Trade Fair News


SIS User Group meeting by Mary Pitt


THE LATEST SEMI-AN- NUAL SIS User Group meet- ing was held to coincide with the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair at Wolverhampton racecourse on October 6. Chaired by Brent Dolan, SIS’ Commercial Director, LBO Division, attendees included Will Roseff of Backhouse Racing, Irish Bookmakers Association chairwoman Sharon Byrne, BAGS’ Tom Kelly,Mike Grenham from William Hill, Malcolm Beattie from Paddy Power, Dominic Ford from the Bookmakers Technology Consortium and Betfred’s Tony Crookes. Also attending was Paul Ricci, SIS head of data. Several issues were discussed


regarding service quality and content. Feedback was generally positive for SIS’ winter evening service trial, which continues until December 18, though the take-up rate was not as high as anticipated. Brent indicated that in early November meetings for the first part of 2012 will be agreed and arranged. BAGS evening coverage


currently involves three meetings from Monday through Wednesday, with two meetings Thursday through Sunday. Paul explained that it is a “mammoth task” to switch off all decoders that need to be


switched off so that only those who are paying for the service receive it. The main service starts at 9


a.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. the rest of the week.Several of the bookmakers present said they would like to go back to a 9.30 a.m. start. Mike suggested bringing


forward the times of some BAGS races, as they are running into the horse races in the afternoons. Brent said he would bring it up at the next regular BAGS meeting, also the proposal to use a 24-hour clock for race times. He stressed that Racing UK schedule their own race times, and there is also Irish racing to consider. Paul said he could ask the


gallery about the delays and make them aware that each race requires some build-up. Brent explained it’s a matter


of juggling, and that any delays may be down to SIS or may be because of incidents happening on track. Brent mentioned that SIS


Blue Square Conference. This is not proving popular with punters as it interferes with racing and it was generally felt the commentaries were not good. Feedback on the new Virtual Betting Channel has been good. It is being taken both in the UK and in Ireland. Sharon said the integrated commentary has been a huge help, but the data not going into the tills has been a huge problem. Brent responded by saying that third party suppliers are not embracing SISdata365, and until they do this will affect the availability of data. The service offers 186 events


a day, and includes cycling, speedway, football and a three times daily lotto.A bingo game, Bet6Bingo, will be introduced before Christmas. Virtual football matches last 45 seconds. Sharon suggested this should be extended to 90 seconds. Dominic asked if there was a


do not currently have the rights to show US racing in shops, explaining that SIS is a facilitator to transmit data and pictures into shops that are contracted directly with the rights holders. SIS Soccer+ was introduced


on September 1, showing games primarily from the German Bundesliga, and also from the


Turffontein went off at the same time, they would show the shorter Turffontein race, with commentary, then go back to the finish of the Towcester race. Brent noted that several bookmakers he has spoken to at the SIS racecourse forums have indicated that it would be useful to have racing starting at 1pm to catch the lunchtime trade. During the winter, racing starts at 12.30-12.45, whereas in the summer, the first race often isn’t until 2 p.m. Will suggested that by starting earlier, you might lose something at the other end of the day, saying a race at 5.30 is better than a race at 1.30. Tony said that, as a lot of


better way to show action on a split screen. As it is shown now, when two races go off at the same time, the action takes place in two small boxes, with lots of empty space on screen. He wondered if it would be possible to do picture-in- picture. Brent said he would look into that possibility. Brent added that, for example, if a three-mile chase at Towcester and a seven furlong race from


evening cards start at 5.30 now, there would be congestion for around an hour to an hour and a half. Will offered that a six- race meeting starting at 6.30 would get more punters than an eight-race meeting starting at 5.30. Brent said they have been looking into doing some radio broadcasts to put into shops. Early morning content from Singapore was due to start at the end of October and cards will be included in the Racing Post betting shop edition. Latin American racing


is being shown on Sunday evenings and Brent said the issue of possibly doing away with coupled horses has been brought to the attention of the racing authorities there.n


A busy Bookmakers’Trade Fair at Dunstall Park visit www.bosmag.co.uk BOS Magazine November/December 2011 23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40