasons behind the rise and why it holds an appeal to bettors:  “There are several reasons for this, these include greyhound racing being seen as more accessible [and] easier to understand than horseracing for many punters.  “Providing regular betting opportunities, for example the greyhound fixtures from Australia and UK alone will provide over 100 races per day and it is likely that additional fixtures will be added to the schedule over time.  In other words, there will be a live dog race to bet on wherever you are in the world. [And] offering a wide variety of regular betting opportunities, from straightforward bets to the more exotic. The proven and long-established integrity of the GMG tracks and BAGS accreditation, gives operators and punters alike, confidence in the product.  As developing markets emerge, and operators are able to consume more streaming content, our greyhound content will form a key constituent in that overall offering.”